Our Budgie Helpline takes dozens of calls a week and most of them are about diet. There is a great deal of misinformation and plenty of old wives' tales out there, so it is worth a few minutes to check how you are feeding your birds.
Budgies eat a quality fresh seed mix as the foundation of their diet, plus fresh vegetables every day, a source of protein twice a week, a source of calcium and clean water. Fruit is an occasional treat, not a staple. Get those things right and you have an excellent diet for a pet budgie.
What is the best food for budgies?
A farm fresh, low fat Australian seed mix, with fresh vegetables daily and protein twice a week.
The seed is the part most people get wrong, and it is not their fault. Most store bought seed is imported, which means it has to be fumigated with chemicals and irradiated before it is allowed into the country. By the time it reaches the shelf it can be months old. Old seed loses nutritional value, and dusty seed can carry mould.
Farm fresh local seed is a completely different product. You can see it, you can smell it, and the birds eat it differently. Our low fat mix is the seed we feed our own 400 birds, which is the only recommendation that really means anything.
One thing almost nobody does: blow the husks off the seed bowl twice a day. Budgies crack the husk and drop it straight back in the bowl, so a bowl that looks full can be empty underneath. Birds have starved in front of a bowl that looked untouched.
How much seed should a budgie eat?
A healthy adult budgie eats roughly one and a half to two teaspoons of seed a day, though this varies with age, activity and whether the bird is breeding.
Never ration the seed unless your budgie is genuinely overweight, and the only way to know that is to weigh it. A budgie should sit between 35 and 45 grams. A set of micro scales costs very little, and weighing your birds once a month is the best early warning system you have, because weight drops before anything else becomes visible.
Do budgies need fresh vegetables every day?
Yes. Fresh vegetables should go in every single day.
Each budgie will only eat a teaspoon or so, so there is no need to overdo it. Celery, corn on the cob and broccoli are the firm favourites in our aviary. Beyond those, all of these are safe and worth rotating:
- Broccoli, celery, corn on the cob
- Carrot and capsicum
- Bok choy and silverbeet
- Snow peas
- Spinach, occasionally rather than daily
- Fresh herbs such as parsley and coriander
Introduce anything new slowly. Some budgies will try a new vegetable the moment it appears. Others will eye it suspiciously for three weeks and then eat it as though it was their own idea all along. Keep offering.
Can budgies eat fruit?
Yes, but in moderation. Budgies are not big fruit eaters and fruit is high in natural sugar.
Small portions once or twice a week is plenty. Apple with the seeds removed, pear, banana, blueberries, strawberries, grapes and melon are all safe. If your bird ignores it, that is normal. They generally prefer their vegetables.
Can budgies have millet?
Yes. Millet spray is safe and most budgies love it, but treat it as a treat rather than part of the daily diet, because it is high in fat and a bird that fills up on millet eats less of everything else.
It is also the most useful taming tool you have. A sprig offered through the cage bars will get a nervous bird stepping onto a hand faster than anything else. What we would avoid are the treat sticks with seed glued together, and honey sticks. Budgies do not need added sugar, and the glue is not something you want going into the bird.
What foods are toxic to budgies?
Never feed a budgie any of the following. Some of them are dangerous in very small amounts.
- Avocado
- Onion, garlic, chives and leeks
- Chocolate, caffeine and alcohol
- Apple seeds and fruit pips
- Tomato leaves and stems
- Rhubarb
- Salty, sugary, fatty or fried foods
- Dairy products
- Raw dried beans
- Seed stuck together with glue, and honey sticks
If you are not sure about something, leave it out until you have checked. It is not worth the risk over one piece of whatever it is.
Do budgies need protein?
Yes, twice a week. This is the part of the diet most owners skip entirely.
Protein supports feather condition, muscle strength, growth in young birds and breeding condition in adults. Hard boiled or scrambled egg does the job perfectly well, a teaspoon per bird, twice a week. If you would rather not be boiling eggs twice a week, our protein booster does the same job with no preparation, a level teaspoon per bird, twice weekly.
Do budgies need calcium?
Yes. Calcium supports bone, muscle and beak health, and it becomes critical for breeding hens and growing chicks.
A cuttlebone clipped to the side of the cage is the simplest way to provide it, and most birds use it happily. Mineral blocks do the same job. Keep one in the cage permanently and replace it when it wears down.
Do budgies need grit?
No. This is one of the most persistent myths in bird keeping.
Chickens and pigeons swallow seed whole and need grit in the gizzard to grind it. Budgies do not. They strip the husk off with their beak and swallow only the kernel, so there is nothing for grit to grind. Offering it can cause problems if a bird eats too much of it.
How often should I change the water?
Every day, without exception, and more often in hot weather or after a bird has bathed in it.
Budgies dunk seed, drop husks and use the water bowl as a bath, so it fouls faster than it looks. Wash the bowl properly rather than topping it up, because a film builds up on the inside that you will not see. Never add anything to the water unless an avian vet has told you to.
Seed or pellets: which is better?
Fresh seed, every time. That is our position and we are not neutral on it.
Pellets are dehydrated, coloured and have chemicals added, and they are often old by the time they reach the customer. Most budgies dislike them. The nutritional argument for pellets is that they stop a bird picking out only its favourite seeds, which is a real problem with a poor quality mix, but it is not a problem with a good one fed alongside daily vegetables and twice weekly protein.
Retailers push pellets hard, and the margins on them are excellent. Draw your own conclusions.
If you do decide to move to pellets, do it gradually over several weeks, and never take the familiar food away until you are certain the bird is actually eating the new one. Budgies will starve rather than eat something they do not recognise as food.
How do I know my budgie is eating well?
A well fed budgie is bright, alert and active, holds its weight between 35 and 45 grams, produces normal droppings, has smooth tight feathers and clear eyes, and shows enthusiasm at feeding time.
If a budgie suddenly stops eating, drops weight, or sits fluffed up and quiet, ring an avian vet. Do not wait to see how it goes. Birds hide illness until they cannot hide it any longer, and by the time it is obvious you are often short of time.
The summary
Quality fresh seed as the base, never rationed unless the bird is overweight. Fresh vegetables daily. Protein twice a week. Cuttlebone permanently in the cage. Fresh water changed every day. Fruit occasionally. Nothing off the toxic list, ever.
Be kind to your budgies. They rely on you entirely for their health, vitality and longevity, and it is not a lot to ask for what they give back.
Free health checks, free wing trims, free dietary advice. That is what we do at Just Budgies, and it does not stop the day you take your birds home.
Garry
Telephone / WhatsApp 0412 993 334
garry@justbudgies.com.au
