The Location
If you are as excited about your first pet budgie as most new owners are, you will want to ensure that it has the best possible housing. Your first decision would be to consider the best location for the cage. These considerations cover two important factors:
Safety means making sure the cage is not placed in an area where harm could come to the bird. A window area might be a delightful place, but would there be direct sunlight for too long a period of time? Is the window drafty? Another important factor in choosing a safe location is the surrounding activities. Certainly the cage should be in an area where the family members frequently gather, but not near a door, cupboard, or hallway where there is just too much activity.
In most homes, much of the family's activity centres around the kitchen. Unfortunately this is not an ideal location. Toxic cooking fumes from Teflon pots and pans can kill a bird when the pan reaches a certain temperature. Self-cleaning ovens have a Teflon coating which, when heated, is toxic to a bird. So overall, the kitchen is not the place for a bird. Fumes from cleaning solvents such as ammonia or bleach can also do great harm to your bird. More than likely, your new pet budgie will be happiest in the living room, den or family room...where the action (to a certain extent) is!
The Cage
The cage can be securely suspended from the ceiling, at eye level, by a hook and chain fixture, much the same as a plant would be suspended. Most pet shops sell the entire kit containing the chain, hook and bolt. Another way of placing the cage could be on a shelf or cage stand. If you select a stand, make sure it is sturdy and it cannot be easily toppled. If it is a shelf, make sure the shelf is large enough to hold the entire cage size and it is well secured to the wall.
Now that you know where the cage is going, it's time to consider the cage itself. The cage should not be smaller than 20 x 12 x 18", and the bar spacing should be no more than ½" apart. The bars of the cage can be horizontal, a mixture of horizontal and vertical, but not only vertical. Budgies like to climb!
More than likely, the cage may come equipped with a couple of wooden or plastic perches. These perches should be a diameter of between ½ to ¾" thick and a mixture of sizes within this range is a good idea. Various sizes provide exercise for your budgie's feet. Natural branches placed in the cage at a slant is also an excellent addition and can be purchased at most pet shops.
So...we now have a cage, a variety of perches...what else? Accessories and toys! These items should also be purchased at the same time as the cage to make sure they fit and are appropriate. Basic accessories would include securely fitting seed and water cups. Securely fitting because budgies will try to fling them off the bars, I promise you this! A swing can also be purchased along with a bath. Also, consider buying clips to hold millet seed sprays, cuttle bone and vegetables.
Toys are next on the list. There are a lot of toys on the market for birds, and as with most selections, safety is once again an important factor. Do not automatically assume that just because the toy is made for a bird, it is safe. If you are purchasing a toy that will be suspended from inside the cage, make sure the "link" to accomplish this is not with a clip, but rather a stainless steel ring, similar (except in size) to a key ring. Your budgie's foot could get caught in the narrow part of the clip, as with a ring, it is the same size all around.
What kind of toys...well, as with some children, the selection of toys can be either a hit or a miss, hence the very same applies to budgies. Most toys that have a jingle bell (not a bell with a clapper in the centre), usually go over well. Bells that have a clapper in the centre are not safe as the clapper can be dislodged and yes, the budgie could swallow it. Toys that have jingle bells attached to them can be play swings, interlaced plastic rings, and Ferris wheels to mention a few. Buy two different kinds of toys; a dangling toy and a toy that is attached to the cage bars. In a short amount of time your new budgie will display his or her preference.
Setting up the Cage
If at all possible, set up the cage, then go and get your budgie. This solution offers many advantages to your new pet. First of all, imagine sitting in a dark little box for an hour or so while listening to an array of strange noises...your new home being put together. Not especially exciting, is it? Second, you've just been in that box way too long. See what I'm getting at? The longer the bird is in the box, the more you are prolonging the bird's adjustment.
Pick your bird out at the pet shop and ask them to keep him for a short while until you have gone home to set up the cage. Buy your cage and all accessories, being sure not to forget seed, millet and cuttle bone. Then go home, minus the bird, and take your time setting up the cage. When positioning perches, seed and water cups, make sure that the cups are not placed in a target area. Consider if the bird's droppings will land in the seed or water cups. The seed cups should be in one area, the water cups should be in an entirely different area, as the seed and its husks will definitely land in the water cup. Place the perches at well-spaced intervals, making sure there is one high perch where your budgie will no doubt call bed.
All cages come equipped with a slide-out tray that easily passes through the bottom of the cage. This tray, to catch the droppings, should be lined with paper. The type of paper is, to a certain extent, also important. Newspaper is okay, but make sure the ink is not toxic. Paper towels are another possibility, but will easily get wet and are therefore too lightweight. A heavier paper, or cut up paper bags is also another solution. The two materials you should not use is corn cob bedding or pine/cedar shavings. Apart from being extremely messy, these two substances retain moisture. The moisture, combined with damp droppings, provides an excellent breeding ground for bacteria. Also, if the bird ingests the corn cob, it can swell inside the bird's crop and cause serious health problems.
Once the necessities are well placed, then position the toys you have purchased. Look around, make sure you haven't forgotten anything...yes, you did fill the seed cups, yes, there is a spray of millet seed clipped to the inside of the cage, and yes, there is water in the water dish. Now you can go back to the pet shop and bring the new little one home.
When you take your budgie out of the box, you might want to glove your hand with a clean, dry, face cloth as they can nip during times of stress. Gently place your budgie into the cage and make sure the cage door is securely shut. Place the cage in its permanent location and give the bird time to settle down. He or she will probably find the highest perch and look as skinny as a rake, all the while no doubt hugging the side of the cage. This is normal. Your new budgie is in strange surroundings and it will take some time to settle down.
Don't get too close to the cage for the next little while. But, by all means talk softly to him or her when you do pass the cage, but at the beginning stand about a foot, to a foot and a half away from the cage, which should be at eye level.
You may find that some items in the cage will need to be rearranged. Try and avoid doing this for the first couple of days unless for some reason a seed or water cup is becoming soiled with droppings.
Daily Maintenance
Clean surroundings are extremely important to the health and well-being of any living creature. Your new pet budgie is no exception to this rule. The water should be changed at least twice a day. The seed cups also require attention. When the bird cracks the husk of the seed, most often this husk falls back into the cup. Blow the husks off daily and/or add fresh seed as required. The cage liner will also need to be changed either every day or every second day.
The bottom of the cage, and the sliding tray will also need to be washed frequently with a mild detergent, then well rinsed and dried. The cage can also be washed, or wiped down with a damp cloth as the need arises. If you let your pet budgie out, this is an excellent time to do these necessary chores.
Wooden perches can be washed and well dried in a moderate oven afterwards. Or, you can scrub them down with a small steel brush or fine sand paper. All toys and other accessories can be washed as the need arises. Don't let the droppings accumulate on any accessory for too long a period of time. Not only does this make for a most unattractive home, but even worse, bacteria can grow at an alarming rate. This is not only bad for their health, but yours as well.