i'm all new to birds, so i'm gonna ask a few questions

 

 

1. what do i use to line the bottom of the cage?

 

2. what kind of food can they eat? i'm getting 2 babies

 

3. is buying in bulk better? for 2 budgies?

 

4. do they really need to have coal? my friend told me they need it to digest properly

 

5. what is cuttlebone?

 

6. do their wings really need to be clipped?

 

7. how often should the cage be cleaned?

 

8. if i let them fly around the house, will they come back to the cage?

 

 

 

well this list is long

Hi and welcome. They will need their cage cleaned at least once a week. A good budgie mix (Trill in Australis -not sure if it's available in Canada) and some calcium supplement(cuttlefish bone) along with shell grit (to aid in digestion). I will let others answer the rest of the questions as I do not keep Pet budgies. Make sure they have access to plenty of fresh water and change this daily. Also my birds love carrot, apple (no seed) brocolli, spinach and native bottlebrush and eucalyptus leaves and branch's to chew on.(Australian native tree)

1. what do i use to line the bottom of the cage?

I use newspaper.

2. what kind of food can they eat? i'm getting 2 babies

There is quite a range of food available for budgies, as apart of their everyday diet and for occasional treats.

I give my budgies daily: seed, fresh veg and water and once a week either a piece of millet, arrowroot biscuit, sunflower seeds or honey seed stick. For more info on food check out the FAQ's.

3. is buying in bulk better? for 2 budgies?

Refering to seed? For just two budgies I don't think you would need to buy in bulk. When I just had the two budgies a 2kg box would last a couple of weeks and that was changing the seed daily.

4. do they really need to have coal? my friend told me they need it to digest properly

Sorry, can't help you out on this one.

5. what is cuttlebone?

Cuttlebone is a source of calcium, but I find my budgies prefer to play with it and chew it up rather than 'eat' it.

6. do their wings really need to be clipped?

They don't need their wings clipped, but their are advantages to it (as well as disadvantages). It really is a personally choice. Definitely worth weighing up the pro's and con's before deciding.

And if you do decide to get their wings clipped, make sure it is done by someone with both the knowledge and experience on how to do it properly, such as a vet.

7. how often should the cage be cleaned?

I do 'daily cleaning' which involves removing the veggies, changing water and seed, clean my cage once a week and every month I do a thorough clean out were everything gets a good scrub.

8. if i let them fly around the house, will they come back to the cage?

If you work on taming them (i.e. getting them to 'step up' onto your hand), it might make getting them back into their cage an easier task.

Though if you let them out to fly around, I would assume that eventually they would return for food, water or to roost.

But perhaps start off small and only allow them to fly in one enclosed room.

 

I hope that helped, I answered to the best of my knowledge and from personal experience with my budgies .

Edited March 20, 200817 yr by Bec Sta

i'm all new to birds, so i'm gonna ask a few questions

 

 

1. what do i use to line the bottom of the cage?

 

Paper is fine.

 

2. what kind of food can they eat? i'm getting 2 babies

 

budgie seed, spinach, carrot, corn, bok choi, apples (no seeds), plus selected fruit and veg.

 

3. is buying in bulk better?

for 2 budgies?

 

4. do they really need to have coal? my friend told me they need it to digest properly

 

No. the theory was once that they need shell grit to digest food. Common opinion now says no, they do not need it. They husk the seed they eat before they eat it, therefore it does not need to be ground in their stomach. Girnding is the only reason foreating shell grit or coal. Since they husk, it is not needed and may be harmful, not helpful.

 

5. what is cuttlebone?

Comes from the cuttlefish. It is like bone for the cuttlefish. It is a great source of calcium and birds will love to nibble. Also good for beaks to keep them trim.

 

6. do their wings really need to be clipped?

No, however m,any people get their wings clipped when they are young as it allows them to be trainmed more easily.

 

 

7. how often should the cage be cleaned?

Every week as a minimum.

 

8. if i let them fly around the house, will they come back to the cage?:

You train them to step up to your finger, then you take them and put them in the cage. Some people have trained their birds to return to the cage on command.

 

 

 

well this list is long

Edited March 20, 200817 yr by KAZ

thankyou it does help alot. what is millet?

1. what do i use to line the bottom of the cage?

 

newspaper

 

2. what kind of food can they eat? i'm getting 2 babies

 

mashed boiled egg with grated carrot, finesliced silver beet or spinach, seed mixed through. and seed served seperately of course

 

3. is buying in bulk better? for 2 budgies?

 

no point ...with only two it will be fresher bought in smaller packs and more regularly

 

4. do they really need to have coal? my friend told me they need it to digest properly

 

NO...old school of thought and a show breeder recommendation...no grit and no charcoal. Budgies husk their own seeds. Grit is designed for birds that do not husk their own seeds. You will get conflicting info on this. BUT baby budgies have had crop impaction and died from eating grit put on base of cages

 

5. what is cuttlebone?

A source of calcium more often than not played with than ingested. Too much emphasis is placed on cuttlebone. Better is a water soluable calcium.

 

6. do their wings really need to be clipped?

 

NO but others will recommend for the training period only and let regrow. PLEASE do not clip wings before they have learnt to fly.

 

7. how often should the cage be cleaned?

once or twice a week depending on how messy they are

 

8. if i let them fly around the house, will they come back to the cage?

 

with training YES

Edited March 20, 200817 yr by KAZ

Millet seed (or sometimes it's called millet spray) is a treat given to budgies, and other birds awsell .

 

It looks like this *Click Here*

 

I buy it from pet/bird shops or sometimes from the supermarket.

Millet seed (or sometimes it's called millet spray) is a treat given to budgies, and other birds awsell .

 

It looks like this *Click Here*

 

I buy it from pet/bird shops or sometimes from the supermarket.

 

 

you learn something new everyday i've seen it at pet shops and didn't know what it was for.

Hi

these are the ones I could answer:

 

1. what do i use to line the bottom of the cage?

 

I use 'scrap paper' just paper that we don't need anymore

 

6. do their wings really need to be clipped?

 

NO

7. how often should the cage be cleaned?

once a week

8. if i let them fly around the house, will they come back to the cage?

 

If you train them

 

Have fun

well everyone has answered your questions so I'll just say enjoy your new budgies.

Looks like you've gotten heaps of good advice about your new budgies. I'll join in and say enjoy them Oh and make sure you post pictures and keep us updated when you get them!

Edited March 20, 200817 yr by Chrysocome

this thread will be very long since i have more questions

 

 

do budgies have names? like for guinea pigs or cavies the females are called sows and the males are called boars.

 

when the female lays her eggs, how long does it take for it to hatch?

 

does she lay a few eggs or 1 at a time?

 

are the babies born at the same time? what i mean is do the eggs all hatch at the same time?

 

what are baby budgies called?

Edited March 22, 200817 yr by Keisha

this thread will be very long since i have more questions

 

 

do budgies have names? like for guinea pigs or cavies the females are called sows and the males are called boars.

 

Female = Hen, Male = cock

 

when the female lays her eggs, how long does it take for it to hatch?

 

the average is 18 days... but it depends on the incubation period too

 

does she lay a few eggs or 1 at a time?

 

One egg every 2 days

 

are the babies born at the same time? what i mean is do the eggs all hatch at the same time?

each chick will hatch at least on day apart

 

what are baby budgies called?

 

Chicks

 

 

Hope that helps

thanks liv

 

I line my budgie/bird cages with either stationary paper on sale (get it in caselot) or stuff I can get from a publishing place for free which they have messed up on. I put down a layer of paper towel and then the real paper.

 

Fresh food , water and paper every day. Sometimes I miss a day with vegetables(fruit) but they get it at least every other day or more. Millet once a week plus usually treat/special food with pellets every day.

 

Cage bottoms get scrubbed twice weekly, whole cage in shower where everything gets scrubbed every two to three weeks.

 

Seems to work okay for my situation, now onto the guinea pigs, etc................

1. what do i use to line the bottom of the cage?

 

newspaper/ Scap paper ....

 

2. what kind of food can they eat? i'm getting 2 babies

 

AGREE WITH KAZ softer food ( Fruit and Veg) for bubs always use seperate containers for their SEEDS and F& V

 

3. is buying in bulk better? for 2 budgies?

 

Yes it is Cheaper However Not fresher

 

4. do they really need to have coal? my friend told me they need it to digest properly

 

No must be talking about Grit ..... I don't use it only in my breeders

 

5. what is cuttlebone? White Long thing:blush:

 

6. do their wings really need to be clipped?

 

NO LET BABIES LEARN TO FLY ..... If you are wanting to train then Yeah clip them

 

7. how often should the cage be cleaned?

once a week INCLUDE FOOD DISHES TOO

 

8. if i let them fly around the house, will they come back to the cage?

 

TRAIN FIRST

Am I the only one that calls baby biudgies 'budgets'? Although I try not to say it around my mum, it stresses her out!

Am I the only one that calls baby biudgies 'budgets'? Although I try not to say it around my mum, it stresses her out!

I call my babies...chickens

and yet some more questions :glare:

 

is it true that you can put a male and female together and they won't breed? my friend said that you need a nest box and if you don't have one they won't mate

and another

 

what is better getting 1 or 2 budgies? if i got just 1 will it be lonely?

:ygbudgie: Sometimes a male and female will mate WITHOUT a nestbox so better to get same sex pairs. If you are away a good part of the day, better to get two budgies. Get them one at a time so you can train them. Wait until the first one is fully trained and then get the other one and train them in quarantine. Again, if you are home a lot and there is a lot of interaction, one budgie can be very happy. :ygbudgie:

thankyou Phoebe i think having just 1 female budgie will be fine since i am home alot. and then i can train her

Having 2 budgies of opposite sex is fine

Budgies will have recreational budgie sex anytime... It dosent mean they will produce eggs etc... They should only mate to produce eggs if they have found a nesting site.

It is okay to only have 1 budgie if you have the time to spend with it and bond they do very well. Merlin is an awesome single bird. If you find you are gone a lot during the day and evening then a 2nd budgie would be good but if you wnat to keep them tame you need to work with them especially if you want to be included in the flock.

 

Side note, who is breeding the budgies you told me about? You said they look like Merlin.

It is okay to only have 1 budgie if you have the time to spend with it and bond they do very well. Merlin is an awesome single bird. If you find you are gone a lot during the day and evening then a 2nd budgie would be good but if you wnat to keep them tame you need to work with them especially if you want to be included in the flock.

 

Side note, who is breeding the budgies you told me about? You said they look like Merlin.

 

 

my friend karen has breed jack and jill a few times and so far there are 5 eggs.

 

now i have another question

 

do the males talk more than the females? my friend says jack talks more than jill