Caring for a budgie begins long before its appearance. You should bring the bird into the house after purchasing everything necessary to make your friend feel as cozy and comfortable as possible in his new family.

If we take into account all the requirements for feathered pets, then the content budgies will not be a burden to the owner.

First, you need to purchase a cage, feeders, a drinking bowl, stock up on wooden perches, a ring, and make or buy a walking platform.

How to determine right place for a cage and what a house for a budgie should be like, you can read

You will learn how to choose a healthy wavy

Adaptation

So, you have in your hands the treasured box with the long-awaited parrot. There is already a cage installed at home in which the bird is waiting: a full feeder, a drinking bowl with clean water and a bell. You can scatter some grains along the bottom of the cage; perhaps at first, they will attract the chick’s attention faster than a feeder.

Allow the parrot to get out of the carrier and into the cage on its own, without allowing the bird to fly into the room.

Such an unexpected flight will not bring anything good, but will only increase the stress and shock of the baby. Such mistakes can significantly complicate your attempts to tame budgerigar.

After releasing the parrot into the cage, move away from it and let the bird get comfortable. He will need time to look around and calm down. It may take more than one day until you notice that the bird has begun to eat or drink water.

Don’t worry, it’s likely that the bird stealthily approaches both the feeder and the drinking bowl, specially trying to do this when you are either absent or have turned away.

Also, against the background of stress, the parrot may have a slight digestive upset, this is not scary and goes away quickly.

Be patient and do not disturb your parrot unnecessarily. During the first few days, approach the cage and speak to your feathered friend in a gentle, quiet voice.

No need to open the cage and try to pet or touch the bird!

Your budgie should feel that he is safe and protected here. You can cover one side of the house transparent fabric so that the bird has the opportunity to hide if it feels anxious or uncomfortable.

You need to take care of your budgie very carefully during this period: do not make sudden movements, do not slam the door or wave objects.

Care at home may differ from what the bird has seen before, especially if the parrot did not live alone.

Hands may only be in the cage to replace food with fresh food and to clean the tray. When cleaning, talk to the bird, gently call it by name and gradually the parrot will feel calm in your presence.

Do not play loud music, rattle, knock or shout in the room where the cage is located. Let the bird first get used to you and the objects and sounds around it. Later, turn on the radio or TV quietly for her.

When you see that the wavy has begun to actively eat, take an interest in the toys in the cage and chirp, you can begin the taming process.

How to care for a budgie

It is best if you establish a daily routine for the bird. This way, the wavy will adapt to your schedule and his rest hours will not be suddenly interrupted.

Also, if the budgerigar's cage is located in a room where there is some movement and noise until late, cover it thick fabric, not transmitting light. This will make the parrot feel calmer and be able to fall asleep.

If the condition of the room allows you not to cover the parrot’s house at night, then the best option For good night wavy will be dim, subdued light.

Hygiene of the cage and accessories should be carried out weekly, and as for the tray, feeders and drinkers, they should be washed daily.

Thanks to these actions, the parrot will be in clean conditions without the threat of disease, and the amount of husks and feathers around the cage will be much less.

Sunlight is very important for the immune system of parrots, but the rays that pass through window glass lose the required ultraviolet spectrum. In urban conditions, not everyone can afford to arrange sunbathing for birds; they are used for these purposes.

A lamp and a timer are mandatory attributes for a bird’s full life in an apartment. They will help maintain normal daylight hours and support wavy growth, especially in autumn. winter period.

Wild budgerigars spend most of their time searching for food; their flights over long distances are fraught with danger and there is practically no time for relaxation. Well, why, but domestic wavy birds have more than enough time. And the owner’s task is to provide fidgety interesting activity and fun games.

Therefore, toys and a walking area play a big role in the life of a parrot. These items make it easier for the bird to communicate with its owner, and also develop the bird’s communication skills and ingenuity.

Try to spend as much time as possible with the bird, show her options on how to use this or that toy, throw balls from the table together, or build and destroy a tower of cubes.

Budgerigars really need communication, especially if you have one bird - it will be drawn to you and strive to keep you close to it for as long as possible. Let your baby become your friend, because for him, you will be the only one with whom the bird can chat and have fun to the fullest.

When you have several birds, then, when you come home from work, you will not be tormented by your conscience that you left the merry fellow alone and will be able to calmly participate in their games in the evenings and watch the continuous mischief of the birds.

A first aid kit for a wavy should be present even before the mischief maker appears in your home!

Buy the necessary medications that you may need to provide first aid to your budgie. You will find a more detailed list of medications

Let there, in the first aid kit, be the phone numbers of ornithologists and addresses veterinary clinics so that in the event of an emergency, you do not waste precious time searching for contacts.

If you want to do something in the future, you should plan in advance separate place for the second cell (someone may have to be quarantined or for a number of other reasons).

You will also need to purchase or make one, and think about how you will attach it: inside the cage and outside. You will need a lot more knowledge about budgies if you decide to take the step of breeding.

Video showing the normal behavior of a budgie in the first minutes of its stay in a new place:

Fun with a toy:

Hand budgerigar:

Budgerigars are very common as pets. They have bright colors, their singing lifts the spirits of adults and children, such parrots can be tamed and also taught to talk. And the cost for a pet is quite reasonable.

But still, if a person decides to get such a pet, first of all he needs to figure out how to care for a parrot at home.

Home for a friend

Budgerigars have a small body size - from 17 to 19.8 centimeters - and therefore do not take up much space even in small room. The cost of food for feathered friends does not put a strain on the wallets of their owners.

Unlike cats and dogs, which, in most cases, have free access to all parts of the house or apartment, budgies must be kept in a cage. It will become the main habitat for a small pet: you can hide in it to sleep or in case of danger (for example, if there are cats in the house), eat, drink. Therefore, the choice of cell is the basis proper care for your pet.

Best suited rectangular cage with flat roof. Its length is additional benefit. Since in this case the bird will be able flutter from one perch to another, without experiencing the inconvenience of a small space.

Round cells are not the best a good option for birds. In such parrots lose orientation in space, do not feel protected, cannot be alone, and therefore feel extremely uncomfortable.

The cells will be inconvenient for the owner intricate structures or with graceful roofs. Since they are more difficult to care for, and arranging accessories for budgies is not always convenient.

If we talk about the size of the bird house, then necessary Keep in mind that there should be an average of 30–35 centimeters per pet. If a pair of birds is placed in one cage, then this figure should be increased to approximately 60 centimeters.

The bottom of the cage should be retractable. This will make the cleaning process easier. In this case, it is better not to place gratings or other elements below. Otherwise, the bird may damage its legs.

When choosing housing for a pet, it is better for owners to give preference iron cages rather than wooden ones. The former are much more convenient to clean, and they also retain their appearance and service life longer.

Climatic conditions

The budgie and its cage should be placed in a room with a stable microclimate. The temperature must be maintained between +18°C and 25°C.

Since the duration of daylight hours for birds should be about 15–16 hours, then in winter necessary will take care of additional lighting of the room to maintain optimal conditions.

An important requirement for proper care of parrots is the absence of, drafts and frequent changes in temperature conditions. Such conditions will be disastrous for a domestic parrot.

It is worth considering that the bird cage it is forbidden place in the following places:

• next to heating appliances and radiators;
• near air conditioners and cooling systems;
• next to the windows;
• on the floor or on a cabinet (a table is optimal for placing a cage with a parrot, since its height will be ideal for the bird);
• in noisy places.

Interior design

A parrot's cage, like its owner's house, must be equipped inside with special devices.

Cage care is a must condition. General cleaning of your pet's house should be done once or twice a month. During this process, it is necessary to wash the entire cage, including the poles, with a sponge and water, and then dry thoroughly. The use of detergents is prohibited as they may cause allergic reaction at the pet's.

Feeding a budgie

In order to know how to care for a budgie, you need to study its issue in detail. feeding.

The diet should be balanced and varied so that the pet receives all the necessary nutrients throughout the day. The following products may be included in the diet:

• special food for birds: it is balanced and rich in vitamins and minerals;
• cereals, cereals: oats, millet;
• corn and wild grass seeds (pre-soaked);
• greens: beet and lettuce leaves, dandelion, St. John's wort;
• berries and seedless fruits, as well as fresh vegetables;
• food containing protein: crushed boiled eggs, softened bread;
• live food: moths, small insects.

There should always be fresh food in the cage pure water. It is worth considering that tap water It is better not to give your pet water.

What not to feed

Proper care of a pet also includes adequate nutrition that will not harm the pet. Therefore, like for many other pets, for parrots there is scroll prohibited products:

• stale food;
• sweet, spicy, fatty, fried, smoked foods;
• black bread;
• greens: parsley and dill, basil;
• onion and garlic;
• meat;
• coffee.

Bathing

Purity– the key to health and complete care. This also applies to budgies. IN summer time They can be bathed every day, and in winter two or three times a week will be enough.

For bathing, you need to use a special bath installed in the cage. But it is also possible spray spray the bird or bathe it under running water.

If the pet does not like water, then the bath needs to be filled sand for cleaning feathers. And at the pet store, buy a special brush for this purpose and use it about once a week.

Parrots are very active and sociable creatures. They love company. Therefore, you need to talk to your pet often and let him sit on your hand or shoulder.

In case of a long absence from home during the day, you can leave your wavy friend “company” in the form of a switched on radio. Then the bird will think that it is not alone in the apartment.

Once or twice a day parrot necessary let out of the cage to fly. This way he can stretch his wings and explore the territory, finding something interesting for himself.

But the parrot should not be allowed to play around and be naughty: it must know the boundaries of what is permitted.

The budgerigar belongs to the parrot species and is the only representative of the wavy birds. When purchasing a budgie, first, you should decide the purpose of its stay in the house. It may simply act as a favorite pet that will become an excellent friend, or the purpose of acquiring it may be to further breed these birds.

It is on this criterion that will depend care behind the budgie.

Rules for caring for a budgie, how to choose a feathered friend

Most people who are planning to buy a budgie have absolutely no idea what to look for before purchasing and how to keep their pet in the future. In order for your feathered friend to grow up healthy and cheerful, you should dwell on this issue in more detail.

How to choose a budgie?

Costs at maximum seriousness take this issue into account. It is best to purchase a budgie from a specialized breeder rather than from the bird market. This will give you the opportunity to explore the place where budgerigars live. Moreover, in such a place, the risk of purchasing a sick bird is much less than at the market.

The bird you like should be visually inspected. A healthy individual is active with clear eyes, the plumage is shiny and does not bristle. different sides. Each paw should have 4 toes. Two of them are in the front of the paw, two are behind. A sick budgie will usually sit motionless, uninterested in what is going on around it, the plumage will be ruffled, and the area around the cloaca may be smeared with liquid feces.

Optimal age To purchase a bird, a period of 2 to 4 months is considered. It is during this period that budgerigars quickly get used to the person and the place in which the bird will live, which will greatly simplify the process of further maintenance.

Age determination

To avoid deception on the part of the seller about the age of the bird, you should be able to independently determine how old the budgerigar is. For this there are certain signs:

It is worth noting that these criteria will not apply to variegated birds, whose entire color is always white or yellow. Such individuals always have black eyes and a light beak.

Determining the sex of a budgerigar

You can distinguish parrots by gender by the color of the wax. While the birds are still young, both sexes have a light purple cere. At 4 months, the area above the beak in males becomes blue, and in females this part of the beak becomes beige. But after puberty, which is 9 months of age, in females the cere begins to darken to a brown color.

Budgerigar care and maintenance, choosing a home for budgies

For prosperous Keeping a budgerigar at home requires not only the availability of high-quality food, but also the correct placement of the cage.

How to choose a cell location?

The best place to place the cage is in the bright part of the room. It is not recommended to install a cage on a windowsill, since budgies are susceptible to drafts. However, it is vital for budgies to have daylight: in the summer, at least 12 hours, in the winter, from 10 hours. That is why in cold seasons, when daylight hours are quite short, owners should additionally illuminate the cage. In order for a pet to quickly get used to its owner, it is necessary to place the cage at the height of a person.

Cell selection

To choose a cage wisely, you need to pay attention to the following criteria:

Equipment for the cage

In order for parrots to feel comfortable in their home, it is necessary to place at least two perches different diameters, drinking bowls, feeders and various toys.

All perches should be positioned in such a way that the parrot can fly from one to another without any problems.

Drinking bowls must be made of glass or porcelain. In such drinking bowls, the water remains fresh much longer. Every day, drinking bowls must be washed hot water. For cleaning, you can use soda, which you then need to rinse thoroughly and wipe the drinker with a dry cloth.

There should be a minimum two. One will contain dry food, the second will contain fruits and vegetables.

Especially on hot summer days, you should put a bath in the cage. The water in the bath should not be too cold or hot. As soon as the bird has freshened up in the bath, it should be removed from the cage.

If there is only one parrot living in a cage, then it is necessary to place a small mirror at the top of the cage. It will help your budgie not feel lonely.

Budgerigar: care, maintenance and diet

The diet of these birds includes a large number of various fruits, vegetables and top dressing.

Cereals the mixtures consist of oats, flax and millet. It is best to purchase this mixture in a sealed package with a transparent area on the surface. This will help you visually assess the quality of the purchased product.

Parrots get vitamins mainly from fruits, vegetables and various berries. They love to chew carrots, cabbage leaves and cucumbers. As for fruits, apples, oranges and peaches are ideal. The berries included in the budgerigar's diet include blackberries and raspberries. However, parrots won’t refuse strawberries either.

In order for parrots to grow active and shine with health, they should be given minerals as food. feeding. Chalk or sand can be used as organic fertilizer. These substances are filled with calcium, which is necessary for the body of birds.

The first days after acquisition, the bird should be kept separately from other birds, if any.

A change of environment can create a stressful situation for the bird. Therefore, the main rule of caring for a pet is to protect it from external irritating factors. Such factors include loud sounds. Under no circumstances should you raise your voice at a parrot. When talking to him, you should make your voice as gentle as possible. There is no need to try to forcefully pick up your pet. This will only worsen the situation, and the adaptation process will drag on for a long time. But, as soon as this barrier is overcome, you can begin to teach your bird to talk.

Maybe not just a dog or a cat. Many animal lovers get budgies. But in order for a bird to live comfortably next to a person, you need to know how to properly care for it.

What do budgies do?

This species of parrot arrived in our country from Australia. They adapt well to life at home and are easy to care for. Their sizes are quite modest. The body grows to a length of about 20 centimeters, and the wingspan does not exceed ten centimeters. The tail has a stepped shape. Budgerigars have fairly strong and tenacious legs, with the help of which they quickly run across flat surfaces and climb trees well.

In what is familiar to you natural conditions Budgerigars have green plumage, but there are birds with feathers of other colors. Birds with yellow, blue and other plumage colors are artificially bred.

Wavys are considered quite sociable birds; they love to receive water procedures, have excellent vision and hearing. They are easy to train, as they are naturally able to imitate the singing of other birds, reproduce sounds or individual words. Budgerigars live on average about 15 years.

Regardless of whether you are buying a wavy for a company or planning to breed birds for sale, it is best to buy young ones. It is best to place the bird cage in the living room. IN big room the parrot will be in full view of the owners and will have the opportunity to familiarize itself with the situation. It is not recommended to place a bird cage in the kitchen. There, harmful fumes from household chemicals and drafts, since this room is often ventilated.

Also, do not place the cage in such a way that objects or shelves hang over it. Parrots don't tolerate this well. IN natural conditions they try to climb higher out of the instinct of self-preservation. In summer, on sunny, windless days, the cage with the parrot can be placed on the balcony, after making sure that he cannot open it. But do not leave the wavy unattended. An unexpected walk can become very stressful for the bird, and then the cage will need to be moved to an apartment.

What to feed your budgie

• Grain feed about 2 small spoons per day. The feeder should always be filled with grain mixture.
• Sprouted grains are necessary for better absorption useful substances. Before the first moult, a small spoonful of the sprouted mixture is given twice a week, then this type of food is given less frequently. For soaking, you can take grains such as chickpeas, lentils, wheat, oats, millet, rapeseed and others. But it is better to avoid hemp and flax seeds in sprouted mixtures.

• Mineral food is needed for normal development of bone tissue and feathers. This mixture consists of shell rock, crushed chalk, eggshells and charcoal. This mixture is sold in specialized departments and pet stores. It is placed in a separate container in the cage.
• To enrich the bird's body with mineral components and to sharpen its beak, budgies need a mineral stone or sepia.
• Three times a week the bird should be given porridge cooked in water. It is placed in a separate feeder. Buckwheat, oatmeal or lentil porridge is suitable for budgies.
• Be sure to give your parrot fresh vegetables or fruits, as well as herbs. They are an indispensable source of vitamins for birds. Please note that birds are not allowed to give basil, cilantro, St. John's wort, parsley, wormwood, celery and some other herbs.
• It is useful to let parrots chew branches fruit trees. They must first be cut into pieces and washed thoroughly under running water.
• It is necessary to give parrots water. The drinking bowl must be constantly filled with clean water.

Budgerigar Cage

Parrots of this breed are among the very active birds. Therefore, their home must be spacious, wide and high. The cage must be made of very high quality durable materials. It is better to make a cage in the form of a rectangle or square with a flat roof. But experts advise not to buy round cages. The birds do not feel protected in them. Optimal sizes cells:

• For one wavy 40x25x30 cm.
• For a couple of birds 60x30x40 cm.
• For two pairs of birds 60x50x60 cm.

Since parrots chew on everything, it is better to buy cages made of durable steel that does not rust or oxidize. For accessories and cage filling, choose items made from good, hypoallergenic materials that do not emit toxic substances. Inside the cage you need to place rings, a perch, a feeder and drinker, a bath and various toys. Moreover, inside the cell there should be a lot free space so that the wavy birds can spread their wings and fly from place to place.

Feeders and drinkers must be selected in a size that suits the dimensions. They will need to be taken out of the cage and washed every day. Rings and perches are preferably made of hard wood with a diameter of about 20 mm. Synthetic ones cause paw diseases. Perches made of volcanic pumice are also good; they are useful for sharpening bird claws.

Suitable toys include bells and other small musical things, rope ladders, swings and ropes. You need to be careful when handling mirrors. In some parrots this may cause sexual behavior or aggression.
For convenience, the cage should have a retractable tray, which must be filled with special ones. It will absorb all the wavy excrement.

How to tame a budgerigar to your hands

It is much easier to tame a budgie if it lives alone in a cage. Due to lack of communication, the bird will make contact faster. To do this, she needs to be surrounded with attention and care, and let into the room for communication more often. If a parrot is calm by nature, it will be more difficult for him to make contact, since he is not used to trusting others.

You can start taming parrots after the bird has adapted to its new home and is no longer afraid of people approaching its cage. In order for the wavy to sit calmly in the owner’s arms, you need to let him know that this will only be a joy to him. For example, reward the bird for correct behavior a treat. At first, you can extend your hand with pieces of vegetables or fruits directly into your pet’s cage. This must be done at least twice a day, because regularity of training is important here. Soon the bird will begin to make attempts to move onto the hand and eat the treat.

Diseases of budgies

If the bird feels unwell, it will be noticeable from the first days. In this case, she becomes indifferent, stops cleaning her feathers, and refuses to eat. Heavy breathing appears, there may be discharge from the beak, and the tail droops. Parrots often drink. Sometimes growths form on the beak and paws. If such signs appear, you must immediately begin treatment for your pet.

The main help lies in treatment methods such as heating. You need to install a lamp next to the cage and use it to maintain a temperature of about 27 degrees. This will strengthen the budgerigar's immunity.

If the parrot does not have enough vitamins or has liver disease, then treatment is carried out with a 10% glucose solution. It is also useful to give the bird honey in the amount of a few drops.

For diarrhea and poisoning, birds are given adsorbents, for example, enterosgel or Activated carbon. However, it is better not to treat the bird on your own, but to contact a veterinary clinic at the first sign of discomfort.

How to determine the gender of a budgie

In chicks, the sex of the bird can be determined by the shade of the wax. This can be done in the third or fourth week of the parrot’s life. The cere in males is uniformly colored purple, pink or purple tone. In some cases, along the contour of the nostrils, males have subtle circles of a light blue hue. In females, the cere is also colored pink, violet or lilac, but they will always have a clear white rim around the nostrils.

In adult birds, sex determination is quite simple. The cere of females darkens as they mature and becomes brown or beige. Sometimes there may be a bluish tint, but then there will be a white rim around the nostrils. In addition, females may have keratin growths and tubercles on the cere due to hormonal changes.

In males, as they grow older, the cere becomes a rich blue hue. If a bird begins to develop some kind of disease, the cere turns brown, begins to peel off and peel off.

How to determine the age of a budgie

When purchasing a bird at a pet store, you must first examine the wavy area of ​​feathers on the head. In a young bird, this area with waves starts from the beak itself and spreads to the entire head. The wavy will remain like this until the first molt, that is, up to 3-4 months.

Then you need to examine the bird's eyes. Until the age of six months, they do not have an iris and the bird’s eyes are completely black. If there is a wide light rim around the eyes, then the bird is more than 1 year old.

Another way to determine age is to pay attention to the color of the wax. Before reaching sexual maturity, its color may be pink, purple or lilac. But if the bird has already reached the age of six months, the color of the cere becomes bright and saturated.

Look at the bird's legs, or rather, pay attention to the scales. In young parrots, they fit very tightly to the surface of the paw and form a continuous surface. Over time, individual scales stand out more and more, and the surface of the paws becomes looser.

You can tell a lot by a parrot's tail. Up to two months, the parrot's tail is short. But in some cases, a bird loses its tail feathers due to illness or injury.

How to teach a budgie to talk

If you decide to start teaching your budgerigar human speech, then you should take into account the fact that for the bird our speech is just another song. The parrot will not communicate using speech, it will just imitate new sounds. For the owner of the bird, it is necessary to help the wavy learn a new song for him. To do this, you need to follow seven simple steps:

1. First, try to get to know your parrot and establish an emotional connection with him. Otherwise, learning will turn into real stress for him and he will not want to listen to you.
2. First, teach the wavy one word. It is best to choose the name of the parrot itself for this. If it is difficult to master one word for a bird, then you can start by repeating individual sounds.
3. Say the name while looking directly at the parrot. Then he will understand that you are addressing him. Speak not quickly, but rather emotionally. It is necessary that the bird is interested in the word and wants to repeat it. The intonation should be the same all the time so as not to confuse the parrot.
4. It will take the parrot a few seconds to respond. At first he will respond simply with sounds, but gradually the word will be heard more clearly. In a couple of months you will be able to teach him to say his name.
5. Classes should take place daily and should not last more than 20 minutes. It is advisable to conduct them at the same time of day, but depending on the mood and well-being of the pet, the lesson can be rescheduled.
6. Be sure to praise the wavy and treat him with treats.
7. Don't be lazy about doing your classes. Only a systematic approach will ensure your success.

If you want to get a more detailed “speech” of the parrot, then you need to tie certain words to the situation, for example, greeting or feeding time. It is best to create a connection with a meeting or departure, while saying words of greeting or farewell. It is necessary to create a real situation so that the bird has the necessary association with the real event.

Also take into account that the bird does not really understand the meaning of the word it says. Therefore, instead of the usual “hello” or “bye,” you can come up with something more interesting, but simple, so that the bird can easily repeat the word.

How long do budgies live at home?

On average, the lifespan of budgerigars at home does not exceed five years, but in some cases, under very favorable conditions, the lifespan of budgerigars can reach fifteen or even twenty years.

Lifespan is primarily influenced by genetics. If improperly bred, parrots develop genetic diseases that significantly shorten their lifespan. Due to inexperience or other reasons, breeders do not try to take into account all the nuances of the birds’ pedigree, which, of course, negatively affects the health of their pets.

It is very important to feed the bird correctly and in a balanced manner so that it lives as long as possible. Budgerigars have a tendency to develop various types of tumors due to poor nutrition. They may become obese or have indigestion. Remember that obesity reduces the life of a bird by 2/3.

You also need to create favorable conditions bird residence. The cage should be spacious and well lit. Must be constantly maintained optimal temperature and bring daylight closer to the natural living conditions of the budgerigar. It is imperative to regularly clean the cage, change food and water for the bird. All food expiration dates must be in order.

To maintain optimal health, the bird must be regularly released from the cage to fly for a while. This will allow your pet to maintain normal physical activity.

In addition to good physical shape, a budgie needs communication and attention for longevity. This will prevent your pet from getting bored and wasting away. It is important not to expose your pet stressful situations, avoid injury. If this happens or the bird gets sick for some other reason, you should immediately seek help from a doctor.

How much do budgies cost?

Before purchasing a wavy, you should consider all financial costs. The price for one bird varies greatly and depends on where exactly you will buy it. For example, in specialized stores the price of one individual can vary from 700 to 1000 rubles.

You can also buy budgies on the Internet, taking advantage of offers on message boards from people who independently breed them. In this case, you can save a significant amount on your purchase. But there is a high probability that the bird sold to you will be sick or old. Therefore, this option is only acceptable if you are able to assess the health and age of the bird without outside help.

In addition to buying the bird itself, you will also have to buy a cage, food and all the necessary accessories. In general, the costs will be about 3,500 rubles, or even more. This amount includes poultry feed, all necessary accessories, and a cage.

An active, noisy, loud and cheerful ornamental bird is the budgie. Such pets live in almost every third Russian family. Bird feathers usually have a greenish or blue wavy tint. Such exotic birds are ideal for keeping at home.

Description, characteristics, appearance

Bright overseas birds were brought to Europe from Australia. The number of birds has spread quite quickly; they are actively breeding at home, and not just in the wild. Pets bred by people are perfectly adapted to the life and microclimate of apartments.

Chatty and noisy parrots can even pronounce short phrases. They imitate some sounds and words without understanding the meaning. The slender bird has a long tail. They participate in exhibitions of ornamental birds and win first places.

The length of the bird's wing reaches 10.5 cm. They are used for sitting, flying, and support when walking. In flight, decorative parrots look like swallows. In search of food in nature, parrots fly quite quickly, especially if they are very hungry and need to find food.

Birds of this family have tenacious and developed paws with long fingers of a pinkish, reddish or gray-blue hue. They are able to grab dense parts of food, small food, walk on the ground, or even move through trees. The eye color of wild parrots in the wild can be almost white, yellowish, or dark blue. They even distinguish the color palette.

Cheerful pets have strong beaks. It is covered by a dense stratum corneum. The shape of this bird's nose is similar to those of birds of prey.

With the help of a powerful beak, parrots quickly gnaw through seeds and shoots, and can crush large food. it's the same reliable way protection from small predators and snakes.

The tongue of budgerigars is thick and short with a keratinized covering, which helps to grind the surface of the beak, break fruits, and clean grains. In the natural landscape, due to the shade of their plumage, parrots remain almost invisible.

The head and crop of birds usually have yellow tint. He moves to the back area. In the sun, the plumage of budgerigars fluoresces. This way, males quickly attract females for nesting. Birds notice the glow during the day, but people only notice it at night.

I suggest you get acquainted with another type of very beautiful and intelligent parrots in the article: how to keep and care for at home

Where do wild parrots live in nature?

Australia is considered the birthplace of wavy pets. This is the main habitat for wild birds. They mainly live on the east and southwest coasts, where there are the least dense forests. Birds nest in semi-desert areas and steppe zones with sparse trees and shrubs.

They breed in wildlife, regardless of the time of year. Parrots live in flocks. On the plains they look for grass seeds, on the green plains they look for water and other food. Birds move quickly and can fly long distances. Today, the transport of wild parrots from Australia is prohibited as the bird population is declining.

How to determine the sex of poultry

Determining the gender of your future pet is not difficult. At the base of the beak there is a certain zone - the cere:

• in young males it is purple, and in females it is blue with a border around the nostril area;
• mature male birds have a lilac or dark blue cere, while females have a brown or beige-blue cere. She gets this shade during nesting.

How long will a budgie live?

The average bird of this type lives 10-15 years. Rare specimens in the wild live up to 8 years, mostly half that age. In nature, they are killed by predators, natural disasters, and hunger. At good care at home, a pet can live up to 20 years.

Colors of budgies

This ornamental bird, beloved by many, has a variety of plumage colors:

1. Cobalt birds first appeared in London at a parrot exhibition in 1910.
   
2. Olive greens were developed in France.
   
3. Yellow parrots are the result of crossbreeding in Belgium.
   
4. Light green is a natural natural color.
   
5. Dark green ones appeared in France.
   
6. Sky blues were bred by Belgian ornithologists.
   
7. Gray-green parrots live in Australia.
8. Gray individuals were brought from England and Australia.
9. Purple appeared from German breeders.
10. Bright yellow parrots (lutinos).
11. Albinos with red eyes were bred in Germany in the 40s.
    

By plumage you can distinguish pet from wild. Curly parrots with plumage in the form of climbing stems are distinguished. Spangles have a waviness with mirror image, Czechs are distinguished by their fluffy cap and larger size.

Chubby or crested birds have crests on their heads different shapes. Based on the degree of color, birds are classified into single-colored and multi-colored birds. Among them there are penguins, harlequins and birds with a chaotic arrangement of spots.

What do budgies eat?

Basically, all bird breeders buy special mixtures for feeding them. They include sunflower seeds, onion grasses, canary grass, millet, and oats. The product must not contain any chemicals, dyes or expired expiration dates.

Sometimes it is useful to give the bird sprouted oats, just fresh ones each time. The remaining remains are immediately thrown out of the feeder. Ready mixes must be given during hatching, molting, and if the bird is sick.

For good health of wavy birds, the following is introduced into their diet:

Be careful when giving special cereal sticks for birds or honey crackers. Fruits and vegetables are given fresh and pure form. Vitamins are administered only during feeding of offspring, illness, severe stress or shedding.

It is forbidden to give the bird alcohol and chocolate, sweet candies, rhubarb and potatoes, milk and kefir. Parrots are often poisoned by pets ornamental plants. In order for their digestion to occur normally, it is necessary to pour clean sand into the cage.

It is useful to give flaxseed, rice porridge, buckwheat, wheat or rye to birds at home. They are boiled without adding salt. Fresh corn, grapes, banana, clover grass, dandelion grass, and wood lice are suitable as top dressing.

How do budgies reproduce?

In captivity, birds of this family live 10-15 years. Before nesting in nature, the female chooses a male. She is usually attracted by the color features of a male representative and the ability of his feathers to fluoresce under the influence of sunlight.

In Australia, the female incubates the chicks twice during the year. Pets should have long breaks before nesting. Under natural conditions, wavy fish live in rock crevices or tree hollows.

A house with straw bedding is set up for pets. On average, the female lays 3-5 eggs at a time. Sometimes 10-12 pcs. She incubates them for 20 days. At this time, the male obtains and brings food. The chicks are born blind and naked.

After a few weeks, their body is covered with dense fluff. After a month, feathers appear. Normal plumage is formed no earlier than 3 months of age. You should not buy a younger bird. Genetic diseases will appear after the first molt.

Setting up a cage for a budgie

A feathered pet should live in a spacious and clean cage. The norm for one parrot is 30 cm width, 35 cm height and 40 cm length. It is better to take a large aviary or a cage twice as large so that the bird can fly a little inside.

Inside there should be different perches made of wood, not plastic. This is important for grinding down the claws on the paws. Plastic perches that are too thick or thin can cause deformed birds' toes and claws, calluses and calluses.

There must be fresh water in the nest of the wavy; it is poured daily into a special fixed drinking bowl. The grain mixture is poured into the feeder. There is a separate container for mineral supplements and soft food. A stone is attached to one side to grind down the beak. Parrots love toys - ropes, swings, bells. To make cleaning up after your pet faster and easier, the cage is equipped with a deep retractable tray.

Wash the bird's cage with soda and warm water. No cleaning agents are used. It is better to let your feathered friend out of his cage every day and fly around the room. It is first ventilated, but then the vents and windows are closed.

They are covered with curtains to prevent the bird from hitting the glass. They clean it up and that's it houseplants so that the budgie does not get poisoned by them. Feathered pets love water treatments. They are regularly given a bath with water, and the birds in the cage are sprayed with a spray bottle during hot weather.

How to choose a wavy pet

Experts recommend buying a pet for 3-4 months. An adult parrot will take a long time to adapt and may even get sick. It is better to give preference to parrot breeders who keep their pets in the right conditions. In markets you can come across unhealthy poultry.

A healthy bird has dense feathers that are clean and shiny. The paws have even scales. A sick individual is sedentary, indifferent to others, often unkempt, with dull and ruffled feathers.

It is important to remember before purchasing that birds love to sing and can do this very early in the morning. They litter a lot - with paper scraps, feathers, droppings, and food husks. Every day you will have to clean up after them and clean the cage so that bad smell feces.

For lovers indoor flowers It’s worth moving your plants to another room. The bird can taste the soil, gnaw leaves, and then pick up helminths.

Near the parrot and in this room where it lives, you cannot smoke, spray perfume, air fresheners, paint your nails, or cook food. Tender respiratory system the wavy can be seriously damaged by this.

What do budgies get sick with?

Very often, decorative parrots suffer from colds. They begin to sneeze and sniffle. Their feathers are often infested by lice beetles and mites. This causes feather loss and itching. If the bird has lost its appetite and looks lethargic, it is quite possible that it has picked up worms. It is necessary to check your budgerigar's cloaca periodically, especially during the breeding season.

Sick birds are treated with anthelmintic agents, chamomile decoction, vitamin preparations, tick sprays, and a lamp is sent to disinfect the cage.

How to best care for a budgie

Stress for a bird is moving to a new habitat. At this time, it is better not to turn on the TV loudly and remove other pets that will disturb your feathered friend. At night, some breeders cover the cage with a thin sheet, making several slits for air to enter.

IN warm days You can expose the bird cage to the sun to produce vitamin D. Parrots usually molt twice a year. They feed her with vitamins and try not to disturb her. You can occasionally add ascorbic acid or lemon juice to the water.

It doesn't need to be boiled. Regular filtered or bottled water will do. Once a month they spend time in the feathered pet's house general cleaning, rubbing it with water, a decoction of wormwood or chamomile.

Temperature conditions and suitable lighting

In the room where your wavy friend lives, it is important to maintain a favorable temperature regime, microclimate and lighting. Do not place the cage with pets in a draft or direct sunlight, or near hot radiators. The suitable temperature for poultry is 20-22 degrees. Humidity – 60%.

The light regime is also very important so that the bird can sleep and rest peacefully. The parrot is taken out onto the balcony in spring and summer on cool days. In this case, you can throw a light tulle over the cage or create an area with shadow.

How to teach a parrot to speak

Small parakeets with wavy plumage are distinguished by their memory, inquisitive and intellectual disposition. They are trainable, playful and sociable, and very observant. They can open and close the cage if it has a simple latch.

It is better for them to live in small flocks or pairs, as the birds are very sociable.

They love all kinds of toys that they can swing and pick up in their beaks. Such devices are sold at any pet store. To teach your pet to speak, it is better to buy a young, active individual 3-5 months old, prone to loud chirping.