BUDGIE CAGE SETUP: SET UP A BIRDCAGE PROPERLY

This is the kind of article where you should learn about basic budgie cage setup, and about mistakes everyone makes.

Known by the name Parakeet in Amerika, budgies are native birds of the interior regions of Australia. They come in a variety of colored plumes. Unlike parrots, they are smaller, and adults weigh at least thirty grams.

The budgie’s small size, however, does not automatically mean that the cage meant for them should be proportional to their size. In fact, being full of vigor and proactive, they require an extensive and well-spaced ‘apartment’, so to speak, to freely maneuver and burn their energy.

The best option is to purchase the largest affordable cage. This article will consider two vital questions key to properly setting up a budgie’s cage:

• One, what underlying information should we know about these birds before setting up their cage and surrounding?
• Second, what are the essential contents when setting up the confinement?

After considering the two, we will briefly explore the positioning of the cage to fit the birds’ comfort and safety.

Underlying information you should know before setting up a budgie’s cage

Budgies are peculiar pets. Their needs are way over those of other domesticated animals. They need keen attention almost like children. If you have carefully observation them, you must have noticed these fascinating traits;

Unlike many birds, they have a sharp IQ. As a result, they need an environment that is rich in several fitting toys to play with and keep their brain on toes. This would keep them busy and always having something positive to do. Hence, the interior design of the cage should accommodate their toys.

They have a test for a variety of foods. It is pertinent then that you will have to give them a balanced diet and enough water. All of which will be in the locality of their confinement.

In nature, budgies are proactive. Compared to other birds at home, they exhibit more movements and burn more calories daily. As a result, they require more space for exercise and flying within their cage.

Putting the above traits into consideration and the bird’s social nature, these are not the type of birds to house in small enclosures. It is a tremendous misconception that all little birds should be domesticated in miniature coops. Moreover, when setting a place for them to live, an all-inclusive approach to their needs should be taken into account. In effect, few cages sold in pet shops might meet the standards of a perfect birdcage.

Besides, it is not enough for the pen to be of significant size, it has to meet safety standards too. For example, the spaces between the bars have to be fitting for the bird’s small body neck and beak not to be stuck in between them. The cage you choose has to ensure more horizontal and diagonal movements rather than vertical ones. This calls for logic because rarely would a bird take to vertical flight. For that reason, you would do well to purchase a cage that is longer horizontally than vertically.

Essential contents of the confinements

Suppose you are used to the idea of making a shopping list to the mall or supermarket, well. In that case, it is even easier in this section of our discussion. Our list in this part is divided into nine portions. You can decide and be a bit innovative with the components of the budgie’s cage as not all circumstances might end up being alike. Nevertheless, here are the essential constituents:

• Fine sand or paper
• Water bowl
• Seeds and pellets
• Toys
• A mineral block
• Food dish
• Cuttlefish bone
• Pet store Detergent for Bird Cage

Fine sand

To set off, one will have to take care of the floor of the cage. This is essential as it makes it easier to clean the bird’s droppings from the cage. Usually, it is easily achievable by tipping loose sand on the cage’s floor or laying a large piece of paper that comes prepared with granules of sand stuck on it. The latter has an advantage; it does not scatter when the bird flaps its wings in flight. For instance, your budgie has the opportunity to pore holes in its artificial ground.

Water bowl

If you have used an open water container for serving budgies with water, you probably have realized how tasking a job it is to keep the water clean. The ever-active birds are almost in motion at all times, pecking this, jumping back and forth on objects, flying all over, and scrutinizing things in its environment. What effect does this leave in the water jar? A messed-up water vessel, filled with dirt ranging from its feathers, the scooped sand, and seed husks.

A better option to this is to employ the water feeder bottle. This is specialized to ensure that little dirt penetrates into the water. Therefore, if you want your budgie to be at per with this relatively new technology to save your precious time and energy, you will have to take it through training sessions. The fruits are worth it, there will be fewer dealings with the water container.

In addition to the drinking water, another vessel should be added to accommodate bathing water. Usually, it is important too to ensure that your budgie bird has some water in a larger container for the bird to the bath. In their natural home, they often have opportunities for the bath.

Budgie Seeds, pellets, and grains

• seeds

Fourth on our list is the most important thing to the budgies, seeds, especially of the grass family. These seeds include meadow foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis), orchard grass, and annual meadow grass (Poa annua). Since in their natural world they feed on seeds as a staple food, to keep their new environment more closely to home, these constituents have to be at the forefront in the budgie’s diet.

• grains

You can also serve Grains. These include sweet corn, oats, barley and buckwheat.

• pellets

To supplement their diet, nutritionists have found that pellets are a vital role in avian development. Pellets add minerals, nutrients, and vitamins to the regimen, whereas seeds in most cases contain fats without other nutrients. Next time you think of getting seeds for your budgie, be sure to get pellets too from your pet store.

Budgie Toys

Budgies use their brains to scrutinize their environment. They can quickly get bored if they do not get something worthwhile to do in their new habitat that is significantly compressed compared to their former one. This can be destructive to them because they may resort to harming themselves as a means of entertainment. Such cases would leave birds suffering from minor wounds inflicted on themselves by plucking their feathers. To counter such incidences, you may want to introduce toys for the purpose of their curiosity to occupy them. With experience, you might realize that they are like children. One day a particular toy wins their attention, on another day though, a different is to be entertained. Cycling the toys elicits different delights and kind of wards off boredoms.

Block of iodine or Mineral block

The sixth component might sound rather weird, but the budgies relish it. Mineral iodine is an essential factor in the bird’s growth and development. Moreover, most cage birds do not easily suffer iodine deficiency at a rate equal to budgies. To compart this problem a block is served whole in the birdcage. Another advantage of the block is that the friction caused by the budgie’s beak on the block helps trim and make it firm.

The best way to feed them all the left-out nutrients is to keep mineral blocks inside their cage. There are many high-quality mineral blocks available in the market that have all the nutrients in a perfect mix.

Food dish

As regards food, the budgie should be offered on a dish or bowl, in most cases, a suitable one is raised and attached to the bars of the coop. In nature, they mostly feed above ground as they pick on raised stalks of grasses. You will have to mimic their environment if you want to create a little comfort zone for them away from their known home. Different materials are used to make the food bowl. As of today, the most common materials are sturdy plastics. The plastics serve the purposes of not damaged easily by the pecking action of the budgies beak and easy to clean and disinfect.

Cuttlefish bone

Apart from the iodine block material put inside the cage, a cuttlefish bone is incorporated into the cage. This set ensures that the pet’s beak that continuously grows has a firm place on which to scrap away. In the wild, there are many surfaces to serve this purpose. If the budgie is not provided with a substitute to trim its beak, it will end up overgrowing. If that is left unchecked, the beak will end up causing accidents to the bird. The cuttlefish bone also has calcium ions, and they add to the nutrient enrichment of the pet.

Pet store Detergent for Bird Cage

This is an area that a lot of care is needed. Any domesticated pet should be handled with caution regarding chemicals used in the household. These chemicals can cause burns, getting into the mucosa membranes of the pests, and cause serious harm. When buying cleaning detergents for the cage, inquire about pet-safe detergents that are certified by authorities. By taking into account the elements for cleaning your pet’s cage, you ensure that it is thoroughly washed without putting the budgie’s life at risk.

The positioning of the cage to fit your pet’s taste and safety measures
Just as you will be careful to note the safety of an infant, it is essential too to choose a safer place for the cage’s location. The positioning is dependent on environmental factors such as heat, light, rain, cold temperatures, and extreme wind. You will need to juggle with your environmental circumstances to make this possible.

Heat and sunlight

Extreme changes in heat waves can cause the budgie’s body temperature to hike above average temperature threatening its health. Do not station the cage where it will get direct rays from the sun. Additionally, they should be kept a distance away from the kitchen to avoid overheating, smoke and fumes.

Rain and cold

If the prevailing climate is rainy and cold, keep the cage in a warm and dry place. Ideal places to keep them would be far from the doors, windows and open outdoor areas.

Extreme winds

Violent windstorms can cause severe damage to the cage, its contents and the bird. In such climatic conditions, locate the cage in a wholly surrounded environment. If your cage is portable move it inside the apartment where you live to offer a proper shield from the wind.

You might decide to give your little pet a treat in nature, a location that grants it a full view of the beauty around it would be appropriate.

Our priority is to keep our pets happy!

The budgies are a wonder to observe and learn from, right from their impressive ability to imitate human voice; a trait perfected by their male species, a curious, inquisitive mind, vigour, and liveliness. Having originated from an environment with a significant amount of water, lots of food to forage on- wild grass seeds, seasonal fruits, grains and berries, varieties of insects, – and living in the warmth of their flocks, their natural habitat provides the perfect niches for them to thrive.

The wild gives a glimpse into the kind of manufactured home and conditions required for them to survive. Even though such a manmade habitat is insufficient to the budgie’s requirements compared to what the wild provides, domestication has greatly improved by studying their wild ecosystem.