Budgies are among the commonly homed parrots, thanks to their small size, visually stunning plumage, intelligence, and responsiveness.
As long as they are cared for properly, they are super fun and pretty friendly birds that can make good companions.
In this regard, anyone planning to keep budgies will want to know the benefits and shortcomings of keeping these small birds.
So, What Are The Pros And Cons Of Having Budgies As Pets?
To start with, budgies are easy to find and relatively inexpensive. Like most parrots, budgies are also intelligent, social, and tend to live longer. On the flip side, despite being small in size, they can be very noisy and messy, plus they demand special attention.
What makes budgies interesting pets to keep is their unique personality and willingness to bond and interact with humans.
If you’re seeking to know more about potentially owning a parakeet, this post will discuss the pros and cons of having budgies as pets to help decide whether you should buy one.
The Eight Pros Of Being A Budgie Pet Parent
The bird world is growing, and enthusiastic pet parents are getting more and more into birds, particularly parrots.
Birds can make you feel closer to nature, and their calming, therapeutic sounds can create a spa-like ambiance.
Here are the advantages of having budgies as your feathered friends.
1. Budgies Are Intelligent
Budgies are considered social and intelligent creatures, which makes them adorable pets to those seeking a companion they can interact with.
Although they may not exhibit the same level of intelligence as some large species, parakeets are naturally intelligent creatures with unique personalities.
They are eager to learn and can pick up various tricks as they are responsive to what they see and hear.
Through repeated hearing, budgies can train themselves to mimic voices and tomes – what you say or from inanimate objects.
For instance, they can imitate your favorite expressions, sing snippets of your favorite songs, and imitate a car honk, among other sounds.
The most interesting thing is that they allow you to train them to say what you really want to hear.
Overall, budgies are fast learners and can quickly adapt to your actions.
2. Budgies Are Incredibly Social
Another interesting thing about parakeets is that they are evolved to live in very social flocks.
As a result, they are very friendly and love human interaction.
If you have budgies as pets, you will be impressed by how they listen to your conversations with family members and friends and act as though they (budgies) are part of your conversation.
These small birds also prefer sitting on your shoulders and, like most other pets, parakeets show their love through body language.
As long as you provide your budgies with loving stimulation, they will be grateful and give you their loyalty.
3. Budgies Are Entertaining
Besides being bond-ready, budgies can provide you with endless entertainment.
Whether it is mimicking doorbells, sounds of other animals, the honk of your, or verbalizing your favorite expressions, budgies will undoubtedly keep you entertained.
Besides listening to their therapeutic sounds, you can supply your pet with his favorite toys and observe how he plays.
Seeing your birds play with toys can go a long way in enlightening your moods.
4. They Are Beautiful With Noticeable Personalities
There are over 70 mutations of budgies, and many people find them visually appealing, thanks to their patterns and bright colors.
Although they are suitable for cuddling like most sizable pets, they have unique lovable personalities to keep you entertained.
5. Budgies Can Be Travel Companions
Parakeets are generally small-sized birds, meaning you can take them at your convenience to your family events and road trips.
What is more, they are super fun, so you will never have a dull moment while traveling with a budgie beside you.
Whether it is entraining you in the middle of traffic or keeping out your worries in rush hours, everything gets better when you are with your parakeet.
6. Budgies Have A Long Life Expectancy
Compared to many other pets, budgies have a considerably longer life expectancy, even for their small size.
When given exceptional care, budgies can live between eight and fifteen years, being part of your life journey while providing you with long-term companionship.
Imagine having two (budgie and your partner) loyal and caring creatures deeply attached to you.
Sounds good?
Then keep a budgie as a pet.
7. Budgies Breed Easily
If you want to start breeding birds and still enjoy all the benefits of having birds as pets, budgies are a great place to start.
However, before starting, you need to plan accordingly and consider your reason for breeding.
Ideally, you need to ensure that the nestlings will have a good place to go when they grow.
8. Easy Pets
Relative to some other birds, parakeets are generally much easier to keep as pets – they do not require huge cages and are easy to clean up.
The Five Cons Of Being A Budgie Pet Parent
Unique personalities, intelligence, and responsiveness are arguably the biggest pros of keeping parakeets.
However, these birds are very sensitive and may demand more human interaction than you can imagine.
Before the big decisions of keeping budgies, here are some shortcomings to consider.
1. Budgies Are Fragile
In the wild, budgies are free to roam around and feel safer because nature provides what they need for growth and development.
However, because they are very sensitive, you will need to bird-proof your home before bringing one home.
The thing is, budgies cannot survive in polluted areas and cannot survive breathing polluted air.
Moreover, they have fragile health capacity, which makes them more susceptible to illness, necessitating special care.
2. Budgies Can Be Noisy
While there is no denying that budgies are not as loud as other parrots, these can be very noisy, particularly in the early hours of the morning when the sun first comes out.
That said, if you are planning to bring budgies home, don’t let their small size fool you.
They are not the best to keep as pets if you live in a quiet neighborhood.
3. Owning Budgies Can Be Expensive
While budgies are generally cheap, a full and good amount of supplies (sizable sage, toys, food, bowls, natural perches, etc.) can be costly.
To create a conducive ambiance where your budgies will stay happy and with good health, you may end up spending about $200 to $300, which is by no means cheap for a bird.
4. Finding A Bird Doctor Can Be A Challenge
It is already clear that budgies have fragile health capacity.
So before bringing a budgie home, you want to make sure that you can access an avian veterinarian should your bird get sick.
5. Budgies Demand Attention
Birds crave a relationship with their human parents.
For this reason, if you want your budgie to stay happy and healthy, you need to bond, talk, and play with him.
Indeed, budgies long for human interaction that you can imagine. When they are bored, they can even make noise to call your attention.
Conclusion
Budgies are small, adorable birds with admirable personalities.
They are also trainable and usually return loyalty for the love they get from their owners.
If you are contemplating keeping budgies, hopefully, this article helps make a viable decision by weighing the pros of cons of having bird pets.
Overall, they are great pets and will always keep you entertained.
Related
Do Budgies Get Fleas (Ticks Or Lice)? (Five Signs To Watch For)
Can You Leave a Budgie Home Alone? (Do These Six Things Beforehand)
References
https://petschecklist.com/pros-and-cons-of-owning-parakeets-as-pets/
https://medium.com/@wearepetsabs/the-pros-and-cons-of-getting-a-pet-bird-d423ab0e17da
https://vocal.media/petlife/budgerigar
https://www.birdcagesnow.com/blogs/bird-blog/pros-and-cons-of-owning-a-parakeet