Every budgies owner wants their pet, more commonly known as a parakeet, to have the best life possible. A healthy diet is the best route to keeping your budgie happy and alive. A nutritionally balanced diet will make sure he gets the proper nutrients he needs every day. Improper feeding can lead to nutritional imbalances and eventually illness and, in extreme cases, death. Try seeds, one good option to feed budgies is seeds. However, you shouldn't let your budgie fill up on seeds, as this can shorten a bird’s lifespan. This is because most seed mixes do not provide sufficient nutrients your bird needs and can cause cancer, obesity, and other health problems. Seeds should only make up 1/6 of your budgie's diet. Use fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables form a very important part of your budgie's diet. Dark green or yellow vegetables should be offered daily. Try fruits and vegetables such as apples, pumpkin, grapes, carrot, parsley, broccoli, mango, sweet potato, squash, and spinach.
Feed the fruits and vegetables to your budgie raw, because cooking takes away vital nutrients. Provide hard boiled eggs and grated cheese. Although this may sound unusual for a budgie, it adds a great source of protein for your budgie. It also adds a little variety to his diet, which is always a good thing.
Make sure you limit these special treats. Keep it fresh and varied. Your budgie should have many different options to eat every day. As a general guideline, feed your budgie seeds and pellets every day. Fruits, vegetables, and soft foods should be fed to him every second day.
Egg or cheese should be feed on him once a week or once every other week. Use a suitable container. Your budgie needs to be able to access his food whenever he needs to. Budgies can get very sick if he goes without eating for 24 hours, so he needs to be able to access his food at all times. The container shouldn't be too deep so the budgie doesn't have to dig too deep to get to the food. It should also be in a place near his water so he can eat and drink together.
Provide a cuttlebone and a mineral block. Cuttlebones and mineral blocks are necessities for your budgie. They contain necessary minerals and nutrients that your bird might not be getting other places. The cuttlebone should be placed in the cage so the soft side faces the bird so he can scrape off the bone. Prevent obesity. Your budgie needs ample cage space or room in your house to exercise.
You should also pay attention to your bird's daily feeding habits to keep him from overeating. This can lead to obesity. An obese bird loses its streamlined appearance and can become lethargic and suffer health problems. Balance the food. Budgies have very delicate systems. Any changes to his food should be done gradually over a long period of time. If you want to change his seed blends, add a little more of the new blend in each day and take away a little more of the old blend until he has completely transitioned to the new food.
Get him to eat. Your budgie may not want to eat, which can be due to the presentation of foods or what you are feeding him. If he won't eat the fresh foods, chop up the veggies and fruits and put them in an empty feed cup. Change the water daily. All birds need water all day long in a clean water container. To keep clean and fresh, replace the water dish every day with a fresh dish. Clean the dish with vinegar and water only. Never use soap or chemicals to clean it. The vinegar will help prevent any bacteria from building up in the dish.