Printable owner manual
"Easy first bird" isn't the same as easy cage.
A 52-page printable manual with the real cage size minimum and the bar spacing limit, a plan for converting a seed eater to pellets, bird-proofing the house, and the health section for the mistakes that actually shorten a budgie's life.
Not sure yet? Download the first 5 pages free, contents page included.
- 52 pages, print or view
- Beginner friendly
- No external links inside the PDF
Edition 3.0
Oct 2026 路 52 pages
Care-sheet roulette
- A cage sized for the bird, not for flight and exercise
- A seed-only diet that skips the nutrients pellets provide
- No idea what fatty liver or scaly face mites look like
- Bar spacing nobody checked against the half-inch safety limit
This guide
- At least 18 by 18 by 18 inches for one bird, about 30 by 18 by 18 for a pair, and bars half an inch or less apart
- A pellet-forward diet plan, with the method for converting a seed eater
- Fatty liver, mites, respiratory disease and egg binding called out plainly
- Setup checklist, first 30 days, and a quarantine plan for a new bird
What's inside 路 52 pages
Everything from first setup to daily routine.
Cage and setup
Cage size, bar spacing and placement, perches and dishes and what to leave out, temperature, light and sleep, fumes and airborne hazards, metals, pets and plants, and cleaning.
Diet
Pellets, seed and grit, converting a seed eater, vegetables, fruit and fresh food, treats, supplements and the never-feed list, and weight on the daily scale.
Handling and social needs
Handling and taming without dominance, one budgie or two and the talking trade-off, body language, enrichment, flight and wing clipping, and nails, beak, blood feathers and first aid.
Arrival, hens and eggs
Choosing a budgie, quarantine and the first vet visit, sexing by cere and the color exceptions, hormones and chronic egg laying, egg binding on its own page, and the molt.
Health and red flags
Obesity, fatty liver, lipomas and tumors, breathing problems, psittacosis and goiter, polyomavirus, French molt and beak and feather disease, scaly face mites, canker and gastric yeast, feather plucking, and reading droppings.
Owner tools
Setup checklist, emergency card, budget and shopping list, first 30 days, symptom reference, routine, outage, heat and travel plan, pet-sitter sheet, and the logs.
Every page, section by sectionThe package's own contents page, all 52 pages of it. Nothing here is a teaser for something sold separately.
Getting Started
- How to Use This Package
Profile
- Quick Profile & Cost Overview
- The Species, Colors, Size & Lifespan
Housing & Environment
- Cage Size, Bar Spacing & Placement
- Perches, Dishes & What to Leave Out
- Temperature, Light & Sleep
- Air Quality: Fumes & Airborne Hazards
- Metals, Pets, Plants & Everyday Traps
- Cleaning & Hygiene
Feeding
- Diet: Pellets, Seed & Grit
- Converting a Seed Eater to Pellets
- Vegetables, Fruit & Fresh Food
- Treats, Supplements & the Never-Feed List
- Weight, Body Condition & the Daily Scale
Handling & Behavior
- Handling & Taming
- One Budgie or Two, Flock Needs & Company
- Body Language & Normal Behavior
- Enrichment & Common Mistakes
- Flight & Wing Clipping
- Nails, Beak, Blood Feathers & First Aid
Arrival & Life Stages
- Choosing a Budgie
- Quarantine & the First Vet Visit
- Sexing by Cere & the Color Exceptions
- Hens, Hormones & Chronic Egg Laying
- Egg Binding
- Molt & Seasonal Changes
Health & Common Issues
- Red Flags & Finding a Vet
- Obesity, Fatty Liver, Lipomas & Tumors
- Breathing Problems, Psittacosis & Goiter
- Polyomavirus, French Molt & Beak and Feather Disease
- Scaly Face Mites, Canker & Avian Gastric Yeast
- Feather Plucking & Feather Loss
- Reading Droppings & Water
Quick Reference
- Setup Checklist & Targets
- Emergency & Quick Targets Card
Owner Tools
- Budget: Setup & Shopping List
- Budget: Monthly Costs & the Vet
- First 30 Days
- Symptom Quick Reference
- Daily, Weekly & Seasonal Routine
- Power Outages, Heat, Travel & Transport
- Pet-Sitter Sheet
- Owner Log
- Equipment & Vet Log
- Enrichment Checklist & Log
Reference
- Glossary, A to L
- Glossary, M to Z
- Sources
- Where the Sources Disagree
- Version History & About
Take a look inside
Print-first pages, clearly marked.
Click a page to see it at full size. The contents page is complete; the others fade out where the paid content starts.
The first 5 pages, free
Pages 1 to 5 as a PDF: the contents page and the opening pages before the care sections start, so you can see every page the full package covers.
Who this is for
- New budgie owners setting up their first cage correctly
- Keepers who want one consistent standard, not seed-cup advice
- Anyone who wants to catch fatty liver or mites early
What it's not
- Not a substitute for an avian-experienced veterinarian
- Not a live website mirror, a clean printable package instead
- Not a subscription, one purchase and every corrected edition is free
What changed
This is edition 3.0.
Bought before? Re-download free from your library.
- 3.0, Oct 2026. Rebuilt on the current outline, 52 pages. Safety: cage at least 18脳18脳18 in for one bird, about 30脳18脳18 in for a pair; bars half an inch or less apart; room 65 to 85掳F (18 to 29掳C), ideal 70 to 75掳F (21 to 24掳C); full-spectrum bird UV light 10 to 12 hours a day without unfiltered sunlight; diet change too fast above 1 to 2% weight lost in a week, vet at 10%; seed about 1 level teaspoon daily; egg binding warmth 75 to 80掳F (24 to 27掳C); bleach 1 part to 32 parts water; pastel and solid-color cere mutations need a DNA test; first vet exam within one to two weeks, checkup yearly, twice better; medicine doses removed. Costs: every item priced and rounded to the nearest $5; setup $315 to $750 with the bird; first exam $45 to $65; $25 to $60 a month with the exam spread out, $20 to $55 without; bare-minimum first year about $600; the budget now over two pages. Other changes are wording only.
- 2.1, Sep 2026. Safety: no more than 12 hours without eating; no preventive antibiotic in quarantine; doxycycline 30 days for a budgerigar; a broken blood feather handled with firm pressure, never pulled at home; daily weighing. Other changes are wording only. Replaced by 3.0.
- 2.0, Sep 2026. Full rebuild, 39 pages. Diet rewritten around 60 to 80% pellets. Replaced by 2.1.
- 1.0, Aug 2026. First edition, 20 pages. Replaced by 2.0.
Coming in the next edition
The site has been corrected on the points below and the book has not caught up yet. They ship together in edition 3.1, free to anyone who already bought this one.
- The diet shares change from 60 to 80 percent pellets with 20 to 25 percent produce, which could add to more than 100, to 75 to 80 percent pellets and the remaining 20 to 25 percent produce. From: Budgie Feeding
Ready when you are
Budgie Care Package
52 pages. PDF. Print it or keep it open on your phone, tablet, or computer. Yours the moment you check out.
Edition 3.0, published October 3, 2026. Paid through Stripe. The download link arrives on the next page, and it stays in your library for as long as the package exists, always as the current edition. Not a substitute for a vet.
More care packages
Same format, other animals.
Cockatiel Care Package
A long-lived cockatiel starts with the food bowl and a night light.
52 pages 路 PDF 路 edition 3.0
Cockatoo Care Package
Four to six hours most days, for decades. Take the honest test first.
49 pages 路 PDF 路 edition 1.4
The free budgie guide is still free
This package is the same research as our budgie care guide, reformatted into an offline manual with the checklists, logs, and triage tables the web pages do not carry. Read the free guide first and buy this only if you want it in your hands.