I Have the Cutest Little Parakeet But.....?

Question

I'm not sure if there's anything I don't know that's I should know. I know to play with him/her for at least 30 minutes a day and change her food and water daily and of course clean her cage once a week? Anything else? I'm new at this.

Answer 1

Change the food and water daily: Keep the water fresh and clean! Let the bird get used to you and the surroundings, doing nothing but maintaining his food/water and cage, before trying to train the bird to perch on your finger.
Add fresh food frequently: Feed fresh veggies such as broccoli, kale, beets, peas, carrots, parsley, and cooked yams, sliced apple, citrus, and the like. Food can be clipped to the bars of the cage or chopped small in a food processor and put in a bowl.
Offer treats: Millet sprigs or "sprays" are a favorite treat, but don't feed too much of it (about 1/2" per day), as it is fattening like junk food. Avoid sweets or excess oats, both of which are fattening.
Try to interact with your birds daily for at least 30-90 minutes. Without regular and sufficient attention, they will lose interest in human interaction. A pair will tend to bond with one another (regardless of sex) and ignore humans, but through interaction, you can be considered part of the flock.
Let it fly: Think about how your bird(s) can get exercise. Many people assume they can just leave the birds in a small cage all day, where the birds, which in the wild fly and exercise a lot, otherwise get fatty and fat related illnesses. They should be taken out to fly every day.
Be conscientious. Budgies (parakeets) aren't a huge burden, but they need informed, caring involved caretakers to lead the best lives and offer the most in return. Be prepared to do some daily care, maintenance and offering of attention and time to talk and play with your birds.
Tips
If you're gone a lot, you can play music when you're gone, maybe even on a timer. Soft music helps ease the transition into a new place.
Budgies need 12 hours of sleep a day. They get most of it at night, and nap during the day at times. A low T.V. is OK. Keeping the cage covered helps them feel safe and sleep better.
You can build a rope lattice in the windows and/or give them a playpen, or build a buy things to climb on and play with outside the cage.
If circumstances allow, you can consider giving them a good view of other birds outside a window,out of sunlight, perhaps at a feeder (although they may become more interested in the other birds than they do you). Let them climb and play on safe things. Keep the floor vacuumed and be careful no one steps on the bird.
Have your bird checked up by a vet initially and at least annually and get a baseline health reading when you first get the bird. Clean the cage bars with soap and water regularly, particularly after you've clipped food to the bars.
Warnings
Parakeets get very cold, very quickly. Make sure you keep your pet in a warm environment. Be careful when hanging the bird cage from the ceiling as this is far from the heat source in most houses. Make sure the cage is not near any windows. It can get very drafty near a window and your bird can die from this very slight draft.
Don't leave veggies or fruits out for more than 4 hours as they can develop too much bacteria.
Birds naturally hide their illnesses to avoid looking vulnerable to predators, so you need to be very alert to know if your bird is behaving unusually or too lethargic. A book on budgies will help explain how to monitor and care for their health and explain what to do if they are ill (step one is keep an ill budgie warm, 85-90 degrees so its body doesn't have to work to generate the warmth). By the time a bird is showing symptoms, it is usually pretty sick and probably has been for awhile. Time to see a vet, ASAP. Birds have high metabolisms, and their condition can degrade very quickly without proper care. Catching and treating problems early is essential. Supply a tonic during bad moults.
Take strong precautions not to let your bird(s) escape, and reminding family members, putting screens on doors and windows, and thinking very strategically. If a parakeet escapes, it will most likely die from exposure and confusion.
Never feed any parrots chocolate, avocado, coffee or alcohol, and avoid salt. They are poisonous to them.
Be extremely careful of fumes, sprays and chemicals in the house, as budgies are very susceptible to them. Burnt Teflon is highly poisonous to them, so try not to use anti-stickware, and if you do, be sure not to burn the pan.
Turn ceiling fan off when birds are out if they can fly. Fans kill and injure far too many birds.
Parakeets are attracted to shiny things. If you let your bird fly loose, be careful in the kitchen! Lots of sharp and/or dangerous things (e.g., mirrors framed with painted wood or near toilets, open toilets, sinks, knives, mixers, etc.) are attractive to them.
Tropical birds spend much of their time under the canopy of the forest, so be careful to give your 'keet a shady place to be in if the sun is very hot. Avoid putting the cage in full sun on hot days.
The sap on evergreen trees is poisonous to many tropical birds, so if you have a live wreath or Xmas tree, please put the bird in another room far away from even the odor of the evergreen. The bird might be attracted to the shiny decorations, so be very careful.
Things You'll Need
Information: Get a good book about budgies and read it! If possible, supplement with good online budgie information. There are some excellent websites out there and some mediocre to poor sites with limited or dated information.
Cage: Big cage (at LEAST 18" - 24" wide, height less important)
Perches: Perches of various diameters (not sandpapered or gritty).
Quality bird food: Food dish: You'll need a food dish. Try to keep it out of poop's path.
Water bottle: Water bottle (preferable to open dish or dispenser as it eliminates the possibility of poop and other contaminants).
Toys: Not thin brittle plastic ones which they can nibble through and choke on shards. Good luck with your bird. Hope it all goes well.

Answer 2

Karen S has it all together on her answer...and I LOVE it when people reference their advice as long as the advice is substantive, and is backed by experienced individuals with a solid background in this field.
How else can we disperse information that has been proven to work? Data is an important part of the science of Behavior, Biology and Zoology, all of which are involved in Aviculture and Behavior.
Referencing is essential in keeping the central core of information clean, and free of The "He Said-She Said" factor.
Aviculture has come a long way since the days of seed-only diets and parrots chained by their ankles to T-Stands.
We need to keep up with current scientific discoveries and understand that what we know now would have been considered absurd just 50 years ago.
But along with that, look at our method of communication. The very idea that there would be thousands of people with the access and ability to share information about our birds any time of the day and night world-wide would have been considered science fiction back then. So little was known at the time.
Please appreciate this forum and reference like crazy. Share websites. Learn. Teach. Ask. Share.
Our birds will be better for it.

Answer 3

Here is a little guide:
Feed the little keety about twice a day, and offer her a variety of fruits, including: Grapes, Strawberries, Raspberries, Chooped Kiwi, Pineapple, Apple, and Banana.
If you want, offer her some raw Ramen Noodles. It can offer as a tasty snack and a toy (Getting and peeling the noodles off).
Offer her lots of toys, including mirrors, perches, and Colorful Swings. But the ultimate form of amusment is another parakeet, maybe a possible mate! Keep cleaning her cage once a week, but changing bottom liners every other day would be great too. Play with her often and maybe teach her a trick or too. Hope this helps!
Dont pay attention to the stupid *** one ahead of me. I hate it when they copy from sites!

Answer 4

Be sure to keep your little bird away from drafts/breezy areas in your house. They are sensitive to chilly temperatures and can die if they are exposed to a continual draft.

Pellets are better than seed for birds and unfortunately parakeets are one of the most difficult birds to convert to pellets. Seed has little nutrition - even though the package says "vitamin fortified" doesn't mean your bird is getting adequate nutrition. The companies coat the seed shells with the vitamins and the birds don't eat the shells. Seed is also high in fat and can lead to fatty liver disease in birds. Contact an avian veternarian in your area on how convert birds to pellets or look at this website for tips http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/ourfoods/index.html

...it's not an easy process, but if you're commited, it will be done.

But it sounds like you're doing great with your new parakeet! Enjoy...parakeets are so sweet. :)

Answer 5

i have under no circumstances heard of a speaking parakeet both! yet who's to assert that's no longer plausible? it ought to ensue, yet would take a lengthy time period! in case you seek for "speaking Parakeet" on YouTube and watch the first actual video, it has a Parakeet speaking up a hurricane! it is going to take a lot of time and repeating! strong success!

Answer 6

Hi

Vary your parakeets diet, seeds, veggies, pellets, etc. Wipe the grate of her cage every day, and clean the bottom of the cage every other day. Inhaling the "dust" from dried droppings is very dangerous to parakeets, though you might not smell any odor at all.

MOST OF ALL, LOVE HER UNCONDITIONALLY!

Pipsqueak! and Cheri
www.mynameispipsqueak.com

Answer 7

Seed is not enough... parakeets ARE parrots, and need a variety in their diet.

Offer your keet fresh veggies and fruit. Mine love broccoli. Try carrots, green peppers, bananas, apple.

Also, if the cere (area around the nostrils) is dark blue, you have a male. If it is brown/very pale blue you have a female!

Answer 8

Along with a variety of foods it would be good to switch from seeds to a pellet feed as its main diet

Answer 9

something to enjoy and exercise with... a mirror with a bell, swing, or a ladder. All depending on the shape and size of the cage.

Answer 10

Make sure to rotate their toys to keep them stimulated. Also I read somewhere to keep them away from a kitchen if you have teflon coated pots & pans. Something about teh teflon heating emits an odorless gas that hurts them but doesn't bother us.