petcareawareness:

petcareawareness:

accio-books-and-coffee:

Do any of my followers have budgies?

I really want one, but I have some concerns:

1. What is an adequate cage size for one budgie? I’ve been doing some research and opinions seem to vary quite a bit. I live in a smallish flat so don’t have a huge amount of space if a very big cage is needed.

2. Can budgies coexist with cats? I realise this probably depends on the cat, but I wouldn’t want to cause any undue stress to either animal. Obviously I would have the cage somewhere the cat couldn’t easily access and at a good height (she’s not a climber). I would also shut the cat out of the room if I was going to let the budgie out.

3. Is it true that you shouldn’t put your budgie cage near your kitchen? I’ve read that they are very susceptible to fumes, so I’d be worried as I have a kitchen/living room which is open plan. I’m thinking I would put the cage at the far end of the living room at the furthest point from the kitchen (about 17 feet away).

4. Is the day to day living room noise likely to upset or stress out a budgie? (I.e. television/stereo, noise from kitchen area, etc.)

Let me know if you can help or please reblog 😊

@jayce-space, @2goldensnitches, @paigealert, I think you guys have said you’re familiar with budgie care?

– Dark

Mod Nick here speaking! Here’s what you need to know about budgies:

The tiny things they sell in pet stores that they call “cages” are completely inadequate for their needs. Budgies are playful and acrobatic and need a space big enough for them to fly in, jump around, and climb. Unless you’re filthy rich and can afford a fancy aviary for them, I suggest you stick to 1mx1m cages at best, or around 1m height x .5m width, with horizontal bars. Even then, budgies need some time out of the cage so they can become acclimatised to the place they’re living in, but they also need to be in an area that is easily supervised and not housing anything dangerous like a window you can’t close or exposed wiring. 

I am, however, concerned about the fact that you say you live in a small flat and have a cat. Even with the nicest of kitties, the fact remains that they’re still predators and birds are traditionally prey animals to predators like cats. Even if your cat won’t eat them and will just bat at them, there’s a huge risk of transmitting disease via gram negative bacteria in the cat’s saliva and from under their claws, not to mention that what a cat sees as playful might translate as scary and stressful to a bird. 

I’m also concerned about your open plan living space. I doubt that baking and cooking that fills your flat with delicious food smells is going to kill a budgie but yes, they’re extremely susceptible to fumes and smoke. Not to mention that open floor plan is the perfect way for a budgie who is out of the cage to land on somewhere dangerous like on the stove. 

Noise isn’t too stressful to budgies as long as it’s not too loud, too sudden, and too jarring. A lot of birds enjoy having music played to them and some even pick up a few phrases from listening to the radio! 

It’s good that you’re asking these kind of questions before bringing home another animal, but what you’ve described gives me pause; with a cat hanging around, with the fact that you said you have limited space, and with your open floor plan, I’m not sure it’s the best idea to get a budgie just yet. I’d wait a bit longer until you can sort that all out. 

–mod Nick

Maybe consider coturnix quail instead. Quail can be kept in small playpen-sized enclosures, since they don’t need to fly. They’d be much easier to let out, too. You still can’t let the cat around them, but you could contain the cat in a cat playpen area and let the quail run around, and they’re unlikely (though not 100% certain not) to fly onto something they shouldn’t. They’re sweet little birds who are domesticated and can easily be tamed, too.