I hope this is good enough...

[AriqThe360th]

Hi! I'm kinda' new to this whole bird thing so.... sorry if I don't use some of the... ehh... 'proper terms' and things like that but... lets get down to business.
I recently got 2 parakeets(a male and a female, both under 1 year old) from a breeder, and I just wanted to know what I should add and what I should remove from the cage. Thnx in advance

My cages dimensions are:
W = 60 cm (23.6 inches)
L = 45 cm (17.7 inches)
H = 45 cm (17.7 inches)
In my cage I have:
- 2 Perches(well, I call them perches, they're those straight rods or sticks that go from one cage wall to the other) that are placed close enough to each other that my 2 birds can hop from one to the other...
- 2 colorful rubber balls
- 2 relatively light toys that 'jingle' (have plastic balls inside them that shake)
- 3 plastic bowls; one with food and two filled with water
- A swing that I bought from the pet shop that has 2 bells attached
- 2 chains that I made with curtain hooks hanging from the ceiling that hang to about half the cages height, with a piece of wood intertwined between them.

And I've saved the best for last:
2 Parakeets named Skye(blue one) and Max(yellow one)

DISCLAIMERS: 1) I live in a pretty poor country that doesn't have a reputation for good pet stores or well made good quality cages or pet related stores( they're all there, just not ones with good enough quality that I would be comfortable taking my pets to) so please keep that in mind. But don't let me discourage you, if you think that cage needs something. please let me know, I fly to more, let's say 'advanced' countries... Very often, so knowing will be helpful.
2) I know that the bars on the cage are mostly vertical even thought they should be horizontal... Like I said my country doesn't have a very dedicated pet industry...
3) I know that having a cuttle bone in your cage is good for your birds but I'm saying again that my country doesn't have a very pet enthusiastic population...

Thanks to anyone in advance, you're awesome!
Here are some pics of my cage:

 

[AriqThe360th]

I know this is a pretty long post.. Sorry about that

 

[MommyBird]

Welcome! You have done some inventive things - the wood between the chains is cute! And the cage look like a nice size.
For perches - are there any trees you can cut small branches from to make your own natural perches? The uneven wood is good for their feet. I don't know what trees are safe to use in your country, there are lists online and the trees should not have been sprayed with pesticides.
Budgies like to play with many things...You can make a hanging toy with bottlecaps, drinking straw pieces, and beads (just take care they won't get tangled up!), some of my guys even like tossing around a balled-up piece of paper. Sometimes you can give them a shallow bowl of water to have fun taking a bath.

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome to the forum! As MommyBird said, some different types of perches would be good. Having all uniform rod perches can be hard on bird's feet because it's putting pressure points on the same place. Some shreddable toys could be good too. If you search the forum, you can get some ideas on toys you can make yourself.

 

[AriqThe360th]

Thnx a lot guys! I see where your going with the wooden perches... its getting pretty late today... tomorrow i'll get some sticks for the cage.
Also, I can be sure that the trees weren't sprayed with pesticides BUT.... I don't know if they're bird safe wood... I'll do some research and keep you guys posted.
Thnx again!

 

[karen256]

It doesn't look bad. Budgies are very high energy birds - if you plan to tame them enough to at least let them out to fly around the room a bit, that cage is a good size. If they will be in it all the time, it's a little small.

The plastic perches aren't ideal, real tree branches are the best (and double as chew toys as well since they like to shred the bark). Also, they need something they can chew on to keep their beaks trimmed, whether a cuttlebone, natural wood perch, or small wooden chew toy. Raw veggies can even make chew toys - for example, you can wedge a piece of carrot between the cage bars for them to gnaw on.

A few more small toys would be nice. They like toys with small moving parts - like bells or beads they can slide around (just be careful they can't swallow any parts), as well as toys made with soft wood that they can shred easily.

 

[AriqThe360th]

Ok. Today I went out and brought some branches from some natural trees growing outside my building. I put the branches in the cage and the birds almost instantly fell in love with it, they were chewing on it, hopping on it and all that!
Don't worry about the branch being too weak or thin, I made sure it was strong enough the weight of a Budgie.
I attached some pics.


P.S - To Karen256, I agree the cage is too small for them to continuously live in, I'm with you on that one. I only got them 4-5 days ago and they already don't mind me putting my hand beside them. I plan to fully tame them and make them a full fledged part of my household. And if I'm to be honest, after like a month or 2, I'll probably only use the cage to let them sleep. The rest of the day it'll just stay inside my room or the living room exploring the wonders of my humane settlement.

 

[MommyBird]

That's great! You can even make the branches go diagonally across a cage corner to form a triangle with the cage walls, or one at an angle slightly inclined across the cage. Make them use their feet more to climb and keep them healthy! They do love to chew on them too, budgies love to shred things and mine really loves soft balsa wood.
You have lucky budgies that you are learning about them.

 

[Erikalynnha]

There are alot of diy bird toy ideas that you can probably do. People use cardboard cut in tiny squares hung on untreated sisal or hemp rope, toliet paper rolls, egg cartons, all kinds of things they have at home.

Do you have a printerest? There are all kinds of good Budgie toy idea's on that site.

I thought this one was pretty simple and neat!

 

[Lady Jane]

The branches were washed first? Think about how you will be feeding the chopped veggies and greens. Another shallow food dish, hanging from cage or something else. Some people put both food or bath water in the green plastic bird bath sold in pet stores. Cuttle bone in holder is good for them. I give my budgies mirrors but some members do not. Ladders are good for climbing.

Be careful of any toys with loops that are small enough for them to get foot or even head caught in.

 

[AriqThe360th]

@Lady Jane , Yes the branches were washed first. And I mentioned at the top of the thread that I would like to have cuttle bones in the cage as soon as I can find some, unfortunately I couldn't find them in my locality... I do give them some chopped up veggies like cucumber and tomato, but for some reason they just don't eat them, I tried banana too, but they only seem to have an aggressive appetite for the seeds I give them...

@Erikalynnha , I see where you're going, I have some almonds in my fridge, might try out the thing in the pic, and I'll go check out Pinterest too... I'm just scared of overcrowding the cage, should do some research on how many/how much toys I want.

So far I'm loving this community, thnx a lot guys, really!

 

[Jas]

For the veggies (fruit isn't as important) limit their seed intake to 1.5 teaspoons a day, seeds are very fattening but they do need them in their diet, so don't let them fill up on them. Offer them first thing in the morning before they have had anything to eat. You could also sprinkle some seeds ontop of the veggies too.

Lettuce and cabbage are fun to shred and can also be used as a bath too. Carrots are fun to nibble on and celery is fun to pick at. Brussel sprouts, broccoli, buttemersqaush, sweet potato and peppers (hot and sweet birdies can't taste the hottness) are interesting textures and (sweet potato) is sweet, so it is more appealing. Persistence is important so just offer them everyday, first thing before they have had any seeds. You could try a skewer for them, poke them through the bars, chopped up in a bowl etc.

Fruits aren't as good as veggies but berries are good and tasty too (though messy and will change the colour of poop) blackberries, strawberries, black and red currants, blueberries, raspberries and others too. Kiwi, melons (cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew), plums and grapes. Try not to offer tomato too much due to the acidity.

They can also have grains like whole oat groats ( cooked ), brown rice and pasta, bulger wheat as well as quinoa. (I know there are others but can't think off the top of my head).

I don't use organic for two reasons, it's expensive to what you actually get and its very hard to find where I live. Just make sure you wash everything well before you feed.

Cuttle fish is important in keeping beaks trim and provides a little calcium, they take awhile to go through one so it lasts ages. I also use them as perches as well, just poke them through the cage bars. Plus they aren't heavy if you are going to be bringing them back with you via plane.

 

[SquawksNibbles]

The perches were my main concern, too. It’s a common mistake for new bird owners to use those round, wooden dowels (even I used ‘em before I learned how bad they were and changed them!) However, you did a good job on changing those so quickly.

There are a ton of toys you can make yourself at home. Bird-safe wood, beads, toilet paper rolls, paper, popsicle sticks, and cardboard are just some materials that make great bird toys. Foraging, preening, and shredding toys are good ones to try out.

I agree on the cage. If you’re planning on taming your birds and allowing them out of the cage very often, that cage is ok. But if not, perhaps a cage upgrade would be good.

And you shouldn’t have to worry about overcrowding the cage, it’ll be easy to tell if you do. Just make sure they have enough room to fly around the cage, hop from perch to perch, etc, while also being able to have a good amount of toys to keep them entertained. Worst case if you end up with too many toys to put in the cage all at once, put some of those toys in the cage and leave some out. That way you can swap the toys every week or so, which prevents boredom of the same toys.

Playstands are also good for letting a bird have lots of fun out of their cage. These can be built by you, too. PVC pipe and wood are the most common type of homemade playstands.

Are your birds’ wings clipped clipped or are they flighted?

So far I'm loving this community, thnx a lot guys, really!

And we are glad you joined and are enjoying it.

 

[AriqThe360th]

@Jas Thanks a lot man! Your reply will be very helpful, I will try out your ideas and keep you guys posted.
But one thing I have a question about is.... Are you sure that I should only feed 1.5 teaspoons of seeds to TWO budgies? Seems like a little less...
I'll feed them about 2 teaspoons and no more... 1.5 just doesn't make sense to me sry to say...
And ty for telling me not to feed tomatoes too much, was doing that almost everyday...
I will keep you posted.

 

[Jas]

Sorry 1.5 teaspoons per bird a day if you are going to supplement them with pellets and veggies too.

Pellets are a complete diet that provides birdies with vitamins like D3 which they would normally get from sunlight.

Can't wait to hear about the progress.

 

[Lady Jane]

There is a controversy about feeding fresh tomatoes to parrots. Some humans do and some humans do not.
Don't Feed Your Pet Bird These Foods - Petcha

 

[AriqThe360th]

@SquawksNibbles
about the wings being clipped... I have no idea
The pet sellers in my country know dangerously small information about the pets they sell... I know that Max can fly and Skye has a hard time(was planning to make a different thread about that...)

About the play stand, I also have no idea
It would be helpful if you could post some pictures....

 

[AriqThe360th]

Ok guys, quick update, for the last 5-6 days my birds have only been eating large amounts of seeds
So now I'm only giving them 1-2 teaspoons of seeds per day, and the rest of their food will be veggies. I managed to feed them cabbage today, they wouldn't eat any veggies before today.... I'm gonna try out some lettuce later today and see if they like that, I'm also gonna go out and buy some carrots and cucumber today afternoon cuz' we're out of those... I also am not feeding them tomatoes cuz' they're acidic like @Jas said.
But I do have a question about feeding them fruits... I have bananas at home at all times and I have some blueberry in the fridge. I know you can feed them bananas, but I tried that yesterday and they didn't seem to eat it... But the blueberries I have aren't just normal blueberries, they're blueberry pie filling, there are whole blueberries but they're in a sort of jam... I attached a pic of the can of blueberry I have, does anyone know if it's safe?

P.S - Once my birds are properly settled in and tamed, I'll post some pictures of Skye's wings on a different thread, she has a hard time flying and I think its because she's missing some flight feathers...

 

[SquawksNibbles]

@SquawksNibbles
about the wings being clipped... I have no idea
The pet sellers in my country know dangerously small information about the pets they sell... I know that Max can fly and Skye has a hard time(was planning to make a different thread about that...)

About the play stand, I also have no idea
It would be helpful if you could post some pictures....

For the wings, it really is recommended that we leave birds flighted. A birds’ wing feathers are the way they flee from predators. Granted, there should be no reason for your birds to actually flee from big scary predators, but by leaving them flighted, you are making them feel more safe and comfortable knowing that they have a way to flee in the event of something happening. Plus, clipping their wing feathers usually requires you to grab the birds in your hand. This is very stressful for them, and should just be avoided. Not to mention, flying is a great way of exercise for birds.

As for the play stand, there are a ton of different designs and plans on Google and Pinterest. You’ve just got to figure out what type of stand you’d like. There are java wood, PVC pipe, and other wooden play stands made from natural branches. Or you could always do something like PVC pipe and incorporate wood branches as perches in the design. Java wood play stands are beautiful and are probably the best you can get. Unfortunately, a lot are pricey and I’m not sure how easy it would be to find one in your area, as they are ones you usually buy. I will leave some photos of the different play stands I found on Google just to give you a general idea.

Java wood



PVC pipe


Wooden


I noticed you said that you were going to try lettuce. Lettuce is OK to feed every once in a while, and could be a great way to get them to like more things. However, lettuce isn’t as good as other foods and shouldn’t be fed as much.

I recently introduced my birds to veggies. They like broccoli, cauliflower, parsley, carrots, and sweet potato. I definitely recommend trying sweet potato. My birds love their sweet potato and I know quite a lot of others do, too. I have yet to get them to eat fruits. I’ve tried strawberry, banana, and banana - no luck. It’s funny, I would’ve thought they would’ve tried fruits before and learned to love them first. But they really don’t like a single fruit... yet.

 

[AriqThe360th]

@SquawksNibbles , I see where you're going with the playstand, and I think I should be able to find some in my area, but I will probably buy it after I'm comfortable having the birds fly around my room.
And Thanks for letting me know about the lettuce, I'll keep that in mind.

About the wings being clipped thing, I don't know much about why birds would be clipped in the first place, and I don't think Skye was clipped, she has 4-5 flight feathers on one wing and only 1 on the other, I thought this was some type of injury thing and they would grow back, I will make a post about that later... But I found a more important problem, I think Max has a broken foot(or potentially 2...) and I'm making a post about this now... I will include the link in this post once it's done.