does anyone know the basics about how to care for a parakeet?

Question

He is my first bird and I dont know how to tell if he is nervous, bored, stressed or hungry any info would be most appriciated Im totally in the dark with this one

Answer 1

There's so much to know about parakeets, I can't even begin to tell it all. At first he will be nervous. He may not be real active and may sit on his perch like a statue. That's normal, and he will come around once he realizes he's in a safe place. Give him a high quality parakeet seed mix, making sure you don't pile too much in the seed cup at a time. Watch the seed carefully. Budgies don't rummage deeply through the seed. The cup can be full, yet they can starve because they can't get at the seed under all the hulls. Give him clean water daily, or get a tube or bottle that will keep the droppings out of it. Have food and water in his cage at all times.

Do not give iceburg lettuce. It has no nutrition and can cause loose droppings. Budgies love wet romaine lettuce. Clip a piece on the side of his cage, or put a piece on top of the cage if you intend to let him out. Also offer raw broccoli, raw carrots, corn kernels, apples, berries. Budgies can eat pretty much anything you eat, except for avocados and chocolate. They love pasta with a little tomato sauce. They will be afraid of new foods at first, but if you put that food in the cage, or offer it through the bars, day after day, they will eventually try it. If they see you eating it in front of them (or pretending to eat), they will want it. Don't leave fresh foods in the cage for more than a couple hours; they will spoil and make him sick.

Keep his cage out of drafts and direct sun. Put his cage in a corner or against a wall, if possible, so he feels safer. Spend time with him, in the same room, singing, working, talking to him, so he sees you are friendly and he is safe with you. Budgies are very sociable beings; they love to be part of a flock. You are his flock. Do a web search on budgies. There is so much to know, and many good sites that can help you. Good luck with your little buddy.

Answer 2

Hi there. What is his name? A roomy cage located where there is plenty of sunshine and no drafts would help. Clean it very well once a week. A good pellet food, 10%fruits and veggies,10% seeds. All seed diets lead to malnutrition. Iceberg lettuce doesn't really have many nutrients. Try dark green leafy veggies, broccoli,shredded carrots. Have training sessions 10-15 minutes a day. It depends on if this bird is tame or not, but most can be won over. Rotate its toys . Create foraging toys like food wrapped in pieces of wax paper with the ends twisted, cholla wood with peanut butter to stuff treats in, Foraging for food is natural and fights boredom. Have food always available because their metabolisms are fast. Fresh water through a water bottle mounted on the outside of the cage keeps it from being destroyed and water cups full of poop soup. Eeww! E-mail me for training tips, if he/she is shy or scared. I'll tell you what worked for me. When you e-mail, your e-mail address is not revealed.Avoid mirrors, so that the bird bonds with you and not the mirror. Talk to the bird like you would a baby or small child. They are flock birds, and since you are the flock leader, he/she follows you. Act like you enjoy the new food being introduced and the bird will get curious and try it. Give a bath 1-3 times a week. 2 inches of warm water and flick the water with your fingers and act all happy and the bird will get excited and try.Otherwise he may just look up at you. I used a cuttlebone with a mineral block backing. Some believe it's unecessary.Grit has been found unecessary because these birds eat soft foods and hull their seeds. Pigeons need grit for sure. Gee, I think this is a good start. Good luck and let me know if I can help with anything and have a tweet year.

Answer 3

Parakeets are sometimes very temper mental. If you want it to be tame from the beginning, if at all possible, don't put him in a cage. Make sure it's wings are clipped so when it flies it doesn't fly any higher than two feet off of the ground.

If you were caged, you would probably get nervous, bored and stressed too...The best way to tell if they are any of these is if the start picking out their feathers alot...boredom is very common!

Hungry...always hungry...try giving him a piece of iceberg lettuce every now and then...about once a week...a cuttle bone...or some spray..I think that is what it's called...it's a long skinny leafy looking thing with super fine small seeds on it.
You can mist him every so often with a warm spray bottle of water. Not too much..but they like it after awhile.

This is a inexpensive solution (cages are expensive) get a wooden (or whatever) box where the sides are about one to two inches high and place a perch on it. If it starts out on a perch without any cage restraints...it will be tame in no time...Mine actually got to be so tame that when I would go to bed...he would come running across the room and sleep on my pillow. Hint*...Put a towel on your pillow* Good Luck

Answer 4

I Have Owned A Couple Parakeets, But They All Passed Away. I Think Its Because I Was Dumb And Bought From A Pet Shop! The One I Had Just Bought A Couple Months Ago Passed Away Right When The 14 Day Guarantee Was Up. You Have A Budgie Or Parakeet? I Had A Budgie But The Pet Store Called It A Parakeet.

Answer 5

I don't know about the other stuff, but I had 2 parakeets for years and as far as basic care, all it really took was to feed them, water them, change the paper on their cage floor regularly, and make sure they didn't escape from the cage, and catch them when they did.You would be wise to somehow lock the doors on the cage where the food and water goes, because that's how the little ****s escaped, routinely.

Answer 6

Here are a few articles for you to read on bird care. They come from the Drs Foster and Smith website.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/category_summary.cfm?dept_id=0&siteid=5&acatid=360