Budgie Food Dish


Budgie Feeding Dishes and Bowls
Some breeders put all their budgie food on the cage or aviary floor, including the feeding dishes and bowls. Budgerigars are very happy with this arrangement – it’s how they do most of their feeding in the wild (without the dishes and bowls, of course). A feeder secured to the side of the cage is also fine – the budgie will perch and eat, and will not pine at all if you never offer food at ground level.
There are many different designs of feeder available. The most important rule is to choose one with a large surface area – budgies are very good at eating all the seeds they can see, but are not clever enough to realise that there is more food beneath the seed husks. A centrally-placed hopper is a good option. Make sure you position it where it can easily be removed from and returned to the cage. It should never be beneath perches, as your budgies will unwittingly use it as a toilet.

Budgie feeding from a tray
In an aviary, large food trays make sense
Budgie Seed Feeders
A custom-made feeding dish is the best bet for seeds. It will be secure (i.e. can’t be tipped up or dislodged by perching birds), easy to clean and easy to get in and out of the cage. In setups where space is an issue, you can buy feeder-protectors that clip onto the side of the cage beneath the perch. These will quickly accumulate droppings, and should be cleaned every day.
Budgie Seed Hoppers
Many feeders are variations on an attachable bowl. A seed hopper is a popular alternative, providing a simple way of accommodating more than one bird comfortably at the same feeding station. Hoppers are the best way of supplying pellet food, if that’s the dietary route you’re following (see our cynical note on budgie pellets below). With seeds, you’ll need to make sure your birds have constant access to the fresh stuff, rather than a layer of husks that have fallen back into the pecking section of the hopper.

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