Since starting to adopt stray budgies into my home three years ago, I have had the blessing of witnessing the growth of these feathery creatures over time, including, recently, the death of a beloved budgie as well as the birth of eight newborns chicks. Their existence has provided me with much joy and taught me many lessons about accountability and responsibility. Even when friends and family members frown at the decision to keep these feathery friends rather than a furry one, there are many reasons pet parakeets make fantastic student pets. If you’re a student and looking for company from pets that fit your busy lifestyle, budgies might be worth considering. Here’s why:
- If paired with another budgie, they are relatively independent. Unlike other animals that require lots of attention, budgies are, for the most part, self-sustaining and don’t require too much of your attention. Besides the daily change of water and budgie feed, the housekeeping work is relatively simple.
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The messes are contained (relatively). Unless you’re letting your feathered friends flutter around the living room, budgies’ feathers, faeces and debris are relatively contained compared to larger pets. This leaves the cleaning process relatively straightforward, leaving you more time for everything else. -
They can be trained! Yes, strangely enough, budgies can be trained to perform simple tricks like “step up” or wing flapping. For example, after training a young budgie for a few minutes every day, after a month, I managed to teach the step up trip, where it can step up your fingers. - They bring original music to your ears. While some might find budgies noisy, certain male budgies sing on a daily basis. My six budgies sing early in the morning and help me wake up on time for work or school.
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They produce baby budgies. If the budgies have paired and mated, you may expect baby budgies. For me, this April, I was able to welcome seven baby budgies to my home. While baby budgies are generally louder and require much more attention, they are exciting to watch and even easier to train. These budgies are three weeks old and feel at home in my hand. - They are beautiful to look at. Budgies come in all shapes and colors. Their unique colors make them beautiful additions to an empty dorm room.
- Help you stay responsible. While most pets are lots of work, budgies require relatively less maintenance, but easily scheduled. For example, I clean their cages every two weeks and change the tray paper to clear their dried feces. Surprisingly having pets to attend to helped me become more organized and responsible over time.
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Bird therapy. When exams get on your nerves or juggling other part-time work or extra-curricular become stressful, spending time with pets can be an excellent way to relax and decompress. For me, training my budgies help take my mind off little bumps throughout the week and reorient my energy after some quality pet time.
