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!

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.

Do female budgies sing?

Just like male budgies, female budgies do dance, sing and bond with their mate. My Isla sometimes sings in the evening, when she's relaxed. Female budgies sing less than males, but their songs are no less important. In fact, songs mean a lot to budgies. It's part of how they communicate, part of their history and part of who they are.

Photo © sakurabana

A little love lesson for all male budgies: a female budgerigar is likely to choose a mate that sounds a little bit like herself. Go on and impress them! :)

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)