Budgerigars are perhaps the most popular among those who like to keep ornamental birds at home. They are small, so they require a little space and food, and they brighten up the interior of the apartment. Budgerigars chirp cheerfully and are able to imitate human speech, raising the spirits of their owner. An ordinary medium-sized birdcage is suitable for keeping them. The greatest interest among novice "parrot breeders" is the question - what do budgies eat? Let's try to give the most complete answer to it.
Diet of parrots in the natural environment
At home, in Australia, budgies eat very diversely. They eat seeds of various plants, herbs, fruits, and in small quantities - and insects. Their diet is based on grains as the most nutritious plant foods. It is clear that when kept in captivity, the diet of birds should be well balanced, since in the cage they cannot independently choose what to eat.
Budgerigars in Australia are capable of eating grains of any ripeness. They eat the buds and young shoots of plants, and if a sluggish insect turns up, they will swallow it too. Often nimble birds make "fishing expeditions" to orchards, horrifying local farmers. It also goes to crops of grain, because budgerigars prefer not to look for wild cereals in the forests, but to take from the cultivated fields "at once and a lot."
How much does the budgerigar eat
Budgerigars are small - the body length of an adult is in the range of 17-20 centimeters. And only record, exhibition specimens grow up to 23 centimeters. It is clear that with such a size of feed they do not need very much. How much does the budgerigar eat and how to calculate its daily diet? It should be borne in mind that this is, first of all, a granivorous bird, which, however, can happily eat other food.
Budget parrots, in addition to grain, can be fed:
- carrots;
- cabbage;
- turnips;
- zucchini;
- pumpkin;
- corn;
- tomatoes;
- cucumbers;
- peas;
- spinach;
- sweet peppers;
- fruits.
Do not give hot or spicy vegetables:
- onions;
- garlic;
- radish;
- radish.
In addition, it is not recommended to add vegetables containing essential oils or solanine to the diet. These are celery, eggplant, green potatoes and some others. The daily diet of an adult budgerigar is two teaspoons of a grain mixture made up of two or three types of cereals, the combinations of which must be periodically changed. Food should be added to the trough daily, removing any accumulated husk and debris.
Wavy gourmets
Often, the owners of wavy parrots want to please their favorites with some yummy. For this, a variety of fruits are quite suitable. What kind of fruits will parrots eat? Nothing super-exotic, they may well get by with the fact that they grow in the gardens of central Russia, or, in extreme cases, with what is always on store shelves.
These are, first of all, apples, pears, plums or strawberries. Even if you do not grow them on your personal plot, then your friends or neighbors do it, from whom you can purchase the indicated fruits at a very affordable price. In addition, it is worth remembering that budgerigars and some other fruits like to eat. These are peaches, kiwi, mango, citrus and other fruits. Although they are more expensive than those grown in the neighborhood, they are quite accessible to anyone, since they are needed in very small quantities. For feeding, the fruit is best cut into thin and narrow plates and placed in the trough. When you offer fruit to budgies for the first time, they may be wary of the treat, but later, getting used to it, they will perceive the addition to their usual grain diet with great joy.
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