We live in the Deep South, Augusta, Georgia, USA. I grow millet for our budgies to dine on. They love it especially when it's green. They also love dandelion greens which are available here all year. I peel two oranges for breakfast for my husband and I, which leaves a bit of orange flesh inside the peels. Then I go out and pull up a few dandelion weeds from the front yard and feed the birds dandelions, orange peells and millet grass. Millet grass only seasonally has seeds in it and only during our short winter does the millet have dry seeds. Winter for us is about seven weeks long. My millet patch also attracts beautiful wild birds.
Thanks for great videos! My budgies wouldnt eat any veggies but corn and carrots. The past 3 days I gave them lots of leafy greens, tomatoes, fruits, ect. They never touched. This morning gave chop mix again and peeked in to find them demolishing it. Thanks so much as I am new to budgies!!
Seeing your budgies and Rosie bourkes together I didn't realise how much bigger the bourkes are to the budgies, as always another great informative video
I just wanted to drop you a line, your advice for budgie feeding was exactly what I needed. I found a 8 wks budgie and wanted to start him or her out right.....so I started the chop in mornings and mixed a bit with seed.....and hung greens as well around the cage.....I put seeds in the noon hour and take out at evenings.....and low and behold Pretty Bird eats very little seeds, and loves his greens all day....apple banana and especially boiled egg once a week....I saved the millet for the training, now use it in and out of the cage.....I only give 1 tbls of seed a day and take out at nighttime....in mornings, he is so hungry and eats greens immediately. I now need to find good quality pellets or seeds for that tablespoon he does eat. Thank you so much oh, P.S. I refresh the greens half way through the day....who wants to eat limp kale?
I agree with you, a varied diet is the best diet. Something I dislike about cockatiel and lovebird seed mixes is that they have sunflower and safflower seeds which should only be treat. So if I had a cockatiel or a lovebird, I would give them a small amount of budgie seeds in their bowl and put the safflower and sunflower seeds in foraging toys
Things have changed a lot in the bird world especially when it comes to diet. My poor Cockatiel only ate seeds. I did give some veggies and fruit. But, her main food was seed because that's what was recommended. Maybe that's why she only lived for 7 years. :(
We had a cockatiel who used to hunt the ants in our apartment. We are in Los Angeles, I just love your channel because you are so fresh and informative. I just love your birds! We have grown millet - it is small birdie crack.
Thank you Donna.That is the right video.I never knew I could give my Timneh spring mix.He does get Tropican pellet sticks , blueberries, organic peas in the pods, Granny Smith apples, cantaloupe he loves,watermelon, corn on the cob, cooked or dry whole grain pasta,little peeled baby carrots, pistachios, organic cashews unsalted , avicakes as a morning treat 3 squares with fresh blueberries.O would give him other fruits if he would eat them.He only eats a little broccoli.He throws throws his strawberries on the floor.I keep his pellets in the fridge not the freezer .Iam afraid of mold in the freezer.I only get 2-3 lbs a month, so the stay fresh.I hope to start getting chop soon.I agree with you I would never get anything at Walmart or a grocery store.I always worry about my bird food .Iam also trying to find the best birdie biscuits to bake.Thank you soo much because everything you said was helpful to me and my bird Stormy💝.
Love of Pets thanks Donna coming from you it means a lot.Still trying to get the chop but I had a stomach issue and it pushed my timeline back some.I wanted to give him fresh green peppers, but the peppers in in one of my stores , all had some white stuff all over them, so I became leary of that and I will wait till I get organic.I worry about a lot of foods I eat much less my birds food with what goes on today .Thank you again soo much for sharing all of your wonderful info.It never goes unappreciated,❤️.
Ah, such a nice video. Yep, my 4 budgies are doing much better than when I first got them in March 2018 from a humane center. They had only been feeding on seeds for years, so they were very stubborn in trying any vegetables. Well, sure enough, when I started giving them chop as suggested in a recent video, they started eating the chop. Although you have not mentioned sproutings in this video (that was a great video you put out) I have been making sproutings from mung beans, lentils, and peas; whoa... this has been so good. Although they like to toss the sproutings around, they are nibbling at them daily. I have been trying to get them to eat more pellets, those promoted by Marlene McCohen, but my budgies show very little interest. At least I know that I've made progress and they look good. Please keep these informative and educational videos coming. It's always great to see your birds as well. This video with Jingles and Willow at the end was such a delight.
@@ADDrecords I started off by going to the supermarket and getting ready made alfalfa sprouts that you put on sandwiches and in salads. Then I started making sprouts with lentils and mung beans that you get at natural food stores. If you are getting one budgie for now, start making small quantities of sprouts, like a few spoonfuls at a time, since they sprout into a large quantity and spoil in about a week. Check out Donna's Love of Pets video "How to sprout for your birds | Sprouting for Parrots", from March 16, 2020. You will see the things/utensils used to make many varieties of sprouts. Your budgie will love them.
Hi Donna - I'm researching Bourkes diets for my new book - I was pleased to hear you say they eat bugs. I'm with you, I don't want to feed bugs (when I did, my Amazon CRUNCHED on a mealworm, so good for him, so painful for me!) But I don't think most people know this. Anyway, I'm watching your video as part of my research on Australian parakeets- :)
That's wonderful! My Bourke's eat almost everything. They loves greens and all veggies. They don't eat too much fruit but enjoy apples, blueberries and strawberries. They love eating the seeds off the sides of strawberries. They love micro greens and herbs. They like small varies seeds and sprouted seeds, legumes and grains are their favorite. I wish I could deal with the bugs but I cant.
Donna, you are the best. This food video for tiny birds is so important. I pick wild grasses occasionally, for my 4 budgies. A budgie can live 20 years! But most die before age 8 because forced to eat only seed and never allowed to fly. Such a sad, sad treatment.
I have yet to feed mine bugs. 🤮 I once tried dried mealworms with my previous canaries but that as far as I've gotten. I mean if they definitely need them I'd feed them. Variety is key. I feed a mixture of different dried seeds, bird bread, pellets, sprouted seeds, veggie chop, soaked seeds etc. I try and mix it up so they don't get bored. Plus some nutriberries, pellet berries and avicakes.
Love this video,I have an new budgie,have been filling up his bird seed,and won't to eat anything else,do have millet in the cage,going to clean out his cage and do some changes,
Patricia Davidson you have to keep trying. You can’t just give up because your bird initially won’t eat it. There are so many different ways to get your birds to eat a proper diet. Seeds are extremely fatty and not a complete diet. Your bird WILL get fatty liver disease if he’s on an only seed diet.
@@rylanmoore678 thank you,I think I was over feeding him with seeds and millet,there is an big change in him today.washed his cage out,and just put lettuce and cucumber in his cage,he was chirping away,and playing with his toys that he has never done,
I love your diet for your birds! And all your birds are beautiful💞 Im always trying to update my birds feed to give them the biggest variety possible! For the past year or so, Ive fed my 2 green cheeked conures a chop in the morning with atleast green, orange and red vegetables but typically more colours aswell if I can! After they have eaten some chop, I put some TOPS pellets in foraging toys, so if they're hungry throughout the day, they can go to the foraging toys and be enriched and busy whilst eating! I personally believe also that TOPS pellets are the best, they are also cold pressed so the nutrients stay intact! Then at dinner I feed some cooked grains like qinuoa, brown rice and red lentil pasta. Along with the cooked grain mix I feed some sprouts, I sprout 2 different types of parrot mixes, lentils, split peas and sunflower seeds. I also feed a dry grain mix along with the sprouts and cooked grains, just to give them those healthy fats. The dry grain mix consists of 2 parrot mixes, chia seeds, oats and coconut. The birds get nuts and fruit as treats, if they do get fed fruit, its always berries because of all the antioxidant properties! I would love some feedback if you have time! I'm always trying to improve the lives of my two bubs the most I can!! ❤️
Thank you so much for this video. You helped me with these questions I was struggling to find. Now I know when, how and how much to feed my budgie's. Keep it up!👍🏼
Hi Donna, i always thought that small to medium small birds do need a bit of seed, so I feed my conure pellets and for the seed i give him 2 nutriberries a day, not at the same time of day. Plus yes of course i give him some berries and chop! Love your vids., I also wanted to mention that the colored pellets are colored with food coloring, at least the brand my bird eats.
I really like that hanging rattler toy! I had a look at your Amazon products list but I couldn't see it. Do you have any information on the brand and/or name of the toy?
Hi Donna, do you have any advice for lovebird feather plucking? And what type of food is suitable for feather growth? I brought my lovebird to the vet to check, however the vet said it was a skin irritation, didn’t mention that it has parasites or mites. I tried change of environment and giving more attention but the plucking still continues. My current guess right now was allergies, thinking it could be food allergies or allergies caused by the surrounding. Do you still have more advice on this issue? Thanks in advance! And thank you again for making videos and giving practical advices for birds owners!
Hi, there is an article in the Whole Dog Journal this month (February, 2022) about toxic copper sulfate (and also copper "proteinate" which is copper chelated to amino acids) in commercial dog food that can easily result in a toxic overload of copper. This is because in nature, the body does not encounter these unnatural forms of copper at these relatively high concentrations. So, of course, I got out my various bird pellets and to my horror see that Zupreen and Harrison contain copper sulfate. These bags are now in the trash. Roudybush does not list any copper supplement. That does not mean they don't add one. It may be that they add copper sulfate but don't list it because of the controversy. I will call the company tomorrow to try to find out. Moral of the story is that pellets are artificial in various ways that we know about and maybe in many ways we don't. Yes, they provide some nutrients not found in a millet diet but they also lack good things found in seed. You are right, Donna, captive birds need fresh variety. Thank you for making such informative videos. They help all of us continue to try to do better as pet owners of dogs and birds.
were did u get the oink one from because they dont sell em here thats for the info but mine i put fruit i=or vegitables in the cagde in they look at like its a monster in go way to the back of the cage lol
Do your canaries like to eat the pellets? And do they eat the same type of pellet as your budgies? I give my birds chop everyday and they also get seed I have two budgies one canary and a goldfinch/canary hybrid would they all be able to eat the budgie pellets? As long they’re small obviously lol or would my canary and goldfinch/canary hybrid need their own canary pellets? Thanks
Hi, yes my canaries love the pellets. I feed the canary sized ZuPreem pellets to my canaries, budgies, bourkes, lovebird, Sierra, Turquoisine etc. I find feeding the small pellets there is less waste. I am starting to feed my Cockatiels the canary sized pellets as they waste the larger pellets because when they bite into them the rest of the pellet breaks off and lands outside of the cage or on the cage floor if it does not land in the bowl
My budgies eat coriander, seeds, tomatoes, guava, some fruits🍍🍎🍓🍇 so they are much healthy. When I bought them they were so weak like half deadth. But now they are so healthy
How to make a peach colour baby budgies...I mean what colours combination does the parents needs to be....haven't seen the beautiful peach budgie ever....I am amazed by the their colours....
I have a problem. Answer quickly. I have a three and a half month old female budgerigar. In this summer, she began to pluck the feathers from her tail. Is this normal or is she suffering from an illness?
So my parents made a lil mistake they bought a 3 year old lovebird and a 6 month old i do not know why but ok. But it is like impossible to handtame them. I had budgies before and i tamed them in 1 week but i got these birds now for 2 months and they still run away from my hand and freak out. Any tips?
I have 5 budgies so this was helpful! 🙂 i have a question. With veggies like cucumber is it necessary to remove the seeds inside? Or can they eat that? I usually cut the seeds out and feed my ringneck seedless cucumbers lol
Try to chop a bunch of vegetables really small! I mix 2 feest teaspoons with a little bit of seeds.. check when the birds are eating the most! The pyrhurras that i am Teylingen to Learning: Mine does in the morning. So they get the vegetables in the morning and if they did not eat a serve a feest portion the next 2 Hours again! At the end they get a little bits pellets/seeds mixture with Dries vegetables.. And try to chops different sizes.. mine galah does not eat a slice of carrot but hé does eat strings of carrot!
Try fresh thyme. Budgies go crazy for the tiny leaves. Try to buy it as a plant and just cut them some every day. We had a budgie that absolutely refused every food beside millet seeds that fell in love with thyme right away. Try putting a very wet leaf of romaine lettuce laying flat on the surface of their play area. Budgies love the texture and might bathe on it and after a few days of a fresh leaf every day they might start to nibble.
No it's not a good idea. Wildbird seed contains high fat seed for wild birds as they are always flying and they need it. It can contain corn and unnecessary seeds and pieces of wood, sand or garbage.
@@Loveofpets so I shouldn't give them to the wild birds in my garden? I'm not talking about pet birds. Sorry, I'm still unclear if I can give this to wilds bird in my garden. I don't have any pet birds. Thanks for replying.
Hello guys, there is a RU-vid channel called marciohyde he mistreats his hamsters, I wanted to ask you for help to report him he knows what he does? offers nuttela, bathe his hamsters with chlorinated water, give meat and squeeze him I'm from Brazil and I'm asking for this help if you like animals
Grit is not needed for parakeets or parrots. Grit is for birds that can't hill their seeds such as pigeons and doves. Grit can impact the birds crop. Bird charcoal is given mainly to canaries but other birds can be offered it but not necessary. The purpose of coal is when I bird feels unwell it will eat the coal to make them feel better. This is what I have heard so not totally sure if it's true. I will ask my avian vet next time I see him. Egg food is giving when birds are breeding.
I leave for work at 6am my gcc lights come on at 830 I don't want vegetables in there going bad all day till I get home at 4 so I feel my only option is feed the oven bites by Catiec in the am then the fresh stuff in the evening of course on the weekend in home so I do fresh in the am like I would thru the week if I could any suggestions? By the way i been trying chop every day for the last couple weeks and unless I put saw flower seeds in it she doesn't want nothing to do with it I been using Christens chop shop chop
Eatting the same thing day after day is boring to us, why should it be any different for birds? I try to give better advice to this gal I help at work but its a struggle just to make sure the wator is changed and the cage gets clean. I feel so bad for her Teil. Stuck in a cage all its life meant for a budgie and only seed. u_u Cant be mad at her because she has mental limitations. If I can ever get that bird from her Im doing it. Probably will never be friendly but i dont care. We just had a whistling session last night! At least thats one way I can connect.
