Budgies have a high metabolic rate, so they can die without food energy. However, budgies can stop eating their foods, and it is hard to know why they stop eating. Your priority is to ensure your budgies get adequate nutrition but do not force feed your budgies.
Want to know what to do if your budgie is not eating? Offer your budgie a variety of foods because your budgies might stop eating their regular foods. It is now time to give your budgie new foods and clean your bird’s food dishes before placing the new foods on these dishes. Your bird might eat new foods. Also, give your budgie enough clean water.
What to Do If Your Budgie Is Not Eating?
If your budgie is not eating, provide your budgie with a variety of foods, clean your budgie’s cage, keep your budgie warm, feed your budgie fluids, hand feed your budgie, and make your budgie feel safe.
However, do not just assume your budgie does not want to eat. If you are not around your budgie all the time, your budgie may eat while you are not around. This means the bird does not eat while you are around the bird. That is why you need to monitor your bird.
Use a video camera to record your budgie while you are away. Go over the video footage to check if your budgie ate the food. If you find your budgie is not eating, here are some of the things you can do:
Clean Your Budgie’s Cage
You clean your kitchen every day because you hate a dirty kitchen. We never eat in dirty kitchens. So, your budgies need a clean cage, especially if you feed them in their cages.
Your budgies might stop eating because their cage is dirty, especially if the food dishes are dirty and there is bird poop everywhere. A dirty cage makes it difficult for the birds to eat inside the cage. Your birds may start eating again if you clean their cage.
Keep Your Budgies Warm
Budgies can stop eating due to cold. So, during winter months, your budgies may stop eating. The days and nights are very cold, so your budgies will always feel cold. During these cold months, keep your birds warm and give them energy giving foods. This is because your birds can get cold and they need food that provides the energy to keep them warm. Partially cover your bird’s cage with a towel or blanket and use heating pads or heating lamps to provide supplemental heat.
Feed Your Budgies Fluids
Once your bird stops eating the foods you give them, feed them fluids, including Pedialyte or 100% fruit juice like grape, pear, or apple. Your budgies may drink the fluids you give them. As someone with no experience using a syringe to feed birds, use a spoon to give your birds the fluids.
A professional uses a small syringe to get your budgie to drink the fluid. The professional places the syringe near your budgie’s mouth. Then, gently squeezes the fluids into your bird’s mouth.
Do not force your budgie to drink the fluids. That is why you should let a professional feed your budgies with a syringe. You do not have any experience, so you might injure your birds.
Provide a Variety of Foods
Birds need a variety of foods. Do not feed them the same foods every day because they will get used to them. When this happens, your birds will stop eating their food. The same foods no longer excite them.
Offer your budgies a variety of foods, such as vegetables, peas, applesauce, fresh fruits, pellets, millet, seed, and many more. A balanced diet maximizes your budgie’s ability to fight and recover from diseases.
Hand Feed Your Budgies
Your budgies might stop eating because they do not want to eat on their own. Hand-feeding your birds take patience because some budgies might refuse the foods you give them. This usually happens if your budgies are not used to you. That is why you must focus on building a bond with your birds.
Once your budgies feel comfortable around you, they are more likely to eat from your hands.
Make Your Budgies Feel Safe
Budgies are very social, but they cannot feel safe near other family pets, like dogs and cats. They can stop eating because they do not feel safe. They are afraid of your other pets. If there are other family pets, cover your budgies’ cage when feeding them. They will feel safer inside their cage, so they are more likely to eat their food.
Also, put the cage in a quiet, restful room.
Track Your Budgie
It is easy to assume your bird does not eat, especially if the bird does not eat in front of you. Your budgie may actually eat while you are not looking. To know if your bird eats when you are not around, keep the track of the bird’s poops or you can video record your bird. If you see your bird eating when you are not looking, give the birds some privacy. Leave the room and let the bird eat alone.
In short, learn to take better care of your bird.
How Do I Get My Budgie to Eat?
As a new bird owner, it is important to learn how and what to feed your bird. You must know the best foods to feed your birds because they require healthy nutrition. Also, tame your bird and build a strong bond with your bird. This helps you learn more about your bird.
Here is how to get your budgie to eat:
Know Your Bird’s Favorite Foods
Do not just feed your budgie a variety of foods. You should also see the foods your birds love eating. If your birds hate some foods, stop feeding them these foods. They will never eat them. They will only eat them if there are no other options in the cage, which is not good for your bird. Your birds will be much happier eating their favorite foods. And you will never have to force your budgies to eat their favorite foods.
That is why you need to try other foods. Budgies love trying new foods. Trying new food allows you to be adventurous with your budgies. Some budgies may love boiled eggs, bread, plain spaghetti, etc. You will never know what your budgies like if you do not give them new foods.
Hand Feed Your Budgies
This is only possible if your budgie feels safe around you. As a new bird owner, your bird may avoid you. It is not the bird’s problem. It is understandable because the bird does not feels safe around, yet. That is why you need to spend more time with your new budgies.
Luckily, budgies are social animals, so they will learn to like you. You will be able to hand feed them. If your budgies trust you, they will eat the food you hand feed them. Your budgies may even sit on your lap or the table as you feed them.
The time it takes to build a bond with your budgies is worth it.
Consistency
It takes time to know your budgie’s favorite foods. If your birds love eating vegetables today, they might ignore them the next day. Instead, they may eat more fruits. Do not introduce new foods to your budgies once. It should be done over several months. You will keep the diet of your budgies balanced, and you will know the best foods to feed your budgies.
Being consistent can help you know what to feed your budgies every day. For instance, you will know the best foods to feed your budgies during summer months and the foods they love eating during winter months. So, if your budgies keep ignoring some foods, keep offering them these foods. They will eat these foods one day, and you will know what made them change their mind.
How Long Can Budgies Go Without Food?
A healthy budgie can go 48-72 hours without food, and a budgie can go less than 48 hours if the budgie is ill. Budgies have an active metabolism, so your budgies can become ill in 24 hours if you do not feed them.
Providing adequate nutrition ensures your budgies stay healthy for several years. Offer your budgies grated cheese, hard cooked eggs, a variety of fruits, and dark green and yellow vegetables. And sprinkle supplemental powdered vitamins on the food.
It is important to keep the food dish clean all them. Cleaning the food dish regularly helps prevent bacterial growth.
Also, offer your budgies fresh water every day. Budgies need water to remain hydrated.
Will a Budgie Starve Itself?
Yes, a budgie can starve itself. Budgies eat foods they love, so they might never eat some of the foods you offer them. They hate these foods! Some bird owners might stop giving their budgies some foods because they want their budgies to eat certain foods.
So, they may stop offering their budgies their favorite foods.
Do not do this because budgies will starve themselves if they hate the foods you offer them. If you want your budgies to try new foods, offer them their favorite foods with the foods you want your budgies to try. If your budgies eat the new foods, you can now offer them these foods regularly.
Budgies love eating what they like. They cannot be forced to eat certain foods. You can successfully feed new foods to your birds, but you must do it gradually. Take your time because it takes time to make your budgies love new foods.
Final Thoughts
I wrote this article to help you know what to do if your budgie is not eating. I know it is easy to get worried when you see your feathery friend not eating. You might be worried your budgie will starve to death.
If your budgie stops eating do not force feed your bird. You can easily make your bird eat by offering new types of foods. Offer your budgie a healthy diet, including a variety of foods, and do not feed your budgies the same foods every day if you do not want your budgie to stop eating.
