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Budgie (parakeet) care: what a family needs to know

Ask your vet about your own pet. This page is general information from the sources below.

Budgie (parakeet) care, from Merck Veterinary Manual and others on this page. Merck says budgies are not usually loud, can learn to talk, and suit apartment living. Merck's pet bird table says budgies live about 5 to 10 years. Another Merck page says small birds like budgies and canaries can live about 5 to 15 years. Seed alone is not enough.

Checked October 29, 2026.

By Peabody editors. How we write and check.

How long they live

Merck's pet bird table says budgies live about 5 to 10 years. Another Merck page says small birds like budgies and canaries can live about 5 to 15 years.

Home

Merck lists a smallest cage for budgies of 20 x 20 x 30 inches, with bars 0.5 inch apart, and says to buy the biggest cage you have room for. VCA lists a smaller minimum of 1 ft x 1 ft x 2 ft (30 cm x 30 cm x 60 cm) and says bigger is better. For budgies kept in a group, the RSPCA says the cage height, width and depth should each be at least twice the biggest bird's wingspan. Birds should be let out to fly every day when the room is safe: windows and doors shut, ceiling fans off, and no flying into the kitchen. Keep the cage out of the kitchen, away from drafts, and use natural wood perches of different widths (not sandpaper covers).

Food

VCA says bird pellets should make up about 60 to 80 percent of a budgie's food, with fruits and vegetables up to 20 to 25 percent and seeds only a very small part. Seed alone is not enough. Fresh, clean water should always be there, and dishes get washed every day. VCA says to avoid avocado, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, salty or oily snacks, and grit.

Company

The RSPCA says budgies live in colonies and can be kept in groups, and a new bird should be watched when it is first introduced, since squabbles happen near food and water and high perches. Merck says a single bird alone in a small cage with little exercise can be harmed, so a lone budgie needs lots of daily out-of-cage time.

Handling

Merck says pet birds should come out of the cage every day to exercise, with someone watching closely. The sources I opened do not give hand-holding steps for budgies.

The vet

Merck says birds hide being unwell and often look sicker by the time owners notice, so a vet who knows birds should be asked about any small change in how the bird acts.

Good to know

Merck says budgies are not usually loud, can learn to talk, and suit apartment living.

A job for the children

With a grown-up, help wash the food and water dishes every day, and keep watch while the room is checked and made safe for flying time.

"A grown-up is the real carer for budgie (parakeet)s. Our job is the small, steady part."

Every pet is different, and this is general information from the sources below, not veterinary advice. For a sick or hurt pet, call a vet who knows this kind of animal.

Sources