Taking care of your pet budgie

The budgie in the pictures is my pet, he is nearly 12 years old and is in very good condition for a bird of its age, he has many names but prefers to be called budgie

I have been breeding and had pet budgies for over 30 years and have found a few basic things will let your budgie live a long happy life

when buying a budgie get it from a breeder or a quality pet store, its best to buy them when there very young, around 12 weeks old is good, try to buy a male as they make the best talkers, males will have a blue coloured sear above their beaks, try to select one that looks blue. females have a dark or caramel colored sear, sometimes its hard to distinguish the colour when their young

check their general condition they should have plenty of energy, check their feet 2 toes point forward 2 toes point back

if you can, try to hold the budgie gently in your hand if it tries to bite you a lot maybe select another one, as biters usually don't make good pets, young budgies that bite can be females as well

get the largest cage you can afford as the budgie will need plenty of room especially when they stretch their wings, remember they spend a lot of time in their cage so a large one is always preferable

change the water in the cage every day and keep the water bowl clean

keep the cage clean. clean it out weekly

feed it quality budgie seed, don't give it bread and other food it cant digest

feed it some apple, grass seeds, celery stalks, broccoli, some like cooked eggs too, they love millet spray or some like bird pellets

provide sand, cuttlebone and shell grit, these help mash up its food and keeps their beak in good condition

vary the perch sizes and only use wood or tree branches, make sure there not toxic as budgie will chew on it

put some sanded perch coverings on a perch to keep their toe nails from getting too sharp, most pet stores sell these

regularly check the budgies keel bone (just above the tummy) make sure its not sharp as this is an indication the bird maybe sick or under fed

check their droppings they should always look the same the white part is the urine and the darker part the faeces, if the droppings look different or watery take the budgie to the vet it may need some medication, if budgie looks sick it probably has been sick for a while, its usually a good idea to take it to the vet asap.

and most of all talk to your budgie every day, play with it put some mirrors and bells in its cage to play with, they get bored when your away and the toys give it something to do

provide a clean smoke free environment for them and don't expose them to cooking smells and other things their little lungs wont like

never leave them in the direct sun if its too hot, put a towel half covering the cage so the budgie can get in the shade if it gets too hot, provide a nice shadey spot away from predators and wind

teaching them to talk is easy just repeat easy to say words like their name, they will mimic sounds they hear often, I had a budgie once that would mimic a dripping tap and the click of a light switch, if they hear sounds often they will repeat the sound

look after budgie they can live a long life if you really care for them, I have had pet budgies that have lived 13-14 years.

they make great talkers and when they chatter they get all the words mixed up, its really funny sometimes to listen to my budgie he has a vocabulary of about 30-40 words and its like he puts all the words in a cup and pulls out 5 or ten at random and says them together, sometimes it makes sense sometimes it doesn't

good luck teaching your budgie to talk they pick up words very fast and provide hours of listening pleasure and are great companions

and most of all treat them like a friend, they love a scratch now and again especially around the side of their faces or tummy and usually like getting on your finger or shoulder, just remember if you let them out of the cage you make sure the doors and windows are closed or they may fly away

They bond very closely with their owners and will consider you their mate, budgie deserves to be treated well, try not to get young male budgies too excited as they can develop bad habits if they get overly excited.

On Friday 26th August 2011 my little buddy lost his battle with a major metabolic change in his body and passed away, towards the end all he wanted was to be close to me, he would sit and sleep on my shoulder or chest, he looked very calm and relaxed doing this.

He was born around 02/10/1999 and passed away 26/08/2011 he was nearly 12 years old and will be remembered always. I have had many budgie's during my life but have never had one like this, one in a million. Goodbye Budgie.

You tube link to Budgie talking and chattering http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=robPpbdzs_s&context=C3bbafe6ADOEgsToPDskJp6ak__fUOhvMbTvCT_9w0

I have a new budgie now his name is Mr Pickles, as with all new budgies they are always very quiet when you bring them home, and can take some time to get used to you and their new surroundings, soon enough they will start to chirp and usually within a few months become used to things and start to listen to you and start to talk, be patient it wont be long before they are settled in their new home and start to bond with their new owner

I have had Pickles a few years now and he has learnt many words, he is very tame and spends most of the time out of his cage, he loves to listen to the radio when I'm not around and amuses himself with the toys I have provided

Good luck with your new budgie, I hope I have given you some ideas to help you to take care of your budgie