Their big cage from Martins Cages
CAGES:
Many pet stores sell "Parakeet Kits" which contain cages way too small for even one Budgie. the minimum size for one budgie is 16x16x16 and the size for two is 20x20x20. If you have more than 2 budgies, then make it 24x24x24 for three and 28x28x28 for four. Try to get a cage that the bar spacing should be no bigger than 1/4 or the budgie might get his head stuck and strangle himself. Also make sure that the cage does not contain any Zinc for it is toxic to birds and can kill them. Also look out for guillotine doors for you bird can open the door and have it fall on its head choking it or fall on another part of its body and injure it. Also if the bird does escape the doors without injury it could hurt itself outside the cage by a number of ways. If you cannot find a cage without these type of doors, then use some quick links from bird's toys to securely shut the doors. Put the cage in an area where there's lots of people and interaction. DON'T put the cage in the kitchen for it can get killed by the harmful fumes and Teflon. Also don't put in a room with drafts, direct sunlight or where you're going to be smoking. Don't put there bird's cage any higher than your chest level for it will cause dominance problem which may lead to aggression. Try to have cages that have the horizontal bard for Budgies just love to climb and horizontal bars are easier and more comfortable to climb. Also try to have cage that's more wider than taller for birds like to fly forward not up and they get more room to move around and won't use the bottom if it's too tall. If you're going to house two budgies together try to get two males or a male and female for females tend to fight a lot and try to keep the number of budgies in a cage even.
What to include in cage:
*3 or more perches, not all dowel perches (rope, natural branch, plastic etc) for it doesn't exercise your bird's feet.
*1 feed cup and either a water cup or a water bottle ( If you're buying a water bottle make sure your bird knows how to drink from it), you can also include a treat/fruits and veggies cup and another one for either seeds or pellets.
*3 toys in cage which are rotated with other toys each month.
*cuttlebone or mineral block or both..
For cage bedding, DON'T ever use walnut shell bedding, corncob bedding, clay, kitty litter, clumping bedding, cedar or sandpaper bottoms. This all are very painful in a way and can cause death in your bird if digested or in some cases inhaled. You can use newspaper, wax paper, plain white paper or towel paper.
Some good websites that sell cages are:
Martinscages
*Dr.FosterSmith
*ebay
Important note: I recently found out that Galvanized cages can be harmful to birds and the PVC coating can be taken off by chewers. I would only buy PVC coated cages from Martin's cages and only if your bird isn't a chewer. I know many with cockatiels that do fine although I am not entirely sure with budgies.
Vanilla on his swing
TOYS:
Your budgie needs toys for many reasons. To give him stimulation, something to do in the cage, to prevent feather plucking, screaming, boredom and destructive behavior. Like any child, a bird does get bored of the same old toys so you have to rotate his toys every month or so. Watch out for toys that have "Jingle" type bells on them for your bird can easily get it's beak, feet, head, and tongue stuck in them. Also if you get a rope toy or perch, watch for any fraying that happens for your bird's feet and toes can get caught. Justremove any fraying to prevent this. You can make your own toys, just be careful that what you use does not contain any Zinc, nothing small they can break off or swallow, nothing toxic like dyes and nothing they can get caught or strangled in. Also mirrors aren't very good for the bird will see its reflection as a mate and may turn aggressive towards you or its real mate (if you have two budgies). I find that my female budgie loved chewing toys so I often made her a popsicle toy(instruction given below) and she'd demolish it in a couple of days.
Some good websites that sell toys are:
*Dr.FosterSmith
CitySceneToys
SmartBirdToys
This is a new section which I hope you will like and will help you. I can only have 7 sections until I get preminium service so I cannot put this in it's own section yet. This Article should help you on knowing what and what is not safe in terms of supplies for bird toys.
If you have any trouble or questions then feel free to email me at lostinthewind@hotmail.com
Spidey Toy:
Supplies needed:
- Cardboard cut into shapes, hole punched in the middle
- Vegetable Tanned leather, about 60 inches or so
- Newspaper strips or paper from the phone book
- Toilet paper hole punched 6 times.
- Optional- beads, plastic straws, toilet paper strips, bells.
What you first do it string the leather into the holes, leave 2 holes at the top in order to be able to attach the toy into the cage(I use cotton rope). I used two strips and that is why only one side is done in the picture below.
You then cut the loops so you are left with this:
Then you tie them into knots at the edges so they are secure. You can then string through cardboard, newspaper, beads, toilet paper strips, bells, straws, or just knots them up(some birds love to untie knots). Go crazy but make sure what you are using is safe. The final product will look something like this:
Daddy Long Legs Toy:
Supplies needed:
- Cardboard cut into shapes, hole punched in the middle
- Newspaper strips or paper from the phone book
- Toilet paper hole punched 6 times.
- Beads
- Plastic straws
- Toilet paper strips
- Bells
- Cotton rope(You can use vegetable tanned leather)
You first fold the cotton rope into two(You can do as much as you want but make sure you have about 10 inches of rope in each fold). You then knot it at the top. After that, string the supplies in any order, I usually put bells at the end and then tie a a knot afterwards. The final product will look something like this:
Cotton Bonanza Toy:
I bought this toy at Walmart but you could probably make it with ease. All you would need is a pretty big hardwood bead(5 inches or so, I am not exactly sure). cotton rope and a O-Ring and Quick Link(or pearl link). You would fold the cotton rope into two and then push it through the bead. And then use the O-Ring and Quick link as below. You could make knots as I did to help prevent fraying and caught nails. Here is what it looked like and you can use cotton rope instead of a Quick Link to attach it to the cage:
Phone Book Toy:
Supplies needed:
- Old Phone book
- Cotton rope/sisal/leather(anything to string up the toy with that is safe)
- Two cardboard squares
- Optional: Beads
Have you tried to think of a way to use a phone book after it expires, well now there is. Start off with about 20 pages(You can use as much as you want and also use the Whitepages and not the yellow) and cut them into squares, about 5 inches each way. Then holepunch a hole through the middle after lining them up and then string them up. You can also include beads after every 20 squares or so. I stringed a cardboard square at the begining and end to prevent tilting to one side. This is an easy toy and doesn't even cost a penny and can be made over and over again. Beware as you will have a mess afterwards.
Popsicle Mania:
Supplies needed:
- Popsicle sticks
- Used paper towel roll
Simple and fun. Just poke the popsicle sticks randomly into the paper towel roll. I find that using a pencil to create a hole first prevents the roll form ripping. Leave about 2 inches at the top and then make a hole to go through both ways to be able to hang it. I usually use cotton rope, you can use anything that is safe.
Think inside the square:
Supplies needed:
- Cardboard
- Something to string the toy together
Again a real simple toy. Cut up a whole bunch of cardboard squares and then string them up. You can use vegetable taned leather, raffia, cotton rope to string the squares together or anything safe.
Cotton Rope Swing:
Supplies needed:
- Comfy perch/rope perch
- Plastic chain links
A great way to double your comfy perch as a swing. All you need are plastic chain links which can be found at craft stores or bird specialty stores(Online stores as well) and a comfy perch which is a rope perch. The pic below should explain how to attach the chain link to the comfy perch. I used curtain rings since I do not have plastic chain links and that works well as long as they are small enough.
Finshed Product
