Pet budgie owners who are new to having birds make some common mistakes that can impact budgie’s physical and mental health. All pet bird owners should learn and understand the care and behavioral guide of budgies before owning one.
Some possible mistakes that new owners do are as follows,
- Not providing a spacious cage
- Not Cleaning the Cage Timely
- Not Spending Time with Budgies
- Not removing the moist feed timely
- Not keeping tabs on pet’s sleeping schedule
- Chasing the budgie
- Feeding treats as a routine diet
- Bringing in new birds without quarantining
- Bathing budgies when they don’t want to
- Kissing budgies on the beak
- Provide Improper Perches
What Should You Not Do With a Budgie
There are several mistakes that most new budgie owners do without understanding the negative impact on the budgie’s mental and physical health. We are going to outline all the possible mistakes that you should avoid.
Not Providing a Spacious Cage
Most of the time pet owners do not know how spacious a parakeet cage should be that can have enough flying and playing space for budgie that they are going to put in the cage.
Average cage size for a pair of budgies should be 36 inches long, 24 inches high and 24 inches wide
Not Cleaning the Cage Timely
New pet owners do not know what an unclean cage does to their parakeets. Unclean cages may become a home to a variety of bacteria and molds which can become a cause of feather mites in budgies that cause skin irritation and finally result in feather plucking.
Not Spending Time with Budgies
If you do not spend time with your budgies, they can become bored, lonely, and unhappy. Budgies are social birds and require regular social interaction to thrive. If they are left alone for long periods, they may develop behavioral problems, such as feather plucking, screaming, or aggression.
Not Removing the Moist Feed Timely
When you provide fruit or vegetable that have water content then you need to remove the remainder timely as moist feed will start harboring molds and bacteria which can impact your bird’s health.
Not Keeping Tabs on Pet’s Sleeping Schedule
Pet owners should know that budgies need 10 – 12 hours of sleep. You need to provide restful sleeping environment to your budgies.
If they are not able to get enough sleep, they may become irritable, lethargic, and more susceptible to illness. Lack of sleep can also affect their immune system, making them more prone to infections and diseases.
Chasing the Budgie
Most pet owners try to hold their parakeets due to love before even trying to bond with the bird. Budgies takes time to bond with the owners and you should not chase your budgie until they are ready to bond with you.
Chasing the budgie may impact negatively on the bond and they may lose your trust and think you as a predetor. You must spend time with your budgie and patiently create a bond with your bird to tame it.
Feeding Treats as a Routine Diet
Treats can be a great way to reward and bond with your budgie, but it’s essential to give them in moderation not as a regular diet. You can give treats to your budgies sometimes as follows,
- As a reward for good behavior
- During training sessions
- Occasionally, just for fun
Bringing in New Birds Without Quarantining
Bringing in new budgies without quarantining them can be a risky practice and this can impact your existing birds and the whole flock as it can expose your existing birds to a range of potential health problems.
You may not know the diseases your new bird is carrying as they can easily hide diseases until the disease reaches the end stage this is why we recommend all pet owners to quarantine your new birds.
Bathing Budgies When they Don’t Want to
You should not offer bath to your budgie until it is comfortable with bathing as this will impact your bond with the bird. You can try different method of bathing your bird and monitor which one they likes. You can learn all bathing techniques in this blog post.
Kissing Budgies on the Beak
Most pet owners likes to kiss budgies on the beak out of love but this can be risky on your health. We recommend pet owners to not kiss budgies on the beak and if you wish you can pet your budgie’s head as they likes it. Read this post if you need to learn more about kissing budgies on the beak.
Do not Provide Improper Perches
New pet owners do not know the right type of perches for your budgies as most owners install plastic or metal perches and they do not know that these perches are not good for budgies.
Wooden perches are great for your budgies and you should also check thickness of the perch as well. Correct perch thickness should be between 1 – 2cm diameter.