Mar 29, 2024 12:19:25 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2015 2:44:01 GMT
Last week, I bought 3 young budgies and a Vision medium (M01) cage. After talking to others who have this cage, the consensus was that that probably wouldn't give them enough room. Question: Would it be best to buy an additional small cage and split them up? Or buy the large (L12) which is 37 x 17 x 17 and keep all 3 in one cage?
Also, when I had parakeets as a kid, we kept a separate food bowl with grit or gravel in it. I haven't bought any of that for these birds; should I? I do have cuttlebone and a mineral block.
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Post by samwiseg on Jan 20, 2015 8:50:53 GMT
In my experience if they started off together it would be better if they could stay together so go for the larger cage. We always advise members in this situation to buy the biggest cage that you can afford and preferably one that is longer width ways instead of tall as budgies dont fly up It is essential for any bird to have some form of grit to help grind up their food so oyster-shell grit is what a lot of us have. Great that you have a cuttle and an iodine block! Whoever said keeping birds was not that expensive...well I think they were a tad out of touch eh? Hope that helps
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Post by jellybean on Jan 20, 2015 9:12:18 GMT
I have a vision cage (L01) Large. My 2 boys have free fly time all day every day, but at night once they are locked in for a couple of hours before bedtime, I still wish I had bought a slightly bigger cage. If your buds don't get a lot of out of cage time, I would buy the biggest one I could afford, some of the cages other members on here have bought recently are fantastic.
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Post by Hezz on Jan 20, 2015 10:10:52 GMT
The bigger the better; keep them together. I don't see the point in separating unless you have a brat like I have. Who is presently separated for the night due to naughty behaviour. A little dish of oyster/shell grit, available at all times. Some seed mixes have this incorporated in the mix, so check whether yours does. Really tall cages are a waste of space, but get the biggest cage you can and don't be afraid to put perches lower down. If the birds feel comfortable, and you give them reason to be down there, there is no reason why your birds won't use the whole height of the cage. Some people say that their bird(s) only use the top part of the cage, I suggest that this is because they haven't given the birds a good reason to explore the whole of the cage. Put things around at all levels and your birds will be there to check them out.
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Post by skysmum on Jan 20, 2015 15:42:50 GMT
My lot are fickle though, i have a huge flight cage and when im at home they are free range but they can very often be found all huddled together in my smaller Ferplast Canto cage where Freddy and Chilli reside, just the flock instinct i guess.
The Ferplast Canto is a beautiful cage by the way. I have to say im not overly impressed by my Hagen cage which is home for Jo at the moment.
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Mar 29, 2024 12:19:25 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2015 16:28:31 GMT
Hmmm, I will take a look at the Ferplast cage. And yes, samwiseg, things definitely do add up, especially when I had to replace the plastic and concrete perches, etc right off the bat too. At least the birds were inexpensive. Turns out there is a guy about 20 miles from me who raises over 20,000 parakeets in an amazing set up. He mostly sells to pet shops, but I asked him to pick me out a few unusual birds, which he did, and he only charged me $8 each.
Thank you for the info on grit/gravel too. I've learned a lot from this board, and if you see me making errors, let me know. I've also set some millet up in a millet spray holder, but apparently I don't have parakeets, I have chickens because they're terrified of the millet!
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Post by samwiseg on Jan 20, 2015 16:38:25 GMT
LOL! They will get used to it - curiosity will get the better of them and then they wont leave you alone when you have some to hand (and a great bribery tool for training them btw)
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Post by Hezz on Jan 20, 2015 23:32:55 GMT
Hmmm, I will take a look at the Ferplast cage. And yes, samwiseg, things definitely do add up, especially when I had to replace the plastic and concrete perches, etc right off the bat too. At least the birds were inexpensive. Turns out there is a guy about 20 miles from me who raises over 20,000 parakeets in an amazing set up. He mostly sells to pet shops, but I asked him to pick me out a few unusual birds, which he did, and he only charged me $8 each. Thank you for the info on grit/gravel too. I've learned a lot from this board, and if you see me making errors, let me know. I've also set some millet up in a millet spray holder, but apparently I don't have parakeets, I have chickens because they're terrified of the millet! No, you have budgies!
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Mar 29, 2024 12:19:25 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2015 1:29:45 GMT
I know you're being playful, but seriously, is the terminology significant? I am in the states, and most people just call them parakeets or even "keets", I know in the UK and Australia, the term "budgie" or "budgerigar" is more common. Is it preferred for some reason? If you used the term parakeets, would people confuse it with something else?
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Post by samwiseg on Jan 21, 2015 10:52:14 GMT
Sorry grannygood but in Hezz's defence she is in fact correct with the name. Reason is there are many types of parakeet - Indian Parakeet, Quaker Parakeet, Eastern Rosella to name but a few but the word Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) is in fact its correct name for this bird and belongs to the generic "Parakeet" family
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Mar 29, 2024 12:19:25 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2015 18:52:31 GMT
I believed Hezz! I didn't understand why it mattered, but I gotcha now. I saw an English parakeet in a pet shop once, and it was a big surprise to see how huge they look compared to the pets I had always called parakeets.
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Post by Hezz on Jan 22, 2015 0:29:31 GMT
A budgie is of the parakeet family, but as Sam has said, there are different types of parakeets, that are not budgies: a budgie is a parakeet but a parakeet is not always a budgie. The definition of a parakeet is actually a small to medium sized parrot with a long tail, other well-known ones of these being Indian (and African) Ringnecks and Alexandrines.
The "English parakeet" that you saw was probably an English bred show or exhibition budgie, which are bred to display certain characteristics, particularly big feather growth around the head.
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Mar 29, 2024 12:19:25 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2015 20:39:06 GMT
In my experience if they started off together it would be better if they could stay together so go for the larger cage. We always advise members in this situation to buy the biggest cage that you can afford and preferably one that is longer width ways instead of tall as budgies dont fly up No one told Munchy this...
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Post by samwiseg on Jan 26, 2015 20:58:43 GMT
In my experience if they started off together it would be better if they could stay together so go for the larger cage. We always advise members in this situation to buy the biggest cage that you can afford and preferably one that is longer width ways instead of tall as budgies dont fly up No one told Munchy this... I always knew Munchy was special
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Post by Hezz on Jan 26, 2015 23:42:39 GMT
In my experience if they started off together it would be better if they could stay together so go for the larger cage. We always advise members in this situation to buy the biggest cage that you can afford and preferably one that is longer width ways instead of tall as budgies dont fly up No one told Munchy this... My birds all fly up too, Ira. Munchy, you are not alone.
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