What Age Do Baby Budgies Eat Seed?- [Solved!]
If you recently adopted a baby budgie or your budgerigar’s eggs just hatched, you may wonder what the right time to start feeding the chicks is. Well, budgies need seeds as a significant part of their diet, and so do chicks. However, baby budgies must reach a certain age before consuming hard foods like seeds.
So, at what age do baby budgies eat seed? They will start eating seeds when they reach five to six weeks. The baby budgies can eat the seeds at six weeks without getting choked. Before five months, the baby budgies’ beaks are not strong enough to crack seeds. So it is essential to let them feed directly from their parents so that they can get the needed nutrients.
At five weeks, the chicks are still learning how to forage from their parents, so do not separate them from their parents. This article will explain all you need to know about baby budgies and their feeding habits.
What Age Do Baby Budgies Eat Seed?
Baby budgerigars can eat seeds at around five to six weeks. However, this does not mean that they can forage for themselves yet. Baby parakeets can entirely leave the nest when they are eight weeks old. At five weeks, they will start exploring their surroundings and might start pecking on some seeds as they mimic what their parents are doing.
Also, at five to six weeks, the baby budgerigar’s beak is strong enough, and the chick understands how to use its beak to crack seeds. You can provide soft-shelled seeds to begin with or soak them in water so they soften—Monitor the chick and how it chews the seed in the first few days.
If there is no struggle, you can continue providing the young budgie with small amounts of seeds. Also, ensure you accompany the seeds with vegetables and occasional fruit. Why? Because an only-seed diet means the baby budgie does not get all its nutrients.
You can separate the baby budgie from its mother at eight weeks and above. Now, the young budgie can feed independently without relying on its mother’s crop food.
How Do I Feed Baby Parakeet Seeds?
Here is how you feed the baby budgie seeds.
- You can either hand feed the chick seeds or put them in a bowl.
- First, soak the seeds in water so that their outer shell softens. This makes it easier for the budgie to chew the seeds.
- After a few minutes, remove the seeds from the water and feed them to your baby budgie.
- Ensure the budgie does not feed on too many seeds at once to prevent choking.
- Feel its crop if you want to know if your baby budgie has had enough. A full baby budgie will have a protruding crop and instinctively stop feeding on the seeds.
- Monitor how the baby parakeet reacts to the seeds. If there is no diarrhea or signs of sickness, you can feed the baby budgie seeds regularly.
Ensure you mix the seeds with vegetables and fruits. Also, if the baby budgie has its parents with it, let it get back into the cage and feed from the parents. If the baby budgie is alone, try and feed it regularly. Veterinarians recommend you feed baby budgies after two to three hours.
How Many Seeds Should I Give My Baby Budgie?
If introducing baby budgies to seeds, you can start with a spoonful of seeds. Administer the seeds in small amounts while monitoring how the chick reacts to the seeds. If the chick is also being fed by its mother, feed it half a spoon of seeds to leave space for the mother’s food.
After a few days, you can add the number of seeds you give the chick to two spoons per week. When the baby parakeet is six weeks, you can introduce more foods such as vegetables, fruits, and eggs shells. These foods are called weaning foods.
Another question is, how often should I feed my baby budgie seeds? When a budgie is five weeks old, you are supposed to provide it every two to three hours, i.e., if you only have the baby budgie without the parent. If you have the mother, administer seeds once a day or twice a week just to get the baby budgie used to chew the seeds.
Which Seeds Should I Give My Baby Budgie?
Seeds are high in carbs and have no significant nutritional value. So ensure your baby budgie does not overeat seeds; otherwise, it could become obese. You can mix seeds with other seeds or add vegetables or pellets. Here are some of the seeds your baby parakeet can eat.
- Cornflower seeds
- Pumpkin seeds
- Millet seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Niger seeds
- Wheat grain
- Peanuts
Research shows that you can also give baby budgies sprouting seeds. Sprouting seeds have more nutrients, e.g., folate and magnesium, that are more absorbable into the baby budgie’s body.
A Video Of Baby Budgie Eating Seeds
Here is a video of a baby budgie eating seeds for the first time.
Are Seeds Safe For Baby Budgies To Eat?
Yes, seeds are safe for baby budgies to eat but only in small quantities. Seeds have high-fat levels, making your baby budgie sick if it eats them in high amounts. Vets say you should give the chicks seeds as an occasional treat rather than as part of the main diet is best.
You can substitute seeds with well-formulated pellets, which have higher nutritional value than seeds. A pellet diet contains all the nutrients baby budgies need to thrive. Although some seeds have health benefits, you can still not give them to your baby parakeets in high quantities.
You may find that if the baby parakeet is used to a seed diet, it will prefer that to any other food. This leads to the budgie not getting enough nutrients which affect its health.
FAQs
Here are other questions budgie owners might ask.
Do baby budgies like seeds?
Yes, baby budgies like seeds. At five or six weeks, the baby budgie can chew seeds, and it might grow to like them. Some baby budgies like the seeds too much that they prefer them to everything else. So it is up to you to regulate how many seeds you give to the baby budgie. A spoonful of seeds is enough twice a week.
What else can a baby budgie eat apart from seeds?
It depends on the baby budgie’s age. If the budgie is two weeks old, it relies on regurgitated food from its mom or formula. At five weeks, you can give the baby budgie seeds and other weaning foods such as crushed boiled eggs with the shell, cracker biscuits, chopped veggies, and fruits.
You can provide them with pellet formula, vegetables, fruits, and water. The baby budgie can now eat an adult budgie diet at seven weeks and above.
Conclusion
So, at what age do baby budgies eat seeds? They eat seeds when they are five to six weeks old. Ensure you feed them soaked seeds so that they can easily chew them. Monitor the baby budgie’s reactions; if it is okay, continue providing it seeds.
However, regulate the number of seeds you feed baby parakeets because seeds have high-fat content, which can make the budgies obese. Stick to one spoonful of seeds twice a week. Also, combine the seeds with vegetables and fruits to at least boost the nutrients in the diet.
