What do budgies eat

SO WHAT DO THEY EAT? THIS IS ONLY BASIC INFORMATION FROM RESERCH I HAVE DONE AND LEARNED FROM OTHER BIRD OWNERS.

Budgies are omnivores. This means they can digest both vegetables and insects. In their natural habitat in Australia, they have a varied diet of grass seeds, leafs, insects and so on. They sometimes fly miles and miles to feed themselves. Of course, for a domesticated bird, this isn't an option. But still it's important to keep them fit and healthy, while still staying as close as possible to their natural diet. A tamed budgie, much like its counterpart in the wild, is very curious and will try anything it's offered. Therefore, it's up to you, the owner, to offer the little bird a healthy and balanced meal.

hear Is Bella enjoying a scrummy fly :)

Note: Budgies eat insects and so qualify as omnivores, but do not offer them a steak or other slice of meat. They cannot digest this. The same goes for milk.

1. The Basics

Seeds or Pellets?
Like all birds, budgies love to eat seeds. As this is absolutely necessary in their diet, a good and quality mixture of living seeds is crucial.
Often the budgie will choose the fattest seeds as the yummiest, and so the healthiest seeds are left behind! If this is the case with you, don't refill the bowl until it's almost completely empty. Don't be fooled though: the empty husks of the seeds are often dropped into the bowl, so take a good look to make sure there's still something edible in there.
An alternative would be to limit the access to the food to set hours in the morning and evening. In the beginning, this will take some adjusting from your budgie, but soon he'll learn to adapt and eat as much of the food as possible, as he's learned it's not freely available. This will result in all seeds being devoured, not just the tastiest.
You could also choose to offer your budgie pellets. These are about the size of seeds, composed of compressed seeds and fruit. This is often the most complete food you will be able to give the bird, and it's also not able to select the tastiest seeds. However, not all budgies like to eat pellets. There is usually a schedule on the package to convert your budgie, but keep in mind that some birds never make the switch. Of course, you still need to provide fresh drinking water, grit and fruit&vegetables to your bird.

Fruits & Vegetables

A healthy addition to any bird diet, fruits and vegetables help ensure long and healthy lives. Give your budgie a piece every day, preferably as fresh as possible.
Every budgie has its own favourites and will need some time to get used to this new form of food. Offering a piece every day at the same place in the cage will help the bird identify it as food, rather than a toy to tear apart. Being the curious little thing that it is, eventually the bird will take a nibble and so be introduced to the wonderful flavour's of fruit or vegetables. Of course, it's always possible they just really don't like the taste of what you offered, so try to put some variation in what you offer. It will help if the bird sees you or its own kind enjoying the healthy snack, This will again stimulate their curiosity and will teach them it's a delicious form of food.
Many budgies prefer the taste of apples, carrots, or oranges. Bananas, pears, lettuce, ... all are loved. Do not offer too much lettuce though, as that might cause diarrhoea.

Hear they are enjoying some mango

Bella & Bert love a verity of fruit and veg, I would say their favourites are:

Broccoli

Kale

Boiled egg

Mango

Cucumber

Carrots

Red pepper

Mixed berries

Apple (seedless)

There is still more fruit and veg I want to try with them.

Warning! Rhubarb and avocado are poisonous to budgies! Avoid the cabbage family.

Eggfood

While many bird owners only offer this at times when the bird is breeding or growing new feathers, it's not a bad idea to provide eggfood at least once a week. It's packed with minerals and nutrients. To offer a complete and balanced diet, eggfood really should be on the menu.
Eggfood is healthy, easy to digest and delicious. It not only strengthens the bones (a calcium bomb), it gives extra strength and vitality and stimulates growth. It's an excellent dish to serve a mother budgie and her youngsters.

hear is Bella enjoying hard boiled egg with egg shell with carrots and broccoli

Eggfood, while very good for your budgie, contains a lot of fat. Twice a week at most when not breeding or sick really is enough. However, when your birds are sick or breeding, always have eggfood readily available. Put the dry eggfood in a feeding bowl, add some water to moisturize it, stir and offer. It's not supposed to float, just a bit of water is plenty. Don't leave it in the cage for too long as it will quickly grow a lot of bacteria and spoil.

EGG BISCUITS
Egg Biscuits are highly nutritious and extremely tasty complementary pet food for all cage and aviary birds.
Egg Biscuits are highly recommended during moulting and breeding periods.

Bella & Bert where terrified of these to being with which is a normal reaction to be wiry of new things, after a while they became use to it and now love egg biscuit.

*no birds are harmed in the making of egg biscuits*  

2. What Else?
Millet

A veritable delight to any budgie's taste buds. Almost without exception, budgies are extremely fond of this treat, and it's the ultimate assistant when trying to tame a new bird. It's also easy to digest! Thus millet is also often used to teach a young budgie to eat seeds, or to encourage a sick budgie to eat a bit.
Millet is high in fats and should only be offered once a week, at a quantity of half a string per bird. While millet is no replacement for a good seed mixture, it is to be preferred over candy sticks for birds.

Bella & Bert enjoying their treat

Candy sticks

Who doesn't know them: the seeds glued together with honey in the form of a long stick. Budgies love them. Naturally: it tastes very sweet! Almost every store has it on offer. It's yummy and very popular. However, there is a lot of sugar in candy sticks, so don't offer it too often. It should be more of an exception rather than a frequent snack.

3. What Definitely Not To Feed A Budgie

Some things, a budgie really cannot eat, ever. Either it's really unhealthy or hard to digest, or it's just plain poison!
Although sometimes it can be very tempting, it's best not to allow your budgie to eat food that's on your plate. People food tends to be very bad for the tiny kidneys of a budgerigar, and is often simply poisonous. Avoid salt (bad for kidneys) and sugar (causes infections, obesity and a whole host of problems).
Absolutely forbidden because it's lethal to a budgie: avocado, tobacco, rhubarb, chocolate, coffee, cola *anything fizzy a No No* and alcohol.
Disinfectants also contains alcohol: avoid using!

*tobacco and alcohol I cant see anyone being stupid enough to give this to their bird, but in this day in age noting  surprises me *

4. How Much Do They Need?

If you only have 1 budgie, buy smaller bags to ensure the seeds are still fresh when you offer them to the bird. The nutrients are at their peak, and there's a smaller chance of bacteria or funghi being in it. A normal budgie needs about 2 overflowing tablespoons of seeds per day.
If you have multiple budgies, always have some extra bags ready. You'll be all out before you know it! Keep an eye on the date label on the package.

5. Conclusion

Budgies can eat a lot, but not everything. Quality and freshness should be valued over price: it can determine how long your budgie will live, and in what condition it will spend its life. Avoid sugar and salt, and never ever feed them an item from the poisonous list. Your budgie will thank you, and reward you with a playful friend that has a long and healthy life.