Budgie Land Aviary
~ Home of Sweet Little Budgies ~
&
~ Beautiful Companion Cockatiels ~

Small Garden for 1 or 2 Cockatiels or Budgies

Things you will need:

Sunny location,or an area close to home
3 tree rings
A bunch of newspaper, this keeps the weeds out
Enough soil to fill the rings
Seeds (Recycled from seed cups & the bottom of the cage!
Sunshine, water, and a week or two!

Pick a sunny location, place a thick layer of newspaper on the ground, put your tree rings on top of the newspaper, fill with soil and plant the seeds! That's it! Keep watered and in a few days the ring will be fill with little seedlings, and with in another weeks or two you'll be feeding handfuls of fresh greens to your feathered companion... or even your guinea pig, rat, cat, and in our case. Our little dogs like it too...

Seeds to Plant: This is a simple list, things I have planted and that my birds absolutely love to eat, Plus, its so good for them!

You can also look "online" for more ideas...
Safe Plants:

Any seeds found in the back of cockatiel or parakeet seed mix...
OR any mixture of the following:
Alfalfa
Wheat
Barely
Sunflowers (1 right in the middle of the ring)
Millet
Milo (Maga Millet)

Spinach
Lettuce (NOT Ice Berg)

Seeds NOT to Plant: If you are unsure about a certain plant or seed, just don't plant or feed it! Its better to be safe and stick to plants you already know your bird can eat, then to be sorry later!

BUT, just in case, please do some research (online)...

Toxic Plants:
http://budgielandaviary.com/tipsafety.htm#toxicplants

* Grass seeds (lawn grass)
* Flowers... There are too many to list that are toxic, so please stick to "safe" foods you know your bird can eat!
* Anything sprayed with chemicals, example, bug killers, weed killers and so on..

I'm growing Alfalfa & wheat in here!

Only have 1 or 2 budgies, you could try this method:
This is an older version I wrote years ago when I only had 5 little budgies...

Recipe: Recycled Seed Submitted by: Sheila Wallace
Fresh greens for your birds, from your birds! I had a real problem throwing away all that left over seed when I change my birds' food and water daily, so I found a way to RECYCLE it. This allowed me to keep fresh and healthy greens on hand for my parakeets, which they absolutely love.

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What You'll Need:
Potting mix, nothing special, any inexpensive soil will work even composted soil. (*Do not use Miracle-Grow, it contains ingredients for plants not birds, and I have seen my birds nibble on the soil, so be careful choosing your potting soil)
Small containers (e.g. Plastic baby food cups, they are rectangle and fit in most cages between the perch and cage.) You can also invest in small terra-cotta cups, and they are safe for most birds including parakeets.
Ingredients:
Your left over seeds mixes

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Steps:
Step 1: Save your seeds - Save the seeds you replace each day in an airtight container and place the container in a cool dry place until you are ready to use. Do not use seeds from the bottom of the cage or any contaminated seeds.

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Step 2: Sterilize that soil - This is very important! You have to sterilize the potting soil, even if its new form the store. This will kill any bacteria that may harm your birds. (Do not use Miracle-Grow.) Place the amount soil you plan to use in an ovenproof pot or pan. Preheat the oven 350-400 degrees. Let the soil cook and become sterile for about an hour. Do not use the microwave, it will not correctly sterilize your soil no matter how long you leave it in for.

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Step 3: After the soil is cool enough to handle, add the soil to the cups you are going to use with your birds, water the soil completely before you add your seed mix.

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Step 4: Sprinkle the seeds generously in the cups and mix with spoon or fork, so all the seeds are coated with soil.

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Step 5: Place the seed cups in or next to a window where they will receive sunshine and warmth to start sprouting. When the seeds start to sprout, wait a day or two, let them grow to about 2 inches or so and now they are ready to eat.

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Step 6: Feed Your Birds - Only use one (1) cup of seed sprouts every few days or so, too much will give birds a tummy ache.

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Have Fun!
Have fun with this idea and you can be creative. Use larger pots for larger birds. Decorate your seed pots with non-toxic paints, anything will work. Hang them, or even pick the sprouts and hand feed your birds, they love fresh sprouts and it also helps to tame young birds!