Written by the Birdsville team. Last updated October 2026.

Budgies are one of the most amazing little parrots in the world, and the most popular pet bird for very good reason. They’re social, playful and smart, and with the right training a budgie can do almost everything a large parrot can, including talk. This How to Care for Budgies guide from Birdsville, 684 Botany Road, Alexandria NSW 2015, covers everything you need to know, from bringing your new budgie home to diet, cages, toys, training, health and more.

Everything on this page is exactly what we and our breeders recommend. Our knowledge comes from many avian experts working together, with a combined experience of a couple of hundred years. It’s been passed down from the original founders of Birdsville, shaped by the zoo industry, and added to by the breeders and team members who work with us to improve the lives of pet birds. Our number one goal is for your budgie to thrive, physically and mentally.

Budgies are a true Australian native, living in huge nomadic flocks across inland Australia. You can read more about wild budgies on the Australian Museum’s budgerigar page (https://australian.museum/learn/animals/birds/budgerigar/).

Budgie Quick Facts

• Scientific name: Melopsittacus undulatus
• Other names: budgerigar, parakeet, shell parrot
• Native range: inland Australia
• Adult size: about 18cm long
• Adult weight: about 30 to 40g
• Lifespan: usually 7 to 10 years, and some reach 15 with excellent care
• Talking ability: good, and a budgie holds the world record for the biggest vocabulary of any bird
• Minimum cage size: about 50cm long, 30cm deep and 45cm high for one budgie, larger for a pair
• Bar spacing: 1.2cm or less
• Social needs: very social flock birds that need daily company
• Experience level: beginner friendly

On This Page

• Before You Bring Your Budgie Home
• Bringing Your New Budgie Home
• Introducing Your Budgie to Other Birds and Pets
• Budgie Cages and Enclosures
• Setting Up Your Budgie’s Cage
• Where to Put the Cage
• Perches
• Toys and Behavioural Enrichment
• What Do Budgies Eat?
• Calcium, Iodine and Vitamin D
• Water and Bathing
• Substrate and Cleaning
• Worming Your Budgie
• Lice and Mites
• Training Your Budgie
• Teaching Your Budgie to Talk
• How to Tell if a Budgie Is Male or Female
• Wing Trimming
• Nail Trimming
• Health Problems and First Aid
• Unweaning Risks in Baby Budgies
• Keeping Your Baby Budgie Warm
• Sydney Seasonal Tips
• Budgie Essentials Checklist
• Boarding
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Recommended Avian Vets

Before You Bring Your Budgie Home

Please read this whole guide before your budgie comes home. We’ve written down the honest, non sugar coated facts of budgie ownership. You’ll find plenty of different opinions online, and sadly a budgie can pay the ultimate price for a wrong one. This is how we and our breeders keep our budgies happy and healthy.

Take your new budgie home in a carry cage, such as the Trixie Transport Box (https://petsville.com.au/products/trixie-transport-box-22-x-14-x-15cm). It keeps your bird safe and calm until you’re ready to move it into its new cage. Some budgies get stressed in the car and can flap around and hurt themselves in a larger cage.

Bringing Your New Budgie Home

The First 48 Hours

Set the cage up before your budgie arrives, then leave your new budgie alone for the first 48 hours. This gives it time to settle into its new home. Many of our baby budgies have never been in a cage on their own, or away from other budgies, before.

The First 4 Days

It’s completely natural for a new baby budgie to be scared and stressed by the change, and many won’t eat for the first day or two. Check whether the seed has been hulled (the shells cracked open and left behind), which is the easiest way to tell your budgie is eating.

Put extra millet sprays (https://petsville.com.au/products/millet-sprays-mixed-100g) on the cage floor to encourage your baby to eat. Millet sprays are fresh, recently harvested and a little softer than loose seed, which makes them perfect for a young budgie learning to crack seed.

Once your budgie has been eating properly and feeling at home for at least 48 hours, start training by handling it for short periods once or twice a day. Offer its favourite treats while you handle it, to build a bond.

The First 10 Days

Moving home is stressful for any budgie, and stress can quickly lead to diarrhoea, dehydration and a weaker immune system. For the first 10 days, add Vetafarm Spark Liquid (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-spark-liquid-50ml) to the drinking water. Spark provides electrolytes and energy to help your budgie through the move. Use it again any time your budgie is moved or transported.

As your budgie grows more confident, gradually handle it for longer. Once handling is no longer stressful, most budgies will love the attention, and you.

On day 10, your budgie is ready for its first worming and lice and mite spray, as explained below.

Introducing Your Budgie to Other Birds and Pets

If you already have birds, keep your new budgie in quarantine, in a separate cage and ideally a separate room, for at least 4 weeks. This lets you watch for any signs of illness before the birds meet.

After quarantine, place the cages at opposite ends of a large room so the budgies can see and hear each other. Then introduce them slowly under supervision, watching how they get along. Budgies are flock birds and usually mix with other budgies well, and the sex of the bird doesn’t really matter. If either bird becomes aggressive or stressed, separate them and try again a week later.

Introducing a budgie to a cat, dog, rabbit, guinea pig or other kinds of birds takes time. Cats and dogs are predators and will show a lot of interest in a new budgie at first. Most pets eventually accept a budgie as part of the family, but always supervise closely when your budgie is out of its cage.

For more detail, see our guide to introducing new birds (https://birdsville.net.au/pet-bird-advice-and-training/new-avian-introductions-mixing-species/).

Budgie Cages and Enclosures

A budgie’s cage should be a place it loves to be. Many of our customers have budgies that put themselves to bed after their time out of the cage.

Budget, personal taste and where the cage will go all play a part, but always choose the largest cage you can. Your budgie needs room to move once perches, bowls and toys are added, and a bigger cage needs less cleaning. As a minimum, one budgie needs a cage about 50cm long, 30cm deep and 45cm high, and a pair needs something larger. The Square Top 450S cage (https://petsville.com.au/products/cage-450s-square-top-46-x-36-x-53-5cm) is a good size for one budgie. Look for horizontal bars for climbing, spaced 1.2cm or less apart.

• Choose a cage that’s wider than it is tall, as budgies fly from side to side.
• Never choose a round cage for a budgie.
• A large front door isn’t essential, but it makes taming much easier, as you can bring your budgie in and out on your hand while teaching it to step up.
• Some cages aren’t suitable for budgies, so if you’re unsure, ask our team.

Come and see the many different cages we have on display in-store at Birdsville.

Setting Up Your Budgie’s Cage

A baby budgie should have an extra bowl of seed on the cage floor at all times, as well as seed in the normal feeders on the side of the cage. Babies often find food on the floor more easily, and a bowl there makes sure your baby never goes hungry. For the first 7 days, put an extra water bowl on the floor too.

Each cage should have at least 3 permanent feeders and 1 permanent drinker: one for quality seed, one for pellets, one for water, plus spares for treats and vegetables. Easy to wash cups such as the Clean Cup (https://petsville.com.au/products/jw-insight-feeder-clean-cup-small-10cm) make daily cleaning quicker.

At first, your baby budgie may only eat seed and Birdsville Blends. Some budgies take a month or more to learn to eat pellets, crumble, mineral supplements and vegetables. During this learning phase, always keep plenty of seed available or your budgie may starve. Offer an all-you-can-eat buffet for the first 3 months, with a variety of foods so it learns to eat them.

Important: seed sticks and seed bells make great chew toys, but a baby budgie can starve if it only has seed sticks or blocks and no loose seed.

Budgies must always have fresh, clean water. We stock many waterers and drink bottles that save you time and stop your budgie fouling its water.

Where to Put the Cage

Keep the cage in a bright, draught free room where the family spends time, out of direct sun and away from the kitchen. Cooking fumes, especially from non-stick pans, as well as aerosols and smoke can be deadly to budgies. Laundries aren’t a good place for a budgie either, as fumes from the washing machine and a lack of company make for an unhappy bird.

Perches

Perches, and where you put them, are important. Make sure they’re not positioned where your budgie will hit its head, or above food and water bowls where droppings will fall in.

We recommend at least 5 perches: the 2 dowel perches that usually come with a new cage, at least 2 natural branch perches and at least 1 grit or concrete perch. Natural perches (https://petsville.com.au/collections/perches) have grooves and varying widths that spread the pressure on your budgie’s feet, which helps prevent a painful foot condition called bumblefoot. A grit or concrete perch also helps keep nails worn down.

Toys and Behavioural Enrichment

Toys keep your budgie busy, happy and mentally stimulated, and they help prevent problems such as plucking, screaming and aggression. Give toys from day one. Budgies love to play, but they need to learn how.

A basic budgie setup includes a ladder, a swing per budgie and at least 4 to 6 toys for chewing, preening and playing. Think of the cage as three levels, and use all of them:

• Top: hanging chew toys and natural toys (https://petsville.com.au/collections/hanging-bird-toys)
• Middle: bells and foraging toys
• Bottom: foot toys such as balls and barbells (https://petsville.com.au/collections/foot-toys)

Swings and ladders (https://petsville.com.au/collections/swings-ladders) give your budgie exercise by making it use its muscles differently than it would on a still perch. The Cement Swing (https://petsville.com.au/products/birdie-cement-swing-acrylic-frame-small) is a swing and nail trimmer in one. A seed bar, such as the Budgie Delight Treat Bar (https://petsville.com.au/products/passwell-delight-budgie-75g), is a treat and a foraging toy at the same time. Our Natural Bird Toys page (https://birdsville.net.au/natural-toys/) has more ideas.

Use a variety of toys and rotate them regularly so your budgie doesn’t get bored. If your budgie destroys a toy, that means it loves it and it’s time for a new one. Check toys for wear and throw out any that are damaged or rusty.

The more mental stimulation your budgie gets, the tamer, friendlier and healthier it becomes. We have one of the biggest ranges of bird toys in Australia, with new toys arriving all the time.

What Do Budgies Eat?

Seed is an essential part of a budgie’s diet, but seed and water alone isn’t enough for any bird, and it’s even worse when the seed is low grade. For an adult budgie, we recommend about:

• 50% high quality seed or seed blend
• 40% high quality pellets or crumble
• 10% fresh vegetables, greens and a little fruit

Our Birdsville Blends also contain dried vegetables and greens, which add to this base diet. We prefer separate bowls for seed and pellets, so you can see exactly what your budgie is eating.

Never Rush a Baby Budgie Onto Pellets

This applies to every baby parrot, not just budgies. A baby budgie must always have seed. Keep it on seed, with pellets available in a separate bowl so it can learn to eat them in its own time. A baby given only pellets may not recognise them as food, and it can starve and die. Sadly, this is a mistake we see far too often.

Offer baby budgies an all-you-can-eat buffet of seed, plus pellets and greens to try, for the first 3 months, and always keep an extra bowl of seed on the cage floor. Babies can’t overeat. After about 3 months, gradually build up the pellets towards the adult ratio. If you need help moving your budgie onto pellets, come in and see our team.

Two Ways to Feed a Budgie

Option 1: a high quality basic budgie seed, such as Basic Budgie Mix (https://petsville.com.au/products/avigrain-seed-budgie-blue-2kg), with Birdsville Blends Budgie Gourmet (https://petsville.com.au/products/birdsville-blends-budgie-500g) mixed through it, plus pellets or crumble in a separate bowl.

Option 2: pellets or crumble as the main food, with our Birdsville Blend Seed Enhancer (https://petsville.com.au/products/birdsville-blend-mixed-veg-seed-enhancer) added for variety and extra nutrition.

Birdsville Blends Budgie Gourmet

Our Budgie Gourmet blend is our biggest seller, and arguably the healthiest mix you can give your budgie. It’s mixed and bagged fresh on site, packed with herbs, beetroot, niger seed, chillies, pumpkin, legumes, dried fruits and dried vegetables. You can feed it on its own, but for the best value we recommend mixing it through a quality budgie seed.

Budgie Seed

A high quality seed makes a huge difference to your budgie’s health. Many supermarket and chain store mixes come in pretty boxes, but that doesn’t mean they’re good quality. Low grade seed is often full of filler, such as coloured bits, large seeds budgies can’t eat like sorghum, excess rape seed, dust and shell grit added for weight. Shell grit is important, but it’s better offered separately.

Try this test: put a high quality seed and a low quality seed in two dishes side by side and watch which one your budgie eats. Birds can taste freshness and quality, and they’ll always choose the better seed. If you’re unsure about the seed you’re using, bring a sample into any bird specialist store and they’ll be able to tell you what’s in it. Specialist stores always carry high quality seed, because breeders rely on it to raise healthy birds.

All our seed is bagged fresh on site and sells quickly, so it’s always fresh, and buying from the people who mix it saves you money. Seed loses nutrition over time, so buy the right amount for the number of birds you have. For one or two budgies, a 2kg or 4kg bag is the best value. Read more on our budgie seed page (https://birdsville.net.au/seeds-grains/budgie-seed/).

For overweight budgies, increasing the amount of French white millet in the diet helps bring the weight down. We sell it separately in-store.

Pellets and Crumble

Pellets add vitamins and minerals your budgie can’t get from seed alone. Never switch a budgie to pellets all at once, especially a baby, as it may not recognise them as food and could starve. Always keep seed available and introduce pellets slowly alongside it. It can take months for a budgie to learn to eat pellets.

We recommend Vetafarm Finch and Budgie Crumbles (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-finch-budgie-crumbles-450g), Passwell Budgie Starter (https://petsville.com.au/products/passwell-budgie-starter-1kg) and Vetafarm Nutriblend Mini pellets (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-nutriblend-pellets-mini-350g). We haven’t found better pellets for budgies.

Millet Sprays

Budgies love millet sprays, and they’re good for them. Millet sprays are very fresh seed that encourages babies to eat, and adult budgies simply enjoy them. They’re also our most popular training reward. We stock several kinds, and the most popular for budgies are panicum and French white. They’re often still green when they first arrive.

The Good Oil

The Good Oil (https://www.wombaroo.com.au/product/good-oil-for-birds/) is a liquid supplement rich in omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, which many grains lack, plus the fat soluble vitamins A, D3 and E. It can improve your budgie’s overall health and egg quality, and supports the liver, which helps with fatty liver in older birds. Mix 15ml through each kilogram of seed and leave it for at least 4 hours at room temperature so the oil soaks into the seed before feeding.

Vegetables and Greens

Budgies are natural green feeders. Offer vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, carrot, beetroot, snow peas, green beans and celery, plus fresh, unsprayed grass, which budgies love. Many budgies aren’t keen on fruit, but it’s still worth offering small pieces.

Sprouted Seed

Budgies love sprouted seed, and sprouting unlocks extra nutrients that are easy for your bird to absorb. Imported seed is treated on arrival in Australia so it can’t sprout, which means only Australian grown seed will work. Sprouted seed can grow harmful bacteria if it’s not prepared properly, so rinse it with Vetafarm Aviclens (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-aviclens-water-cleanser-100ml). We always have seed mixes for sprouting in-store, and our guide to bird treats and sprouting (https://birdsville.net.au/bird-treats-tips-and-sprouted-mix/) shows you how.

Foods to Avoid

Never feed your budgie avocado, chocolate, onion, garlic, alcohol, coffee, tea, raw dried beans, apple pips, bread, biscuits, sweets or anything salty or sugary. Iceberg lettuce isn’t toxic but has almost no nutrition, so choose darker leafy greens instead. Some garden plants are also toxic, so check before offering any plant.

Calcium, Iodine and Vitamin D

Iodine

Budgies are especially prone to iodine deficiency, which can cause problems with the thyroid gland. Always give your budgie an iodine source, such as an iodine bell, button or perch. Read more on our calcium and iodine perch page (https://birdsville.net.au/calcium-iodine-perch/).

Calcium

Birds have hollow bones and can’t store minerals the way mammals do, so both males and females need a steady supply of calcium for strong bones, beaks, nails and feathers, and for egg laying. Keep a calcium source in the cage at all times, such as a cuttlebone (https://petsville.com.au/products/avi-one-cuttlebone-with-stainless-steel-clip), calcium bell, button or calcium perch (https://petsville.com.au/products/avian-care-trimming-calcium-perch-140mm-small). Your budgie will help itself when it needs to. Pink supplements usually contain iodine, white ones calcium, and mineral perches often contain both.

Vitamin D

Budgies need vitamin D to absorb calcium, and they make it from direct sunlight. Window glass filters out the UV light they need, so an indoor budgie sitting in a sunny window still isn’t getting any vitamin D. We hear it all the time: “but my budgie sits next to the window and gets sun every day.” Unfortunately, that sun has been filtered by the glass. Birds need around 10 hours a week of unfiltered sunlight.

When we clip a budgie’s nails, we can often tell straight away if it has a calcium or vitamin D problem. Budgies lacking calcium can develop a whole list of health problems and a shorter life.

For indoor budgies, add Vetafarm Soluvite D (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-soluvite-d-25g) or Vetafarm Calcivet (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-calcivet-50ml), which contains calcium and vitamin D3, to the water. We also stock avian UV globes that bring the benefits of sunlight indoors.

Vitamins

Every budgie benefits from a regular vitamin boost, as pet budgies can’t get every vitamin they need from diet alone. Add Vetafarm Multivet (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-multivet-50ml) to the water regularly. We also stock other quality bird vitamins in-store, and our team can help you choose.

Water and Bathing

Water

Your budgie must have clean drinking water at all times. A drink bottle makes life easier, because budgies can’t sit on it and dirty the water the way they can with an open bowl, and they can’t tip it over or bathe in it on a hot day. Add Vetafarm Aviclens to the water to help keep it clean.

Bathing

Offer a shallow bird bath at least once a week. Budgies that are given the chance to bathe from a young age keep the habit, which means healthier skin and better feather quality. We stock bird baths (https://petsville.com.au/products/jw-insight-bathing-bird-bath), shower perches (https://petsville.com.au/products/avi-one-shower-perch-small) and Vetafarm Power Shampoo for Birds (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-power-shampoo-for-birds-100ml). If your budgie won’t use a bath, try a fine mist from a spray bottle.

Substrate and Cleaning

Substrate

We recommend grit on the bottom of your budgie’s cage. It’s heavy, so it doesn’t blow around when your budgie flaps its wings, it’s edible and a source of calcium, budgies love foraging in it, and it makes spot cleaning easy. About 2 to 3cm deep is plenty. We use shell grit (https://petsville.com.au/products/shell-grit-5kg) in our own bird enclosures, so come in and see what it looks like. Grit sheets, sand, paper litter and wood shavings are also available.

Cleaning

Household cleaners and detergents can be toxic to budgies. Spot clean droppings and change food and water daily, replace the floor substrate weekly, and give the whole cage, perches, toys and bowls a full clean every week or two. Use a bird safe cage cleaner such as Vetafarm Avicare (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-avicare-rtu-500ml) or F10 Ready to Use (https://petsville.com.au/products/f10-500ml-ready-to-use). They make droppings much easier to remove, disinfect at the same time and don’t leave strong fragrances that could upset your bird.

Worming Your Budgie

When to Worm

Don’t worm a baby budgie too young or too soon after a move. A recently weaned budgie has a sensitive crop and developing gut bacteria, and has only just learned to eat on its own. Worming at this stage can upset its stomach and cause it to stop eating.

Wait 10 days after bringing your budgie home before worming. By then it will have settled in and be old enough. We recommend worming any new bird, even if it has been wormed before. After that:

• Indoor budgies: worm every 3 months.
• Outdoor and aviary budgies: worm every 6 weeks.

How to Worm

Most bird wormers simply go in the drinking water. Follow the instructions on the label, which usually means the medicated water must be the only water for a set time, and the treatment is repeated after a couple of weeks. Suitable wormers include Vetafarm Wormout Gel (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-wormout-gel-50ml) and Avitrol Plus Bird Worm Syrup (https://petsville.com.au/products/fidos-avitrol-plus-bird-worm-syrup-25ml). Choose one that also treats tapeworm.

If an adult bird hasn’t been wormed for a long time, a heavy worm burden can cause a blockage as the worms die, so talk to our team or your vet before worming.

Why Worming Matters

Common house flies can carry parasitic worms from wild bird or rat droppings, fly inside and land on your budgie’s water, food or the bird itself. Worms weaken your budgie’s immune system, leaving it open to diseases a healthy bird would fight off, and they can kill. Worms that affect birds include tapeworms, threadworms (Capillaria), roundworms (Ascaridia) and caecal worms. Some of these can also affect people and other pets, so worming protects the whole family. Worming new birds while they’re in quarantine also stops worms spreading to your other birds.

Lice and Mites

Lice and mites are two of the most common parasites of pet budgies and their cages. They suck blood, cause itching, stress and anaemia, and can lead to plucking, skin problems and a weaker immune system. In severe cases, they can kill. Cockroaches and flies spread them, so even indoor budgies need regular treatment.

• Spray your new budgie 10 days after bringing it home, at the same time as its first worming.
• Indoor budgies: treat every 3 months.
• Outdoor and aviary budgies: treat every 6 weeks.

Remove all food and water first. Spray the bird’s body, back and under its wings, avoiding the eyes, then spray the whole cage, perches, nest box and toys. Use Avitrol Mite and Lice Spray (https://petsville.com.au/products/fidos-avitrol-bird-mite-and-lice-spray-125ml) on the bird, and Vetafarm Avian Insect Liquidator (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-avian-insect-liquidator-rtu-100ml) for the cage.

For scaly face and leg mite, which causes crusty growths on the beak, face and legs, Vetafarm Avimec (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-avimec-50ml) is very effective. If you’re unsure which treatment you need, bring your budgie in and we’ll check it over.

Training Your Budgie

Hand-raised budgies are tame, but they’re not trained. Training takes dedication in the first few weeks, and repetition and persistence are the key. The early days are the most important time to bond with your budgie.

Getting Started

For the first couple of days of training, handle your budgie gently for about 15 minutes at a time, no more than 3 times a day. Watching TV or reading is a great time to have your budgie with you, because you’re relaxed and it can simply hang out with you.

New bird owners are often startled when a budgie flaps its wings. Budgies are very perceptive, and your fear can set back training. Stay calm and be a confident leader. If your budgie bites, don’t pull away. Wear woollen gloves if you need to and keep handling it gently, then take the gloves off once it stops nibbling them.

First Steps in Training

1. After handling your budgie, get it to stand on your finger.
2. Place a finger from your other hand in front of your budgie and press gently on its chest. This encourages it to step up. Repeat until it steps up every time.
3. Once your budgie steps up from finger to finger, teach it to step from your finger to a perch and back again.

Use a piece of millet spray as a reward, and keep sessions short and positive.

Common Training Mistakes

The most common mistake is chasing the budgie around the cage before handling it, or being too afraid to pick it up when it runs away. If you chase a budgie, it learns to fear you. If you don’t handle it, it never gets the chance to bond with you. Until your budgie steps up, catch it calmly and quickly with two hands, not one, then hold it close to you and keep handling it gently until it relaxes.

If your budgie is jumpy, handle it over a couch or bed. Birds don’t have a diaphragm, so their organs are less protected than a small mammal’s, and repeated falls can seriously injure or even kill a budgie.

Ignore bad behaviour and reward good behaviour. Always supervise children, as they can easily over-handle a budgie.

For more, see our bird training guide (https://birdsville.net.au/pet-bird-advice-and-training/bird-training-clicker-training-parrot-body-language/), our guide to parrot biting (https://birdsville.net.au/parrot-biting/) and our guide to stopping parrot screaming (https://birdsville.net.au/screaming-and-squawking-parrots-how-to-stop/).

One Budgie or Two?

A single budgie bonds with you much more easily than two or more. You can buy more than one at a time, but you’ll need to spend a lot more time taming them, as budgies kept together tend to bond with each other. If you’d like two, get one first, and add the second once the first has been really tame for at least 3 weeks. Budgies learn from each other, so the second one is usually even easier to tame. Once a budgie is tame and at least 8 months old, it will generally stay tame and bonded to people.

Teaching Your Budgie to Talk

Budgies can be fantastic talkers. A budgie named Puck holds the Guinness World Record for the largest vocabulary of any bird, at more than 1,700 words. Some budgies simply won’t talk, though, so it’s a bit of a lucky dip. Males are usually the better talkers.

To give your budgie the best chance, repeat words and short phrases to it over and over, in a clear, excited voice. Some owners also play recordings, which can work well.

How to Tell if a Budgie Is Male or Female

You can usually tell a budgie’s sex by the colour of its cere, the fleshy band above the beak that holds the nostrils.

• Adult males: blue cere. In some colours, such as lutino (yellow), pied and albino, the male’s cere stays pink or purple.
• Adult females: brown cere, often crusty in breeding condition.
• Baby males: pink or purplish cere, which turns blue as they mature.
• Baby females: whitish, pale brown or opaque cere, often with whitish rings around the nostrils, which turns brown as they mature.

Baby budgies are easy to spot. They have dark eyes with no visible iris ring, and bars on the top of the head that run right down to the cere. At about 3 months old, they moult the bars on their head to reveal a clear forehead.

Sexing baby budgies can’t be 100% guaranteed, but comparing several babies side by side greatly improves the odds. If you need to know for certain, DNA sexing from a feather is accurate, and DNA Solutions (https://www.dnasolutions.com.au/) offers bird DNA sexing in Australia. Males and females both make wonderful pets.

Wing Trimming

Should You Trim Your Budgie’s Wings?

There are pros and cons either way. A correct wing trim reduces flight and lets your budgie glide safely to the ground, but it doesn’t guarantee it can’t fly away. Fully flighted budgies get plenty of exercise, but there’s a greater risk of losing them if a window or door is left open.

I personally prefer my birds flighted. If you choose to keep your budgie flighted:

• Close all windows and doors when it’s out of the cage.
• Put stickers or tape on windows while it learns, to stop it flying into the glass.
• Remove or cover water, as a bird can fall into a toilet, cup, saucepan, sink or fish tank.
• Consider harness training for outings. We stock bird harnesses such as the Aviator Bird Harness (https://petsville.com.au/products/the-aviator-bird-harness-mini-black).

Is a Wing Trim Painful?

No. Feathers are made of keratin, like our hair, so a correctly done trim is about as painful as a haircut. Our team knows how to trim a budgie’s wings with as little stress as possible.

Most budgies moult at least twice a year and regrow their flight feathers. If your budgie’s wings are trimmed, watch for new flight feathers growing back after a moult, because they go from grounded to flying very quickly. A baby budgie’s trimmed feathers usually take about 4 to 6 months to grow back.

Our Hand-Raised Baby Budgies

All our hand-raised baby budgies come with their flight feathers trimmed. They’re fully flighted while they’re being raised, and their wings are trimmed about a week before they arrive at Birdsville. Our store has customers and deliveries coming and going all day, and a flighted budgie could shoot straight out the door, or fly into a window or wall while customers are handling it.

We do wing trims in-store, with no appointment needed. See our wing and nail clipping page (https://birdsville.net.au/wing-clipping-nail-clipping/).

Nail Trimming

Sand, concrete and grit perches help wear down your budgie’s nails, but some budgies still need them trimmed, usually at least twice a year. We trim nails in-store any time we’re open, with no appointment needed. During a nail trim, our team also checks your budgie’s overall health, and we’re happy to show you how to do a visual health check yourself.

Health Problems and First Aid

Signs Your Budgie Is Sick

Watch for any change in behaviour or appearance, such as:

• Sitting fluffed up on the floor of the cage
• Swelling around the eyes
• Droppings stuck around the vent
• Seeming quiet or depressed
• Not eating, or changes in its droppings
• Laboured breathing or tail bobbing

What to Do

Warmth is the most important first step. Sick birds can’t keep themselves warm, which is why they fluff up their feathers to trap heat. Put your budgie under a heat lamp straight away. A blanket over the cage or a spot next to a sunny window won’t do the job, even on a warm day. We stock a large range of heat globes and ceramic heaters, and they’re inexpensive and can save your bird’s life.

Add Vetafarm Spark Liquid to the water for energy and electrolytes. A broad spectrum antibiotic, such as Vetafarm Triple C (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-triple-c-25g), in the water is a useful first line treatment for common bacterial infections, but antibiotics work far better when the bird is kept warm. If your budgie hasn’t improved within 3 days, or seems very unwell, see an avian vet straight away.

Visual Health Checks

If you’re not sure what a healthy budgie looks like, bring yours in and we’ll show you how to do a visual health check, free of charge, even if you bought your budgie somewhere else. It’s a great skill for any budgie owner, and helps you spot problems early.

Poor nutrition, the wrong environment and stress can make the difference between a healthy budgie with a strong immune system and one that falls ill. Every new bird owner should read our Common Bird Illnesses guide (https://birdsville.net.au/common-bird-illnesses/), which covers diet and mineral problems, environmental risks, poisons, stress, temperature, hygiene, diseases, parasites, injuries and more.

Unweaning Risks in Baby Budgies

There’s always a risk a baby budgie will revert, or unwean, and stop feeding itself. We won’t sell a hand-raised budgie that hasn’t been feeding itself for at least a week. Common causes include:

• High stress: over-handling by excited owners or children, incorrect handling or overstimulation. It’s an exciting time, but everything is new to your baby, so follow our first 48 hours and first 10 days advice.
• Playing with the beak: this can make a baby think it’s about to be fed and start it begging, so avoid touching its beak.
• A sudden change of diet: we always send baby budgies home on the food they were eating with us. A baby may not recognise a new food as food and start begging.
• Worming too early: this can upset the crop and stop a baby eating.
• Low quality seed: filler seed and stale grain have little nutrition, and a baby may not recognise it as food.
• Other animals and birds: these can stress a recently weaned baby.
• Cold or chills: these slow digestion in the crop and can cause a young budgie to stop feeding itself.

Signs Your Budgie Is Reverting

Watch for head bobbing, wings flapping while standing in one spot, and a begging noise. Your baby may show one or all of these. Act fast, because an unweaned budgie won’t feed itself and can starve within a few days. Feed it hand rearing formula morning and night, which we always have in stock, and bring it in for us to check if you’re worried. Our Hand Raising Baby Birds page (https://birdsville.net.au/hand-raising-baby-birds/) explains how.

Keeping Your Baby Budgie Warm

Keep a close eye on a new budgie, especially if you only have one, because babies catch chills easily, even in summer. Wild and aviary budgies huddle together to stay warm, but a single pet budgie has no flock to share heat with.

A chill weakens the immune system and can lead to illness, while a warm baby with good food has a much stronger immune response. Adult budgies cope with cold better, but always keep a baby in a dry spot with no draughts.

Sydney Seasonal Tips for Budgies

Summer

Sydney days over 30°C can be deadly for budgies. Keep the cage out of direct sun and away from hot windows, offer a shallow bath, and watch for panting or wings held away from the body, which are signs of heat stress. Bring outdoor birds into a cool, shaded spot on heatwave days.

Winter

Cold, damp Sydney nights are hard on baby budgies. Move the cage away from draughty doors and windows, cover it at night, and keep a heat lamp on hand for young or unwell birds.

Budgie Essentials Checklist

Everything You Need

• Carry cage: for safe transport, outings and holding your budgie while you clean its cage (https://birdsville.net.au/carry-cages/)
• Cage: ask our team for advice, as we often meet people who’ve bought the wrong cage
• Quality seed: Basic Budgie Mix, with no filler
• Birdsville Blends Budgie Gourmet: mix through your seed for herbs, beetroot, niger, vegetables, legumes and more
• Pellets or crumble: Vetafarm Finch and Budgie Crumbles, Passwell Budgie Starter or Nutriblend Mini
• Millet sprays and a seed bar: for training, encouraging babies to eat and foraging
• Toys: 1 ladder, 1 swing per budgie and at least 4 to 6 toys for chewing, preening and playing
• Perches: at least 5, including 2 natural perches and 1 grit or concrete perch
• Substrate: grit or sand sheets
• Calcium and iodine: cuttlebone, bells, buttons or a mineral perch
• Vitamins: Multivet for every budgie, plus Calcivet or Soluvite D for indoor budgies
• Spark Liquid: in the water for the first 10 days and whenever your budgie is moved
• Wormer: 10 days after bringing your budgie home
• Lice and mite spray: 10 days after bringing your budgie home
• Bird safe cage cleaner: Vetafarm Avicare or F10, as normal disinfectants can be toxic to budgies

What You May Like to Consider

• Cage stand: lifts the cage to a comfortable height for interacting with your budgie
• Cage cover: some owners cover the cage at night, which can stop early wake-ups
• Seed tidy: wraps around the base of the cage to catch scattered seed and grit
• Spare bowls: for the extra seed bowl a baby budgie needs on the cage floor, and so you can swap and soak dirty bowls
• No mess feeder: reduces scattered seed and gives you more time to enjoy your budgie
• Drink bottle: can’t be soiled or tipped over
• Cuttlebone, fruit and millet spray holders: keep food off the floor and make it more interesting
• Bird bath, bird shampoo or a shower perch
• Tents, hides and hammocks, such as the AviOne Bird Hammock (https://petsville.com.au/products/avi-one-bird-hammock-closed-s-17l-x-10w-x-10cm-h): you’ll be surprised how much some budgies love them
• Bird stand or play gym: great for training and out of cage play
• Probiotic: Vetafarm Synbiotic (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-synbiotic-100g) supports immunity and digestion
• First aid kit: Spark Liquid, Triple C, F10 Germicidal Barrier Ointment (https://petsville.com.au/products/f10-germicidal-barrier-ointment-25g) and a heat lamp
• The Good Oil: supports liver function and overall health
• Harness: for safe outdoor adventures, though harness training takes time

Tip: check out our reptile and small animal sections upstairs in-store, too. You’ll find great extras for budgies, such as bathing dishes, hides, cool bowls and toys. Everything on this list, and much more, is available in-store at Birdsville.

 

 

Boarding Your Budgie

Going on holiday? We can look after your budgie while you’re away. See our bird boarding page (https://birdsville.net.au/parrot-bird-boarding-sydney/), or visit the Petsville Hotel (https://www.petsvillehotel.com) to book.

 

 

 

How to Care for Budgies: Frequently Asked Questions

How long do budgies live?

Most pet budgies live 7 to 10 years, and some reach 15 with excellent care. A high quality seed with a Birdsville Blend, pellets, fresh greens, calcium, iodine and vitamin D, plus regular worming and mite treatment, gives your budgie the best chance of a long, healthy life. Poor seed diets are a common cause of shorter lives.

What should I feed my budgie?

Feed an adult budgie about 50% quality seed, 40% pellets or crumble and 10% fresh vegetables and greens. Never put a baby onto pellets alone. Keep it on seed with pellets available, and build up slowly from about 3 months. Our Basic Budgie Mix with Birdsville Blends Budgie Gourmet mixed through makes a great base.

How big should a budgie cage be?

As a minimum, one budgie needs a cage about 50cm long, 30cm deep and 45cm high, with bar spacing of 1.2cm or less. Longer is better than taller, because budgies fly from side to side. A pair needs a larger cage, and every budgie should also get supervised time out of its cage every day.

How do I tame my new budgie?

Leave your budgie alone for the first 48 hours, then handle it gently for short sessions once or twice a day while offering treats like millet spray. Be calm and confident, don’t chase it around the cage, and catch it with two hands if needed. Most hand-raised budgies bond quickly when handled every day.

Should I get one budgie or two?

A single budgie bonds with you more easily, because two budgies tend to bond with each other. If you’d like two, get one first, tame it, then add the second once the first has been tame for at least 3 weeks. Budgies learn from each other, so the second is usually easier to tame.

How can I tell if my budgie is male or female?

Look at the cere, the fleshy band above the beak. Adult males usually have a blue cere and adult females a brown one. Baby males have a pink or purplish cere, and baby females a pale, whitish or opaque one. Some colours, like lutino and pied, are harder to sex, so DNA sexing gives a certain answer.

How often should I worm my budgie?

Worm your new budgie 10 days after bringing it home, once it has settled in. After that, worm indoor budgies every 3 months and outdoor or aviary budgies every 6 weeks. Treat for lice and mites on the same schedule, so they’re easy to remember together. Wormers go in the drinking water and are simple to use.

How often should I clean my budgie’s cage?

Spot clean droppings and change food and water every day, and replace the floor substrate weekly. Give the whole cage, perches, toys and bowls a full clean every week or two with a bird safe disinfectant such as Avicare or F10. Never use household cleaners, as many are toxic to budgies.

Do budgies need sunlight?

Yes. Budgies need direct, unfiltered sunlight to make vitamin D, which they need to absorb calcium. Window glass blocks the UV light, so a budgie sitting by a sunny window doesn’t benefit. Give supervised time outdoors, use an avian UV globe, or add Calcivet or Soluvite D to the water for indoor budgies.

 

Recommended Avian Vets

• SASH (Small Animal Specialist Hospital), 24/7 emergency, 5/476 Gardeners Rd, Alexandria NSW 2015, 02 8913 4000, sashvets.com
• The Wild Vet, 22A Bridge Road, Glebe, 1300 945 3838, thewildvet.com.au
• SERV, 57-63 Herbert St, Artarmon, 02 9436 4884, exoticsvet.com.au
• Southern Cross Veterinary Clinic, 60 Princes Hwy, St Peters, 02 9516 0234, southerncrossvet.com.au
• Carlingford Animal Hospital, 772 Pennant Hills Road, Carlingford, 02 9871 6036, birdhealth.com.au
• The Unusual Pet Vets, 995 Bourke Street, Waterloo NSW 2017, 02 9319 6111, unusualpetvets.com.au
• Vetafarm, vetafarm.com.au

More reading: The Unusual Pet Vets Budgie Care Sheet (https://www.unusualpetvets.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Avian-Budgie-Care-Sheet.pdf)

Visit Us

Have a question about your budgie? Come and see us in-store and bring your budgie with you. Thinking about a slightly bigger bird? Read our cockatiel page (https://birdsville.net.au/hand-reared-birds-diet-nutrition/hand-raised-cockatiels-for-sale/). We’re a small business that does things in a big way, and we only stock the best for our birds and yours. Visit Birdsville at 684 Botany Road, Alexandria NSW 2015, on the corner of Gardeners Road, servicing the Eastern Suburbs and Inner South Sydney, or call (02) 9669 1766. Shop Birdsville Blends, seed, vitamins and toys online at Petsville (https://petsville.com.au) with delivery Australia-wide, and follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BirdsvilleRosebery/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/petsvillesydney/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@birdsvillepets) to see the hand-raised baby budgies we currently have in stock.