How to feed a budgie?

Budgerigars - this pretty nimble birds, and in the wild they have the ability to adapt to climatic and weather factors. Therefore, their diet is very diverse, it includes fresh branches, grass seeds, exotic fruits, young shoots and juicy fruits. Domestic chicks in everything depend on the person and our knowledge of how to feed these parrots. It will be useful for the owners of these beautiful birds to find out how to feed the pet, in addition to the standard grain mixture.

When feeding a budgie it is extremely important to adhere to the principle of a varied diet. The menu should include various ingredients. Grain fodder is a food base, an adult feathered needs about two tablespoons of grain per day, babies, respectively, have less, but there are situations when a bird needs a slightly larger amount of grain - here you should first focus on the needs of the bird.

Most often, breeders purchase a ready-made store grain mixture, as a rule, it includes:

• oats;
• millet;
• seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, flax and others)

If desired, all components can be purchased separately, and make the mixture yourself. Germinated grains are very nutritious for birds - this is a lively food rich in proteins and vitamins, which is well absorbed in the feathered organism and enriches it with useful micro and macro elements. The mixture for soaking has a more diverse composition than dry - additionally introduced mung bean, chickpea, as well as sesame, buckwheat, mogar and sorghum.

Before the arrival of molting, the birds are given 1 tsp. germinated grains twice a week, then top dressing is carried out only once a month, since swollen grains begin to stimulate increased production of sex hormones.

The menu must certainly contain mineral mixtures, they have a beneficial effect on strengthening feathers and skeleton, and in addition, improve digestion processes. Usually they include up to 70% of crushed limestone and 30% chalk with a slight addition of eggshells, charcoal.

Sepia, which is a shell of sea cuttlefish, also belongs to mineral top dressing. It contains high concentrations of sodium, potassium, magnesium and phosphorus salts - they protect the beak from curvature and deformation that is harmful to health. It is best to use sepia with a whitish hue, a slight yellow coating is allowed. On sale, mineral pebbles are often found, which include iron, zinc, as well as phosphorus, magnesium and calcium. Such top dressing is extremely important for the skeleton, the lack of these elements leads to disruption of the parathyroid gland, which leads to weakness of the beak and bone apparatus, growth retardation and severe bird depletion.

Mineral stones and chains are usually attached directly to the rods of the aviary, so that the birds have a free approach to them.

And also you need to pour in a separate container a mixture of crushed limestone, coral, fine-grained organic sand, chalk and wood ash. Be sure to keep in mind that organic sand is not the same as ordinary building sand, it is crushed shells and contributes to grinding food into the goiter of the animal.

It is very important to introduce potassium into the poultry diet - it is best to get it from the shell of chicken eggs. This supplement helps to strengthen the skeleton and create a protective shell when laying eggs. Parrot feed chalk is also rich in calcium - it is attached to the cage in the form of briquettes. It is very important to purchase chalk specifically designed for birds, others may contain additives that are dangerous to bird health, for example, rodent chalk includes salt, which causes poisoning in birds.

Charcoal is obtained from birch, it contains high concentrations of calcium and iron. The additive helps to eliminate toxins, harmful gases and salts of heavy metals from the body of a bird.

Additionally, some products should be present on the parrot menu.

• Porridge. Usually birds are given oat, buckwheat, millet, rice or barley. They should be cooked on water without the use of sugar, table salt and butter. Porridge is a full-fledged source of useful microelements and contribute to the establishment of metabolism.
• Vegetables and fruits. They are the main source of vitamins. Repeated feeding of birds with these products per day is allowed.
• Greens. Young shoots of deciduous trees, beet and carrot tops, meadow herbs, pharmacy chamomile, chicory, lettuce, plantain and some other succulent feeds improve the health of birds, strengthen immunity and strengthen feathers. But keep in mind that not every grass is useful - therefore, if you can’t be 100% sure that this or that greenery should be given to a parrot, it’s better not to do this.

If your pet needs vitamins, then the necessary drugs can be bought at a pet store or veterinary clinic. During the course of treatment, all fruits and vegetables should be removed from the diet so that the parrot can get moisture exclusively from water enriched with vitamins.It must be changed 2 times a day, otherwise the vitamins are destroyed, and the composition loses its medicinal properties.

Separately, it is worth dwelling on such an important issue as the dairing of poultry.. The liquid must certainly be present in the drinker, while always be fresh, it is advisable to take filtered or bottled. It is best to pour water in small portions, but at the same time constantly update it, the optimum temperature for drinking is considered to be +15.20 degrees Celsius. From time to time, you can give feathered 100 ml of ordinary water with the addition of a couple of drops of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar - these measures help prevent mycobacteriosis.

For effective cleaning of the stomach and intestines of the bird, 1 time per month they are given a little honey, dry cottage cheese and fish oil are also recommended.

Keep in mind that with a monotonous menu, parrots begin to hurt, but you need to gradually add variety to the diet, because parrots are quite conservative in food addictions. Birds are fed several times a day, at a lower temperature in the room, feathered appetite increases - they become more active, which means they require more food.

If you approach the diet of birds correctly, then the parrot will maintain vigor, health for many years and, of course, will be grateful to its owners for their care. Let us dwell in more detail on the individual components of the feathered diet.

Fresh vegetables should be included in the diet of birds constantly. Carrots, which are extremely important for the avian organism, have the greatest utility. The root crop is added to the food in a grated form, usually mixing with porridge or boiled eggs. In addition, the birds really like the pulp of pumpkin and melon, but watermelons need to be careful - of course, they help cleanse the body, but if you use it uncontrolled, parrots may have difficulty with the organs of the excretory system.

If the bird is kept in a small enclosure and leads a sedentary lifestyle, then it needs fresh cucumbers - they can be given a lot, but certainly from the garden, and not bought from the supermarket.

It is allowed for birds to use tomatoes, but only ripe ones, because unripe tomatoes contain alkaloids, therefore they can cause damage to the body. Beetroot is also recommended for inclusion in the diet of a parrot, it is rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber.

In small portions, you can treat the bird with lettuce, as well as spinach, the body of the parrot responds well to green bell pepper and boiled potatoes. Keep in mind that not all products are shown feathered. So, it is strictly forbidden to treat parrots with onions, garlic, celery root, spicy herbs and radishes - they contain too many essential oils, and their taste is quite sharp. Due to the high alkaloids content, eggplant should also be excluded from the pet's menu.

Birds love fresh fruits. Most often they are given apples, they can be included in the menu year-round - there is simply no risk of an overdose. But the passion for pears often leads to constipation, because they need to be given in limited doses.

One of the most favorite delicacies for winged pets is tangerine and orange; birds can also be fed with grapes. Budgies like bananas, but be sure to peel fresh fruits. Peaches and apricots bring great benefits to the feathered organism, parrots will never refuse to enjoy cherries and ripe cherries, they love black and red currants, raspberries and rose hips. There are some birds that even eat honeysuckle both fresh and dried.

From time to time you can give peeled kiwi and pineapple, but remember that the fruit must certainly be only fresh - canned birds do not fit.

Porridge must certainly be included in the diet of these beautiful poultry, but only without butter and all kinds of seasonings. It is best to cook the grains friable until half ready.

Boiled rice, millet, buckwheat, as well as corn grits and lentils are useful for birds. It is best for newborn chicks to boil liquid cereals from wheat grits or semolina with the addition of a small amount of crushed shells and a drop of fish oil.

Babies are usually fed with a syringe, 3-5 ml per day are enough for each chick for one meal. Liquid porridge contains a lot of water, therefore, does not require additional doping.

Greens should be an integral part of the daily diet of birds. It should be collected in ecologically clean areas. Before serving, sorting out, separating all weeds and poisonous herbs, remove insects and be sure to wash.

Wild herbs such as are useful to parrots:

• burdock;
• clover;
• scalded young nettle;
• plantain.

You can replenish the supply of meadow greens with garden crops: lettuce, as well as carrot and beet tops. Twigs of fruit plants and willow twigs are extremely important for parrots, but just make sure they are resin free. Budgies always like to chew on something. In order for them not to waste their energy on baseboards and new wallpapers, give them finely cut tree branches from time to time. Only before serving them to your feathered pet, the shoots should be kept in cold water for about 4-6 hours, after which it is necessary to scald them with boiling water to destroy insects and their larvae.

The parrots, currants, pears and apple trees, as well as cherries and cherries like it. To grind off the beak, feathery branches of mountain ash, alfalfa and garden viburnum should be given to the birds. But oak, poplar, as well as lilac with acacia for birds are very dangerous, it is also better to avoid coniferous shoots.

Among indoor plants, there are those that pose a danger to the bird - they include dieffenbachia, azalea, digitalis, indoor fern and heather, but a rose, tradescantia, or fat girl will not harm the pet. And also there will be no trouble if the parrot bites a little bamboo.

The feasts for the birds include chumiza, as well as cereals such as moghar, Senegalese millet and red millet in the spikelets - they should be given in a dosage as a dessert. Despite the fact that they belong to grains, such a food is so attractive for parrots that with an excess supply, the pet will simply refuse any other food, will wait for sweets all the time. So, if you offer a spikelet to a budgie, then a day a small twig will be quite enough for him.

Additionally, food of animal origin can be included in the diet of birds, however, it can only be given a couple of times a month, not more often. The greatest love of birds are:

• cheese - Be sure to take varieties with a low level of fat content;
• boiled eggs - only peeled;
• fish fat - it is better to interfere with the feed mixture;
• cottage cheese - this component is given in a small volume, preferably semi-dry with a fat content of not more than 9%.

Nowadays in specialized stores for budgies offer a large selection of different sticks - honey, grain or egg. You do not need to take them - they include too many sugars, as well as dyes and preservatives, and even the quality of the grain in them is very doubtful.

The list of prohibited foods includes:

• salt - the body of a domestic parrot is simply not able to independently digest this product, which inevitably leads to health problems;
• dill, parsley, spices, seasonings and spices - these products cause severe complications of the state of health of birds and often lead to their death;
• milk and all its derivatives - the fact is that the birds do not produce enzymes that can digest this product, in addition, it is characterized by increased fat content, because it causes harm to the health of the pet;
• bread - this product is not recommended for birds, as it contains yeast and sugar, as well as flour and salt, in rare cases you can treat the parrot with a dry yeast slice;
• mushrooms - strictly forbidden by birds, as they have the most negative effect on the digestive organs;
• chocolate and other sweets - they include sugar and cocoa, which have an overly stimulating effect on the nervous system of birds.

Proper feeding of the budgerigar is considered an indispensable fundamental condition, on which the growth and full development of the feathered pet largely depends. That is why it must be thought out from and to.

For information on how to feed a budgie, see the next video.