When you start having kids, you know you will be having pets one day too. For some reason, little humans are always the biggest farmers and would have an entire zoo at home if we’d let them. Mine started with dreams about a dog and because their dreams matched my own, they got a dog. Two years down the road the dreams about a bird in the house got so loud that I couldn’t stand it. I had a couple of budgies as a child myself and decided to let my kids have the same experience. Ah, the things we do for our kids!

Having a bird will teach them responsibility I thought. And while that remains to be seen, we are happily embarking on this new journey. Our dog is literally (em)barking too.

Once we zeroed in on what kind of bird we wanted, the research started. We chose a budgie because it’s not too expensive, usually readily available at pet stores, doesn’t require extensive amounts of care, and is very entertaining. I always wanted a large parrot, but after learning that they live exceptionally long lives, are very sensitive, and cost thousands of dollars, we decided to stick with budgies.

You can find beautiful birds at your local Petco or PetSmart – I know, because we visited both. We picked a pair from Petco and also bought a very airy habitat made by You&Me. To say that kids were excited would be an understatement, they were overjoyed! The birds were confused and frightened at first, but they are making our home their home fast.

We have been on this journey for only a few days now, but there still is much to be learned. A big one for me is how to let them out of the cage to fly around safely and without furniture destruction, if you catch my drift here. Our German shepherd parrot parent Oska has to be restrained during the flying session and couches have to get covered with something to remain poop free. Other than that watching them fly is our most favorite activity these days.

I always thought dogs need a lot of supplies, but now I understand that birds are not very far behind. Besides the habitat, we needed toys, food, covers, protective pads, and I am sure we are still missing a few things. PetSmart and Petco are booth good options for local emergency supplies, but if you want to be smart about your spending, Chewy.com is your best bet.

We have been loyal customers of Chewy for a good while now, thanks to Oska. We used countless coupons with them, bought stuff on sale, got free shipping, and received continuous discounts on Autoship orders for all kinds of dog supplies. I can see that we will be doing the same for our budgies’ needs from now on.

To start the right way, we had $15 off Chewy coupon and put it to good use immediately. Because I don’t know much about birds, I ordered a few kinds of bird food right away to give our new chatterboxes some good variety. Now I hope we’ll find a favorite brand soon and won’t have to change it, because I would love to order it with Chewy’s Autoship option and save every time, especially 35% off initial order.

See more Chewy Promotions:

• Extra 20% Off Select Items with code BIRTHDAYSEPTEMBER21
• 10% Off select purchases when use code MULTISAVE10

Chewy has the best prices and the biggest variety, in my opinion. I bought two kinds of ZuPreem seed blends, A Gourmet Blend from Sunburst, and Vita Prima from Sunseed. Our birds seem to like them all, but we probably need more time to see the favorite kind emerge.

All in all, I definitely recommend getting a pair of birds if your kids are ready for some hands on experience. And once you get them, give Chewy a chance to supply you with everything you might possibly need to be a good bird parent.