Animal-World > Birds > Parakeet: Types of Parakeets > Budgerigars - Parakeets

Budgerigar, ParakeetsBudgies

Family: Psittacidae

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A Group of Very Colorful BudgiesMelopsittacus undulatusPhoto © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

     Not only does the Parakeet or Budgerigar make a super pet, but is also available in over 100 color forms!

   Colorful, attractive, and lively are just some of the great attributes of the Parakeet or Budgerigar. With their warm and inquisitive personalities, they make a great pet for both the beginner or an experienced bird keeper. They are quite hardy, inexpensive, and easy to care for.

To learn more about Parakeets and their needs visit:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Parakeet

Scientific Name: Melopsittacus undulatus

Overview, history, and species variants:      The parakeet, or Budgerigar, belongs to the family of true parrots, which explains why the parakeet is relatively adept at learning to talk. The parakeet comes from Australia and the first European to write anything about these colorful birds was John Gould in 1865 in his work titled "Birds of Australia".      This bird, along with about 30 - 45 other small broad-tailed parrot species, belong to a tribe called Platycercini. The members of this group are all native to Australia in particular, but also to Australasia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, and nearby islands. Besides the Budgerigar, It includes birds like the grass parrots, Rosellas, and the New Zealand parrots.      In the wild, the Parakeet or Budgerigar, comes from the interior of Australia where the landscape is almost desert-like and there are no regular rainy seasons. This arid environment will go for months and sometimes years without rain. Needless to say, this is a hardy bird.

Pet appeal:      Parakeets make very good pets as long as they have a lot of attention and love. These birds are very social by nature. Living in groups of 20 to 40 and sometimes as many as 60 birds in the wild, and don ’t like to be left alone. So if you own only one bird and you work 8 hour days, think about possibly getting him a mate or finding someone to at least keep the bird company for part of the time that you are gone. Parakeets make just as good of pets singly or in pairs or more, but make sure that you introduce one bird at a time.      Parakeets are monogamous so once they find a mate it is usually for life unless of course one of them has an untimely death in which the other would then find a new mate. Parakeets are very good flyers. In the wild they fly back and forth across vast regions searching for food and water, so provide them with free flying time and you will have a much happier birds.

Description:      Parakeets come in over 100 color forms but primarily in green (typical in the wild), various shades of blue, opaline, gray, white, yellow (lutino), pied (combination in one bird), and in various shades of these colors, some rarer than others.      Parakeets are 7" to 9 3/8" in length from the tip of the bill over the head to the tip of the tail. The tail by itself is 3 1/8" to 4 1/2" long. Parakeets weigh anywhere from 1 - 1.4 ounces ( 30-40g). The life expectancy of the average parakeet is 12 to 14 years. They reach sexual maturity at 3 to 4 months. By this time they have there adult plumage which is quite unusual in the bird kingdom.

Care and feeding:      Ready made staple seed mixes are usually available at your local pet store or super market which contains a mixture of canary grass seed, white millet, yellow millet, oats and groats and red millet, niger seed and linseed. Some higher quality seed mixtures come with thistle, anise, rape, sesame, and safflower seed. Vitamin pellets with iodine in them are sometimes present to prevent thyroid problems. Store seed in a dark but airy place. Not in plastic bags but in a clothes bag in a closet. Offer fresh foods such as eggplant, green peas, cucumber, young dandelion greens, sweet corn, beet greens, carrots, unsprayed lettuce, green peppers, sorrel, spinach leaves, tomatoes and zucchini. Fruits that are suitable are: Pineapples, apples, apricots, bananas, most other fruits.      Food that is bad for birds includes: All members of the cabbage family, raw and green potatoes, green beans, grapefruit, rhubarb, plums, lemons, avocado.      Parakeets also need a mineral block and a cuttlebone in their cage. These provide all the minerals and trace elements that they need. Offer spray millet every so often as a treat. And of course fresh water daily.

Housing:      Provide a roomy cage with the minimum dimensions of: 20" long x 12" deep x 18" high. The ideal size is: 40" long x 20" deep x 32" high. Preferably a cage with horizontal bars to make climbing easier. You can also attach a perch/play area on top of the cage. In the cage have about three perches of different diameters (or branches with some angling) without the sandpaper guards. A swing and mirror among other toys are available but be sure to leave enough room for flying! Food and water dishes, preferably automatic dispensing, or if not, ones with guards to prevent waste contamination. Clips to hold spray millet and fresh food. A bath house with a textured bottom is a favorite, or a slow running faucet will do. Provide a breeding box if breeding is what you have in mind.

Maintenance:      The basic cage care includes daily cleaning of the water and food dishes. Weekly you should wash all the perches and dirty toys, and the floor should be washed about every other week. A total hosing down and disinfecting of an aviary should be done yearly, replacing anything that needs to be freshened, such as old dishes, toys and perches.

Handling and training:      Take it slow at first and let the parakeet get used to you and its new surroundings before trying to get him to go onto your finger. Allow flying time and don ’t worry about catching him to put him back into the cage, leave the cage door open and sooner or later he will get hungry. After a while curiosity will overcome fear and training can begin.      Most but not all parakeets have the inclination to talk, be repetitive and patient.

Activities:     Free flying time is very important. Try to offer several hours a day in a bird safe room. A bird tree ( this can be made by wiring branches together into a tree or surrounding a tall house plant with perches, not poisonous of course), is very useful. Set it across the room from the cage, so that they fly back and forth. This will provide them with ample exercise.

Breeding:      The male parakeet's cere is blue and the female ’s is tan or light yellow. The "cere" is the area located at the base of the beak, just below the forehead or crown area. It is where the two nostril type openings (nares) are also located. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part this coloration is fairly accurate. In young parakeets, under 3 months, it is pale pink to tanish but changes after sexual maturity.      If a pair of parakeets are ready to mate they will court one another first by playing and then feeding each other. The male then attempts a balancing act on the females back and lowers his tail under hers till the vents connect.      The female picks the nesting sight and lays her eggs, one or two every other day, for a total of 4 to 6 eggs in a clutch. Incubation is 18 days but the hen will remain on the nest till the chicks start to get feather ’s. Separate the nesting hen from the other parakeets. Nesting material is not necessary till after the chicks hatch then you can cover the bottom of the box with pine shavings, never saw dust. Be sure that the hen is feeding the young and if not, hand rearing may be necessary.

Potential Problems:      The most common would be a parakeet plucking out its own feathers. This is usually caused from loneliness and boredom. Another problem is if the leg band is too tight then a veterinarian will have to remove it. If taken care of, the parakeet is a hardy pet well worth the money and effort!

Availability: Budgies are readily available and inexpensive.

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Larry, your budgie has poop on his bottom because he's sick. If you can, gently wash it with warm cotton balls because if he gets stopped up, he will die. And, take him to a vet.....he may be very, very sick or just stressed out because of the new surroundings. If he's not a baby parakeet, he may be missing his buddies he's been spending his life with. Take care of him. Please. eve stuart 2009-10-01
I have had a parakeet for about 4 years. My mother gave him to me, so yes he is very special to me, but he does have a big ego. I spend more of my time with him than my husand does, so therefore I do know him. I love him and he knows it. I had two females for him but some how they end up leaving him, so I give him a lot of freedom so he won't be lonely. He loves our family cause he knows how important he is to us. Suilma Suilma Meraz 2009-09-26
I purchased a parakeet from petsmart a little over a week ago. Large qlobs of bird poop accumulates around his rectum. Anybody have any ideas what causes this. Thanks. Larry Larry 2009-09-14
I just bought two parakeets today, for my little boy. I let him pick both of them out. He picked a girl and a boy. He also chose the cage and toy's. All I have to say is they are harmless, both bird's let my 4 year old hold them, and love them. They kinda peck at him every once in a while, my son say's it tickles. I enjoy knowing that they bring him so much joy, all mother's want to see their child happy. Which these two, are the key to happiness! Angie Angie 2009-08-21
I have 2 birds that start yelling when my 2 dogs start barking. It drives me crazy but I found out when I put on Shiana Twain they (the birds) calm down and start talking to each other again. Life is good with Shiana and the birds (and the dogs, both labs). Tina Shaffer 2009-08-09
Some of the coolest comments:
It is really recommended to take the birds to a vet if you observe something odd is happening. We have six beautiful and cheerful little baby honey birds here in the house, and one of them is ziggy, who is my husband's favorite because it has been with him for a long time. For the last two years, ziggy has been suffering from organ failure (according to the vet) because still his belly gets bigger or bulky. The doctor needs to excrete the excess fluid from his body and we maitain the medicine that he has to take everyday. We wanted to know exactly the main reason of the problem, to cure it, and prevent of losing her. Even my husband spent a lot already, but he is still willing to do everything to keep our little ziggy with us. LIZIEL COOK 2009-10-22
I have a 5ft long 2ft high home made cage in my grooming room in my basement. A neighbor gave me 4 parakeets, 3 females and one male. At first they wouldn't eat the greens I put in for them so I chopped the greens up and added them to their seeds, now they eat all the greens first. The greens have made their colors so much more vivid and the green females beak has turned a wonderful pale green, the males yellow color has deepened to a rich dark gold color the blues seem darker since they are eating greens (the other 2 females are blues, one is regular blue the other is a blue white with black stripes on her head and wings.) I'm glad I have them they are very beautiful. They have several types of perches and a flat wooden walk in the back of the cage, they walk across it a lot. They have also eaten through 2 other perches but the ones that are left are the ones they want. The golden male and the green female are in love they are side by side a lot. Maybe I'll get another male a blue for the 2 blue females. I will build them the boxes they will need to have babies. I've never raised birds before but I want to now. suann nelson 2009-02-24
Comments Dr Jungle REALLY Likes to Hear!
I have two baby Budgies that I purchased from a "bin'o'budgies" at a local pet store three months ago. They all had good coloring, were clean, appeared healthy and treated well. I think one is around 3 mo old and the other 4 or 5 because of the feathers on the forehead and iris/lack there of. Unfortunately due to lack of human contact in their first days it took awhile for them to trust me. However, with time and patience I have gotten them to be finger trained and hang out with me outside of their cage- right now they are sitting on top of my laptop, that is on my lap as I'm laying on the couch :) I had a cockateil that my family adopted and I loved dearly, but I left him at home when I moved out because I wouldn't have the time to spend with him like he is used to. I missed him so much that just had to fill the empty spot in my heart. Sure enough these two little guys have done that and more. They sing and chirp so beautifully and merrily, it sounds like spring every morning in my house. Just a heads up- they poop every 12 minutes! Thanks for this very informational site. I read as much as often as I can to make sure I give these sweethearts the best life possible. Nicole Brader 2009-08-19
I just received my parakeet as a gift and have been at the computer for hours trying to find out information on how to take care of it. Thank you so much for all the information you have written, it was the first bit of information I could find on how to take care of my bird. I hope to get many hours of enjoyment out of it. Joyce Ferringer 2009-07-18
I just got a female budgie and she is the cutest, she is so easy to take care of and she loves to jump around her cage. She chirps when you talk to her. Right now she is sleeping (her feathers are all poofy). Thanks for the cool information. Ashleigh 2009-03-17

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