As a budgie owner, you could be unknowingly making serious mistakes when it comes to taking good care of your pet bird. Unfortunately, these mistakes can make your budgie live unhappily and even cost it its life.
The most common mistakes made by budgie owners include giving your budgie poor nutrition, feeding it too much of unhealthy treats, improper cage setup, not giving it enough attention, keeping its cage dirty, not taking it out of the cage, and not taking it to your vet for regular checkups.
Below, we have discussed, in full detail, the common mistakes budgie owners make and how to correct them to ensure your budgie lives a happy, healthy, and long life.
Commons mistakes budgie owners make:
Here are the most common mistakes you could be making as a budgie owner:
1. Poor nutrition/malnutrition
One of the areas where most budgie owners err when it comes to taking care of their budgies is improper nutrition.
A budgie requires a balanced diet of seeds, vegetables, and fruits. If you fail to provide it with any of these foods, it won’t get essential nutrients in its diet and it can easily suffer malnutrition which leads to various health issues.
Correction Tip: Make sure you feed your budgie a balanced diet that contains seeds, fruits, and vegetables. Don’t stick to commercial pellets alone.
Also, occasionally supplement the budgie’s diet with some healthy bird treats to keep it happy and healthy.
2. Improper cage setup
Most budgie owners make the assumption that budgies don’t need a big cage because they’re relatively small parakeets.
But the truth is that these pet birds are quite active and need a spacious cage where they can enjoy enough room to climb, fly, and play inside regardless of how much out-of-cage time you give them.
Correction Tip: Make sure you give your budgie a spacious cage for its perches, toys, etc., without making it feel cramped up.
3. Too much of the treats
Many budgie owners are also guilty of spoiling their beloved budgies with too much of unhealthy treats.
However, you should keep in mind that just because your budgie eats it doesn’t mean you should overfeed it with the treats.
Also, the little bird’s delicate digestive system will get overwhelmed with too much of these treats and it can start developing health issues including obesity.
Correction Tip: Stick to a balanced diet that comprises pellets, fresh fruits, and vegetables. And only give your budgie the treats occasionally.
4. Not giving your budgie toys to play with
Budgies are quite energetic and playful animals. As a result, they need a variety of toys to play with. Most budgie owners tend to limit the type as well as the number of toys they give their budgies.
Unfortunately, a lack of toys can make your feathered friend get quickly bored in its cage. It also means there’s not enough mental stimulation for your little guy.
Laziness will then kick in and bring along obesity which leads to serious health issues.
A bored budgie can start self-mutilation and feather plucking to fight the boredom, which can further affect its health and well-being.
Correction Tip: Provide your budgie with a variety of toys, including hanging, foraging, climbing, and foot toys. Make sure you change their toys more often to prevent boredom.
5. Keeping their cage dirty
It’s also not uncommon for most budgies’ cages to go uncleaned. What most pet owners don’t seem to understand is that budgies are not mess-free, just like all the other types of birds.
Even if you train them to use their bathroom, you’ll still get poop in their cage.
If you don’t clean this mess, it can make the cage start stinking with awful poop smell coming out from the poop stuck to its bottom.
Moreover, such a dirty environment is unhealthy for your budgie. Ammonia from urine, in particular, can lead to respiratory issues. while mold and bacteria from the waste can lead to feather and skin infections.
Correction Tip: Before you get the budgie, be committed to taking good care of it, which includes cleaning after it and ensuring it stays in a clean environment at all times.
6. Not giving your budgie attention
Do you set apart some time to interact with your budgie every day? If not, you’re unknowingly making your bird feel lonely.
Budgies are social birds and raw known to fly in flocks of up to 30 birds in the wild. But in captivity, they require human companionship for socialization.
Lack of interaction with your budgie will expose it to loneliness and depression, which can hurt its health.
Correction Tip: Spend up to 2 hours of interaction with your budgie every day.
7. Denying your budgie bath time
Budgies love bathing and they like doing it more frequently. This not only helps them feel good but also keeps their feathers clean and healthy.
Bathing also keeps the budgie active and prevents obesity risk. Budgies that don’t get bathed usually start showing frustration by unplugging their feathers.
Correction Tip: Spend time bathing with your budgie or just put him in a shallow bowl with water outside its cage so that he can bathe as he pleases.
Check the video below on how to give your budgie a bath
Video:
8. Lack of regular vet care
Your budgie also requires regular checkups by the vet, just like any other pet. This is especially helpful if you notice changes in your bird’s behavior and appearance.
Most of the budgies’ common diseases can turn fatal if not threatened on time.
Correction Tip: Regular visitations can help detect various bird diseases early enough and treat them before they turn worse.
9. No out-of-cage experience
Another mistake many parakeet owners make is not letting their pet birds out of their cages. They tend to believe that the budgies are only safe when inside the cage.
While this is true to some extent, you still need to let out your bird to fly in a controlled area. This will help it exercise and keep off laziness which can lead to serious health issues such as tumors and live diseases.
Correction Tip: Give your budgie some out-of-the-cage moments for around 30 minutes every day. However, make sure you supervise it throughout the time it will be out of its cage to ensure it doesn’t get into any trouble.
Final Verdict
It’s not unusual for budgie owners to make mistakes when it comes to caring for their budgies. These mistakes range from not bathing your budgie to an improper diet, putting it into a cramped-up cage, failing to set apart time to interact with your budgie, and not taking them to the vet for regular checkups.
We hope that the above guide has opened your eyes to the various mistakes you could be making as a budgie owner and the correction tips to help you rectify them and ensure your budgie lives a happy and healthy life.
