Post by Budgiebonkers on Nov 19, 2013 23:45:40 GMT
Physical Health - Of course you care about your budgie's well-being, so one of your main priorities as a budgie-owner is your budgie's physical health.
Establishing Your Budgie's Health - In general you can tell that budgies are healthy by looking at them and watching their behavior. A healthy budgie will be well-feathered (unless he is molting at the time) and clean and free of any stains above the nostrils and around the vent. He/she will also have eyes, nostrils, and face clear of build-up or mucus and a smooth, well-shaped, clean beak. A healthy budgie will be active when the flock is active, and will be interactive with the flock (whether it be other budgies or people).
To start out things on the right track, when you first get your new budgie you should schedule a check-up with your avian veterinarian. You can use http/aav.org/search/index.php to help you look up an avian vet in your area. This will allow you to get to know your local avian vet, to establish a history for your bird with this vet, and to get any questions answered and helpful advice from a real expert. At your first check up, your avian vet will be able to establish that your budgie is in overall good health, and will keep a record so that you can monitor his/her health and progress over the years. You should take your budgie in for a check-up about once a year.
Once you've established that your budgie is healthy, from day to day you should spend time watching your budgie and learning what behavior, activity level, and eating habits are normal for him/her. This way you will be able to identify any changes, even subtle ones, that could indicate an illness or problem.
Maintaining Your Budgie's Health - The most important thing to your budgie's health is a healthy diet. Budgies also need exercise and activity to stay healthy. Your budgie's cage should be big enough to allow your budgie plenty of freedom of movement and room to flap around. The best cage size for your budgie will allow him/her to fly from one perch to another. To ensure that your budgie is getting enough exercise, take your budgie(s) out of the cage once a day to allow them some time to fly and run about. Just be sure that you've established that the area/room is bird-safe.
To avoid illness, be sure to maintain your budgie's cage by cleaning out the liner often and keeping the perches and accessories clean. Also be sure to provide fresh, clean water every day.
Mental Health -
A budgie's mental health is just as important as his or her physical health to happiness and well-being. There are many aspects to a budgie's mental health, but as long as you are a dedicated and educated budgie care-giver, you and your budgie(s) should have no worries.
Flock Mentality - Budgies are flock creatures. This is one of their most defining aspects. Budgies need to be part of a flock and it is cruel to keep a budgie lonely and isolated. It is perfectly fine to keep only one budgie as long as you plan on taming him (or her) and you and your family can interact with him/her every day. In this case, you and your family will become your budgie's flock, and he or she will form a very close bond with you. If you have a male budgie, he is likely (but not guaranteed) to learn to talk in this situation. Your budgie will become a beloved household pet. However, if you and your family do not plan on keeping a tame budgie and do not plan on interaction with the bird(s), you must keep at least two together. You can keep any combination of males and females together, but I recommend at least 50% males. The budgies will become a flock and will interact, chirp, and sing together. They will be enjoyable to watch and to have around. But no matter what, a budgie should never be kept alone and isolated without interaction from it's flock (whether it be it's human flock or budgie flock) on a permanent basis.
The Cage - The budgie's cage is it's home, shelter, and safe place. The cage should be an appropriate size for the number of budgies kept in it. Unfortunately, pet stores often sell cages that are too small for any bird to be kept in on a permanent basis, so be sure to click here to learn about cage sizes for budgies. An appropriately sized cage should allow the budgie plenty of freedom of movement and room to flap it's wings. Try not to impede on this by over-cluttering the cage with toys or other items. The cage, perches, and accessories should always be kept clean. Don't position the cage directly in front of a window, or near any drafts (i.e. drafty doors and windows, heating and A/C vents, etc). Also don't place the cage where any positionable lamp/light fixture would be pointing directly at the cage. If at any time your budgie appears to become nervous because of something going on in the house (i.e. movers moving furniture, turned on ceiling fan, etc), cover part or all of the cage until the commotion is over. At night, cover the cage for security and keep a night-light on.
Toys - Budgies are curious, inquisitive, playful creatures. They need to be provided with toys to keep them mentally stimulated. Budgies love bells, rings, beads, swings, and chew toys. I recommend buying several basic toys, the simplest ones sold at the pet store, and then buying one or two fancy expensive ones. You don't need to have all the toys in the cage at once. In fact, I recommend only keeping two or three in the cage at a time, and switching them out every week or two. See my FAQ article, "What Are Some Favorite Budgie Toys?" for more detailed information on budgie toys.
The one type of toy I recommend avoiding is any toy with a mirror. Budgies can sometimes develop an unhealthy obsession with the "other" bird in the mirror, which can cause problems with tame budgies as well as fighting and possessiveness among budgies kept together.
Establishing Your Budgie's Health - In general you can tell that budgies are healthy by looking at them and watching their behavior. A healthy budgie will be well-feathered (unless he is molting at the time) and clean and free of any stains above the nostrils and around the vent. He/she will also have eyes, nostrils, and face clear of build-up or mucus and a smooth, well-shaped, clean beak. A healthy budgie will be active when the flock is active, and will be interactive with the flock (whether it be other budgies or people).
To start out things on the right track, when you first get your new budgie you should schedule a check-up with your avian veterinarian. You can use http/aav.org/search/index.php to help you look up an avian vet in your area. This will allow you to get to know your local avian vet, to establish a history for your bird with this vet, and to get any questions answered and helpful advice from a real expert. At your first check up, your avian vet will be able to establish that your budgie is in overall good health, and will keep a record so that you can monitor his/her health and progress over the years. You should take your budgie in for a check-up about once a year.
Once you've established that your budgie is healthy, from day to day you should spend time watching your budgie and learning what behavior, activity level, and eating habits are normal for him/her. This way you will be able to identify any changes, even subtle ones, that could indicate an illness or problem.
Maintaining Your Budgie's Health - The most important thing to your budgie's health is a healthy diet. Budgies also need exercise and activity to stay healthy. Your budgie's cage should be big enough to allow your budgie plenty of freedom of movement and room to flap around. The best cage size for your budgie will allow him/her to fly from one perch to another. To ensure that your budgie is getting enough exercise, take your budgie(s) out of the cage once a day to allow them some time to fly and run about. Just be sure that you've established that the area/room is bird-safe.
To avoid illness, be sure to maintain your budgie's cage by cleaning out the liner often and keeping the perches and accessories clean. Also be sure to provide fresh, clean water every day.
Mental Health -
A budgie's mental health is just as important as his or her physical health to happiness and well-being. There are many aspects to a budgie's mental health, but as long as you are a dedicated and educated budgie care-giver, you and your budgie(s) should have no worries.
Flock Mentality - Budgies are flock creatures. This is one of their most defining aspects. Budgies need to be part of a flock and it is cruel to keep a budgie lonely and isolated. It is perfectly fine to keep only one budgie as long as you plan on taming him (or her) and you and your family can interact with him/her every day. In this case, you and your family will become your budgie's flock, and he or she will form a very close bond with you. If you have a male budgie, he is likely (but not guaranteed) to learn to talk in this situation. Your budgie will become a beloved household pet. However, if you and your family do not plan on keeping a tame budgie and do not plan on interaction with the bird(s), you must keep at least two together. You can keep any combination of males and females together, but I recommend at least 50% males. The budgies will become a flock and will interact, chirp, and sing together. They will be enjoyable to watch and to have around. But no matter what, a budgie should never be kept alone and isolated without interaction from it's flock (whether it be it's human flock or budgie flock) on a permanent basis.
The Cage - The budgie's cage is it's home, shelter, and safe place. The cage should be an appropriate size for the number of budgies kept in it. Unfortunately, pet stores often sell cages that are too small for any bird to be kept in on a permanent basis, so be sure to click here to learn about cage sizes for budgies. An appropriately sized cage should allow the budgie plenty of freedom of movement and room to flap it's wings. Try not to impede on this by over-cluttering the cage with toys or other items. The cage, perches, and accessories should always be kept clean. Don't position the cage directly in front of a window, or near any drafts (i.e. drafty doors and windows, heating and A/C vents, etc). Also don't place the cage where any positionable lamp/light fixture would be pointing directly at the cage. If at any time your budgie appears to become nervous because of something going on in the house (i.e. movers moving furniture, turned on ceiling fan, etc), cover part or all of the cage until the commotion is over. At night, cover the cage for security and keep a night-light on.
Toys - Budgies are curious, inquisitive, playful creatures. They need to be provided with toys to keep them mentally stimulated. Budgies love bells, rings, beads, swings, and chew toys. I recommend buying several basic toys, the simplest ones sold at the pet store, and then buying one or two fancy expensive ones. You don't need to have all the toys in the cage at once. In fact, I recommend only keeping two or three in the cage at a time, and switching them out every week or two. See my FAQ article, "What Are Some Favorite Budgie Toys?" for more detailed information on budgie toys.
The one type of toy I recommend avoiding is any toy with a mirror. Budgies can sometimes develop an unhealthy obsession with the "other" bird in the mirror, which can cause problems with tame budgies as well as fighting and possessiveness among budgies kept together.
