What Can I Feed My Baby Parakeet? 5 Homemade Baby Budgie Food Recipes

What Can I Feed My Baby Parakeet? 5 Homemade Baby Budgie Food Recipes

Your baby is growing up! They're no longer a tiny newborn parakeet but are now an adolescent parakeet that needs to be fed.

Feeding your little feathered friend can be a daunting task, and there are many things you need to know about what they should eat.

In this blog post, we will discuss 5 homemade baby parakeet food recipes with step-by-step instructions. These recipes provide healthy nutrition without any dangerous chemicals or artificial flavors in them.

You'll also find out what types of foods baby parakeets can't eat and how much each recipe feeds!

You can feed any of these recipes to your newborn parakeets from day one to weaning if, for whatever reason, the mother parakeet is unable to feed and nurture them.

5 Homemade Baby Parakeet Food Recipes

The following recipes are hand-feeding formulas that can be fed to your baby parakeet from the time it is hatched from the egg until it is time to wean and eat a regular diet of seeds and pellets.

These homemade formulas will help your baby parakeet to grow quicker and wean sooner, in addition to developing a brighter, fuller plumage.

We tend to gauge the measurements by eye when it comes to the dry ingredients such as ground oats and ground wheat, as you will find yourself adjusting the recipe based on what you have in your pantry and what your bird prefers. 

As long as you include good, whole sources of protein and fats and stay away from foods your bird shouldn't eat, your parakeet will be happy!

Baby parakeets require a high-protein diet and their stomachs are relatively small which requires them to eat small amounts of food at each meal.

homemade baby parakeet food recipes

1) Cornmeal, Ground Oat, Boiled Egg (whole), Coconut Oil

Cornmeal is a good source of protein, calcium, and Vitamins B & E. Ground oats provide fiber as well as minerals iron, copper, and zinc.

Boiled eggs have a lot more nutrients than raw eggs, which are difficult to digest when eaten by baby birds who do not produce the proper enzymes needed to break down such food items quickly.


2) Ground Oats, Chia Seeds, Ground Corn, Dried Beetroot pulp

In this recipe, the ground oats provide a source of protein, calcium, and Vitamins B & E.

Chia seeds provide fiber as well as minerals iron, copper, and zinc.

Ground corn is rich in antioxidants and dietary fibers, while beetroot provides Vitamin A, which leads to a vibrant bright color of your baby parakeet's plumage by providing beta-carotene.


3) Ground Wheat, Egg Protein Powder, Ground Flaxseed, Dried Pumpkin

In this recipe, the pumpkin provides a source of Vitamins A, C, and E.

Flaxseed is rich in Omega- fatty acids while wheat provides a good amount of protein and fiber.

Egg Protein Powder contains all the essential vitamins and minerals for baby parakeets that are not able to be found from other ingredients listed in this recipe, as well as beta-carotene.

homemade baby parakeet food recipes


4) Ground Brown Rice (or Arrowroot Powder) , Dried Peas, Dried/Ground Sunflower Seeds

This recipe contains rice which is naturally enriched with Vitamin B.

The peas provide a source of protein and fiber, while the whole wheat flour provides Vitamins A and E as well as zinc for your baby parakeet's feather coloration.

Some birds do not like rice, so if you find that this is the case, for any recipe with ground brown rice listed, try replacing it with arrowroot powder).

Homemade Baby Budgie Food Recipes

5) Ground Oats, Ground Brown Rice (or Arrowroot Powder), Soy Protein, Flaxseed

This recipe contains oats that are naturally rich in Vitamin E. The brown rice provides a source of Vitamins A and B as well as zinc, while the soy protein is enriched with all eight essential amino acids.

The flaxseeds contain omega-fatty acids, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and phytoestrogens.

How To Prepare The Formula (Step-by-Step Guide)

We recommend that you only use one of these at a time and see how your baby parakeet likes them.

  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
  2. Place them in a high-speed blender for 30-60 seconds until you have a smooth (not thick and sticky) consistency.
  3. Add all ingredients to a saucepan and bring to a boil with constant stirring for three minutes.
  4. Add more water if/when needed to maintain a thick liquid consistency.
  5. Remove from heat and let cool until the mixture is lukewarm but not cold.
  6. Feed your baby bird!

We also recommend adding some bird vitamin drops to your homemade formula for a vitamin boost. This should be added to the individual feed and not the entire batch, so you can manage how much you are giving your parakeet at any given feed.

If you have quite a busy schedule, it can be quite time-consuming to make your own baby bird feed. No worries, we've got you covered. This high-fat, nutrient-dense hand-feed formula will do just as well.

Kaytee Exact Hand Feeding High Fat Formula Pet Bird Baby Food For Parrots, Parakeets, Lovebirds,...
  • Balanced high-nutrient formula helps babies grow faster, wean earlier and develop stronger, brighter...
  • Contains probiotics to encourage a healthy population of intestinal microorganisms.
  • Digestive enzymes are included to ensure adequate digestion of carbohydrates and proteins. These enzymes...
  • Exact Hand Feeding Formula has compatible tastes and ingredients with exact Conversion and exact Adult...
  • This product is formulated for use with: Baby Parrots (includingParakeets, Lovebirds, Cockatiels,...

How To Feed The Formula To Your Baby Parakeet

You will need baby bird feeding syringes to feed formula to your baby bird. This is the “least messy” way to feed them. The tip of these syringes curves to allow easy feeding into your bird's beak.

You can also use a baby spoon, but it will be more difficult to get the food into their tiny beaks.

How To Preserve The Formula

If you have used any wet ingredients, you will need to freeze the formula. We recommend freezing it in an icecube tray so you can separate and defrost smaller portions.

If you wish to preserve the formula as a powder instead, replace the wet ingredients with a dried variety (or dry them yourself).

Combine the ingredients and place them in a blender for 30-60 seconds (or until they become a fine powder.)

Store them in an airtight container until needed.

Once you have the blended powder formula in a container, you simply take out a few teaspoons at feeding time and blend with boiled water. Let it cool, or add cool boiled water before feeding your baby bird.


FAQ

Can Baby Parakeets Eat Baby Food?

No. Baby parakeets, regardless of age, require a high-protein diet. Baby parakeets are relatively small, and their smaller stomach requires that they eat small amounts of food at each meal.

Seeds and pellets should make up the bulk of a baby parakeet's diet, supplemented with fresh fruits and vegetables every day (in appropriate portions). 

The problems seen in captivity documented by avian veterinarians include stunted growth of the body organs internally as well as halted growth on the outside. When these birds are fed foods that are not natural to them, they may not grow properly and exhibit behavioral disorders.


Do Baby Parakeets Need To Be Hand-Fed?

Newborn parakeets who do not have their mother to feed them do need to be hand-fed their formula.

This is just to ensure that they are getting the nutrients and energy that their bodies need to grow. It can be quite difficult for a tiny, developing bird to get the formula into its mouth and consume enough of it to grow.

Feeding it formula through a syringe directly into its beak is the best way until they begin to wean, and you can put a thicker formula mixed with small pellets on a surface or in a dish.

Don't Forget Your Pet Parakeet Must-Haves!

Last update on 2022-12-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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