How to Make Seeds for Parakeets

Keep your parakeet happy and healthy by feeding it a well-balanced diet.

Also known as budgerigars or budgies, parakeets are small, sociable birds. In the wild, they eat a variety of seeds, using their beaks to dehusk edible seeds. Wild parakeets have access to a varied diet of seeds, flowers, fruits, leaves and insects, and pet parakeets need a similar variety. Complement your parakeet’s seed mix with green and orange fruits and vegetables, a bit of scrambled egg and a small bit of low-fat cheese.

Things You'll Need

• Bowl
• Millet
• Unsalted sunflower seeds
• Canary seeds
• Oat groats
• Hemp
• Airtight container

Instructions

1. Add two parts millet to your bowl. Millet is a high-carbohydrate seed that is low in fat, making it suitable for small birds.

2. Add 1/2 part unsalted sunflower seeds. These seeds are high in fat, so use them sparingly. Most parakeets, however, love the taste.

3. Add one part canary seeds. Like millet, canary seeds are high in carbohydrates.

4. Add one part oats groats. Oat groats have been processed to remove the hull, making it easier for your parakeet to access the nutritious inside.

5. Add one part hemp. Many commercial parakeet seed mixes contain this nutritious seed.

6. Mix the contents together and store the seed mix in an airtight container.

Tips & Warnings

• Though parakeets love seeds, they resist changes in their diets. Introduce new seed mixes gradually.

References

• The African Lovebird and Foreign Parrot Society of Queensland: Seed and Seed Mixes
• The Pet Advantage: Parakeets
• The Parrotlet Handbook; Matthew M. Vriends
• Parakeets; Kelley MacAulay and Bobbie Kalman
• Budgie Mania: Budgie Seed Mix Recipes
• Parakeet: Your Happy Healthy Pet; Julie Rach Mancini