10 MISTAKES THAT SHORTEN YOUR BUDGIE’S LIFE

This article has discussed the common mistakes budgies owners make that can shorten the bird’s life. By reading the article, you will understand why mistakes are dangerous and how to go about them.

Human beings are social beings whose lives are made of fun and memories despite the sad moments. And it’s these that make one’s life beautiful. As a way of making themselves happy, many people are now keeping pets at home. Of course, this did not start this year or last year, but keeping pets has been there for the longest time. Parrots are among the most beautiful pets a person can keep.

These form good companions and lighten up one’s day after getting accustomed to them. Budgies are among the most petted bird type, and many people really love them. When you bring a budgie home, it’s all joy, and you want to hasten things and get used to the bird. This is a good show of passion, but it can also be dangerous when the budgie gets uncomfortable because of a thing or two you do. Therefore, it is critical to know the common mistakes that when you do, you will shorten your bird’s life. This article explores ten such mistakes that can be risky to your budgie’s health and life.

Not being picky about food

One of the biggest pet keepers can ever do is give a pet anything, and everything he thinks is okay for the pet. Unfortunately, some budgie owners also fall victim to this mistake. They just offer the budgie all types of food without being mindful of the potential impact of the food on the bird. Other budgie owners will only feed the bird pellets and seeds, which can also shorten the bird’s life. Although many pet stores market pellets and seeds and point them as a complete diet for budgies, that’s not true.

Think about this, while living in the wild, many parrots (including budgies) feed more on fruits and vegetables and less on seeds and millets. Even for the budgies that like seeds, the seeds offered to them in captivity are not what they would eat in the wild. The seed and the millets are not the wholesome diet for the budgie and should only be offered as a treat and not the normal diet. Otherwise, the bird will suffer from obesity, a condition that can shorten its life.

Not taking the budgie for vet visits

Before taming a budgie, you must understand that taking the bird to the vet will be necessary as part of taking care of him. Yet, many bird owners do not understand this. Therefore, what they do is start petting the budgie without counting the cost and the time needed to take the bird to the vet. This is a grave mistake, especially because birds can harbor diseases. Because of lack of experience, the bird owner might not really identify this and may only be surprised when the budgie dies. Besides, nutrition could impact the budgie negatively.

Allowing the budgie to access open doors and windows

Many bird owners prefer to let their birds free sometimes. Although this may sound good for the bird, it will not always be. Budgies are curious animals, which makes them exposed to risks. When you let the windows and doors open, they may disappear while exploring something that seems interesting to them.

Giving the budgie a small cage

When you decide to tame a budgie, you must understand that one prerequisite is a big cage. Again, many people make a big mistake here. They sign in for the notion that says small birds do well with cages. While many people believe so, this is not true. It’s a fact that the budgie will not need the biggest cage that a macaw needs. However, it needs a big cage. Like other parrots, a budgie is an active animal.

While inside, it needs space to climb, jump, and play. How will this be possible if space is a crisis? Give the budgie a big cage, one that can take of its perches, toys, and flies within the cage unhindered.

Stressing the bird

When a person brings the budgie home, he must be happy and looks forward to gaining the bird’s trust. So the training and all that stuff begin. Sometimes though, this can stress the bird, especially if it happens at an uncontrolled pace. The bird is new in this environment and needs time to acclimate. When you subject the budgie to severe training sessions, the bird stresses out. In worse conditions, depression can set in.

Limiting the number and types of toys

Budgies are playful animals, just like other parrots. That being the case, these birds need many toys of different types. While this is the case, some owners limit the number and the type of toys they offer the birds, which can be detrimental to the bird. Without toys, the bird lies lazily all day long and may become obese. Giving the bird only one type of toy limits the types of games the bird can take part in. for effectiveness, give the bird a variety of toys. You can have toys for swinging, climbing, foraging, hanging, and foot toys.

And this does not depend on how much time the bird spends out with you; once it comes back to the cage, the bird will need to play. Budgies get bored easily, and it’s a good thing to change the toys often. When they get bored, they don’t even play and may end up obese.

Never letting the budgie out of the cage

Another mistake that many budgie owners make is always having the bird inside the cage. For them, the bird is only safe while inside the cage. Of course, the bird is indeed safer inside the cage than outside, but he still needs to move out. As you let your bird outside, do it supervised so that he does not hit himself on obstacles around the home. If the bird stays in the cage all the time, he becomes lazy.

This laziness has health impacts as liver disease and tumors will start surfacing. For the trained budgies, you can let them out of the cage to fly around the room for about an hour. However, if the bird has not received enough training, you can clip its wing before allowing it out of the cage.

Not giving the bird enough attention

Taking care of animals is harder than taking care of human beings, especially because pets cannot talk. Therefore, when you are taming animals, you will need to give them extra attention to know what’s happening in their bodies and lives. The owners need to pay attention to the behavior of budgies, whether they chirp, cry a lot, or react aggressively. If you pay attention to your pet, you will know when the pet is sick or not, just okay.

Sometimes the problem could be related to the body. For instance, a budgie that develops the liver disease will be less active and may even lose its appetite. Of course, you may notice the reduced activity and the increased laxity but may not tell the liver condition. However, by determining that the budgie is less active and taking him to the vet, you will be taking care of the animal and availing the opportunity to realize the health issue. Yet, many budgie owners only care about playing with the bird, training it, but paying less attention to the bird.

Neglecting the messes

Many people love the idea of taming a budgie and jump into it without thinking about what that will mean. One certain thing is, no single bird is mess-free. Although you may train your budgie to use his bathroom, you will still find poops in the cage. Whose responsibility is it to clear the mess? Of course, you.

Taking care of a budgie goes beyond training it and letting it fly out of the cage; you must prepare to clear after the bird. If you are not willing to, just leave it, for it’s not worth letting the cage stinking with poops all over. Besides the awful smell, it’s unhealthy for the bird. The gas produced as the waste decompose is dangerous.

Ignoring bathing and other hygiene routines

Birds love bathing, and budgies do too. Actually, they don’t just love it, but it’s healthy for them. Spending time bathing with your budgie keeps it active and minimizes the chances of obesity. If you cannot use your budgie as a bathing companion, you can put him water outside the cage in a bowl so that it bathes whenever it feels like it. Another hygiene routine that many people ignore is clipping the budgie’s wings.

This is especially important for a budgie that is not yet fully trained. While many people ignore it, it acts as a precautionary measure for the budgie when you let it out of the cage.

Conclusion

Although budgies can be messy and destructive, they can be the sweetest pets to have. This can only happen if you properly care for them. Still, many people opt for keeping budgies without calculating what it takes and end up making mistakes that can shorten the budgie’s life.