A budgie needs a cage at least 20 x 20 x 30 in, hours outside it every day, and ideally another budgie for company. Most of its food should be pellets, with vegetables and a little seed.
How many budgies?
Cage size
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Cage size
Merck’s table gives a budgie a cage at least 20 x 20 x 30 in (51 x 51 x 76 cm), length by width by height, with bars 0.5 in (12.7 mm) apart. VCA’s minimum for budgies, finches and canaries is smaller, 1 x 1 x 2 ft (30 x 30 x 60 cm), so Merck’s size is the safe side. RVC wants the cage as large as possible, and at the very least big enough for the bird to stretch its wings in all directions.
RSPCA sizes the cage by the bird instead, at least twice its wingspan each way for a bird that lives mostly in the cage. RSPCA Australia also wants room for at least two wing beats between perches, so the bird can fly across it. More on bird cage bar spacing.
Company and time out
Budgies breed in colonies in the wild, and RSPCA says only colony birds like them can be kept in groups in a cage. RVC’s advice is to pair a budgie with at least one bird of the same species for lifetime companionship.
RSPCA gives pet birds at least six hours a day outside the cage, with plenty of space to fly freely and safely indoors. RVC calls free flight essential, with a chance to exercise every day. Merck says to keep birds safe and supervised while they’re out.
Perches and cage floor
Use natural wooden perches of different sizes and thicknesses, with enough of them for every bird to perch at the same time. RSPCA wants perches smooth to the touch, while RSPCA Australia prefers rough wood to help prevent overgrown toenails. A budgie’s toes should wrap three quarters of the way round its perch (VCA). RVC, VCA and RSPCA Australia all advise against sandpaper perch covers.
Line the cage floor with newspaper or paper towel, the liners RSPCA Australia recommends.
Everyday diet
Pellets make up most of the diet: 80% for RVC, which names Harrison’s Lifetime Fine or Super-fine, and 60–80% for VCA. RVC makes up the rest with vegetables such as kale, spinach, carrot and sweet potato, and a small amount of sprouted seed. VCA keeps fruit, vegetables and greens to 20–25% of the day’s food at most.
Seed stays a small part. RSPCA gives small parrots such as budgies some seed each day, up to a tenth of the diet, and VCA offers millet spray only in small amounts. Never give a budgie avocado, which RSPCA calls highly poisonous to parrots.
Light
RSPCA’s pet bird advice asks for flicker-free lamps that emit 12% UVA and 2.4% UVB.
What to get
On the list
What fits