Oct 6, 2020 16:21:24 GMT
karen101
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 57
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Post by karen101 on Oct 28, 2020 11:11:51 GMT
Hi All,
I am so excited to be getting two male budgies in 3-4 weeks. I am trying to do as much research as I can but am getting confused on a few things. I am in London in the UK just for info.
I was thinking I would feed them seed in the bowls attached to the cage and every day give them some veggies. However the more I read about different options the more confused I get!
Could you recommend a good seed that is low in sugar and would be suitable for two young budgies? I read that Haiths are good but they have a few different options and I'm not sure which would be best. Also should seed be in the cage all day every day for them to eat when they want?
With regards to veg, do I just offer two or three options once a day? I am assuming I wash and cut into small pieces before I give to them?
Is there anything else I should be doing to keep them happy and healthy?
Thanks and sorry for all the questions!
Karen
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Post by jellybean on Oct 28, 2020 16:23:45 GMT
Hi karen101, could you post a picture of the cage you've chosen, and let us see the feeding dishes that come with it? I buy Haiths Budgie Bravo seed for my two boys, along with Haiths Japanese millet and Panicum millet. I give the Budgie Bravo on it's own, but I mix the other two millet seeds together in a separate dish. Regards the veg, you will just have to wait and see what your new boys like and how they like it served, some birds like their food grated, chopped up, or whole, mine have always liked the latter. I like to give a selection throughout the week, not all on the one day, carrot one day, sweetcorn another etc. I wash all veg thoroughly. Just make sure they have toys, and stuff to chew (balsa toys, which are on the website I gave you in previous thread). Never apologise for asking any questions, we've all been new budgie owners, and there is always stuff to learn. Can't wait to see your new baby boys. Good luck, I'm sure you'll be a great budgie Mum
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May 6, 2024 2:02:01 GMT
Deleted
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2020 16:32:02 GMT
There are quite a lot of ways to go about it, and what works for some budgies might not work for others. It's trial and error. I find Haiths seed very good. However, I usually like to buy their canary and mixed millets separate and then mix them together myself, as most of the mixes contain groats which are fatty, but recently they've mainly been selling large quantities, which would be far too much for two birds unless I had the freezer space for the bulk of the seed. You can serve vegetables sliced, diced, grated, finely chopped, you name it. Different budgies seem to have different preferences. It's likely to take them a while to find new foods. They tend to play with them one day out of the blue, like any toy, and get a taste. As they bond with you, you can try eating some of it in front of them too, to ahow them it's edible. Grasses and leaves are probably good initial foods to try, as they're more easily recognised. Just don't give things like spinach too often as it is known to bind iron in humans so likely does thr same in birds, or watery nutrient-poor leaves like iceberg lettuce. How long you give them access to seed is up to you. I've found they only need about 2tsp per day if they're a healthy weight, but can survive on less if they have fresh food and you need them to lose weight. Hezz is currently giving hers only 1tsp each as they have some health conditions where they need to lose some podge. I'm still trying to figure out the best methods for my two. They aren't as enthusiastic about vegetables as my old budgie was, which he had passed to his young friend who seemed to love carrot even more than he did.
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Post by Hezz on Oct 28, 2020 23:56:24 GMT
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Oct 6, 2011 7:41:27 GMT
Marianne Marlow
Administrator
George, Daisy, Iris, Billy, Peter, Chipper, Dinku, Barney, Ayla and Rocky
Posts: 28,803
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Post by Marianne Marlow on Oct 29, 2020 11:35:37 GMT
Not sure if it's mentioned in all the great info above, but an iodine block is a must too.
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Oct 6, 2020 16:21:24 GMT
karen101
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 57
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Post by karen101 on Nov 3, 2020 14:11:40 GMT
Hi karen101 , could you post a picture of the cage you've chosen, and let us see the feeding dishes that come with it? I buy Haiths Budgie Bravo seed for my two boys, along with Haiths Japanese millet and Panicum millet. I give the Budgie Bravo on it's own, but I mix the other two millet seeds together in a separate dish. Regards the veg, you will just have to wait and see what your new boys like and how they like it served, some birds like their food grated, chopped up, or whole, mine have always liked the latter. I like to give a selection throughout the week, not all on the one day, carrot one day, sweetcorn another etc. I wash all veg thoroughly. Just make sure they have toys, and stuff to chew (balsa toys, which are on the website I gave you in previous thread). Never apologise for asking any questions, we've all been new budgie owners, and there is always stuff to learn. Can't wait to see your new baby boys. Good luck, I'm sure you'll be a great budgie Mum Jellybean thank you so much, I really hope I'll be a great budgie mum I think I will definitely try Haiths Budgie Bravo seed as well and see if they like it. I'll try Haiths millet too. I guess budgies are a bit like children and have their likes and dislikes so as you suggest I'll try a selection of veg through the week and serve it whole, chopped up and grated and see what they seem to like the most. I will order some toys over the next week or so and will definitely get some balsa toys for them to play with (or destroy ) Thanks again and I will post photos as soon as they are home! Ooh I am also going to try and attach a photo of the cage and the feeding dishes (I put the cage on the ironing board but it will live on top of a cabinet in the front room not on the ironing board!!) Pah - I am having problems with the photos so I'll post this now and post the photos as soon as I can!
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Oct 6, 2020 16:21:24 GMT
karen101
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 57
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Post by karen101 on Nov 3, 2020 14:15:32 GMT
There are quite a lot of ways to go about it, and what works for some budgies might not work for others. It's trial and error. I find Haiths seed very good. However, I usually like to buy their canary and mixed millets separate and then mix them together myself, as most of the mixes contain groats which are fatty, but recently they've mainly been selling large quantities, which would be far too much for two birds unless I had the freezer space for the bulk of the seed. You can serve vegetables sliced, diced, grated, finely chopped, you name it. Different budgies seem to have different preferences. It's likely to take them a while to find new foods. They tend to play with them one day out of the blue, like any toy, and get a taste. As they bond with you, you can try eating some of it in front of them too, to ahow them it's edible. Grasses and leaves are probably good initial foods to try, as they're more easily recognised. Just don't give things like spinach too often as it is known to bind iron in humans so likely does thr same in birds, or watery nutrient-poor leaves like iceberg lettuce. How long you give them access to seed is up to you. I've found they only need about 2tsp per day if they're a healthy weight, but can survive on less if they have fresh food and you need them to lose weight. Hezz is currently giving hers only 1tsp each as they have some health conditions where they need to lose some podge. I'm still trying to figure out the best methods for my two. They aren't as enthusiastic about vegetables as my old budgie was, which he had passed to his young friend who seemed to love carrot even more than he did. Thank you Ira, that's so helpful and great to see you like Haiths seed good too. Like you I don't have loads of space to store seed but will give the Budgie Bravo seed a go and see how they get on with it. It sounds like patience is the name of the game with finding out what vegetables they will be keen on and that's a great idea to eat some myself and then hopefully that will tempt them to eat it too. Thanks for the tip about spinach, I'll only give it every so often and I think I'll avoid things like iceberg lettuce altogether. Thanks again for your help - it's much appreciated
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Oct 6, 2020 16:21:24 GMT
karen101
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 57
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Post by karen101 on Nov 3, 2020 14:19:18 GMT
Hello Hezz, these are two babies I am getting, they'll be about 8 or 9 weeks when I get them. That's a very good tip, being young they'll have buckets of energy and will need fuel. I'll make sure they have lots of different food available, am hoping by doing this they'll eat lots of different foods but I am not sure if it works like that and if certain budgies are more fussy than others but either way I'll give them lots of tasty options! That grass kits sound brilliant, I'll look into this. Thanks for the links, I'll get my notepad and read them and take some notes
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Oct 6, 2020 16:21:24 GMT
karen101
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 57
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Post by karen101 on Nov 3, 2020 14:20:19 GMT
Not sure if it's mentioned in all the great info above, but an iodine block is a must too. Hi Marianne, I had read about iodine blocks in a book I have so will definitely have one in the cage for them. Would you say a cuttlefish is essential too, I've read that it is also a must have. Thank you
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Oct 6, 2020 16:21:24 GMT
karen101
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 57
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Post by karen101 on Nov 3, 2020 14:29:55 GMT
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Oct 6, 2020 16:21:24 GMT
karen101
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 57
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Post by karen101 on Nov 3, 2020 14:30:38 GMT
I've turned the feeder so it's on the outside of the cage (hopefully it makes it clearer to see).
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Post by blue48 on Nov 3, 2020 17:06:02 GMT
Lol, have you been ironing it?
Comparing it to the length of the ironing board it looks a nice size. My cage doors open down like that and I have some wires from a different cage that holds the door open like a drawbridge. It's one of BertieB's favourite places to play.
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Oct 6, 2020 16:21:24 GMT
karen101
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 57
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Post by karen101 on Nov 4, 2020 16:46:08 GMT
Lol, have you been ironing it? Comparing it to the length of the ironing board it looks a nice size. My cage doors open down like that and I have some wires from a different cage that holds the door open like a drawbridge. It's one of BertieB's favourite places to play. haha blue48 Ooh I must do the same as I when I first set the cage up I did wish that the doors could be held so the budgies could walk out easily!
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Post by tweetiepiesmom on Nov 4, 2020 17:39:41 GMT
Now that you know what a Kevin is, be sure to get them a toy or two with a Kevin hanging on it. Budgies that like to run on the floor or even a table top enjoy pushing a Kevin around.
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Post by blue48 on Nov 4, 2020 20:54:05 GMT
Lol, have you been ironing it? Comparing it to the length of the ironing board it looks a nice size. My cage doors open down like that and I have some wires from a different cage that holds the door open like a drawbridge. It's one of BertieB's favourite places to play. haha blue48 Ooh I must do the same as I when I first set the cage up I did wish that the doors could be held so the budgies could walk out easily! You could probably do it with something like the wire and hooks they use for net curtains, although the one I have is rigid.
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