Poll results: when do your budgies like to fly around?

Conclusion: budgies naturally are "morning persons"! After a long night's sleep, they feel rested and ready to start the day. Budgies in the wild start their day at sunrise and go to bed when darkness falls over the lands. I recognize this pattern in a lot of domesticated budgies, including my own. Well, that's a good thing, because the early bird catches the worm, as they say!

Photo © liam.jon_d on Flickr

If your budgie is more like an "evening person", it could simply be because you are too! Did you know that budgies do their best to adapt to your sleeping rhythm? When you are keeping them awake all night, they have to catch up during the day, while most budgies would be flying around. Keep in mind that budgies need 10-12 hours of sleep every night.

Can budgies and rats live in the same household?

A couple of days ago, one of my collegues asked me if I could babysit her two rats while she's on holidays. I told her that it shouldn't be a problem. However, I read some scary stuff online about rats attacking, killing and eating budgies. What?!

No matter how tame some pet rats are, they will always act on their instinct. Apparently there have been quite a few incidents where rats bite budgies through the cage bars. Their nose and teeth are narrow enough to bite off toes, etc. This kind of wound causes serious infections and might result in death. It is also said that rats will attack pretty much any small critters. Other sources claim that rats aren't known for killing birds, just for eating their eggs.

Photo © World in my eyes

A few people claim that it's safe, as long as you don't leave them alone, or if you just keep the rats in the cage. The picture above is really sweet, but it's naive to think that rats will not attack the budgies. So if the rats and the budgies are out together that week, it will be under strict supervision by me and Erlend.

Answer: sadly no, unless you are there to keep an eye on the rats while they are out of the cage.

Other posts in this series:
Can budgerigars and cats live together?
Can budgerigars and canaries live together?
Can budgerigars and lovebirds live together?
Can budgerigars and cockatiels love together?

How many budgies in one cage?

Erlend and I have been discussing this subject more than once. The measurements of our cage are: 48 x 30 x 49 cm, so there's not that much room.

Still, it's a quality cage because all the bars are horizontal (which is good for the budgies' feet) and there's more horizontal than vertical space (which is good because budgies fly horizontally, not vertically). The budgies get a few hours of free flight per day, so they mostly use the cage for sleeping and eating. I could perhaps put an extra perch in the lower part of the cage, to provide room for 1-2 more budgies.

Photo © Lishea.com

Taking all these things into consideration, I think that our cage would hold maximum five budgerigars.
I want to give Isla the chance to breed once she's ready for it, so maybe we will need a bigger cage. But for now, let's try with the one we have.

You have to have a good look in the pet store if you want a decent cage. Avoid cages that look tall and that have a lot of vertical bars. I'm not saying that the cage in the picture above is a bad cage, but in fact, it's just as roomy as my cage, because it's the horizontal space that counts. On top of that, the vertical bars make it difficult for them to climb.

Bless you!

It's that time of the year again: cold and flu season has arrived in Belgium! Alas, I'm one of the unlucky ones.

Budgies are more vulnerable to cold and flu bugs than humans. Budgies can seriously suffer from what humans describe as a simple cold. Be extra careful when you have the flu, that can actually kill them when they are left untreated, or when their resistance is low.

Photo © imarocket-man

Stop your sniffling! How do I protect my budgies?

Rule 1: give them the right food

Let them eat their way to health during the Winter, with the right food and supplements

• brocolli and oranges strengthens their immune system
• a mineral block is also high on the list
• millet is also an immune-boosting snack. Use it wisely and don't overfeed them!
• daily vitamin supply to drinking water

Rule 2: keep your hand in front of your mouth

If possible, ask a healthy person to take care of the budgies for you. A veterinary once told me that a lot of budgies catch an illness through hand contact from humans. In any case, you always have to wash your hands with antibacterial soap before you handle the budgies. It's a good habit and reduces the chances of passing on your germs to the birds. Also keep your hand in front of your mouth if you have a cold, don't come too close to them unless you have to (don't touch them with your mouth) and don't sneeze or cough on them!

I know it's tough to keep a distance from your birds, but you have to do it for their sake. 

Photo © throughmycameraseyes

Rule 3: warm, cozy home

Budgies hate to be in a cold, moist climate. They thrive much better in warm and dry places. That's why I recommend you to keep them in a sufficiently warm room during day and night. You can also buy an Avian Sun, which is a lot like a UV-lamp, but for birds. It partially makes up for the absence of sunlight and vitamin D during the Winter.

When are budgies ready to breed? (2)

When budgies are older than one year, it is considered safe for them to become parents. Apart from knowing their age, you should also keep a close eye on their health.

Food regurgitation is a part of the mating ritual among budgerigars. Image © allaboutbudgies.com

In order to have a successful first nest, both the father and the mother bird need to be in tip top health. You have to make sure that there are none of the most common signs of illness:

• sitting puffed up continually
• discharge present on feathers above nostrils
• lethargy, quietness, listlessness
• vomiting or diarrhoea
• inability to balance
• accumulated poop on vent feathers
• itching all over, scaly face or legs; this may indicate mites

Female budgie in breeding condition. Photo © the Talk Budgies forum

If you're not completely sure, you can still take the birds to your vet to get a checkup.When both of your budgies are perfectly healthy, the breeding conditions are already favourable. There also has to be a strong bond between both budgies (not all budgies like each other!). Last but not least, you can sometimes tell from your budgies' ceres when they are in breeding condition. Females will mostly have a dark brown cere (or turning brown) while the males will have an even to deep blue cere.

Budgie Body Language (8)

Why is my budgie constantly yawning?

Photo © Heidi DS on Flickr

Frodo got me scared for a moment tonight. I noticed he was yawning, not once, not twice, but he just kept on yawning!

When a budgie yawns, you'll see his little beak open up wide, his neck stretch and his eyes close. Budgies usually yawn when they get sleepy, right before their nap or bed time. When your budgie yawns repeatedly, it could indicate one of the following things:

• lack of oxygen
• they need to get something loose, like when you are popping your ears
• they need to adjust their crop, because some of the seeds didn't go down properly
• there could be something stuck in their throat, like a seed shell or a small feather (nothing dangerous)

By the time I finished reading this online, Frodo had stopped yawning. We always ventilate our appartment well, so it couldn't have been a lack of oxygen in the room. I was so scared Frodo was choking on something, even though he looked very relaxed. So my guess is that he was doing one of the other things.



In extreme cases (if your budgie really doesn't stop yawning, or if he seems to be choking), don't hesitate to call the vet immediately, or just take the car and drive there! Budgies are in many ways like little children, they can't tell you what's wrong. That's why you always have to keep an extra pair of eyes on them.

Previous posts in this series:
Body Language of a sleeping budgie
Body Language of a preening budgie (Budgie Body Language 1)
Budgie Body Language (2)
Budgie Body Language (3)
Budgie Body Language (4)  
Budgie Body Language (5) 
Budgie Body Language (6)
Budgie Body Language (7)

Indian Summer

What's the weather like in your country?

We're having great weather for the time of the year, so I decided to let the budgies sunbathe a little bit as well. They were very excited outside, but they really enjoyed being there. Don't forget that vitamin D3 (what you get from the sunlight) is very good for them!

Blood loss / First aid for birds

Here is one scary fact about budgies:

A budgie can only withstand the loss of 20 percent of its blood, which equals 12 drops.

So in case your budgie gets hurt, you first have to stop the bleeding. Then, hurry to the closest vet for treatment. You really can't wait long with this.

Photo © The Budgie Cage

If you have time, please also visit this website. I'm going to order one of these books today so I can learn more about first aid for birds.

Most accidents with budgies happen because they get hurt during free flight or because they are hooked up with the wrong kind of animals/birds. Some people who clip their budgie's wings have also been responsible for grave accidents.

Please think twice before you submit your budgie to such a risk.

Hunger strike?

I've been reading quite a few stories about budgies who refuse to eat when they are brought into a new home. So, I knew what to expect when I bought Frodo and Isla. They immediately flew up on to the highest perch and remained there for the rest of the evening.

Of course I was worried because they didn't touch the food. Budgies can only last a little more than two days without food. So what did I do? I hung some millet in the cage, where they could easily reach it. I can tell you it helped; we have seen some massive millet-nomming today!

Image © Canikeepit.typepad.com

Also, the budgies seem much more relaxed. It's amazing how fast they adapt. They are still young and I won't give them away: I'll make sure they have a long and happy life with us. The good news is that they already allow us very close to them, without being scared of us. My guess is that it will take less than a month before they are tame and can fly like little helicopters through the house :-)

Welcome home, Frodo and Isla

Today was another big day for us: we bought our first two budgies!

Click to view full size

Frodo (on the left) doesn't seem to be one of the most common types. I think he might have a grey factor, but he's also leaning towards violet. Isla (on the right) is almost certainly a dark-eyed clear.

The budgies are now sleeping peacefully after an exhausting first day. You know the first day is always a bit scary for new budgies, because they need time to get used to their new environment.

I was glad to hear both of them grind their beak at night, though... I think we've got two happy budgies here :)

Fresh air is a must, but is it safe?

How safe is it really to ventilate the room, when you have budgies in it?

We know that budgies thrive best in a warm and dry climate. We also know they are susceptible to drafts, especially during the cold seasons.

On the other hand, budgies get ill from living in cold, humid or musky places that never get any fresh air. So what should be done?

Image © Feathered Babies

You could move the budgie cage to another room and put it back after the other room has been ventilated. If you think it's too much work to move the budgie, you should definitely keep the room temperature at minimum 20°C (or even warmer) while you ventilate it. Of course, it is much safer during a warm Summer day. Then you can even keep your budgies outside for a little while.

Also, never ventilate the room when your budgie just took a bath! Wet feathers and a draft is a bad combination! Think of all those little kids who get a nasty cold from walking outside with wet hair...

Budgies on an airplane?

One thing I was wondering about while being on the plane is whether a budgerigar would be capable of making the same trip as me. Would the air pressure be too much for them? Would it be too cold for them in the cargo room? Would they actually survive a journey by plane?

Transporting any kind of small animal on a plane is dangerous and stressful. Apparently it's not cheap either, and some airlines just don't allow it. Each airline may have a different policy on birds, so you have to contact them about this in any case. Another problem is that budgies are indeed sensitive to drafts and cold air. The place where they store animals is chilly, the outside air at 30.000 feet can be as cold as -55°C (-67F). People who operate the animal care room often don't know so much about a small bird's health, as most animals travelling are dogs and cats. You don't know how rough your budgies will be handled once they are out of your hands.

Photo © Talk Budgies Forums

How do budgies judge air pressure? No scientist knows the answer to this, but the pressure is apparently not the biggest problem because budgies have survived airplane trips before. One guess is that budgies can detect the pressure through their inner ear. Another possibility is that budgies detect changes in altitude through the air sacs that connect to their lungs. Still, I don't think it can be good for them.

There is another way to take budgies on an airplane: if you are lucky, you can keep them with you in the cabin where you can be with them all the time. If your airline accepts this, you better make an early reservation. There might be people on board who report being allergic to birds. Some airlines only allow one animal per cabin during flight. 
It's also a good idea to get a certificate of health from your veterinarian, to prove that your budgie is healthy to make the trip. They don't always check it, but it's good to have it with you just in case. 
You also need to buy a special transport cage for your bird. It should be small enough to fit under your seat or on your lap. Make sure the bars are close enough to each other so your budgie can't escape. 

I hope one day there will be special airplanes for budgies. Image © freakingnews.com

On the day of departure, you need to provide food and water in the transport cage (budgie carrier). You can put some fresh vegetables in the cage so there is no risk of dehydration. 
Bring a towel or a cloth, to cover the budgie cage if your bird is travelling with cargo, or in the cabin if there is a lot of commotion around you. It's important to keep your budgie calm, because the journey will be hard for him, much harder than for anyone else in the airplane. You can also use the cloth to wipe up spills if necessary. 
In case of emergency - I hope this never happens to anyone - when your budgie gets wounded during flight, you have to stop the bleeding! Bring some cotton balls just in case. It's extremely dangerous for a budgie to lose blood (I'll come back to this in one of my next posts) so please keep an eye on your bird during the flight. 

Personally, I would not take my birds on an airplane, unless it was the only option. Even then I think it would be a bad idea because I think all the stress could be too much for budgies. But it's up to you to rule out the goods and the bads about this mode of transport. I have no statistics on the survival chances of budgerigars on board of an airplane. If you decide to do this, then please do whatever you can to make sure your budgie has a safe and smooth flight.

Budgie Whistling

Whistling match

Budgies love whistling and chirping; it shows that they're in a good mood. Budgies are social birds and love to communicate with each other, but also with you! It can be a fun bonding experience to teach your budgie a few tunes. It's a good way to make them used to you. They might learn some of the tunes very quickly and start whistling them for you when you come home!

Image © fermer02.ru

Using repetition is a good way to teach your budgie whistling tunes. You can do it each time you walk past the cage and make a little game out of it with your budgie, a "whistling match".

Singing reflection in the mirror

Budgies get attached to their family and flock mates, but when they are held in captivity, they absolutely value any sign of a living budgie. That is why budgies are attracted to their mirror image. The end result of this attachment is usually a series of excited chirping and dancing around the mirror. Just like they like to play whistling matches with you, they also like to do it with their fellow budgies.

Image © da-club.ru

There is some concern with mirrors amongst budgie owners. Some believe that your budgie may fall in love with the mirror bird and never form a bond with you. I don't think this can actually happen for real, unless you're only keeping one bird. Budgies desperately need a companion of their own kind and when they don't have it, they will go crazy in front of the mirror. I can imagine that happens, so again, I want to advise every budgie owner to have at least two budgies.

Strange noises

Budgies also tend to pick up the strangest noises: microwave beeps, noises from other animals or machines, your voice saying "good night, my baby" and much more. You would be surprised at what your bird can learn to mimic! So if you hear a funny noise, it could be your budgie talking :)

Whistling or talking?

Image © ca.shine.yahoo.com

Some people believe that if you whistle to your budgies, they will lose the will to talk to you. But this is most probably a myth. In general, budgies only learn to talk when they want to. That means you have to keep them happy. And by whistling, you keep them happy because they really enjoy it, like they enjoy music. So there is nothing wrong with it :)

How do budgies keep cool in the Summer?

We're currently experiencing a heatwave in Belgium, which makes life hard for everyone. Old people, children, everyone's wishing it was Winter again. "How do budgies manage to stay cool?" my fiancé asked me today, so I went to find out.

Image © Triplej Australia

It appears that budgies in general are well adapted to hot climates: they have been surviving in the hottest parts of Australia for millions of years.

But:

Budgies have a higher body temperature than humans (common temperature of 41°C) and a higher metabolic rate. Their body size is quite small, so you would think they absorb the heat very quickly. Budgies spend all their activity during the day so that they really have to control their body heat to keep from overheating!

How can they stay cool?

Physical evolution to withstand the heat in Australia:

• A fast respiration rate (which allows greater heat dissipation through breathing)
• Bare feet, which may sound silly, but it also contributes to heat loss

Otherwise, budgies are very hardy little creatures and basically do the same thing humans do when they try to stay cool:

• Keep their activity level down compared to regular days, when the air is cooler
• Sleep/take naps
• Hide in the trees when it's too warm during the day
• Panting: just like dogs, budgies also pant to dissipate heat
• Bathing, of course, helps to cool their bodies down. It also keeps their feathers clean.
• When a cool breeze provides some relief from the heat, budgies may puff out their feathers or flutter their wings to let the circulating air reach their hot skin.
• Survive, no matter how hot it gets!

Some types of food can quickly go rancid in the Summer. Photo © Kurt Kolar's "Grasparkieten"

You have to take good care of the budgies you keep at home, because they can get really hot during the Summer. Don't keep them right under the roof where the sun burns the hardest. Make sure they have a shelter in the shade, where they can go regularly. Provide them refreshment under the form of a bird bath or make them wet with a plant sprayer. Also make sure they have enough nutritious food and give them some fresh fruit on the side. Don't forget to keep an extra eye out for hygiene, because certain types of food can quickly go rancid in the Summer. These small things will be very much appreciated by your budgies on hot days like this.

Budgies and Showers

Bathing or showering is important to keep your budgie's feathers clean and healthy. Every budgie likes refreshment in a different way: some budgies love the simplicity of a bird bath from the pet store, some budgies like to roll around in wet leaves and some budgies like to have a roomy, shallow plate filled with water.
When it comes to refreshment, they don't make a distinction between drinking water and bathing water; as long as it's clean and fresh! (so make sure to refresh their drinking water if they decide to use this as a bath)

Image © Kurt Kolar's "Grasparkieten"

Some budgies enjoy real showers even more. If they are tame, you can take them to the water tap and let them take a shower. Budgies should be able to bathe or shower any time of the year.

A few simple rules for bath time:

• Room temperature should be around 20°C and there shouldn't be any drafts in the house
• Your budgie must be healthy, not suffering from a cold or illness (in this case, bathing could make it worse)
• Bathing time should be somewhere in between late morning and late afternoon, so that your budgie gets a chance to dry before bedtime
• Do not blowdry your budgie or use a towel, you could hurt your bird with this.

Read more about bathing budgies here:

Bathing time! (Budgies are Awesome)
Bathing Budgies (Birds Online)

Do budgies have nightmares?

Image © katfreak123

All budgies have nightmares. Some budgies have it more frequently or violently than others and it's especially for these budgies that I write this blog post.  

When does this happen?

• Usually between late evening and early morning
• Budgies have poor eyesight in the dark, so they are more alert and get startled by any sudden movement or noise that wakes them from their (near) sleep
• When one budgie wakes up and gets scared, the others will get scared as well

Image © Tailfeathers Network

What are the main reasons?

• They are in a strange world; a budgie who has no one to relate to will more likely get nightmares than budgies who sleep together in a group
• Mite infestation (mites are nocturnal creatures that will bite your budgie while it sleeps. The bites can be painful and create a nasty dream in the bird's head.)
• Poor eyesight in combination with the natural fright of the dark that most animals share
• Lack of sleep or a disturbed sleeping pattern (too many budgies don't get the necessary 12 hours of sleep)
• Naturally high metabolism
• Trauma (for example death of a partner)
• A dark blanket over the cage (your budgie isn't able to see anything and will not feel safe)

What happens when a budgie gets a nightmare?

• Budgie wakes up with a loud squawk
• Budgie is only partially awake and gets disorientated
• Budgie will start flying around in the cage, bumping into the sides (and other budgies)
• In the worst case, your budgie may lose its balance and fall off the perch
• Some factors will only increase their fear (heavy rainfall, thunderstorm and lightning)
• Most nightmares are no more than a little scare and those are quickly over, but the bird will likely still be in shock minutes afterwards (breathing very fast, eyes wide open)

Night terrors are dangerous, as budgies can hurt themselves while fluttering around in the cage.


How can you help your budgie to sleep better?

Image ©blog.superguide.jp

• Add a small night light in the room
• Dont make any sudden movements or loud noises in the dark when you go to bed
• Don't watch any scary/horror movies when they can hear it. If you watch tv late in the evening, I recommend you to keep the volume down in any case.
• Cover their cage for the night, but only with a light, thin blanket.
• Remove the blanket carefully in the morning, don't pull it off briskly
• Put the cage in a quiet room where no cars pass by
• Do NOT put your budgies in the kitchen! There are too many noises there that frighten them.
• Keep your budgies away from cats and dogs in the house, budgies see so poorly in the dark that they won't recognize them and get scared

One more tip I can give you: as an owner, try to stick to a fixed sleeping pattern because your budgie automatically adapts itself to your rhythm. The same, familiar scene every evening will make your budgie sleep better and reduce the number of nightmares.

Budgie Body Language (7)

Does my budgie like to be petted on the head?

Image © pets.webshots.com

Some budgies really like to be touched on their head by humans. But all budgies are different. Some budgies will only let their partner preen them. Some budgies do it to remove dust particles, or stimulate the blood flow in the area of the head, but most budgies do it out of tenderness. If you see a budgie preening another budgie, it means "I love you". If they "preen" your hair, it has the same meaning. You can return the good feeling by rubbing your budgie's head very lightly, sometimes up and down to the neck. You can also rub their belly a little bit, although some budgies don't like that at all. All budgies are different and it also depends on how close the bond with their owner is.

Previous posts in this series:
Body Language of a sleeping budgie
Body Language of a preening budgie (Budgie Body Language 1)
Budgie Body Language (2)
Budgie Body Language (3)
Budgie Body Language (4)  
Budgie Body Language (5) 
Budgie Body Language (6)

Wash your hands

Image © Inetgiant

It's not just a must when one of your budgies has mites, but it also works as a prevention against the spreading of human diseases on budgerigars.

Even if you are not feeling ill, you should wash your hands with warm water + antibacterial soap before and after you are in close contact with your bird. A lot of budgies catch an illness from their owner. A regular cold, for example, can be fatal for a budgie, while we always recover from it.

Lazy afternoon

Have you noticed how your budgie sometimes gets lazy after lunch time, or during a hot Summer afternoon?

Image © zearticles.com

This is normal behaviour. Budgies need a minimum of 12 hours sleep at night and fact is, most budgies don't get this required amount of sleep. They wake up from the morning light, or get woken up when their owner goes to work in the morning. Or they hear may hear a noise at night and sleep badly afterwards. Budgies try to catch up the lost sleep during the day by taking naps.
During hot Summer days, they often doze to save energy.

What you probably didn't know is that budgerigars adapt their sleeping pattern according to that of their owner. You'll often see them taking a nap when other people in the house are quiet :-)
If you decide to stay up late, please consider your budgie's health. Dim the tv noise and make sure it's dark enough so the budgies can sleep well.

Grooming Rituals

Budgies are charming little birds and relatively easy to live with. Given proper care, they will pitch in by taking good care of themselves. A happy, healthy budgie will preen its feathers, bathe, clean its beak and tend to its nails.
Sick budgies will mostly sit around listlessly, without making a sound. Unhappy budgies may go as far as to completely neglect their grooming rituals.

Whether healthy or sick, you have to encourage your little bird to keep grooming itself every day!

Image © Волнистые попугайчики

• Observe your budgie's grooming rituals. You should see it preening its feathers, using oil from a gland back near its tail. Other things they often do is scratching about on the bottom of the cage, and wiping their beak back and forth on the sitting perches. It's a very bad sign if you never see them doing this!

• Place a shallow bowl of lukewarm water in the bottom of the cage or in the bird's living area a couple of times a week so that it can take a bath. Water is life! If your budgie is hesitant about bathing, try putting some leaves of lettuce in the bowl. Budgies love lettuce and will be attracted to the water.

• Provide your budgie something to trim its beak on. Pet-supply stores offer items of this sort that attach to the side of the cage where your budgie can peck and scrape at it with its beak. Your budgie needs to keep its beak in shape so that it can preen its feathers properly.

• Help your budgie with grooming by doing your part! In captivity, budgies are unable to keep their nails filed down sufficiently, so you will have to trim them from time to time. 

Image © ChrystyLande on Flickr

Two other good tips:

• Feed your budgie a healthy diet. Supplement a small seed mix with fresh veggies. Like any other animal, a well-fed bird will better maintain healthy skin and coat.

• Get your budgie a partner. Budgies are highly social birds, and one kept alone or with birds of other species may become depressed and stop caring for itself. If you observe budgie couples, you will notice how much they cuddle and groom eachother. It's very good to have another budgie to groom them, it keeps them happy and helathy!

Source: Ehow.com