Most experts regard the
draught-proof box cage as the best type of budgie residence. Any averagely
skilled home handyman can knock up a box cage in a matter of minutes. Either
plywood or hardboard on a wood frame can be used for the sides. The cage is
finished with a ready-purchased wire front of mesh. If the cage is to be
painted, remember to use non-toxic paints with a plastic rather than lead base,
as budgerigars a great gnawers.
Most families prefer the chromium wire cages sold by pet shops as being more decorative for the living room. If this type of cage is to be used, work to a minimum size of 18 inches long by 12 inches wide. It is sensible when buying a cage to mention to the dealer the type of site intended, i.e. whether the cage is to be suspended from a bracket, fixed to a free standing frame, or stood on a table, and let him advise as to shape.
Tall cylindrical cages
should be avoided. Helicopters fly up and down – birds horizontally – and the
bars of a budgie cage should be ideally horizontally rather than vertically
spaced, to help the bird climb about his home. If the budgie is to spend the
greater part of his day at liberty in the owner’s room, a cage with a flap-down
front, which serves as a landing platform, is prefer able to the spring door
type.
If the budgies are to
be housed in a garden aviary, a good rule of thumb guide to the space they will
require is a maximum of three birds to each square foot of roost floor area. On
this sort of basis it is reasonable to think of an aviary measuring 6 feet by 5
feet tall as providing ample accommodation for three pairs. Although they are
sociable birds, budgies, and especially hen budgies, can become very aggressive
during their breeding season. However large the enclosure in which they are
kept there is always a risk of fights if more than three pairs are housed
together during the breeding season. Although squabbles can be minimized by
providing more nest boxes than will actually be needed, and ensuring that each
box is similarly styled and hung at a similar height, there is always a danger
of several hens insisting on the same site and coming to blows over its
ownership.
Many owners of budgie
colonies over three pairs strong therefore build or buy aviaries of the modular
plan type, so that during the breeding season they can be split into several
compartments each holding a maximum quota of three pairs. With cage as opposed
to aviary breeding, very little fighting takes place. The advantage of cage
breeding is that, although it may take a little longer to clean stock cages,
they stay neat and tidy for much longer, and it is easier to observe parents
and young birds at close quarters. It
is, however, more expensive to set up a caged budgie colony than a aviary.
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