The Budgie Diet

Covered in this Page: Seeds & Sprouts, Pellets, Fruits and Vegetables, Cooked Mixes, Wheatgrass, Treats, and What NOT to Feed Your Budgie

I am not going to claim to know what the perfect budgie diet is. I doubt that anyone really knows for sure yet but one thing we can all agree on is that budgies need variety! An all seed diet is a slow death from malnutrition. An all pellet diet has been linked to renal failure. The bottom line is that an all ANYTHING diet is no good! Unfortunately, there is no "budgie kibble" that will provide a bowl full of everything they need. Many, many budgie foods will claim to be a complete diet but I assure you that no complete diet comes in one package! It would be nice and if it ever happens I'll be sure to update this page but until then, please trust me (as well as your avian vet and most other up-to-date sources) that you need variety.


The Base of a
Good Budgie Diet
(seeds & pellets)
Seed: For years it has been believed that budgies, being seed-eating birds, do best on a "good seed mix" as well as the ocassional fruit or vegetable serving. While it is true that seed should be part of the base of a budgie's diet, it is a myth that this alone is enough. Budgies tend to pick through seeds and eat only one type. That type is often millet which is very high in fat but also what makes up most of the seed mixes on the market. By limiting seed portions your budgie will be more likely to eat more than one type of seed in his mix. Also, he will be more inclined to eat the other types of food which should be offered.(Steer clear of seed mixes that contain a lot of sunflower or safflower seeds as these are very fattening.)

Sprouts:
It is important to try and make sure you have a fresh seed mix. Dead seeds have nothing to offer as far as nutrition so if you are unsure, try to sprout them. Not only does this let you know that the seeds are fresh enough, but sprouts are a good healthy food to offer your budgie. If the seeds don't sprout, they are obviously dead.

Offering Seed: You will have no trouble getting your budgie to eat seed. Most are brought up on it and the problem arises when trying to get them to eat other foods. If your budgie isn't eating his seed, it's probably time to get him to the vet! Rather than giving your budgie as much seed as he wants, offer about two teaspoons of it a day and take it away after an hour or two if your budgie is already converted to pellets. If your budgie has not yet made the conversion to pellets, see the section on offering pellets below. It will take a while for your bird to realize that pellets are food so it is extremely important that you monitor his weight and food intake closely during the process of conversion. Budgies have incredibly fast metabolisms and can starve in a as little as 48 hours if they aren't getting enough to eat.

Pellets: Pellets are a lot of nutrition packed in one little package. They can be compared to kibble for dogs or cats though, as mentioned earlier, they are not a complete diet by themselves. Still, this is one of the healthiest foods that you can give to your budgie and along with seed, it should make up the base of the budgie's diet. Pellets are a good source of protein as well as vitamin D3.

As with most foods, it is best to avoid pellets that are full of colorful dyes and additives and buy organic. The most highly recommended brand of organic pellets is Harrison's. This brand (as well as most others) will be difficult to find in pet stores but you may have luck finding them in your avian veterinarian's office. Of course, you can find them at a number of online stores as well. Some other good brands of pellets are Roudybush, and Totally Organics. These are also hard to find anywhere but online. Zupreem is a brand that you may be able to find in most large chain pet stores though I recommend trying to get the natural variety to avoid all the dyes in the other types.

When looking at labels, avoid any foods that contain BHT/BHA or Ethoxyquin. These are harmful preservatives that have been linked to cancer. Also avoid excess sugars.

Offering Pellets:
It is very likely that your budgie will snub his little beak at pellets and most other healthy foods. Budgies (even young ones) that have eaten mostly seed all their lives often don't realize that pellets are actually a type of food. When converting your bird to pellets, expect a lot of them to go to waste and prepare to flex your creative muscle. Your patience will be tested!

One way to go about the conversion is to only offer seed at certain times of the day but keep pellets available at all times. You can start by offering seed about three times a day for an hour at a time. During this, it is essential to monitor your budgie's weight using a gram scale. If he begins to steadily lose weight, increase the amount of times seed is offered. Once you see him reliably eating pellets (not just nibbling but actually ingesting) you can decrease the amount of seed that is offered until you're down to one serving (about two teaspoons) for one hour each day. Again, be very careful to track your budgie's weight during this process. Simply looking at him won't reveal weight loss until it is extreme and budgies can starve in as little as 48 hours. A good indication that your budgie is actually ingesting his pellets is that his droppings may turn to a difference color. They tend to be more brown when pellets are introduced and more green if your budgie is on an all (or mostly) seed diet. If you do decide to feed your budgie a type of pellet that is colorful, keep in mind that the color of the droppings can vary depending on the colors in the pellets.

If work or school makes it difficult for you to use the above method of converting to pellets, there are other ways:

Feed the Foraging Instinct: I have had a great deal of luck with this method. Budgies seem to really enjoy foraging and "finding" their food outside of the cage. If you have a tame budgie and a bird-proof room, place the pellets (or even bits of other healthy foods) in and around his favorite out-of-cage area. This may be a playgym or even a large desk or table. Mine particularly enjoy finding food in the food cups on their playgym. If you have a very large cage you may be able to add new food cups to different areas of the cage for your budgie to "find."


Use a Mirror Dish: Due to problems with budgies bonding to their mirrors, I usually discourage offering a mirror or any toy that might allow them to see their reflection (more on this in the behavior section). However, if your budgie doesn't seem to have these sorts of issues with his/her reflection and you've had no luck with other methods of getting him to eat pellets, a mirror dish might work for you. Often, if a budgie sees another budgie eating something, he'll dig right in. They seem to always want what the other has so many people have luck introducing new foods this way. The budgie sees his reflection at the food cup and becomes quite interested. He takes a nibble and his reflection does the say. I think you get the point. :)

Make Birdie Bread: Bird bread gives you the opportunity to put many different healthy foods into one "package." Here's one recipe that I found:

2 6 oz jars baby food sweet potatoes 2 jars baby food tropical fruit 1-1 1/2 cups pellets or 4 tbss hand feeding formula 3 eggs and eggshells (crushed)

I recycle pellets left in our birds' bowls (We use uncolored pellets). Mix eggs and baby food. Use a little in a small blender/processor to crush the egg shells (calcium source). Mix in remaining ingredients. Put in paper cupcakes or muffin tins- 4 tsps each. Microwave 1-2 mins until firm. Or bake in toaster oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes till firm. Makes 12 servings. Serve warm, but not too hot.

That was from a section of birdsnways.com and there are many more on the site that you might want to check out. A quick search online will turn up more recipes for birdie bread from other sources and I will try to have a recipe area finished here so that there will be a quick reference to others.

Healthy Fruits and
Vegetables:
Most of the foods that are healthy for us are also healthy for our budgies, especially when it comes to vegetables. When offering vegetables, it is important to remember that not all veggies are created equally. Some have very little to offer our budgies (or even ourselves) and should be avoided. For instance, celery and iceberg lettuce are mostly water and when given to your budgie regularly, they do little more than cause his droppings to loosen. Vegetables that are high in vitamin A and/or calcium are best to offer. These include carrots, spinach, romaine lettuce, kale, and broccoli. Do a bit of research on healthy veggies and you may even find yourself changing your own eating habits.

Fruits are not a substitute for vegetables. I offer fruit to my budgies as more of a treat than a staple in their diet as it is often very high in sugar (hence why many budgies take to fruit more easily than veggies).

Organic Fruits and Vegetables:
Earlier this year, several parrots at a rescue died after being fed chilean grapes. These grapes are among several types of fruits and vegetables that are high in pesticides and chemical residue. I highly recommend this article for more information about pesticides and the importance of feeding organic foods as well as taking all precautions when feeding produce that is not organic.

Offering Fruits and Vegetables:
The best way to offer fresh leafy greens is to clip them to the top or side of your budgie's cage. It may take a lot of persistance, but eventually your bird will take interest and have a nibble. You can also try chopping fruits and veggies into very small pieces. This often works well when combined with the "foraging" technique that was mentioned in the conversion to pellets section.

Some budgies prefer tiny bits of food or having it finely chopped while others seem to enjoy taking bites out of large chunks. A bit of experimenting will eventually reveal what appeals to your particular budgie.

Remember to remove any uneaten fresh food from the cage within two hours of placing it there. Fresh, healthy vegetables should be offered daily and your budgie should be allowed to consume as much as he desires.

Baby Food:
My budgies' all-time favorite food as of late is seed mixed with baby food. It is best to use an organic type of baby food and a variety high in vitamin A. (Sweet potato seems to be a favorite.) Mix a generous amount of baby food into about two teaspoons of seed but be mindful that the seeds should be easily visible among the baby food. This may be the only way your budgie/seed junkie will touch it. This is a great way to get healthy veggies into a budgie that will not yet touch whole/chopped veggies. I've made a regular part of my birds' diets simply because it's the only healthy food that they are so enthusiastic about! (Be sure to discard any uneaten portions within two hours of offering.)

Cooked Mixes:
There are some very good parrot mixes on the market that contain a variety of healthy ingredients for your budgies. Two that I can recommend are Beak Appetit and Crazy Corn. These can be purchased online though I have had luck finding Beak Appetit at large chain pet stores. Follow the directions on the labels for preparation and serving. As with any food, expect a period of your budgie snubbing the food before he finally tries it. To reduce waste and increase the life of these types of products, you can prepare the food and then store it in ice trays in your freezer.

Wheatgrass:
Wheatgrass is a very good source of nutrients and can now be found at large chain pet stores (Beak Appetit has a product called Le Grass Cafe that you may be able to find near you). You can also find organic wheatgrass seeds at health food stores. This can be offered to your budgies a few times a week but it is high in iron so it is not recommended to offer it daily. Most budgies seem to dig right into this immediately while some will need some time to realize that it won't harm them.




Treats:
It is very important to limit the amount of treats that you give to your budgie. Fatty tumors (lipomas) are a very common ailment and a result of obesity. Millet spray is the most popular budgie treat but it is extremely high in fat. Honey seed bells and sticks are also fatty as well as high in sugar. In general, treats should be offered no more than once a week in order to prevent obesity.

What NOT to Feed Your Budgie:
Never feed your budgie chocolate, avocado, alcohol or apple seeds. These are all toxic. Also, dairy products are difficult for budgies to digest and should not be offered.





Budgies can be very picky eaters so you must persist
when it comes to getting them to eat a healthier diet.