The Good, The Bad and the Ugly about BUDGIES!

[Budgiebuds]

Here are mine based on what i have expirienced with my many budgies.

Good: They are playful,cute,active little birds who in my opinion make the cutest little sounds! Some can also be quite cuddly although not all are. Some they can also be taught tricks and learn how to talk although it is not the most common. Plus they are much cheaper to get and keep than other birds. They also come in many amazing colours.

Bad:quite skittish and easily scared birds. They also take quite s long time to tame if they are bought from pet stores. My first two budgies were from a petsore and it took months to fully tame them!Egg binding is also common among budgies even though my female(who has laid two clutches in her life)has never had that problem.

Ugly: I can't think of anything haha

 

[Lehma]

Good: Like everyone else here - they are adorable, funny, cute, full of personality - Australian larakins! My little Sunlight keeps me amused with hanging upside down from his swing and ladder, endless vocal range of chirps and chatters. He loves to hang out with me with everything I am doing - sitting on my shoulder, dancing all over the computer keyboard as I type, pecking at my iPad cover, helping himself to the orridge from my breakfast bowl. He has been so easy to 'train' he just follows my living patterns, even going to sleep at the same time as me when I have an afternoon nap.
Bad: Everything inside and outside the cage is seen as a good chewy toy, but he has learned acceptable and unacceptable items from my reaction - I tell him when he is good and offer him something else to chew when he wants to destroy my phone cover. Really nothing so terribly bad to report.
Ugly: Absolutely beautiful in every way!

 

[Pick&Patch]

Hi, I'm new. I think it's wonderful (Pro) because they are sociable how they talk to each other. I have one in quarantine and several times a day my boys Pickles and Patches will give each other a shout out. My only real frustration (Con) is the quarintine time. I mean I know it's a smart thing to do but I guess for me I'm just super excited to have them become best friends.

 

[Little bit]

i have 6 budgies, have had them for about a year. we "rescued" them from an idiot that was going to let them go to fend for themselves. none of them are tame, but with 6 of them i'm pretty sure that their emotional needs are met by each other .i'm just a food and water dispenser...lol.

tame or not, i love them! i love the noises they make, i love to watch them, they generally bring cheer and happiness to my life. whenever possible i like to nap in the afternoon and i think it's great that they sing me to sleep.

the good is: fairly cheap, easy to care for, and cute, cute, CUTE!

the bad: short lifespan and if you don't like bird noises it may get on your nerves.

the ugly: their poop. that is the only ugly thing about them. but it's more than worth dealing with to have such endearing little friends.

That's how I got my second budgie, the owner was going to give her freedom! Knew nothing of domestication, I said I will take her rather then her dying to fend on her own.

 

[Bookwyrm]

Good: I personally love the sound of budgies, especially males. They're beautiful birds, and can be super friendly and sweet. They're so fun to just watch play, and to play with. My budgie does this thing where he throws a foot toys off of a shelf or the top of his cage, waits for me to put it back up, then throws it off again. They don't require a ton of space, but a larger one is easier to clean, and there's more room. They're small, so toys last for a while and can be cheaper, and they don't eat as much food as bigger birds. They also have itty bitty poops that are really easy to clean up.
Bad: They poop a lot. Everywhere. On everyone. In. Their. Food. They're very social and require time even if you're really tired, especially if they're a single budgie. They're constantly talking, which I personally don't mind. They're also very delicate and can get sick/injured very easily.
Ugly: They're underestimated. Everyone underestimates budgies, and then they don't receive the care that they need. And that breaks my heart. People who buy a bird just for the sake of buying a bird will likely never learn how to love these tiny creatures. That's the worst part.

But overall, budgies are beautiful creatures and there's nothing wrong with them at all.

 

[Ripshod]

personally love the sound of budgies

I have to totally agree with this, there's nothing like 4 budgies or more singing together as a flock.
I'm stood right in the middle of them right now with them all in full voice and I realise - this is why I choose to share my life with budgies.

 

[Vincent]

Ugly: They're underestimated. Everyone underestimates budgies, and then they don't receive the care that they need. And that breaks my heart. People who buy a bird just for the sake of buying a bird will likely never learn how to love these tiny creatures. That's the worst part.

Exactly. I've also had betta fish, and people have the same attitude about them. Bettas and budgies are so common, once even sold in the pet sections of department stores, that people dismiss them as "nothing special." They're too often seen as quick-and-easy pets for kids.

 

[Ali]

Exactly. I've also had betta fish, and people have the same attitude about them. Bettas and budgies are so common, once even sold in the pet sections of department stores, that people dismiss them as "nothing special." They're too often seen as quick-and-easy pets for kids.

How many disagree with this?

8 Best Pets for Kids: What Type of Pet is Best for You?

Owning a pet can be a rewarding experience for a child. Learn about tortoises, cockatiels, Labradors, hamsters, sea monkeys, and other great pets for kids.

www.healthline.com

To be honest, they basically cover every animal type as being great for kids first pets

 

[Bookwyrm]

How many disagree with this

Yep. From what I've read, cockatiels would make terrible pets for children! The problem with getting a pet for a young child is that if their parents don't pay for the animal, the animal won't be able to thrive. If the parent doesn't see something as important, the animal won't get it.
My sister loves hamsters, and saved up for quite a while to get one. She now has a giant Syrian hamster who has two cages. Syrian hamsters need about 400 square inches of uninterrupted floor space, I believe, and no cages in ordinary pet stores meet those requirements. In the case of my sister, my mom thinks his two cages are fine, even though my sister knows he needs more space. She is a teenager, though, so she is saving up to buy a large aquarium for her hamster.
People just need to be more educated before purchasing an animal of any type, even if the child is the one buying the animal. Just because it's small doesn't mean it doesn't need to be properly cared for.

 

[medibirds]

good: amazing little friend , cheap to keep, ideal beginner bird, chirps sound amazing, pairs with other budgies perfectly
bad: they poop every 15 minutes (not even kidding) so watch out for little poops
ugly: never pair with canaries, or lovebirds, because if you pair them with these 2 birds, it will become a gross situation. lovebirds have bigger beaks and as a result budgies would be rendered weak. and canaries, usually accept budgies but certain budgies are really territorial (like aspen) and so they will most likely put up a fight against them

 

[MarilynC]

I have been a previous owner of 4 budgies, whose lives all ended in tragedy. I am still grateful to have been apart of their lives, and I won't sugar coat anything. I promise I'll tell you my full experience with these tiny parrots!

The Good: Well for starters, they are relatively cheap! PetSmart birds go for only $21 compared to the whopping $1800 for a Greenwing Macaw. However, buying a Pet Store bird is never the best bet. But that is how I acquired my budgies, and luckily ALL had been healthy and full-of-life (although this may never be the case for you). Budgies are fun and really enjoy life. They love to fly, play, and chirp! I find the chirp cute, although it can be a little harsh to were you may flinch yours eyes Another good, is they don't require that large of a cage! Sure those plastic cages are only $30, but consider getting the biggest size cage you can (but remember not too big of a bar size or else it could get out, or even stuck in-between the bars). They also don't require toys that are the size of your arm! Another plus is the wide selection of color mutations there are! From blue, green, yellow, white, to cobalt or even albino! Theres easily 70+ mutations of the budgie! Also, I didn't have to spend $100 a month on food, toys, etc. for him. They are cheap, so if you don't like the loud squacks of macaws, or even conures, get a budgie!!! They also make good apartment birds.

The Bad: Theres not a whole lot of bad. There size may be a drawback because they can fit into tiny holes and other stuff that can be hazardous. Mine loved to chip off paint off of everything! This was really bad because it could lead to death, and that is always sad. I also think the lifespan are very short. My oldest lived to be 4 years old, so he was reaching the prime of his life I had good runs with them. They do like to be near you, and that's not a good thing. That's how I lost my bonded pair.

The Ugly: Nothing really! But they aren't perfect. No bird species is! They do require some training, and they aren't the best talkers, but they can learn a lot of words, if given the proper time.

MY BUDGIES FROM THE PAST:
Pipsqueak was my first budgie I had, and my longest surviving one. He was easily my favorite, and friendliest. He loved to cling onto you and even formed a very close relationship with my dog, Summer. He was a male and I loved him! I bought him when he was 4 months old. He was in a tub with 10 other budgies and when I bought him, the guy used a net and basically knocked him out Sadly, it was a very hot day in 2007. Temperatures reached 95 degrees and we opened some windows on the bottom level of our 3 story mansion. Pip liked the 2nd story and declared that "his" section. But on this day, he went down to the bottom level, and flew straight out of the house. It took us hours and hours of looking, but too no avail He will always be in my heart, and he is the one that introduced me to the world of birds!

Phoebe was your typical green budgie with a yellow face, known as the "wild" type budgie. She never did form a bond with me, or anybody in the 2 years I had her. Sadly in August 2009, my cat, Dexter, jumped onto the table holding her cage (he somehow opened the door). He knocked the cage down and ate the bird. I arrived home and feathers were everyone in the 6th bedroom that I had private for Phoebe. R.I.P Phoebe! Gone but not forgotten

& Big Boy & Girlfriend were my last budgies. Although the white budgie with a blue bottom looked exactly liked Girlfriend, Big Boy did not look like that avatar. He was gray with a yellow face! He was really beautiful. At first, we got Big Boy but when we observed him, he kept close to his white friend (who became Girlfriend). I thought it would be best to keep them together as they did not leave eachother in the 30 minutes I watched them. After all, they were in a cage with 30 other budgies, so their bond must have been special However, they did not like me and only stuck to eachother. They did follow me though everywhere I went. One day I went grocery shopping and I kept the door open because I still had bags in the car, when all of a sudden BB and G flew out the house. I was devastated and I just said to myself they would be my last budgies. I will miss all four of my babes and still have their cage and toys in my shed.

Hope you liked this (long) read! Enjoy
- DJandVanna

Perhaps birds aren’t for you. Maybe stick with cats and dogs. They rarely go out through windows.

 

[fulldark87]

The good: My birds, Budgie and Birdo (my husband named them, and he thinks he's funny lol) sing constantly, I love coming home from work and hearing them. My mom was working from home at my house one day not long after I got them and couldn't believe how loud they were. They are typically very happy, and get along well with each other. And they are so pretty! I just love watching them fly around, or playing with their toys. One of our birds was a rescue, we got the other from the pet store so he wouldn't be lonely, and the one from the pet store is always hanging upside down from his (her? still to young to tell if it's a boy or girl yet) perches. Even when using the cuttlebone, Birdo sits upside down on the perch next to it and pecks at the bottom of it.
The bad: They will let you know if they don't like something, and mine are very spoiled now. They have discovered if they squawk enough, we will put on the radio for them, or skip the song if they don't like it. They are also incredibly picky eaters, and refuse to eat anything other than their seeds. I actually just found the thread with tips getting them to eat other things, so I'm excited to try some of those. They are still skittish, and take a while to warm up to people.

 

[Kiwi & Co.]

The good: Budgies are adorable! They are also one of the quietest parrots you can own! Some budgies are also great at mimicking which is a great little bonus
There’s a lot to like about them
They are very cheerful and their songs sound very nice.

The bad: They poop, a L O T
A lot like every 15 to 30 minutes a lot. They can also be very picky with food, it took me months to get mine on pellets and Kiwi still isn’t fully convinced that veggies are safe to eat

The ugly: Unfortunately a lot of budgies have genetic issues that cause increased chance of fatty liver disease, especially when fed the all seed diet that many budgies worldwide eat. In English budgies there’s a higher risk of heart and respiratory issues because of their large size and how they were bred.


Here’s my little guy:




And here’s his cage setup, I recommend getting as large a cage as possible (with safe 1/2 inch bar spacing of course) I have a pretty big cage for Kiwi and he uses every little bit of it

 

[BirbDex]

Hm, I like budgies because I can have them in my apartment. They're small enough that they're easy to clean. They don't make a ton of high-pitched noises well, they do but nothing like a larger bird could. For someone who is also autistic the "pitch" is super important it has not be above a certain point it's hard to describe. so a budgie is honestly a really good match for me and I love their little personality's.

I don't have a huge negative maybe sometimes I like a bit of quiet for me it's not the noise or pitch again, I think it's more they're very consistent but i've solved that as much as possible by just allowing her to be in the most active room I'm in on daily baises that way she gets attention and knows that I'm around even if not yet fully trained which seems to help but there is still a lot of momments she is a bird after all. it's fine though i'm pretty happy with everything and don't got a lot of complaints.

 

[Ella A.]

The good: they are lovely creatures with amazingly different personalities and degrees of intelligence, talent for singing, and oomph. I have ten young budgies in a large plant-decorated cage where they seem to have created their own family and cosy home. Six of them are definitively-matched, preening only each other; I'm still working on finding the right matches for 2 females (kept returning those who didn't "kiss" right away upon meeting each other, now having 2 males it seems they ignore...but it's hard between the colors I want and their own preferences...) Tips: the younger, the easier and sweeter they are; older ones may bite hard. I don't understand breeders who don't pet/tame baby-birds, they are so cute and it's so helpful to new owners. My 10 are very trainable -- over 6 months, they have learned: his/her name; favorite words like "out" (I take them outside in the garden), "home" (their cage), "fly" (practice flying after climbing on my hand), "No" (they aren't allowed to fly around the whole house), "Bravo" (when they sing/chirp nicely or do as told), "Nice" (to stop fretting when I'm bathing them, they love warm water), and "Shhh!" I'm positive they will learn to talk a bit, I am training the oldest one because they copy him. They don't chirp constantly, especially if there is music around and if they have lots of toys, enough room, water to bathe. They love to doze in the middle of the day after a good playing ... also, they like music, especially bells, violin, piano sounds, I've read they all like music. They eat seeds, boilt egg, nibble on favorite plants directly from the pot, and I found out they love tall plain grass: I get a bunch from the road-side, wash it, soak it briefly in boilt water to pasteurize it ... They simply roll in it, they love it as it's full of fresh seeds at the tips, I suppose. They don't eat other fruit/veggies yet. No fighting because they are ... happily-married, it's fun to see them play, "kiss", and "comb" each other's feathers. Cuddly in their own way: they cuddle in my hand, nudge my fingers. So, lots and lots of good things from such funny pets.
The bad: Well, cleaning is necessary... Yes, biting comes instinctively with most, and it's very unpleasant -- but they do learn to refrain from it. Some have bad temper or turn flippant, while others are very faithful and gentle to their mates -- in one case, a female was visibly suffering because her mate became nasty to her at times.... They can get lost and not dare to fly back if not trained, which was a surprise for me, as I was used to wild birds I had raised. I lost a budgie in a nearby tree... though her flight was OK, she was simply afraid to leave the tree once she landed there and saw a dove nearby... I still hope my poor budgie flew to some house and did not simply die hidden in the leaves. If you don't provide enough perches at night -- they'll argue, even if they know "Shhhh!"
The ugly: I don't like that I have to clip their wings once in a while. They hate it, too.

 

[The_Mayor]

The ugly: I don't like that I have to clip their wings once in a while. They hate it, too.

Could I ask why you need to clip their wings?

 

[Ivan.Vanca]

I was so hoping you would start this thread!!! When I think of budgies, I automatically think of you. Yes, they are very much flock animals. That being said, housing two females together is a mistake as they will often duke it out. We have three budgies, all in separate cages. The two females, Jacqueline and Little Alice fight it out when housed together but they do like each other so we have them in side by side cages. They have lots of toys & are happier than all get out..and wild as hell.

Baby Boy Blue is the resident "stud", or so he thinks. He is completely tame and yaks all day long. Because the tiels hate his guts, we can only let him out a few times a day for an hour each time as they all flee or try to fight him, while he is only trying to er ah..well you know. He visits his little budgie girlfriends and goes from cage to cage (even in their cages to feed them) though he has never once tried to do the nasty with them. Even though he goes in and out they still will not come out. .He is also the yakkiest budgie alive and so far we have counted well over one hundred words. He is non stop talk talk talk...

I love them and yes, they are so short lived that it is very sad to see them go because you can form such an attachment to the little devils. Also mixed colored mutations are very prone to tumors and cancer . that is how our little Sweety died and it was so very sad. She was also completely tame and just a darling little girl. I cannot imagine my life without the little devils. They are feisty and fun..also extremely aggressive. I would not recommend mixing them in with other breeds in the same cage.

anne, some budgies are long living. Wish they would live longer, but they can also incarnate like people.... like once told me DR. Ross Perry from Australia..... mainly exbibition budgies usually live shorter.

 

[Lanka]

This is very fun thread! I noticed many people posted they don’t need large cages… please guys, they do. I have a single budgie in a large flight cage and he uses every inch of it. And they need time out of the cage.

the good: they are not loud (they are noisy all the time) but not very loud. They are very curious and easy to train ( but you will need time and patience). They are friendly but not clingy. They can entertain themselves for hours with enough toys. They don’t bite as much as other bird and their bites don’t hurt. They are such a joy to have around- always busy, playing, into something. They are very curious and usually not fearful (i like to call my bird my quality inspector- he will go investigate everything new i bring in to the house) and if he is scared of something it won’t last more then 5 minutes. But i got my bird at petco as a baby, it might be different with adult rescues who spendt most of their life caged and are not socialized. My bird doesn’t damage anything in my house - he has many play areas around the house and plays with his toys. I guess you can compare them to dogs- if you don’t provide enough toys and entertainment then they will probably go for your walls, door frames… but if you do, they will play with their toys. With good sleep schedule, they are not moody- and it is easy to read them. Their poop is small and easy to clean. He also travels very well , what i did not expect to be honest.

the bad:I don’t have other birds but from what i’ve seen/heard they are not as physical as other larger birds. And probably not as smart (my bird is smarter then I expected to be honest). But they are smart enough to read you and know when you are trying to trick them about something (like to go to their cage when they don’t want to). They are not cheap: a proper flight cage with proper perches, toys- you are looking at 300$+… good quality seeds are around 30$/5ibs… they need every day veggies.. they are more fragile than bigger birds so you will be at the vet more frequently…Many will have liver problems even if on a good diet. they are also not a good pet for young children. I had to ban my friends young children from my house as they were not gentle enough and kept wanting to hold him and were generally stressing him out.. also kids forget to close the doors.. or they go and open the door.. that is a second and your budgie is gone.


the ugly: constant mess around the cage. I had to get a robot vacuum to keep up with the mess… he shreds toys all day long so toy parts go everywhere… I did a lot of research before i got him but never thought or was warned about the constant mess.

they are not begginer birds. If you plan to get a larger parrot later on, do not get a budgie as your budgie will probably end up forever caged - large birds can hurt them easily and they cannot have together out of the cage time with larger birds). I fell in love with a small conure, but could not get him as they are big chances he would be aggressive towards my budgie… if that happened my budgies life quality would decrease as he is out whenever i am home and really enjoys his out of the cage time). Some people manage to make it work, but that is a huge risk for a budgie, as it only takes a second for something to happen.
Getting a pair is great for someone who doesn’t have a lot of time for them, as they can keep each other company and be happy with each other (they will still need a large cage and time out of the cage as they love to fly).

 

[camelotshadow]

 

[Sparkles99]

Good
Adapt well to captivity. Almost never hear of plucking budgies, etc. Like other budgies, unlike some species that need huge spaces to not fight. Can be visually sexed. Sassy. Many different colours & mutations.

Bad
Somewhat addictive. Reject lots of kinds of pellets & vegetables.

Ugly
There's nothing ugly about them.