Budgie: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet

Julie Rach's BUDGIE is an informative and useful guide for the care and preservation of your new Budgie pet, and probably the only book you will need for Budgie pet care. Rach has included a short history of this little Australian parrot including a discussion of the variants bred in England and America. Budgies in the wild come in a few colors, but the colors of the varieties are numerous. Apparently, Budgies are like popcorn, its hard to have only one, so if you are thinking of building an aviary full of Budgies, get THE PROPER CARE OF BUDGIES -- a more comprehensive book than Rach's --- that includes a more in-depth discussion of genetics and breeding. Rach offers much practical information on the caging, feeding and care of "pet" budgies, including a few medical tricks, such as how to give your bird an oral medicine. Speaking of the photographs (there is one showing a Budgie receiving medication from an oral syringe), many were produced by Renee Stockdale, whose photos show up in other books on Budgies and Parakeets. Although Rach says Budgies should be housed in cages with bar spacing 7/16" or less, I noticed the same cage with bars ½" apart are shown in many of the photos, so either the photo editor was careless or Rach did not edit the book. I enjoyed reading the text and looking at the photos, and recommend this book as the one you will need unless you are becoming a breeder. The photos( taken in 1997) appear in other books on this topic, but Rach has covered all the bases for most Budgie owners.

I can't think of a better, more accessible book for first time budgie (parakeet) owners. In 123 pages, Rach, a former editor of BIRD TALK, covers a wide range of topics, from the history of the budgie as a pet to teaching it to talk. She covers health problems and how to prevent them, proper nutrition, cage size, taming a new bird, and grooming. The section on parakeet behavior was, for me, the most entertaining, as Rach describes the gestures and habits common to most budgies and what each means. The color photographs scattered throughout are mostly unneccessary, but they break up the text. (Most people aren't interested in seeing a person covering a cage.) The pictures of budgies themselves are worth it, however, especially since most people reading the book will already be enamored of this acrobatic pet.Well-seasoned budgie owners and breeders won't find much new here, but newcomers to bird ownership will be delighted. Even if you are only thinking of purchasing a bird, read this book to understand what will be required of you to give a new parakeet a safe and healthy home.

This is a very detailed little book with plenty of info on parakeet care. It guides the reader from bird purchase to pet care, even to the death of your pet. Great layout and great pictures. It will also make a great gift for children who keep budgies as pets.

I'm getting my budgie(s) this week! I'm really excited and this book helped me prepare. Wish me luck with my budgie!

If you have a budgie or you're planning to have one then this is the book for you. You'll have all the information you have to know about the bird itself, the cages, the toys, feeding, keeping the bird happy and healthy.