I want to buy a new parakeet, and I heard that the younger they are, the better. The only pet stores near my house are Petco and Petsmart. Do you know how young their parakeets usually are? Is it possible for me to buy a very young one from one of these stores?
2006-12-25 15:42:27 · 5 answers · asked by EGGLY 2 in Pets ➔ Birds
Young birds (budgies) you cant tell...they are smaller, ussually have a dark colored beak and the color of thier plumage is more duller than that of an adult. Thier tails and wing feathers might also be shorter. The best way to tell is the bars on thier fore head. You can't tell with all mutations but most of them. The bars will almost be touching the top of the cere (top part of beak) and this would be a very young bird. At 4 months the budgie starts to loose this bar and the bars climb back.
Im not trying to make Petco or Petsmart loose thier buisness they have great birds! Its better to go to a breeder though...they can tell you the exact age and you can even see the parents if they aren't an a avairy.
Good luck,
Joey
2006-12-25 16:50:22 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hi I breed budgies.
I let my baby budgies go to people or shops when they are 6 weeks old.
The bars on the head will just be touching the top of the cere (top part of beak) when they are 4 weeks old. At about 4-6 months the budgie starts to loose this bars on the top part of the head.
But my best friend took hers when he was 5 weeks old. A week too soon really cos he wasn't eating probably but he's fine now.
2006-12-26 03:55:12 · answer #2 · answered by Silly-Junos 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
New birds come in probably 8-12 weeks old. Some of the birds could be a year or older simply because they've never been sold (green variety, mostly). Ask to speak to an associate who is knowledgable about the birds or that cares for them regularly at the store.
Good luck.
2006-12-25 15:58:41 · answer #3 · answered by catty_kitty 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
if you look at a parakeet and it has white above it nose, it is not a young one, all young parakeets have color up to the beak,
I dated a chick in the 80s who father owned a pet store in town,,
2006-12-25 15:45:51 · answer #4 · answered by rich2481 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just ask them how young they are they'll tell you I bought them very young I believe 8wks old.Good Luck
2006-12-25 15:51:33 · answer #5 · answered by sugarbdp1 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋