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Budgies originally come from Australia, living in huge flocks
on dry plains where they feed on seeding grasses. They are one of the few types
of parrot that are not threatened in the wild by the pet trade, so make suitable
pets if they are cared for properly. Wild budgies are always green, but the domesticated
ones have thousands of different colours, and are a bit bigger than their wild
cousins. Budgies are social birds, so it is important to make sure they have company,
preferably another budgie.
If you would like your budgie to become easy
to handle and hopefully talk, you are better off starting with a youngster that
is between about six and nine weeks of age. At this age it is difficult to tell
whether the budgie is male or female, but at about four months old budgies have
their first moult. Then the cere, or fleshy lump at the top of the beak, becomes
coloured. In male budgies this is usually blue, and in females it is brown. Budgies
can breed from when they are about one year old, but they do need special boxes
and breeding cages for this. Females often lay eggs, even when they do not have
a male companion. These eggs are sterile, and therefore will not hatch. | 
Budgies cages |