The Good, The Bad and the Ugly about BUDGIES!

[allyfowler-12]

Good: Well they are cheap, I just get a huge bag of food and like in six months have to go back for more! They are small so they don't need those humongous cages and I don't have to worry about forgetting to take them out. They are also a LOT quieter than large birds, so I ca gt some sleep.

Bad: I did have two birds, Carlos and Sue, but Sue died and I think she was egg bound, it was very unexpected. See that is the worse part, with all birds, they can die unexpectedly without you even noticing, she is now flying up in heaven R.I.P Sue . Anyway, Carlos and my Guenia Pig Loui are next to each other, Carlos is up high in his cage and Loui is down low, so now Carlos is always flapping his wings and squawking like a fricken maniac! And I have to put a blanket over his cage, if I forget, he squawks all day because he is cranky, I wish they made a coffee for birds, that would be nice.

Ugly: The pooping! It's so grody! And also Carlos bites like all the time!

 

[MorganW]

I have an English Budgie who is coming up on a year old now. He is just now comfortable with coming out of his cage and actually exploring instead of just trying to fly back to it. It was very easy to teach him to step up. However he can have stubborn times. Just have to wait him out, then once this is over he loves to spend time with me. Now he can walk on my body not just stand on my hand. Favorite foods are lettuce and Apples. My favorite thing he does is the quiet chatter before sleeping. Sounds so cute. He is super playful, energetic and I love him. Never gets too loud. If he does it only lasts a moment. Just took me a year to get him almost totally comfortable with me his favorite past time is looking out the window

 

[Anna M]

We have been having so much fun with our budgies, Whitby and Tooley. We're new to having birds, so it's all been new to us. We love, love, love listening to their singing and chatter. Sometimes there are some sounds that are perhaps less than beautiful, but it is just part of their chatter. They both fly, now, and it's so much fun to watch them zoom around. For several months, only Whitby could fly, and he slowly built up his stamina and skill, while Tooley could only watch. Now Tooley's feathers have grown in enough (he was clipped too closely when we got him, and we didn't know enough to recognize that), and he can fly around all day with Whitby. They will fly between two windows, checking out what's happening outside, and they fly from one playground to another, and sometimes just in circles for fun. These little birds have such big personalities! They play games with each other, like stepping on each other's feet. It's hilarious. Ours were very skittish for the first few months. While they're not exactly tame and crawling around on us, they will fly to us for millet, and have even landed on us without a treat, a few times. We keep them in our living room, and they perk up when we come in, after being gone for a few hours. They will come and circle us, flying around our heads. When I was home sick for a couple of days, they talked to me a lot as I lay on the couch, and on some flights, they would swerve to come within a few inches of me. Cheered me up a lot. I don't see any bad or ugly with these little jewels. They're wonderful.

 

[Melissa Marie]

What a fun thread! I was never a fan of budgies (they always looked like weird little fat 1900s English oil barons to me... is that weird?) but when I found Bunsen, my albino fancy keet, I feel in love!

The good: Mine is EXTREEMLEY quiet. He's still young, so I'm looking forward to when he starts developing a vocabulary. He does have a little chatter and calling fit at least a day for about 10 or 15 minutes around noon, then he's essentially silent save for a few chirrups here and there. I've also found mine to be very gentle and patient, especially with my linnie. He's also very curious and playful, it's lots of fun to watch him forage! Also their poops are very small and easy to clean.

The Bad: if you're looking for a budgie to be your companion, I would recommend getting a hand-fed baby whenever possible. Store bought birds tend to be very skittish and require a LOT of time and a TON of patience to get them to trust you. It's been 4 months now and we're BARELY getting to the point where he is comfortable sitting on my hand outside the cage... even then after about 20 minutes he decides he's done and flies right back in!

The Ugly: I haven't seen any ugly yet! just a little mountain of cuteness...

 

[Pentameter]

The Good:
-They're small enough for you to provide them with a spacious cage without spending a metric ton of money (though I always recommend getting the biggest cage you can afford, with the proper bar spacing)
-Relatively quiet; this makes them better choices for apartment dwellers or those with fussy neighbors
-Big personalities for such little beasts! They don't know they're small, let me tell you.
-Colorful birds, lovely songs (even the ack ack ack of the hens is adorable)
-Rarely resort to self-mutilation or plucking; this doesn't mean it never happens, just that it's rarer

The Bad:
-Converting them to healthy food can be difficult. How difficult depends on where the bird is from and what they've already been eating.
-While inexpensive, they require every bit of attention a big bird does. See a vet at least once a year.
-Too cocky for their own good; my budgie has little to no fear of dogs, cats, etc. They will boss gentler birds (cockatiels especially) around and may pick fights they cannot win with bigger birds (lovebirds, etc, and I've seen one try to fight an amazon)
-They CAN be OK alone if given loads of attention. If you're not going to be around a lot, I recommend getting two.
-If you breed them (and I don't recommend you do this without due consideration) take care to keep them separate from other breeding birds. Budgies can carry some bad germs without showing symptoms and give those germs to other species of birds (some of those germs are fatal to conures, etc, but don't seem to bother budgies as much).

The Ugly:
Nothin

 

[cassiesdad]

The Good:
-They're small enough for you to provide them with a spacious cage without spending a metric ton of money (though I always recommend getting the biggest cage you can afford, with the proper bar spacing)
-Relatively quiet; this makes them better choices for apartment dwellers or those with fussy neighbors
-Big personalities for such little beasts! They don't know they're small, let me tell you.
-Colorful birds, lovely songs (even the ack ack ack of the hens is adorable)
-Rarely resort to self-mutilation or plucking; this doesn't mean it never happens, just that it's rarer

The Bad:
-Converting them to healthy food can be difficult. How difficult depends on where the bird is from and what they've already been eating.
-While inexpensive, they require every bit of attention a big bird does. See a vet at least once a year.
-Too cocky for their own good; my budgie has little to no fear of dogs, cats, etc. They will boss gentler birds (cockatiels especially) around and may pick fights they cannot win with bigger birds (lovebirds, etc, and I've seen one try to fight an amazon)
-They CAN be OK alone if given loads of attention. If you're not going to be around a lot, I recommend getting two.
-If you breed them (and I don't recommend you do this without due consideration) take care to keep them separate from other breeding birds. Budgies can carry some bad germs without showing symptoms and give those germs to other species of birds (some of those germs are fatal to conures, etc, but don't seem to bother budgies as much).

The Ugly:
Nothin

Well said. Isn't it amazing that their big attitude can be such a good thing AND a bad thing...

 

[Birdiemarie]

Now that I've had the boys since July 2014 I have observed them enough to post here.

The Good: They are such happy little clowns and are always playing from the time I uncover them between 7-8AM till they go nite-nite at dusk. They pack a lot of personality in little bodies and keep me smiling and laughing throughout the day. They are fun to build a bond with.

The Bad #1 It is challenging to get them to eat veggies and other healthy foods besides seed but it's an effort worth being committed to. I love seeing their tails up at their food bowls.
The Bad #2: If you are considering putting their cage in your bedroom be prepared for a lot of noise because they are LOUD! When they are in full volume it's interesting trying to hear the tv over them. I am used to it now and enjoy the constant enthusiastic chatter but it was a realization I had to get used to. But although they are loud in close quarters they are fine for apartment living and won't disturb the neighbors.

The Ugly: Not a one.

 

[cassiesdad]

Now that I've had the boys since July 2014 I have observed them enough to post here.

The Good: They are such happy little clowns and are always playing from the time I uncover them between 7-8AM till they go nite-nite at dusk. They pack a lot of personality in little bodies and keep me smiling and laughing throughout the day. They are fun to build a bond with.

The Bad #1 It is challenging to get them to eat veggies and other healthy foods besides seed but it's an effort worth being committed to. I love seeing their tails up at their food bowls.
The Bad #2: If you are considering putting their cage in your bedroom be prepared for a lot of noise because they are LOUD! When they are in full volume it's interesting trying to hear the tv over them. I am used to it now and enjoy the constant enthusiastic chatter but it was a realization I had to get used to. But although they are loud in close quarters they are fine for apartment living and won't disturb the neighbors.

The Ugly: Not a one.

Quick suggestion for watching TV...closed captioning! I wouldn't know what to do without it...

 

[Domothebudgie]

The good:they are pretty small, I have had four parakeets at a time, and their food does not cost a lot. They're very pretty and cute. They get along with almost all other budgies, so you don't need to worry as much about fighting.

The bad:I have never been able to switch mine over to pellets. If I have more than one parakeet, they will talk nonstop. And they can scream for days unlike my mini-macaw. Most of them are skittish and will most likely not be tame if they were not handled, so it is VERY hard to get them back in the cage.

The ugly:their life-span is pretty short. But because most of mine were adopted, their life was even shorter and it can be devastating. Because they are so small, it's hard to know something is wrong, and it's usually to late by the time you find out.

Even though there seem to be many bad things, I still live them and they are incredibly sweet.

 

[Cockatoo-Dust]

The good: They are little fluffy birdies! Who doesn't like them! They are not the type of bird you would call "expensive" ; But they are also not what you would call "really cheap" either. Their food does not cost a fortune, and their cage doesn't take up the whole wall like a large birds' cage does. You can have them in a pet friendly hotel/apartment because they are not incredibly loud. Annnndddd they are awesome.

The bad: They "can" be expensive depending what kind of food you get them, the initial cost of their housing, toys, perches, etc. When i got my first bird, Yua, she probably costed about $70-$80 for everything, because you can't buy the bird without the cage,toys, perches, food, etc. . Because if you did get a bird without any of that, that's just not logical unless you already have things you can use, or a temporary "15 minute cage" while you run to the pet store to go buy a decent sized cage for $30-$40.. Budgies are also notoriously messy. I sweep the floor pretty much every day, and after an hour, it looks like i didn't do it at all!
Their nails grow really fast and can get stuck in things easily if you don't trim them enough. If you have more than one, they like to chatter all day, and like to compete with the television trying to constantly be louder than it. That usually ends up with someone turning the TV up really loud and hearing little chirpy birds and not the TV. (That's why i use closed captioning!) They can also be very slow to tame, depending solely on the birds' terms and not yours.

The ugly:...uh.. Nothing besides their tiny annoying poop really. That's it, lol.

 

[Glacier313]

I agree with all of the stuff! Budgies are quite smart, mine don't talk, but I swear I've heard someone say "pretty bird!" However, they are quite messy. Then again, I have seven! XD

 

[HazelBird029]

ohhh I know this is late, but I must XD

The good: Budgies are glorious little fluffballs who think they rule the world. They relish attention and their acrobats are simply too much fun. Aside from that, they are very friendly, and even untame budgies are enjoyable to watch. They do best in pairs, or flocks, and it's amusing to watch them interact with each other. They are like little potato chips, once you get one, you get another one and then they just keep multiplying! Overall, they're relatively easy to care for, being smaller, and cheaper.

The bad: They are fragile and somewhat prone to health issues, like tumors. Oftentimes, even with checking their droppings daily, you can't tell when they're sick. My first bird I ever owned was a budgie named Kitty who died only a week after I got her (apparently it was a petstore bug) and then my fourth bird, Jingle, died suddenly while I was at work without any indication of something being wrong. There can be a lot of heartbreak involved in owning them due to their short lifespans, but it's worth it. Also, they take forever to tame XD

The ugly: I've had a nippy bird once, but I soon got her trained up, so that's all I can think of...

 

[Wulfgeist]

The two I have are pet store birds, the one bought on a whim after my GCC died and the other later. The second one was getting hand tamed but I sort of gave up on it so neither is very friendly. I can't let them out of their cage because they are much more attractive to the cats. I guess because they aren't so tame they are rather leery and don't do a lot when they know I am watching them.
As people have stated aside from vet care it isn't a huge investment. Food is cheaper, toys are definitely cheaper than providing for my grey. Mine also luckily took to the chop without too much fuss but I have millet and some other goodies in there. I have tried hanging damp dandelion greens and the like in their cage but it gets ignored.

The bad: They can be a little noisy but honestly it seems to only be the worst before they get fed, otherwise it's not too hard to tune out.

The ugly: The *mess*. They are way messier than my grey and I am constantly vacuuming around their cage.

 

[JosephNAsenath]

Good; Amazing creatures! I love to hear them sing and make their oh so cute sounds! Each one has their own unique personality! - Joseph is my lazy fella, he loves to just chillax on his perch all day. Asenath is my wild gal, she definitely reminds me of an Egyptian. Naomi is such a sweet heart and Ruth is quite timid but I know she will get more brave as time goes on. As for Mary and Elizabeth phew! these two are so cute and all but they will bite! Over time I am sure they will get over the biting stage.

Bad; The mess, but this is easily remedied so I don't know if it would be appropriate to consider it a bad thing seeing is I don't necessarily mind... it's all worth it in my opinion.

Ugly; Nothing ugly as of yet....

 

[Tilley Jade]

a budgie life span is considerably long since they are so small they generally live to about 15 years or more if they are in excellent health

 

[Tilley Jade]

the only time they are ugly is when they are babies they aren't the prettiest of things here is a photo of newborn babies

in 2 stages - just out of the egg and pinfeather stage

 

[Shinobi]

The Good; They are a Bird.
The Bad; They died too young.
The ugly Nothing springs to mind.

In 1995 a budgerigar named Puck was accepted into the Guinness Book of World Records for the bird with the largest Vocabulary. (1728 words)

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&...Sf5aVzvIFXg5MiKVA&sig2=wAGfQBy2HOX84EtsRDiK-g

 

[gibsongrrrl]

the only time they are ugly is when they are babies they aren't the prettiest of things here is a photo of newborn babies

in 2 stages - just out of the egg and pinfeather stage

Adorable! The tiny one in the background too

 

[cassiesdad]

Adorable! The tiny one in the background too

I didn't have my contacts in this morning, so I didn't see the little one in the background. These two are beyond precious...

 

[SweetAmber]

There truly is no bad but...

Good: They come in amazing color, from blue, to green to yellow or grey. Many wing patterns, pied, crested. They can be dark, or look like they have busted a hi lighter on themselves! Many of these are easy to find local (In the states) with me only unable to find true greys and crested that I want/need. They are flock birds, once you have one on a new food, they will all eat it. They teach eacthother tricks, you can easily get them eating out of your hand. They are quiet(for birds) and they don't destroy toys at an alarming rate! Just perfect little birds!

Bad : These are mostly human falls, not the bird. They do constantly chatter, they molt an alarming amount of feathers. They are often neglected, and many things happen as a result. If you don't spray them, they get dull, produce dust and molt more. If you feed them wrong they get sick and die. If they get left alone they pine away. Mirrors can drive them quite crazy, and they really need to be let out to stretch their wings at least once a week!

Ugly: Stupid humans abuse, neglect and shove them into corners when the novelty wears off. They are to easily ignored, they need to be MUCH louder. I see too many of these guys on Craigslist, in tiny cages, eating seed and alone. They are overpopulated here!