Free feeding or scheduled meals for English Budgie?

[Leah M Pike]

My young female English Budgie seems to eat a LOT, like all day. I feed her Zupreem Fruit Pellets and spray millet as training treats. I am shocked by how much she eats to be so small. I read once that they will sometimes eat because they are bored. She is my only bird and is alone 8 hours a day at most. I get her out every day for training and play time but I am concerned. She plays with her toys and a change them out regularly. How much pellet should an English Budgie be eating daily? I don't want to over feed and have an obese bird, I just want her to be healthy.

 

[Reggie]

In the morning I measure out 1 cup of the pellets I feed my three, and it takes them a day and a half or two days to finish it. I "free-feed" my budgies pellets, but after I get home from school (around 1pm) I chop up fresh vegetables or offer a healthy seed mix/sprout mix. They also have the opportunity to eat millet and such during training.
If your budgie is alone and eats so much that you're surprised, I'd definitely start measuring and limiting how much she's allowed to eat.
I'd also consider getting her more toys, maybe spreading some of her food on a paper towel/newspaper at the bottom of the cage so she can "forage", or getting her a cage-mate. It's not good for her to be alone so much during the day, and I can bet she's putting on a ton of weight.

 

[Lady Jane]

Are you including fresh veggies, berries, grains and other human foods in her diet? I fed my EB Dr. Harveiy's Parakeet blend, Goldefeast blends and roubybush nibbles. Reading the ingredients of food we feed is important so that you know she is getting enough vitamins and minerals. She may not be getting enough nourishment with the fruit pellets that are most likely dyed. You may want to consider getting a bird scale to see if her weight is stable.

What do you give her inside the cage to play with? Since she is an only bird she may get bored. Consider a cage mate.

 

[Leah M Pike]

I was told by my breeder that the pellet diet was well balanced and feeding fresh or other supplementation would not be necessary. I have tried feeding fresh fruits and veggies but she won't touch them. I think I may try putting some veggies in a food processor and mixing that in with some seed hoping she'll accidentally eat the greens. She has a mineral block which I have never seen her touch. To be honest, making fresh chop every day for one budgie is a little higher maintenance than I'd prefer. I want her to stay on pellet so what else can I feed that won't make her turn up her nose to the pellet? I'm almost afraid to try new things because she is already picky and I don't want to spoil her on a food she can pick the good stuff out of.

She has paper toys, plastic, wooden, bells, fabric, string, and rubber toys. I have tried foraging toys with no success; I guess because she doesn't know there is millet in them. I will step up my game on enrichment toys though.

As far a cage mate, I have been considering it. However, I brought her into my home to be a companion animal hoping to keep her happy and enriched without other birds. I really want to try and be her flock. If it can't be done and she needs a bird companion to be content then she'll get a sister.

 

[Leah M Pike]

In the meantime, I'll do some research on how to read bird food labels as well as general nutrition. Thank you Dianne!

 

[Reggie]

"I was told by my breeder that (1) the pellet diet was well balanced and feeding fresh or other supplementation would not be necessary. I have tried feeding fresh fruits and veggies but she won't touch them. I think I may try putting some veggies in a food processor and mixing that in with some seed hoping she'll accidentally eat the greens. (2) She has a mineral block which I have never seen her touch. (3) To be honest, making fresh chop every day for one budgie is a little higher maintenance than I'd prefer. I want her to stay on pellet so what else can I feed that won't make her turn up her nose to the pellet? I'm almost afraid to try new things because she is already picky and I don't want to spoil her on a food she can pick the good stuff out of.

She has paper toys, plastic, wooden, bells, fabric, string, and rubber toys. I have tried foraging toys with no success; (4)I guess because she doesn't know there is millet in them. I will step up my game on enrichment toys though.

As far a cage mate, I have been considering it. However, I brought her into my home to be a companion animal hoping to keep her happy and enriched without other birds. (5) I really want to try and be her flock. If it can't be done and she needs a bird companion to be content then she'll get a sister."

(1) The pellet diet you have her on is balanced, and - nutritionally - she wouldn't need anything else. But from another standpoint, pellets can be horribly boring and offering fresh fruits and veggies is good stimulation and "spices" up their diet. So I'd offer fruits and veggies, just less often!
(2) In my personal experience, budgies only use mineral blocks and cuttlebones when they need the extra vitamins/minerals. You might never catch her using it, but she uses it as needed which is awesome!
(3) Since you're feeding a pellet-based diet, you can probably get away with only preparing fruits/veggies 4-5 days a week and be okay. But because you brought a bird into your home, you signed up for having a "high maintenance" pet. Budgies aren't low maintenance just because they're small. They require work, time, and dedication just like every other parrot.
(4) I got past this by playing with the foraging toys until some millet falls out so she understands the concepts, and letting them watch me put millet into the toy!
(5) To ease your stress, even if you get another bird as long as you spend lots of quality time with both of them every day, you can still be their flock! It would just be better for her to have a friend of her own species around while you're away so that she doesn't get bored or lonely and develop bad behaviors.

 

[Leah M Pike]

Thank you so much Reggie! I really appreciate you taking the time to pass along all your information. I have been researching budgie care for months and months but the best info always comes from experience bird owners. I will take your advice and hopefully create a happy life for my little featherbaby.

 

[Reggie]

She is absolutely adorable! You're very welcome, I like passing along what I've learned, and I hope everything works out for you and your lil peeper! If all else fails just remember that what I say are guidelines and don't have to be followed. The thing about parrots is that you can do whatever you feel is best for you and your birds.

 

[camelotshadow]

English budgies are so cute!!!

Mine would never touch pellets so guess any pellet is better than no pellet.

 

[BeeBop]

I would definitely recommend feeding your bird fresh veggies and fruits as often as you can. Pellets are nutritonally balanced, however they can be boring and lack some vitamins, proteins, and minerals that fresh foods have. An easy way to provide a varied diet is to cook some brown rice & add raw veggies then freeze it into portions that you can heat up and serve every few days. Good luck with your budgie!

 

[Fia Baby]

Try giving her a broccoli shoot - mine have always loved them. It may take her a bit to build up her courage to try it, but my guess is that she will. Also - any greens are always appreciated, as both food and for bathing. Try clipping them onto the side of her cage, by her favorite perch. They also like some native weeds - hoary plantain (sp?), when the seeds are still green and tender, are very popular. These things would give her a bit of fun while you're busy - especially the big, wet greens!

 

[Mizzely]

Fresh veggies are also a good source of moisture, which a 100% pellet diet lacks and can be hard on the kidneys over time

I only make chop for one bird and just make it once a week. It literally takes me 10 minutes. My "go to" is to use about 1/4 package of frozen mixed veggies as a base (about $1 for a whole bag), then add 1 dark leafy green (kale, mustard greens etc, just a few leaves, costs about $1 for a bunch), and then a couple of jalapeno peppers ($0.50). Sometimes I add some more orange veggies, sometimes I add a grain (oatmeal, quinoa), sometimes I add a few berries. I throw it all in the food processor and pulse a few times to make it all diced up but not pureed.

So for about $3 and 10 minutes I have fresh food for a week.

I also encourage you to measure out the food you are feeding so you actually know how much is being eaten - not only will it calm your fears, it will also give you a benchmark for how much you can expect her to eat, and if she's not eating you know something may be wrong.

My quaker eats about 1 tbsp of pellets, 1/4 tsp of seed, 1-2 tbsp of chop or bird bread a day.

 

[Monica]

Personally, I wouldn't feed a budgie more than 50% of their diet as pellets....

An all pelleted diet can be just as bad for a budgie as an all seed diet!

All seed = vitamin deficiencies and liver failure
All pellet = kidney failure and possibly gout


Converting Parrots to a Healthier Diet - Tips | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

 

[Calpurnia]

How much pellet should an English Budgie be eating daily? I don't want to over feed and have an obese bird, I just want her to be healthy.

There is no magic answer to this question, because it all depends on how much food your bird needs to maintain a healthy weight. All birds are individuals, with varying metabolisms. And their metabolic needs can vary even further with age, breeding status, or during molts. So measuring food intake is pointless, you have to measure your bird's weight directly (and do so consistently) to determine whether or not her current food intake is causing her to gain weight. Note that it is very uncommon for small, active birds like budgies to become overweight in general, even on high-fat all seed diets. So if your bird is eating mostly pellets this shouldn't be a concern. The last thing you want to do is start limiting your bird's available food because you think she is eating too much and cause her to lose weight instead.

I do agree with feeding extra veggies and fruit on the side as much as possible, but I also think that you shouldn't drastically reduce her pellet availability (if she loves them so much) as these ARE nutritionally complete. And if birds aren't consistently eating (or being offered) a large enough variety of fresh foods, ensuring they are getting a well-rounded blend of nutrients, then anything less than 60% pellets can still cause nutrient imbalances.

 

[JLcribber]

English budgies seem to be more prone to obesity. It's fairly common.

If she's eating too much then you're obviously feeding too much. Some birds need food management (set portions and times for eating) It becomes an event.

 

[Rolanda]

I have some Pepper questions:
-It looks like Jalapeno's work as far as HOT peppers. Has anyone used the "Japanese Peppers" (dried) packaged by the Mexican spice companies? I saw some at our health food store but wasn't sure if they were okay.
-With regular peppers (colored bell and sweet) do you give them the seeds?

Thanks

 

[Reggie]

@Rolanda When I cut up those bags of small/sweet peppers I don't give the seeds to my birds. (Mostly because it's better to be safe than sorry.) I haven't tried the "Japanese Peppers" either, because I wasn't sure if they were safe. I'm sure they are though. Did you find anything about them online?

 

[JLcribber]

I have some Pepper questions:
-It looks like Jalapeno's work as far as HOT peppers. Has anyone used the "Japanese Peppers" (dried) packaged by the Mexican spice companies? I saw some at our health food store but wasn't sure if they were okay.
-With regular peppers (colored bell and sweet) do you give them the seeds?

Thanks

If your birds will eat them there are no harmful peppers. I don't like to feed "dry" anything if there's a fresh alternative. They need the water.

You can give them the whole pepper. They'll only eat what they want anyway. The seeds are fine. Also the hottest part of the pepper. Peppers are great for them. The more the better.

A parrots tongue has about 300 taste buds as compared to our 10,000. So they do taste but not nearly on the level we do. This is why strong flavours like sugar salt and fat are so appealing to them and hotness does not affect them the same way. This is also what "perverts" their appetite (not the peppers) to the rather bland natural diet they would be and should be eating.

 

[Rolanda]

If your birds will eat them there are no harmful peppers. I don't like to feed "dry" anything if there's a fresh alternative. They need the water.

You can give them the whole pepper. They'll only eat what they want anyway. The seeds are fine. Also the hottest part of the pepper. Peppers are great for them. The more the better.

A parrots tongue has about 300 taste buds as compared to our 10,000. So they do taste but not nearly on the level we do. This is why strong flavours like sugar salt and fat are so appealing to them and hotness does not affect them the same way. This is also what "perverts" their appetite (not the peppers) to the rather bland natural diet they would be and should be eating.

Thank You, So much, John!

 

[finchly]

I also feed the whole pepper, including seeds. And I make chop about like @Mizzely does -- cheap easy and whatever I have on hand, with the bag of frozen as the 'base.' I also alternate that with birdie bread, I either do my own recipe or use a bag of Harrison's, cut it into 1" cubes, and freeze most. You can pull one out the night before and it's ready in the morning.

@Leah M Pike Really pretty bird!