My budgies use as much electricity as a bunch of teenagers

I’ve been waffling back and forth for ages now about whether to move the budgies into their own room. The bulk of what’s stopping me are random emotion-based concerns, but I do also have some logistical issues. One is that even though it’s not ideal to have the cages so close to the kitchen, it is really convenient to wash food bowls and refill waters so close to the sink and refrigerator. Another issue is availability of power outlets; once I started counting up all of the budgie-gear that requires electricity I realized that the flock is a bunch of electricity hogs! Here’s a run-down of how they are impacting my utility bill.

1. AvianSun Lamp and Timer. Budgies need a few hours of full spectrum lighting every day to assist with Vitamin D production and absorption. Just having them near a sun-soaked window does not work for this as glass blocks the essentials rays of light. On the flip side, this isn’t a lamp that I can leave on all day because they really only need 3-4 hours per day and more than that is overkill. So, the avian lamp is on a timer that goes on every day from 12pm – 3pm and takes up two electrical outlets because the timer covers both.
2. Night Light(s). Toby is an infrequent night terror sufferer who refuses to be covered at night. She needs ample lighting overnight so when she wakes up and sees a scary shadow she can see well enough to know it’s not a murderous night predator.
3. Thermo-Perch. Even though the budgies are in a draft free zone and we keep the house at a steady 69 (Fahrenheit) in winter I have a thermo perch in Toby and Kevin’s cage to warm up their feet. Kevin loves that perch and naps there every afternoon.
4. Air Purifier. This is for both humans and budgies, I suppose. They have a dedicated purifier that helps clear the air of their dander and dust. It also helps clear out cooking smells and generally keeps the air fresh for them. It’s nice, even in the deep of winter, to have some air movement too so it doesn’t feel stagnant.
5. Amazon Echo Dot . The budgies have their very own Amazon Echo so they can listen to music during the day. I love that I can just pick a type of music and it will play for hours on end. It can also be turned on and off by using the app. If they are agitated I play the lullabies channel to set a nice relaxed tone.
6. Night Lamp. Totally distinct from the night lights, this is just a tiny little table lamp that I use to help signal night time. The first stage of my process is to start dimming their ceiling light and turn on the little light so they know that bed time is approaching. I leave this on in addition to the night lights. It doesn’t give off much light but it’s a nice way to help them know that bedtime is coming, and that when I turn it off in the morning it’s time to start the day.
7. Vacuum. We have a Roomba and a Shark Vacuum for the whole house, but the budgies have a dedicated stick vacuum. It’s small enough to fit in a corner unobtrusively and light enough that I don’t mind dragging it out every day (or multiple times a day during molting!).

I think that’s about it, although if I didn’t have a light in the ceiling I would have to add at least one floor lamp. Seven outlets for three little budgies! If they do move into the primary bedroom I will have to invest in a Power Strip in order to plug in all of their accessories.  It makes me wish that I had tracked my electricity spend before Toby, and then as we added more budgies and more gear, so see the impact on the utility bottom line. I should have also tracked keeping the house warmer in winter and cooler in summer than we used to pre birds. When we think about monthly costs of budgie ownership it’s common to factor in food, toys, perches and all the other basics, but maybe less obvious to think about increased electrical and other utilities. Possibly it’s too small an amount to worry about for your household, but I know that we’ve made changes that definitely impacted our bottom line.

Any extra spend is totally worth it, of course, for healthy happy budgies. They can have all the electronic devices they want, as far as I’m concerned, although I would probably draw the line at IPads I’m sure there are budgies out there that enjoy some screen time!