Are you a new budgie keeper and conscious about your budgerigar diet? If yes you are in the right place. Here we are going to discuss more about your budgerigar diet. As a conscious owner you must know as much as possible about your budgerigar diet for their better health and happy life.
Actually, feeding the budgerigars with very good quality and nutritious diet is very important, and it is the most important part of your budgerigar care. Like many other birds, the budgerigars also have different taste, and they can eat a wide variety of readily-available seeds, greens, vegetables, and fruits.
But you have to balance their diet with a variety of food items. You can provide them a mixture of different types of dry and sprouting seeds. And also provide them some fresh foods occasionally. You can either prepare the food of your own or purchase the food from shops. But before feeding, you should check the contents of their food mix.
Always try to provide your birds with organic, and chemical free foods. Never mix the food for your budgerigars without having good advice from an expert. However, read more information about your budgerigar diet.
Should I be concerned about my budgerigar diet?
Providing the budgerigars with highly nutritious food is the most important part of keeping budgerigars as pets. Poor nutrition is a common reason of many health problems. As a conscious budgerigar owner you should always provide your birds with very good quality and nutritious diet. You can also consult with your vet for more information.
What do budgerigars naturally eat?
Naturally, the budgerigars eat a variety of seeds, grasses and plants found on the ground in the wild.
So, what should I feed my pet budgerigars?
As we have mentioned above, you can feed your budgerigars a variety of seeds, grains, fresh fruits and vegetables. Here we are listing some food items that you can feed to your budgerigars.
Seeds
Most of the seeds your budgerigars like are available almost everywhere. These seeds generally remain fresh for longer time if stored properly. In the wild, the budgerigars eat different types of seeds from different plants. Today, there are many commercial feed fixtures available in the market to choose from. These type of food mixture may contain 2 to 8 kinds of seeds.
But the main problem that exists when offering a container full of seeds, is that the budgies love to eat their favorite 1 or 2 of the seed mixture. They typically love to eat the millet seed. However, commercial seed mixtures tend to be high in fat and carbohydrates, low in protein, and lacking essential vitamins and minerals.
As seeds, lack essential vitamins, minerals, and protein, so they should only be a very small part of a budgie’s diet. And the seeds should never be the entire diet of your birds. If you gradually start offering your budgies fewer seeds, replace them with healthier options, such as fortified pellets and a limited amount of fresh table food, then your birds will eventually start eating more nutritious foods.
Pelleted diets
Today, there are numerous types of pelleted foods available in the market to choose from. And these foods are available in different shapes, sizes, and colors also. This type of pelleted food have been developed to meet most of the bird’s nutritional needs. The baby budgerigars should be weaned to a pelleted diet once they eat on their own, because converting mature birds to pelleted diets can be challenging.
The pelleted foods are available in different formulations for different life stages of your birds and for keeping them healthy. Pellets should represent approximately 60 to 80 percent of your budgies diet.
Fruits and vegetables
You can feed your birds with almost all types of fruits and vegetable that your family eat. Fruits, vegetables and other greens should account for approximately 20-25% of their diet. Wash the fruits and vegetables properly before giving to your birds. And cut them into manageable pieces depending upon the size of your birds. Take the skin off of the vegetable. And offer the fruits and vegetables in a separate dish.
Water
Along with providing your birds with enough fruits and vegetables, it is also very important to give them enough clean and fresh drinking water as per their demand.
How much to feed my budgies?
Generally, a mature budgie can eat between 1.5 to 2 teaspoons of seeds per day. Provide their feed in a shallow dish depending upon the size of your birds. If you notice too many seeds left over in the dish at the end of the day, then decrease the amount of seeds. However, seeds should only be a small part of their diet to ensure a balanced and nutritious feeding formula.
What fruit can budgerigars eat?
Budgerigars can eat apples, banana, oranges, strawberries, grapes, pears, mango, melon, raisins, blueberry, kiwi etc.
What vegetables can budgerigars eat?
You can feed your budgerigars celery, tomato, lettuce, cucumber, lettuce, pepper, green beans, carrot, cabbage, sweet corn, cauliflower, sweet potatoes etc.
Does my bird need extra vitamins, minerals, or amino acids?
Please consult with a vet in your area for better recommendation. Today, most of the pet budgerigars are eating about 75-80% of its diet from pelleted food. And these birds typically don’t need supplemental vitamins, minerals or amino acids. Although, specific vitamins or minerals may be more important at certain period of their life, especially during laying eggs.
Do I need to provide my birds with gravel or grit?
No, budgerigars do not need gravel or grit, because they typically remove the seed’s outer hull before ingesting the kernel. Providing them gravel or grit will result digestive problem.
What to avoid feeding my budgerigars?
You should avoid feeding some foods to your birds such as fried food, salt, chips, coffee, caffeinated tea, bacon, biscuits, pastries, cakes, alcohol, chocolate, chips, pizza, vanilla, cheese, peanut butter etc.
These are all we wanted to share with you about budgerigar diet. Hope this guide has helped you! Good luck and may God bless you!
