Many people keep budgies at home - their care is minimal, but the emotional return is enormous. Before buying, the future owner thinks about how to choose the best budgie: healthy, young, and able to talk. After reading the article, you will learn about all the subtleties: what questions to solve initially, what places sell good birds, what a budgie should look like. And the last thing is what you need to do when you take your baby home, how to help him survive the adaptation.
What to consider before buying a parrot
Buying wavy should not be a surprise to family members. To ensure that the bird is surrounded by love and care, discuss with your loved ones all the issues related to the acquisition of a wavy bird.
- Pet lovers often refuse to buy pets due to allergies to wool, down and feathers. If one of your family members has an allergic reaction to birds, you should not get a parrot.
- Take into account the behavior of your budgerigar. The bird loves to talk and sometimes makes a lot of noise. An active wavy can encroach on wallpaper and cornices, causing damage to the apartment. The pet needs space to fly; the parrot will wither away in a cramped cage, so it needs to be released.
- Decide on the sex of the parrot. When deciding to purchase a boy or girl budgie, learn about the personalities of the males and females. Boys are active, talkative and friendly, while girls are more shy.
- When purchasing a parrot, you need to know that you will have to keep your pet for a long time. Some birds live up to 18 years. Wavys are talkative, so the bird requires daily communication and training.
Armed with knowledge about budgerigars and having gathered a family council, you can go for a pet.
Adaptation to a new place
The adaptation period for wavy fish usually does not last long, but it must be done correctly. To do this you will need:
Prepare a comfortable home for your pet - a cage equipped with everything necessary (bowls for food and drink, perches, etc.). Prepare food. It is advisable to find out from the seller what the bird ate - a sudden change in menu can negatively affect the condition of the bird, in particular, the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. It is necessary to gradually transfer the bird to a new food (if the bird’s owner is not satisfied with the previous diet for any reason). Do not let the bird out of the cage for the first time (about a month). Walking is possible only after the bird has looked around the new place and studied it from the cage. Provide your parrot with a calm environment
It is important to exclude noise, bright lighting and other sources of stress for the bird. Do not impose your company on your pet. There is no need to stand near the cage, put your hands or fingers into it, and even more so you should not try to grab or stroke the bird
All this will only frighten the animal and complicate its adaptation.
If these simple conditions are met, a few weeks (maximum - a month) after appearing in the house, the bird will be ready to make contact with people. Then you can get to know her better - tame her, and then start developing her speaking abilities. If you don’t rush things and carry out everything step by step, your feathered pet will not experience any difficulties with adaptation, taming, or training. This means that he will only please the owner with his successes and achievements.
Where to buy a budgie
An important factor when buying a bird is choosing a responsible seller who guarantees the health of the budgie. Currently the following options exist:
- Pet Shop
- Breeders
- Bird Market
Professional breeders are rightfully considered the most reliable seller. They provide the buyer with reliable information about parrots and help determine the sex of the bird in the early stages. As a nice bonus, you can look at the parents of the selected individual. This is especially true if you decide to purchase a chick. By observing the parents of a budgerigar, you can learn about the pet’s character and its plumage in the future.
When buying a budgie in a pet store, you risk encountering an incompetent seller. Unfortunately, the main goal of store employees is to increase sales. Therefore, sellers try to sell chicks by all means, sometimes deliberately determining the wrong gender of the wavy.
The last thing you should think about is going to the poultry market. At the market, parrots are kept in unsanitary conditions and often get sick.
How to choose a healthy parrot
In order for a parrot to live a long life and delight its owner with its funny habits, you must first purchase a healthy bird. Treatment of budgerigar diseases requires the intervention of ornithologists, which will lead to large expenses. When choosing a budgie, pay attention to the signs of a healthy bird:
- Shiny clean beak.
- The thickening at the base of the beak, or cere, should be smooth. Roughness and growths may indicate health problems.
- Smooth shiny plumage. The feathers of a healthy parrot fit tightly together.
- Lively look and sparkle in the eyes.
- Clean nostrils. It is dangerous to buy a bird whose nostrils are clogged with secretions.
- Active confident movements. A healthy bird does not sit with all its feathers, but is interested in the world around it.
- A toned abdomen and chest that do not stand out from the body.
If the parrot is unkempt and alienated from its relatives, this indicates a problem. Parrots offend a sick bird and do not accept it into their community. Growths on the paws and cere, as well as dirty feathers and cloaca, also serve as a dangerous signal.
Soft bag
Fabric carriers have been around for a long time, but their modern development has primarily affected the increase in the number of all kinds of windows, mesh and other little things. The cat will no longer sit in a dark bag, not much different from an ordinary travel bag. It is difficult to organize a comfortable long trip in such a device. But for short distances the convenience is quite adequate.
The advantage of a soft cage is its lightness, compactness, and the ability to securely attach it to a car seat or, for example, to the handle of a suitcase.
Negatives: Not hygienic for long trips and difficult to clean quickly (although they can withstand washing in a regular washing machine).
Cost – 1,360 – 1,489 rubles.
Signs of a young budgie
When purchasing a budgie, you need to give preference to a young individual. Adults have fully formed characters and are difficult to train. A young parrot quickly gets used to its surroundings and feels comfortable.
What should you rely on when choosing a young bird? To determine the age of a wavy, pay attention to the following signs:
- The beak and eyes are black. Adults have irises and a light border around the eyes.
- The younger the parrot, the shorter its tail. The tail feathers grow to their maximum when the parrot reaches two months of age.
- The bright, rich color of feathers is characteristic of adult parrots.
- The young bird has a clear pattern on its head and back. As we age, the lines become blurred.
By carefully examining the bird, you can determine its age with high accuracy. The main thing is to know the nuances of selection and carefully examine the parrot.
How much to buy and what gender
The answer to the question of how many birds to buy directly depends on the capabilities and preferences of the owners. If you bought a small cage in advance, in which there is no room for a large group of birds, you should not try to put a whole family of parrots in it.
In their native Australia, birds live in flocks and form mating pairs, remaining faithful to their partner throughout their lives. In the company of its fellows, the parrot does not need to communicate with humans. The lonely bird will eventually get used to human society and become a full member of the family. However, for this, the parrot must constantly be in contact with people. If the owner is rarely at home, the pet needs to find suitable company.
To determine the sex of your pet, you need to know about the behavioral characteristics of males and females. Girls are more aggressive and slow to learn to speak, while boys quickly learn new sounds and words.
Habitat
The homeland of wavyfish and its main habitat in the wild is Australia. On this continent, birds “occupied” the southwestern and eastern coasts and the nearest islands, including Tasmania, to build their nests.
For nesting, these birds choose steppes and semi-desert areas with sparse trees.
The smallest flock of parrots has 20 individuals; large flocks can have several hundred birds. Birds fly together from one area to another, choosing conditions suitable for survival. They can settle on plains where grass seeds serve as food.
The flight speed is high, outwardly reminiscent of the flight of swallows. When landing, the bird bends its wings like a quail.
How to choose a boy's budgie
If you want to purchase a male budgerigar, you need to carefully choose a seller. It is better to buy from breeders who can determine the sex of the chick in the early stages. When buying a pet at a pet store, you need to rely on your own knowledge. The male wavy has the following characteristics:
- The young male has a light purple or pink cere. With age, the color of the formation changes and varies from blue to purple throughout the day.
- The young male does not have light circles around his nostrils, unlike the females.
- The paws have a bluish tint.
- Wide head with a flat crown.
Determining the sex of a parrot is a difficult process, especially if you are looking for a young boy. But with the help of the seller and your own knowledge, this task is not difficult to cope with.
Vintage basket
Here we are dealing with a representative design in the style of modern rural fashion. Best suited for lovers of cycling or short distance travel on scooters. The basket itself is woven from flexible willow and equipped with an openwork wire lid, which prevents the cat from wanting to get out while moving. At the first glance at such a carrier, one is reminded of idyllic pictures from centuries ago, when food from the market was transported in a similar way on bicycles. The entire structure is conveniently attached to the steering wheel using leather straps and does not require much time for preparation.
The advantage of the option under consideration is, of course, its original design and originality. The downside is limited functionality. Although, if desired, the basket can be used for its intended purpose.
Price – 1,128 – 1,708 rubles.
How to buy talking wavy buying
A parrot's ability to reproduce sounds and words depends entirely on the pet's owner. Of course, the natural characteristics of the parrot play a significant role. It has been proven that males learn faster and can pronounce complex verbal structures. Some females can produce good results after skillful training.
In order to willingly talk to a person, the wavy must have good health. If you want to buy a talking budgie, you need to pay attention to the appearance of the bird and its activity. A healthy parrot is always in a good mood and strives to reproduce the sounds it hears. It is noteworthy that the weakest individuals become more attached to a person, which makes training more effective.
In order for a parrot to learn to speak, it is necessary to communicate with the bird daily, pronouncing words calmly. Affectionate intonation will strengthen your relationship with your pet and contribute to rapid learning.
Bird character
The bird is characterized by great mobility, noisy and loud behavior. In nature, they actively search for food until noon, then fly in flocks in search of life-giving moisture. At lunchtime they relax in the shade of tropical trees. They flutter swiftly and quickly, often flapping their wings. It walks along the ground slowly, like a bear, waddling from foot to foot.
Character of the necklace parrot
A feature of the Indian ringed is their good nature and cheerful disposition. Among people he adapts quite quickly. The bird is intellectually developed. Has the ability to imitate human speech and reproduce the sounds of other animals. They remember melodies well. Although it should be noted that this talent is not as developed as in other species of parrots.
How to determine the sex of a necklace parrot
Which parrot should you not take?
In a pet store, customers are often blindsided by the abundance of colors of wavy plumage. However, the beauty of the bird does not play the most important role, although some features of the parrot’s appearance may indicate health problems. When purchasing a budgie, it is important to pay attention to the following details:
- Growths on the cere and paws;
- Dirty feathers and cloaca;
- The bird sits, ruffled, and is alienated from the rest of the birds;
- The parrot jumps nervously around the cage;
- The bird's nostrils are clogged with secretions.
You should not buy a wavy pet that has at least one of the above signs. By purchasing a sick bird, you risk encountering diseases, the treatment of which will require large expenses.
What to do after purchase
It may take some time for your parrot to adapt to new conditions. Pre-prepare a spacious cage for the parrot by equipping the bird’s home with a convenient drinker and feeder. Buy suitable food after consulting with the seller. Unusual food can cause damage to the wavy's stomach. At first, the parrot tries to hide from prying eyes by climbing into a feeder or drinking bowl. Make sure that the drinking bowl is not closed.
When transferring a budgie to a new home, you should not let the bird into the room. In an unfamiliar environment, she will rush from corner to corner or fly out of an open window. Don't frighten the new tenant with loud noises and bright lights. The first weeks of the wavy's stay are an important period that establishes relationships between the pet and family members.