Many times questions come into the Budgie Research Group and to the
Parrot Care Forum about the budgies. We've compiled a list of the
answers that were given by our group of expert budgie guardians.
As more questions are asked of the Parrot Care Forum, this page will
be updated.
More question and answer interaction can be obtained by joining
the Parrot Care Forum.
Q:
Should I buy a second budgie to keep my bird company?
Will I loose the relationship I had with my first bird?
A:
You have to think about your situation. Are you gone long hours, leaving
your bird all alone? If so, it is only kind to get him/her a friend.
It will be twice as much work, though.
You will not lose the relationship you have with the bird. Also,
There are many examples of Budgies still loving their guardian,
even after adding a mate.
However, if your goal is to teach speech to your Budgie, then
it may be wise to wait. It's natural for them to become a flock
and they tend to do more of the bird talk and chirping style speech.
Q:
Why is my budgie becoming less cuddly?
A:
This is natural if your bird is now a budgie *teenager*.
That should explain it pretty well.
Birds do not like to be touched, in general; and there
is good reason for it. The oil and sweat on our hands
corrodes the feathers and the preen oils. This has
been proved by chemical analysis.
Q:
Do all budgies fluff their feathers, or does it only
happen in the males?
A:
It is the cocks that do this the most but hens do too, usually when
they are showing off and proud of themselves. Definitely when they
are courting. I think all budgies fluff as a sign of love.
Q:
There are programs where you can be with your budgie from hatching time on.
So, If there are any particular issues from that aspect please everyone
let me know.
A:
How lucky you are if you areable to interact with your new budgies from
hatching. You will witness gods most wonderful creation. 'Life'. You
are in for a surprise, when chicks hatch. They are smaller than the
end of your thumb, they appear to almost double in size daily, for
the first week By 10 days they are covered in soft down either grey
or white and their little eyes are open and they gaze upon you for
the first time. By two weeks, their feathers start sprouting and by
three weeks the quills are opening showing you their beautiful
colouring. At four weeks, they are almost fully feathered and by 5
weeks just about independant. If the chicks are being hand reared,
You are in for a treat. You will have to ask if they will allow you
to help feed them once they are about 3 weeks old and if the answer
is yes, then by 4 weeks you might be able to take the babies
home and finish off their rearing yourself.
The babies will think of you as their mommy and love you with all
their heart.
Q:
Does my bird have the sense of smell?
A: Sarah shares: I read in a bird periodical that their olfactory
sensitivity is about like a human's, very little compared to a dog;
but we see how much time people spend worrying about smells.
