Employment

Employment

In the wild, they spend much of their time foraging for food, flying long distances.

Parakeets are relatively smart and often use their intelligence to find their preferred food.

In nature, therefore, they are challenged daily both physically and intellectually.

Thus, when keeping budgies at home, they need not only species-appropriate food, but also sufficient employment to avoid boredom.

Lack of employment combined with insufficient physical activity can lead to serious problems, such as obesity, picking behavior, and even disease.

Flock or partner bird

Budgerigars are quite sociable animals with a pronounced social behavior, which means that a whole flock of conspecifics or at least a partner bird, is a very natural way of employment.

Budgie cuddles partner
Budgies sitting together on climbing branch

There is nothing worse for a budgie than being kept singly, as humans can never replace conspecifics. Just think of eating together, playing together or caring for each other’s feathers.

Cage employment

Since budgies like to nibble on the bark of branches or shred things, even a well-designed cage setup offers a variety of employment opportunities.

Perches and swings

Natural wood perches and swings are thus not only easy on the feet and joints, but also provide the budgies with the opportunity to nibble off the bark.

Cork discs or cork seat boards make excellent seating as well as popular shredding objects.

Budgie on swing
Budgie on a cork corner

Last but not least, nibble toys suspended in the cage also provide a wonderful employment opportunity.

Nibble rope
Willow ball with ZigZag paper

Who wants to buy its cage accessories and its toys not only, finds under do-it-yourself appropriate tinkering instructions for perches made of natural wood or Nibble cords .

Free flight employment

In addition to physical activity, free flight also offers a variety of employment opportunities.

Swings

In addition to the swing itself, these also offer the possibility of nibbling (bark) and shredding (cork, etc.), depending on the materials used.

Budgies free flight on a cork branch swing

Hanging playgrounds

Hanging playgrounds also offer a variety of employment opportunities, depending on the materials used.

Budgies on a hanging playground
Budgie sitting on coconut swing

Playgrounds for setting up and hanging

Playgrounds provide landing areas, a place to rest, and more or less employment opportunities depending on the design.

Budgies sitting on a playground
Budgies on a playground to hang on the wall

Rummage box

Especially popular with budgies are usually burrowing boxes, which always offer new challenges due to different materials and filling.

Budgies in a burrowing box

Assemble rummage box yourself

Creative or intelligence toys

Such toys are a special challenge to the intelligence of budgies and therefore an excellent employment opportunity.

Food hiding places

There are many ways to hide food that the budgie should find. Often they have to find a solution how to get to it.

Food hiding place

Creative challenges

Here the budgies have to find a solution how to approach things or move them.

Ring game
Ring game
Chuck wheel
Chuck wheel

Nibbling cone

Unlike the commercial (unhealthy) nibble sticks, budgies have to strain to get to the food and “pick” it out from between the scales.

Banksia cone
Banksia cone

These are easy to make from banksia cones or even smaller pine cones with the right ingredients. You will find under DIY instructions and recipe for this.

Branches

Branches to nibble

Suitable Nibbling twigs can be cut, for example, in their own garden and then offer them together with the leaves. The budgies like to nibble on them both the leaves and the bark of the branches, making them a valuable nutritional supplement in addition to keeping them busy.

Budgerigar on branch

Branches for climbing

For this purpose, the corkscrew hazel is particularly suitable, which can be easily attached to the cage by means of a knot screw.

budgie sitting on corkscrew hazel tree

Alternatively, you can offer fruit branches, from which then with preference the tasty bark is nibbled off.

  • Jennifer Gekeler: “Kreative Beschäftigung für Papageien, Sittiche & Co.”, p. 3ff.