Now, I'll probably be echoing what others have said, but I'll be saying it in my own words.... forgive me if it's repetitive.
I have changed their food to fresh budgie food from our local mill store.. they told me not to use the ones from the pet/grocery stores as they are not fresh, etc...
I agree with the store about the grocery shop.... grocery stores tend to have some pretty bad mixes. Generally speaking however, it's best to buy bagged food, that has a lot of variety. You can even mix seeds together. The main thing you want is seed that DOES NOT contain dyes, and is not very dusty...
My budgies, tiels, n bourke (discluding cherry head/large parrot food) get a mixture of two seeds (discluding sprouts, too)... the two images below you can click to enlarge...
Sweet Harvest Cockatiel no/sun Seed (bought in 20lb bags)
Canary mix (bought from a feed store from a "top" bin, not exposed much to air)
I mix these two seeds together as 2 parts cockatiel 1 part canary. The birds tend to eat most, if not all, of the mix.
would love to learn what else to feed them and in layman`s terms...
See above post....
food placement..where do these treats go??...
Fresh foods should be a part of a birds daily diet, and the wider the variety, the better. Where to put them? Be creative! In their food dish, hanging from the cage top, weaved into the bars, etc. Try presentation differently too... i.e. leave the foods whole, dice them, chop them, shred them, slice them, put them through the food processor, try cooked, or steamed. Mix them together or feed separately. A good idea is to mix sprouted seeds (about 3 days ago), about 5-6 veggies (of bright/deep/rich colors, i.e. carrot, cooked sweet potato, steamed broccoli, parsley, etc) through a food processor, and mixed in with a little bit of brown/wild rice and/or cooked beans (15 bean soup minus soup packet).
I was told from a local pet store owner that the cage I have now is for cockatiels...
My mitred conure lives in a macaw cage (40"x30"x60"). My bourke lives in a flight cage (30"x20"x43"). My budgies, tiels, and cherry head are cage-free in an 11' x 14' room.
Honestly, the bigger, the better! For 1 budgie I wouldn't recommend a cage smaller than 2' square. For two budgies, I'd say something a little bigger... However, please remember, birds fly horizontally, not vertically... thus, when picking out a cage, go with a cage longer than it is tall, if at all possible. HQ Cages make great flight cages for pretty cheap! More so if you could find one in your area used... They normally sell for about $150 ea, I bought mine for $100, and I know of others who have bought theirs for $50-$75 ea.
I should have no wire at the bottom of the cage...
The wire is used to keep the birds from going to the bottom of the cage to eat their own poop, to eat old food, or to get into the cage liner... Black & White newspaper, printer paper, or unprinted rolls of newspaper are best to use on the bottom...
the cage should have horizontal bars not vertical...
Watching my budgies in the flight cage in the past, I doubt it matters.... they seemed to have fun sliding down the cage bars! Besides, they had no issues climbing up!
I have added perches, as they only had one...
General rule of thumb, they need at least 3 perches. They should have at least one natural SAFE perch, one rope perch, and whatever else... Natural safe branches from trees that haven't been treated for pesticides make great perches as they also make great chewing "toys".
some gravel paper for when I get a new cage...on the 2 new perches I have added sand perch covers....
No gravel, no grit. Parrots hull their seeds thus they do not need grit or gravel in order to digest their food. Gravel/grit can cause crop impaction, and the grit could also possibly cut up the inside of the crop. Grit is said to be good for calcium, however there are plenty of fresh foods with calcium, along with cooked eggs.
Sand covered perches are not stable, and/or they cause sores on a bird feet... which can lead to bumblefoot....
everywhere I go I get different answers...it is sooo frustrating!!!...
People will always have different opinions on what is right or wrong. You should do as much research as you can, and decide for yourself what is healthy and safe for you and your fids.
I also own 3 dogs and the one seems VERY interested in the birds...should I let them try to fly in my front room, where I can close the doors, away from the dogs??
If you let the budgies out, be sure the dogs are elsewhere where they can't get in, and warn anyone that you are letting them out... also, if need be, lock all doors into the room so no one can open them.
they flap, flap when my arm goes in the cage, but I talk away to them to try and calm them...
It takes time and patience... it could be a couple weeks, or a few months... the main thing is to go slow, read to them, sing to them... Before feeding them in the morning (i.e. no food in the cage), you can put some seed into your hand and put it just SLIGHTLY inside the door. Be sure that there is a perch near the door. Leave your hand there for 15-30 minutes each morning. You can also try using millet. Eventually, you could try tempting them to come out of the cage to get the food.
Believe me, it takes patience! Watch these below!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUx81WHTUwk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVESvigbl2o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlSm4uFZzVU
Just to let you know, none of these budgies are tame... and now that they are cage-free I haven't tried to continue feeding them in this manner so they no longer fly to me for food.
if I do catch one to take it out to fly, how the heck can I catch it again to get back into the cage????
If flighted, this could be difficult.... I know since I've gotten good enough exercise chasing budgies TOWARD their cage to try and get them back in! Of course, I'm sure if I had millet, it may have been easier to temp them back in! Most budgies love millet!
I still don`t know how to tell the sexes.....
See above post...
I have given them a spray of millet, just attached it to the top of the cage, but they seems not interested in it
New birds in a new situation tend to be stressed out and worried... they may not eat a lot of food or drink a lot of water until they get more settled in.... of course then again they might not know what millet is.
why are they selling me all the stuff that I don`t need??
Simply put? Because your willing to buy it, thus they are making a profit. Yes, they will even sell you items that will kill your birds (i.e. mite protectors)
will they ever talk...
It's possible but usually in groups of two or more, budgies are not known for learning to talk. I have a pair of cockatiels, that had two offspring (among others who I'm sure were sold) in another home. The male offspring I'm sure was probably handled or at least talked to enough that he did pick up a few words as well as whistles... however, he was also around other birds beyond his parents and sister. I doubt the owner has any more birds (and I hope so, considering the condition I got the tiels in was neglect and you could even say abuse). However, a difference here is that this tiel was probably at least somewhat handraised if not handfed. Both of your budgies are most likely parent raised.... parent raised budgies CAN learn to talk, but it's just easier if you have one who's friendly.
As far as toys, DO NOT give them mirrors. They may love beads, leather, popsicle sticks, etc. Make sure they have 5+ toys to keep them occupied!
As for some general rules... no candles, no air fresheners, no perfumes around the birds, no smoking around the birds, if you smoke, wash your hands thoroughly before handling the birds, or if you have anything on your hands (such as lotion), wash your hands. No self cleaning ovens, no heavy cleaning products or paints around them, no nonstick items (from pans, to grills, to toasters, even hair dryers! make sure none of your stuff contains teflon, PTFE, or anything related to the two in them!). otherwise, I can't think of what else at the moment...
