Why are budgies recommended as great birds for beginners?

Hi all. Newbie to the forum. Only one previous post but excited to have this great community as I embark on my newest parrot journey.

So my title of this post may seem silly but it’ss genuine question. I’ll try to offer a condensed version of my story to explain why I am asking.

I’m a HUGE parrot lover. I don’t think there is a species of if parrot I wouldn’t want to have in my life. But due to financial reasons I’m not willing to pay thousands for one at this time and due to family reasons (age of children and husband’s newly acquired low tolerance for noise) I have had to rule out the possibility of pretty much every species for now. But I have been really wanting a parrot and due to the limited reading I did a budgie seemed like the perfect compromise for me right now (not too expensive, playful, funny, friendly, likes everyone in a family not just one person). So on Friday I made it a reality and purchased a “hand-fed” Lutino budgie from a local, not big-box, pet store. He is probably just nearing the 4 month mark in age and I believe he is a male as there is a faint blue color on the outer sides of his cere. Admittedly he was pretty skittish when I held him. I questioned whether or not he was truly hand fed however he did know the step up command pretty well. I decided that his stress of being in a pen at a lower level at the pet store likely was causing his stress and skittishness. I am more than willing to work with him, and so I decided to get him anyway.

Enter a few hours later when I decided to start researching budgies. I am not new to parrots at all and have owned nine in my lifetime. However I have never owned a budgie so I thought some good research was in order. Lo and behold I find all this information that talks about them being very difficult to tame and generally very skittish. I have to admit my heart dropped a little bit and I was disappointed at the fact that the skittishness I see in him at the store may be who he is forever. I had visions of a buddy that would hang out with me whenever I was home. I have gone to visit him every day at the store for the last three days (they are cage training him for a week). Each day does seem to show some improvement. He settles down more quickly now and is content to sit on my hand or my arm. He will calm down, fluff his feathers, chirp to the other birds while sitting on my hand or arm. Today he even fell asleep on my arm. All of this reinforces that he likely was hand fed, but then dumped into a pen and only handled when people wanted to see him. I still have high hopes that with lots of love patience and work he can become the a little companion I’m hoping to have.

But I am still wondering why everywhere you read recommends budgies as such great Birds for first time or beginner owners if so many of them really end up not wanting to have much to do with you or being handled by you. Guess I’m just curious. Here’s a picture of my new little guy.....Name still to be determined…open to suggestions (so far we have Omlette, Tweety, Woodstock, and Fish (name submitted by my 2.5 year old)). LOL.

Aaaaw!! Such a cutie! Standing there looking so happy- I bet he will indeed get to be a great companion for you!

They are recommended as beginner birds as they are hardy, don't die easily and do not have many special requirements, and they are cheap.
Thanks
Noah Till

ALL PARROTS are difficult at times and can be skittish etc---BUT, budgies are less intimidating than a huge bird...

PLEASE NOTE: I mean "one" when I say "you" below---I am not saying "you" to mean you personally lol.

I think they are recommended for new bird owners because of this. No matter how "cool"/"cute" big birds are, they are super scary if you get bitten by one and haven't ever experienced anything like that before...and they often use their mouths as hands, so you can really screw up a relationship by jerking your hand away or being overly skittish with a bird who is just planning to use his/her beak for balance. Similarly, misreading body language can have disastrous consequences with a large bird.
It's easy to be scared after a 500lb bite from a larger bird and that fear often causes people to react or jerk or retreat (which teaches the bird lots of bad behaviors/manipulation). A bite from a budgie is still frightening for a lot of people, but it's not going to send you to the ER and it probably won't produce lasting trauma. People new to birds don't know how scary it can be to be bitten (while others are way too scared to ever let it happen). Most importantly, new bird owners don't know how to control their reactions when it happens---many people think they will be able to but then find themselves acting twitchy/nervous around the bird after a bite (even a small one). It is MUCH easier to build confidence with a smaller bird. People who are used to birds have a very good understanding of body language and have built confidence/trust over years, so they make it look easy, but there is an art to it and it doesn't happen overnight.
I have heard new people describe their reactions to bird bites as "involuntary", but all reactions must be voluntary when training etc.

Budgies are very smart birds--- as smart as large parrot (NO JOKE)----BUT a poorly trained, misbehaving budgie isn't going to destroy your property, eardrums, or flesh like an out-of-control large parrot who wasn't trained properly by an inexperienced owner. Don't get me wrong-- budgies can be SUPER LOUD and destructive---but not as loud or destructive as a larger parrot (e.g., jet engine up close at take-off and chainsaw on face).

They are also cheap and lots of new bird owners inadvertently kill their birds by doing uneducated stuff (like using Teflon/PTFE/PFOA/PFCs or products like air-fresheners/cleaning chemicals in their home, or allowing their birds to come into contact with toxic metal from home-made cages etc). While they should NEVER be viewed as disposable, the sad truth is, they cost over $1000 dollars less than some of the larger birds out there.

They still have many special requirements compared to mammals in your home (like any bird---super sensitive respiratory systems, sensitive to drafts, require food other than seeds alone, have to have a sleep schedule with 10 hours at least)..I mean, that is more complicated than a dog, but compared to some birds, it is less complicated.

Very cute photo. I’m with your 2 year old with the name, “Fish” is so random.

Don’t be fooled about budgies being cheap. Yes the initial outlay for bird, cage, toys, food is a LOT less than for a bigger bird. Come time to visit the vet however, you don’t get a discount just because you’ve got a budgie as opposed to a macaw, all the procedures cost the same. This is where unfortunately a lot of budgies suffer. Because they were not as big a financial investment as a macaw or something far more exotic, many people baulk at spending the necessary money for proper treatment if/when they become ill. But budgies are every bit as valuable and deserving of the best care as any amazon, macaw, caique or black cockatoo and don’t ever let anyone try to tell you otherwise!

A budgie holds the world record for the number of words that they say, and are very smart, as smart as any other parrot. THey are trainable, and make wonderful companions.

wrench13 said:

A budgie holds the world record for the number of words that they say, and are very smart, as smart as any other parrot. THey are trainable, and make wonderful companions.

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im a budgie fteak but i didnt knew this thanks!