by Lara Jackson

Created on: November 22, 2009   Last Updated: November 23, 2009

It always seemed so easy. Open a package of seed, toss a little in a dish, and now and then blow off the hulls and refill. That's how you feed a budgie, right?

Sadly, this is how budgies (or "parakeets" as they're popularly known in the U.S.) have been commonly fed for decades, but it's not how they should be fed. This simple diet will keep budgies alive till roughly the equivalent of budgie middle age, at which point most die of nutritional deficiencies and related maladies.

Seed is roughly the equivalent to budgie breakfast cereal. How do you think you'd fare if you ate nothing but corn flakes and oatmeal, without fruit or milk, for the rest of your days? It's not that they're bad foods... they're just a far cry from a complete diet. Specifically, seeds are deficient in vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin D3, calcium, iodine, sodium, and other nutrients. They are too high in carbohydrates, some varieties are far too high in fat, and all are low in protein.

Pet food companies tried to keep things simple for pet owners (and keep the money flowing into their own accounts) by making pelletized feed, a supposed "all-in-one" food just like kibble for dogs. Unfortunately, they failed. If seed is oatmeal, pellets are like Total cereal, containing added vitamins. In theory, it should work. One vitamin is as good as another, right? Not really. Nutrients in foods are much more complicated than that. Often, natural forms of nutrients are more readily used by the body than the artificial varieties in pellets, and some nutrients can only be used by the body when eaten with certain other nutrients. Also, it seems budgies just don't fare well on pellets. No one knows exactly why, but experienced budgie-keepers have consistently reported that their birds fail to thrive and breed when fed a large proportion of pellets in their diet. They may need more moisture in their diet, they may not fare well on processed grains, or they may be sensitive to the artificial ingredients in most pellets. Whatever the reasons, budgies seem to do better on seed-based rather than pellet-based diets.

No dry food, including dry seeds and pellets, contain some important nutrients, such as antioxidants and phytonutrients, found only in fresh foods. "Fresh foods." You heard me say it, right? It may be more complicated than opening a box, but what budgies really need are a variety of fresh foods.

Think of a budgie in the wild. Budgies are nomads. They form enormous flocks and roam vast areas of semi-desert

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