Nearly each common seed mixture for budgies and other birds contains
some peeled oat (see photo on the right). One
can also buy oat as it comes from the field, so
the budgies have to work for their food because it is not peeled.
Unpeeled oat should be a component of sprouted grain mixtures. Do
never use peeled oat for sprouting, it molders too quickly!
Peeled oat costs about one Euro per kg in Germany, the price for natural, unpeeled oat is nearly the same.
If you know a farmer close to where you live, you can ask him if he treats his oat with chemicals or not. If he doesn't, you should go and get some oat panicles for your budgies - but don't expect the birds to like it immediately. My birds had some trouble with this naturally served oat because they had to search each single grain. It is not so easy to reach them, and birds who are used to get their food from little dishes don't like the idea of working for their food in the beginning. By now, my budgies love oat panicles and work for hours on feeding without getting bored. The figure below shows some oat panicles.
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