Budgerigar Cages

Caged budgerigars are natural acrobats and enjoy moving from perch to perch or swinging on the swings that most owners provide for them. Because of this, they need a large cage.

If you do not have a cage, choose one before you buy a budgerigar so that you are not forced to accept an unsuitable type from the stock in hand at the shop.

If possible, choose a cage with horizontal wirework rather than one with up and down bars, as budgerigars like climbing.

For one bird, the cage should be at least 45cm long and 30cm wide, and 40cm high and preferably should have a with drawable tray at the bottom to make cleaning easy. It should have two dowelling rod perches of different thicknesses, but both should be big enough to allow the budgerigar to grip them without its claws overlapping, as this causes broken claws, sore feet, and cramp. In bad cases, the budgerigar can become crippled.

It is important that perches should vary in thickness so that the bird's feet can get rest and exercise. The perches should be removable, so that you can take them out when you are cleaning the cage and either rub them lightly with sandpaper or scrape them to remove any soiling from droppings.

The floor of the cage or the tray should be covered with sand, which can be bought quite cheaply from pet shops, or with a grit sheet rather similar to sandpaper, which is also available at pet shops and some supermarkets. Grit sheets have the advantage of automatically trimming the budgerigar's claws when it walks on the floor of the cage. Do not use sand from the seashore as it may be contaminated with foreign material harmful to the budgerigar.

Loose sand should be changed regularly, as budgerigars pick up disease from droppings or discarded food, which contaminates their claws. Scaly Face, a common fungus disease in neglected budgerigars, is almost always caused by birds scratching their faces with dirty claws.

Budgerigars love toys and shiny objects but you should not put too many of these inside the cage. If your budgerigar is young and you intend teaching it to talk, you should, in the early stages of training, limit its playthings to a stepladder and perhaps a ping-pong ball; too many distractions will make the bird a poor pupil.

Most pet budgerigars are allowed to fly free outside their cages in suitably safeguarded rooms or apartments once they are finger tame. When the bird is flying free, set up a tray as a playground with swings and other toys rather than cluttering up the cage with too many odds and ends. Make or buy a cloth or plastic cage-tidy which fits around the bottom and lower sides of the cage to a depth of a couple of inches. This will prevent sand, grit, or seed from spilling on to the carpet.
 

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