Code: BK1126
Care For Your Budgerigar is full of helpful advice about how to choose a budgerigar and how best to look after it.
All aspects of day-to-day care are covered: Caging, Feeding, Handling, Hygiene, Exercise, First Aid.
This practical guide is published in association with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Introduction:
The budgerigar is a small species of parrot, native to Australia,
where it roves over the semi-arid interior plains in vast flocks.
During the last century naturalists introduced the budgerigar into
Europe, where its popularity was such that it was soon in great
demand. Throughout the nineteenth century nets were laid out on
their feeding grounds to catch the wild budgerigars as they came down
for seeding grasses. Those which survived being netted were
transported to Europe, where they were bred and have become the
ancestors of the domestic budgerigar. All budgerigars now offered
for sale have been bred in captivity.
Budgerigars do not build nests. In the wild they lay their
eggs in any convenient place, such as a hollow tree, which affords
protection and enables them to roll the eggs during the incubation
period. Given suitable nesting-boxes in a breeding cage,
budgerigars can be successfully bred in captivity.
Caged budgerigars are much less fortunate, but they are particularly
good pets for a family with very limited space and possibly modest
means. If possible, keep a pair of budgerigars in a good-sized
cage. It is essential that caged birds be given daily exercise
out of the cage. When a budgerigar has to be kept alone it will
need the stimulation of appropriate toys, and plenty of human
contact. Young budgerigars may learn to talk if they receive lots
of encouragement before the age of six months.
Budgerigars are cheerful, hardy companions which respond well to
training and companionship and develop distinctive characters.
Just how much individuality they show depends, as with all pet animals,
on the degree of freedom they are allowed, and on the stimulation
provided by their surroundings and their companions. The only
time fit budgerigars lack vitality is when they are moulting, which
seems to be very debilitating for a short while.
The care of budgerigars could hardly be more simple, and it is not
surprising that there are thought to be six million of these agreeable
little birds in Britain alone.
Pages: 48
Soft cover
