If you are looking for a pet bird then English Budgerigar is the most favored bird among all. Many people know Budgerigar with the name of “Parakeet”. They belong to species of Melopsttacus undulates and are known as the bird of native Australia. There are two main types of Budgerigar;
- Australian Budgerigar, also call American Parakeet
- English Budgerigar
They differ from each other due to different sizes and appearances. American Budgies are those that you buy from pet stores while English Budgies are presented in pet shows or exhibitions.
History:
English Budgerigars came into existence when Australian Budgies were taken to the United Kingdom and the clues for the existence of English Budgie can be found in 1840. Then their selective breeding was experimented to have more of English Budgies.
The Character trait of English Budgie:
English Budgerigars are trained for pet shows and exhibitions; as a result, they become calm and sweet while wild budgie is so much of chatterbox. If you want a parakeet in a house full of kids then English Budgie must be your first choice. Because another kind of budgie is not very compromising, they start making squawking if something does not go with their mood.
The best part of Budgie is that it can learn so many words and then keeps on singing it. Another interesting factor about budgie is that it holds the record with other birds and the record is of remembering almost 1700 words. People usually ignore when budgies are singing because their voice is very low in pitch.
Let’s see how an English Budgie differs from American Budgie;
Personalities:
The common and wild Budgie is not easy to handle and tame while English Budgie is calm and can easily be taught by children and elders. Noise making personality exists only in American budgies; they are almost always squawking, chiding and screaming if something frightens them. While English Budgies are with even low sound and have a relatively quiet temperament. You can be having a budgie and your neighbors won’t even notice this but if you are having American Budgie then be ready for the hustle for every time.
Size and Appearance of English Budgerigar:
You can easily differentiate between Australian and English Budgerigar as English Budgie is larger and has a remarkably unique appearance. They are also huge as compared to wild budgies.
Now the question is, how large are they? So when we concentrate on the largeness of budgie, we consider its weight first. On average, an English Budgerigar usually weighs around 45.3-65.3g. This can also be the reason that they are not found flying generally.
Their length is also known to be strikingly different as they are 10inches (25.4com) from head to tail tip. These are one of the few reasons why English budgerigars are displayed in exhibitions because of their unlike appearance. Size of head is a basic part that is huge and the head of some budgies is fully covered with feathers that it seems like they are blinded but they can see.
Life Span:
Generally, Budgies stay alive for 3 – 5 years and can reach up to 12 – 15 years if cared. American Budgies tend to live longer than English Budgerigars. For English Budgies, the life span is like 5 – 7years while it is 7 – 12 years in case of American Budgies.
How to take care of the English Budgie:
Proper care for English Budgie includes diet, the temperature of the environment, cleaning of cage, provide toys and give proper bathing. Here we are going to tell about each term separately.
Diet:
A balanced diet is all a budgie needs. This diet includes green vegetables, grain bread, pellets and pasta. Parakeet enjoys a lot when treats are awarded to it. In some cases, sunflower sprouts and cooked carrots are good to provide your Budgie. Cuttlebone is given Budgerigars as a calcium supplement; it helps their beaks to grow.
Temperature:
It is for all type of birds that they must be kept in a medium range of temperature but for Budgies, it is very important to keep them at a place that has 60 – 70 Fahrenheit. Also, make sure that the temperature should not become less than 40 degrees. Whether the environment becomes cooler or hotter, both can affect budgie and it can cause heatstroke or hypothermia. English Budgies can tolerate 10-degree changes in temperature.
Cleaning of the cage:
To increase the life span of your budgie, you have to perform this cleaning activity several times a week. English Budgerigar is very sensitive and it cannot live in a dirty place. For this purpose, the selection of the cage is an important factor. You should go for a cage that has grate for filtering the waste. Do not leave any solid item in the cage, clean it thoroughly. By doing so, you are keeping your English Budgerigar safe from diseases.
Toys:
Budgies are like babies, they love to socialize with people and other birds due to their social nature. They are very playful and it makes them happy when you give them toys to play with. They enjoy swinging on perches and the favorite type of toy is beaded one. You will also have to change toys or change the positions of toys so that your budgie does not get bored.
Bathing is necessary:
English Budgies get stressed very often. The reason behind stress can be providing no bath to the budgie. It is said to get your bird take bath three to four times a week. This activity is so enjoyable by both of you i-e your sweet budgie and you. Place a bowl of water and let English Budgerigar wash. It is also an exercise to keep budgie healthy. If the budgie does not wash then you should do it by spraying water on it. The bottle of the spray should be transparent to avoid any harming item in it.
Price of English Budgerigar:
The price range depends on the mutation of budgies but usually, price is from $50 to $90. This is a rough price range so if you want specific colors and patterns then the price can be higher.
One must go for an English Budgerigar if you are planning to have a pet bird. It is because this bird seeks attention like a kid from you and it also draws love in you.
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