Are Budgies Good Pets? A BIG YES!

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Budgies are quite popular worldwide as pets. In fact, they’re the third most popular pet globally, after cats and dogs. Their charm lies within their compact size, making them the perfect pet for smaller living spaces.

Aside from their small size, the affordability factor also plays a huge role in making them great pets. But the best part of having budgies as pets is their PERSONALITY. These birds are intelligent, lively, talkative, and cheerful enough to lift your mood instantly.

In this article, I will tell you 12 surprising reasons why budgies are good pets and I answer all your questions regarding this. By the end, you’ll know why budgies are the perfect pets for you. So keep reading!

Are Budgies Good Pets For Beginners?

Yes, budgies can be a perfect pet for any beginner. They are generally docile and easier to handle than larger parrots. Anyone can take care of a budgie by giving it time, maintaining a proper diet, and keeping the cage clean.

When it comes to caring for a budgie, all you have to do is give it time. There is no special caring schedule that you have to maintain. Most of the time, you will find budgies wanting to play with you and chirping around with playfulness.

As for taking care of a budgie, you can feed them very easily as well. So, all of these things combined make budgies great pets for beginners.

Are Budgies Good Pets For Kids?

Budgies are so easy to take care of that even kids can be great caregivers for these pets. It’s a great way to help children learn about taking care of a pet and makes them more responsible.

Especially children aged 8-12, can learn a lot from the experiences with your supervision.

You can teach your kids about gentle handling and respect which is essential to prevent bites or scares. Also, try teaching them proper handling techniques, such as scooping the budgie onto their hand with both hands cupped together, to avoid injuring the bird. It helps the children learn about not harming pets, or being rough with pets.

Budgies can also be a great way to teach children about patience and the importance of creating a trusting bond. Try being with them throughout the learning process and supervising it until they have learned everything.

Here Are 12 Reasons That Make Budgies Ideal Pets

1. Budgies Are Pocket-sized Parrot

Budgies are small and pocket-sized birds that make great companions for birdkeepers of all ages. They are easily manageable and can live in small cages. (But it’s better to provide them with a spacious cage since they love flying around.)

Budgies can be a great travel companion if you travel often. You can carry them in small carriers pretty much everywhere you go. However, make sure the carrier or cage is secure, and don’t forget to carry water and food for your travel buddy.

2. They Are Inexpensive

If you are looking for inexpensive pet birds, budgies are ideal options. Depending on your location, the cost may vary. But I can assure you that it will still be far less than many exotic pet birds.

Here’s a tip, purchasing budgies from breeders usually costs less than bird shops. Also, budgies that are more commonly available are inexpensive compared to the rare ones.

3. They Are Low-Maintenance Birds

With their smaller size and moderate appetite, budgies don’t cost much to care for and maintain. Moreover, the food they eat is not costly.

Since budgies eat chopped fruits and vegetables, you can find most of their food at home. You can also provide them with seeds or seed mix, which they thrive on.

What you may not like to know is that budgies can be messy. They poop every 15-20 minutes and 50 times on average every day. That was mentioned on the Petco website.

But the good thing is that they are not smelly, easy to clean, and only require thorough cleanliness once a week.

4. Budgies Have Beautiful Appearance

Budgies have 32 primary color mutations, which makes them a show of color. Some common color mutations are Albino, Lutino, Opaline, Cinnamon, and Yellowface.

However, these birds are bright, attractive, and truly beautiful to look at.

Having such birds in your care certainly feels great! So you can have budgies with a variety of colors to make your day more colorful.

5. They Can Do Tricks

If you don’t have budgies already, you won’t know how clever they are. They love learning new tricks and show off whenever they get the chance.

You can teach them various games, such as dropping right based on color, playing with balls, hanging upside down, and more.

Some budgies love playing fetch, hide and seek, peek-a-boo, and can even learn skateboards. They can even imitate human interactions and manners. Here I found an interesting video of a talented budgie performing tricks. Take a look!

6. They Are Quite Loving

If you think your cats or dogs are the only ones who feel love and affection, you are wrong. Budgies also show their affection toward their human buddies.

They show it by calling for you, jumping around when you are around them or when you come home, and getting excited when you touch them.

They will also climb on you and nuzzle their heads against you to show love.

7. They Are Therapeutic

In a 2021 article published in the ESA Registration of America, birds can be a therapeutic and emotional support animal. Since budgies are affectionate birds, they can help you overcome stress, trauma, fear, mental breakdown, etc.

With such feathery friends at home, your mental health can improve over time or help you keep occupied.

8. Budgies Are Good For Kids

As I mentioned earlier, budgies are good for kids, and having them as pets can bring a sense of responsibility to the kids in your house.

They will learn to take care of the birds with you, and it will also teach them to be kind and selfless toward other animals and birds.

9. Budgies Recognize Their Owners

Remember how I said budgies grow affection and attachment to their owners? Well, it allows them to recognize their owners by voice, smell, and even movement.

They are very fond of their human owners and think of them as part of their folks. And when they don’t see the owners for a long time, they do miss them.

10. Budgies Have Interesting Personalities

Just like humans, budgies also have their own personalities. And their personalities are quite interesting.

Some are naturally more shy and less social, while others are loud and more cheerful. Some would love activities and get trained easily, while others might not.

They might also have different food preferences.

11. They Are Birds of Melody

I call budgies the birds of melody because they have melodious chirping. It makes your home livelier and helps you feel more relaxed. Their various tones and sounds change your home atmosphere to something more serene.

It feels like you’re completely surrounded by nature.

12. They Have A Long Lifespan

Another good thing about having pet budgies is that they have a longer lifespan.

Research shows that budgies can live for 15-20 years. Even in captivity, they can live as long as 5-7 years on average and sometimes more.

That means you can have budgies around for a longer time than most birds. But to ensure that, provide the birds with healthy food and take care of their health.

Are Budgies Difficult To Care For?

No, it’s not that difficult to care for a budgie, but at the same time, it’s not the easiest thing in the world either.

Taking care of a budgie comes down to ensuring a clean and healthy environment, a proper diet, and a lot of playtime with the bird.

The habitat has to be a spacious cage where they can fly and play around. Along with that, a healthy diet containing a mix of high-quality pellets formulated for budgies (50-70%), fresh fruits and vegetables (20-30%), and a small amount of seeds (10-15%) can play a huge role in their well-being. Just make sure to avoid fatty foods like avocados and chocolate, which can be toxic to budgies.

Moreover, budgies love cleanliness. So, you have to maintain a proper routine for keeping the cage completely clean.

What Age Is Best To Get A Budgie?

Ideally, getting a budgie that’s around 8-12 weeks old is considered to be the best age. At this stage, they’re more receptive to taming and building a strong bond with their owner.

This way you will have a much easier time socializing with them and befriending them.

Once the budgie feels comfortable with you, it will instantly start having a better time, even if it’s inside the cage. Also, when you have tamed a budgie, you can choose to open the cage and let them roam around your household without any worries. It keeps the budgie healthy and happy for a long time.

Should I Buy 1 Or 2 Budgies?

It’s always better to buy two budgies instead of one. When you have 2 budgies, they can enjoy each other’s companionship. It makes sure that they aren’t feeling lonely, or they don’t get bored when you are not around. Importantly, this is crucial for their physical and emotional well-being.

Many birdkeepers and avian vets suggest getting budgies in pairs because they are naturally social creatures. They do well with plenty of attention and time outside their cage. Moreover, having two means they keep each other company when you’re not around.

Do Budgie Birds Like To Be Held?

Budgies don’t like to be held. In fact, they get uncomfortable and irritated with such actions. They don’t mind occasional gentle handling or head scratches, but if you are holding them tightly for even a while then they don’t like it at all. This may result in excessive stress leading to them being unhappy.

The best way to interact with budgies is to let them initiate contact and climb onto your finger when they’re comfortable. This builds trust and strengthens your bond.

Spend time talking to your budgie in a soft and soothing voice. You can even sing or whistle simple tunes. Overall, you have to be patient and take your time in building a bond with budgies to have the best interaction at all times.

Can Budgies Be Trained And Socialized As Pets?

Yes, budgies can be trained and socialized as pets. They are very well known for socializing with humans and other budgies too. You can train them using various training methods like step-up training, target training, trick training, and clicker training.

Moreover, budgies can learn to mimic sounds, whistles, and even short phrases. Clicker training is a popular method that uses positive reinforcement to teach tricks and desired behaviors.

Start with simple commands like “Step Up” to encourage them to hop onto your finger and reward them with a small treat or praise when they comply. When they get comfortable with you, then you can start training them to talk, sing, and mimic.

Can Budgies Talk?

Budgies can learn to talk if you are thoroughly patient with them. As reported by VCA Animal Hospital, even though budgies don’t have a very clear voice as larger parrots, they can still develop extensive vocabularies.

Budgies can’t talk naturally, you have to train them to talk. Also, it’s important to understand that not all budgies will become chatterboxes. Male budgies are generally more prone to talking than females, but with time and dedication, any budgie can learn to speak a few words or phrases.

The key is to start talking to your budgie early and consistently use the same words and phrases you want them to learn.  Be patient, as it can take weeks or even months for a budgie to start mimicking sounds.

Are Budgies Loud?

No budgies aren’t usually loud. They are surely talkative and noisy, but the noises they mostly make are either chirping or singing which aren’t annoying. They’re most vocal at dawn because they are diurnal (which means active during the daytime).

During breeding season or when they feel stressed for some reason budgies may make loud noises to address their concerns. The reasons may include a dirty cage, lack of attention, or new pet introductions. If you provide them with enough stimulation and attention then you can minimize the excessive chirping.

Apart from all these, if you notice your budgie making loud screeching consistently then it can be an underlying health problem. Consult an avian vet right away to rule out any serious concerns.

Can You Toilet Train A Budgie?

No, unfortunately, you cannot toilet-train a budgie in a litter box. They will poop wherever they can perch. There is no way to avoid this issue, so you just have to do your best to manage the situation. You can choose a cage with a grate and a removable tray to solve the issue.

Since there is no way to toilet-train a budgie, you just have to create a setup that’s easy to clean. Simply getting a cage with a grate and tray with a commercial liner helps out a lot. Also, regular cage cleaning either daily or every other day is essential to maintain hygiene and prevent the spread of bacteria.

Try spot-cleaning any droppings on perches or toys throughout the day to keep the cage fresh. As there is no way to litter train a budgie, you just have to do a little extra to keep it clean.

What Environment Do Budgies Need To Thrive As Pets?

Budgies usually thrive in a peaceful and spacious environment. They don’t like congested spaces or places with a lot of noise and traffic. Being social birds budgies love to see what others are doing, so they prefer to be amongst people.

Whenever you are placing a budgie cage, make sure to avoid direct sunlight on it. Also, don’t place the cage around draft doors and windows. The cage itself has to be spacious enough for a single budgie with 18x18x18 inches dimension at least. Always cover the bottom of the cage with paper so that you can easily clean the cage for droppings and other dirt.

Therefore, having a spacious environment where the budgie can fly around and play while watching you do your thing, is perfect for them.

What Health Concerns Come With Owning Budgies?

Like any pet, budgies can have health issues. The most common diseases you might come across with a budgie are bacterial infections, yeast infections, psittacosis, polyomavirus, tumors, parasites, beak and feather diseases, and fatty liver disease.

As a budgie owner, you should be aware of all the telling signs of the common health concerns of budgies. Always be observant and watch out for signs of illness such as lethargy, unusual droppings like diarrhea or blood, loss of appetite or excessive eating, feather plucking, difficulty in breathing, or fluffed-up posture for extended periods.

Sometimes you can know it from their excessively loud screeching as well. So, whenever you notice any of the signs, immediately contact an avian vet.

Conclusion

Budgies can be a wonderful pet for beginners and bird enthusiasts. Their ability to interact with humans, doing tricks, melodic chirping, etc., can be a great source of enjoyment for anyone.

However, even though they are low-maintenance birds, make sure to learn all about caring budgies to provide them with a healthier and happier life.