Budgies are popular in the US

According to statistics from the American Pet Product Manufacturers Assn, 45% of pet birds kept in the US are budgies! 

There are roughly 370 known species of parrot and many of them can be kept as pet birds. These tiny, clever budgies are stealing more hearts every year!

Photo © fairywren on tumblr

Budgies talk back

Photo © snollygosters

One of the reasons why budgies make great pets, is because they talk back to you. If you take the time to talk and communicate with your budgerigar, you will soon find your feathered friend chatting back to you. If you have a good bond with your budgies, you will notice that they can be really attentive, because they're so eager to learn your language!

"Out There" (budgies vs. parrots)

Budgies are in fact tiny parrots. Just like parrots, they have the gift of speech, and they have a lot of other, amazing things to offer you. Sadly, many people do not perceive budgies as "true parrots" due to their price and size. The budgies I bought in the store last week were only 12,5 EUR! To me, they're of course invaluable.

Image © George on Toonpool.com

Budgies are often underrated as pets. But they guarantee you some advantages:

• lower noise level
• less cleaning to do
• smaller beak (if a parrot bites you, it hurts, but budgies mostly just nibble on you)
• no damage to your household items

As mentioned above, budgies are extremely gifted in the talking department. They can easily pick up large vocabularies. One budgerigar named Puck mastered about 2,000 words! Budgies have a deep, whispering voice. They don't speak loudly, but you can understand them well. Budgies also come in an extremely wide variation of colors and mutations. The exact number of this is unknown, but it's estimated to be over a million.

Go to a pet store, save a budgerigar

Something I have been wondering about for a long time:

What exactly happens to budgies that don't get sold in the pet store?

Budgies that are sold on a market are likely to suffer the same fate. Image © canadiancarlsons.com

Reasonable pet stores

Luckily, in most pet stores ALL the budgies are kept until they are sold (or so they say).
Adult budgies as well as baby budgies get sold quite rapidly, but the demand for young birds is still the highest.

Horrible pet stores

The less scrupulous ones may neglect the budgies that don't sell, waiting for them to fall ill, then ship them back in crates with dying or dead budgies, back to the supplier for a refund. Or, the older, weaker budgies may end up as free snake or reptile food. There are actually pet stores who worked with this "system". Budgies with problems sometimes go back to the breeder they came from - the breeder will most likely end their life because those budgies are "useless" to them. Some budgies are just kept in the display aviary for the rest of their life. Very, very boring.

But, do we really know?

Go to any pet store in town and ask the owner this question. Will they tell you the truth?
How much do they really care about these little birds?

One of the local pet stores here sold us a baby budgie with only half a wing, because they had clipped it too far. I think it's a scandal. The poor budgie is living at our home now, but he will never be able to fly. I don't know what would have happened if we had left him in the pet store.
So if you care for budgies, you might want to go to the pet store and buy a pair to make sure they are in good hands.

Top 5 Companion Birds

In case you want a feathered and singing companion in the house, consider the top 5 popular pet birds to start. These 5 pet bird species are the most popular among bird lovers who are after colorful, entertaining, happy birds that are easy to keep. Some of these birds are also suitable for children.

5. AFRICAN GREY

Image © parrot-training.com

The African Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus), also known as the Grey Parrot, is a medium-sized parrot found in the primary and secondary rainforest of West and Central Africa. Experts regard it as one of the most intelligent birds. Their overall gentle nature and their ability to mimic speech have made them popular pets all over the world.

4. LOVEBIRD

Image ©Wikipedia

A Lovebird is one of nine species of the genus Agapornis (Greek: αγάπη agape 'love'; όρνις ornis 'bird'). Their name stems from the parrots' strong, monogamous pair bonding and the long periods in which paired birds will spend sitting together. Although small, they’re intelligent and very fun to watch. They’re not too noisy like other birds, so they’re ideal as pet birds in apartment or small house. Lovebirds are very colorful and they possess the same personality as their larger cousins, the macaws.


3. FINCH / CANARY

Image © cutehomepets.com

Image ©Wikipedia

With most varieties measuring 5 inches or less, finches (Fringillidae) and canaries (Serinus canaria) require less space than most other bird species. These little birds thrive in small flocks, and generally pay little attention to humans. This makes them perfect pets for those who love to watch birds, but would like a pet that requires minimal interaction. A healthy finch or canary can live for up to 10 years.

2. COCKATIEL*

Image © palbes.com

 The Cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus), also known as the Quarrion and the Weiro, is the smallest cockatoo endemic to Australia. They are prized as a household pet and companion parrot throughout the world and are relatively easy to breed. Cockatiels love to imitate all sounds from cat meows to telephone ringing. As a caged bird, cockatiels are second in popularity only to the...

1. BUDGERIGAR

Image © geekadelphia.com

The budgerigar makes a wondeful pet for children or those who are new to keeping birds. These hardy little jewels come in an array of beautiful colors, and require less space and maintenance than larger bird species. They are quite intelligent in spite of their small size, and while most are content to whistle and sing, some have been known to learn a more than just a word or two. Average life expectancy is 12 to 14 years.

* Some sources claim that lovebirds are the rightful owner of the second place. Whether this is true or not, is up for discussion.

Source: Wikipedia, birds.about.com, cutehomepets.com

"Budgie" in different languages

We all know our little feathered friends by the common names budgerigar, budgie, grass parakeet, shell parakeet or just keet.

Do you know how people call budgerigars in other parts of the world?

Enjoy!


Alemannic German: Wällesittich

Arabic: الطائر الطيب

Basque: Perikito

Belarusian: Хвалісты папугай

Bulgarian: Вълнист папагал

Catalan: Periquito

Chinese: 虎皮鸚鵡

Croatian: Tigrica

Czech: Andulka vlnkovaná

Dansk: Undulat

Dutch: Grasparkiet

Finnish: Undulaatti

Flemish: Grasparkiet

French: Perruche Ondulée

German: Wellensittich

Hebrew: תוכון

Hungarian: Hullámos papagáj

Ido: Perucho

Italian: Melopsittacus

Japanese: セキセイインコ
Korean: 사랑앵무

Lithuanian: Banguotoji papūgėlė
Navajo Language: Tsídii yáłtiʼí yázhí

Norwegian: Undulat

Persian: مرغ عشق

Polish: Papużka falista

Portuguese: Periquito-australiano

Romanian: Peruş

Russian: Волнистый попугайчик

Sami Language: Unduláhtta

Scottish Gaelic: Buidsidh

Slovak: Papagájec/Andulka

Slovenian: Papagájec

Swedish: Undulat

Tagalog: Melopsittacus Undulatus / Budgerigar

Telugu: మెలోప్సిట్టాసిని
Turkish: Muhabbet kuşu

Ukrainian: Хвилястий папужка

Urdu: بجریگر

If you know their name in even more languages, please let me know! Thanks!

Happy twittering

Budgies love attention, and if you're a chatterbox yourself they will like it even more. The more you talk to your budgies, the more devoted they become to you. Sometimes, you might even hear a flute concerto when they see you! A budgie is a social bird, and when there are lots of them together, they will all be twittering cheerfully together.


They are also likely to make a funny little noise when they see you approach with delicious food (like a juicy applepiece) and if you give it to them, they might make the same little noise every time you do that ^^

Budgie Breakfast Recipes

Wild budgies barely eat anything else than grass seeds, but for a pet budgie it's best that you supply their diet of seeds with food such as fresh fruit or vegetables, pasta, bread and minerals. It's all good for humans too!

I found some budgie breakfast recipes to give your budgie a great start of the day:

Sweet Potato French Toast

2 eggs
1/2 jar sweet potato baby food
4 slices whole wheat bread

1. Mix eggs and sweet potatoes together
2. Dip bread into mixture and cook in a frying pan til both sides are golden brown
3. Cut bread in small pieces and sprinkle sliced almonds on top. Mmmmm.

Birdie Waffles

Waffle battergrated apples
carrots
broccoli
veggies + fruit of choice

Mix everything together and freeze in for later, or pop in toaster for breakfast!

Eight Grain Cereal

1 part oats
1 part brown rice
1 part corn
1 part soybeans
1 part hulled millet
1 part barley
1 part sunflower
1 part flaxseed

Mix the grains together.
Heat three cups boiling water and add one cup for the mixture.
Cook the mixture til consistency of oatmeal.
Sprinkle avian vitamins over cereal to make it extra good for your budgies.

(photo: parakeetcare.com)

More recipes on Budgie Recipe Cookbook!