Getting Started



Owning a Parakeet doesn't have to be scary or intimidating. Parakeets are actually the most easiest of birds to take care of. Because of their small size, they're able to live in a smaller area, then say...a full sized Macaw.

The Basics to owning a Parakeet (Or Budgie as they're also referred to as) are as follows:

♥ Buying a decent sized cage for your Parakeet. If you're only getting one Parakeet, a cage like This Will suffice.

♥ Make sure to buy bird food. Some pet stores will sell various types of seeds for different birds. Make sure the kind you're getting is specific for parakeets. Sometimes seeds will be for multiple birds, so just check the pictures. Normally I go to Walmart and get This kind.

♥ If you have decided to only purchase one Parakeet, you need to make sure you have enough time to socialize with it. Parakeets in the wild are social animals. They gather in flocks, so they're not used to being alone. If you don't have the time to spend with it, maybe don't get one right now. The other alternative is to get a pair of Parakeets, so at least they have each other for companionship.

♥ Again if you are getting one Parakeet, be sure to give it toys. Parakeets LOVE to play with bells, plastic rings, and mirrors. It's important to give them a mirror, because if they see their reflection they will think they aren't alone and talk to themselves during the times you're not with them.

♥ Cuddle bone and vitamin blocks are good for parakeets. Cuddle Bone is good for giving them calcium and will help with keeping their beaks sharpened and from over growing. Also you can get perch covers which are covered with sandpaper that help keep their nails trimmed. But some Parakeets will like to chew on things, and they will chew on that too, so be aware of that.

♥ Parakeets can come in a variety of colors. From the basic yellow/green and blue/white but there are other variations. Be sure the color of parakeet that interests you!

♥ When choosing a Parakeet, if you want an adult male, the Cere will be bright blue. On a female it will be milky white. If you come across a cere that is pink, that means the parakeet hasn't matured sexually and it could be either or.

♥ Some things to consider when getting a Parakeet. If you get a male, he'll most likely be loud. Males are very vocal, and will chatter or squawk. Most times when they are in a flock, they'll just sit and chatter among themselves. The more parakeets the LOUDER it'll get. Females are normally quiet, and don't normally make noise unless a male is nearby. Be cautious about females however, like chickens they may start laying infertile eggs around breeding season*.

*More about breeding parakeets in another section

♥ If possible, acquire a parakeet and at a young age, and from a breeder. Someone who hand raises them and sells them directly to people and not through stores. Hand tamed parakeets will be a lot easier to handle for a beginner (Even though the price of a hand-tamed one will be significantly more than a store bought one. But I really think it's worth it.)
However if you cannot find a breeder and a pet store is your best bet, then in the next section we'll talk about taming parakeets.

♥ If you get a Parakeet at a pet store, have the store accociate helping you, to clip ONE of their wings. This will help you later when you are taming it. Clipping one wing, will put them off balance and keep them from flying around the room. If they have both wings whole, they can fly up high and end up getting somewhere you can't retrieve them, or hurt themselves while erratically flying

Pairing off Parakeets



So you've gotten experienced with the taming and you've decided you want some more Parakeets. If you have a male and female you may have already noticed they're pretty close. They'll preen each other, the male will feed the female, and they'll be all lovey dovey. Male and female parakeets will breed together if they're both sexually mature. When the female is in her 'prime' and ready to mate, the cere mentioned before will go from milky white, to brown and crusty. That means she's in the best state to have some babies! If you're really interested in breeding, a few things you'll need.

♥ Essentially a larger and different cage than the one you own already. Even if you put the other one away temporarily and use the new cage during breeding. Reason I say a different cage, is you'll need to snip a few of the bars of the cage off, for the bird box you'll need, to be accessible.

♥ A wooden bird box. Bird Box

♥ A cuttlebone and vitamin block for the female. Eggs take up calcium from the female. When she lays too many eggs she can get a calcium deficiency and get sick.

♥ Be sure to attach the box to the cage, and make sure the hole and perch are accessable through the inside of the cage. Like mentioned above, parts of the bars will need to be removed unless the breeding cage you acquired has a door for this purpose, then don't worry. But do make sure the cage is either securely on the cage, or setting on something next to the cage, like a stack of books.

♥ Don't be a perv! Or do, so you can learn! Male parakeets when mounting a female, will get on top of her and then he'll hook his wings around her, and they will rub vents together. Vents or cloaca is the opening where poop and eggs come out. Like most birds and reptiles. The male will mate with the female a few times and in no time, a female will have laid a clutch of eggs. Every other day, until there's about 5-6. Not every egg with hatch. Some might never hatch. But the first one should start hatching at about 2 weeks after it's laid.

Parakeet Babies and Eggs



Parakeet eggs are very small. They're slightly bigger than a dime, but smaller than a nickle. Baby parakeets hatch out pink, blind and deaf. Daddy bird will get food for momma, and momma will feed the babies. They will continue to grow and in about two months, they'll be pretty much full grown



If you desire to start training them, do so at about 3 weeks. At that time, the babies will have their hearing, and a little bit of sight and start getting their down feathers. Start handling them gently and for a few minutes each time. Be sure to wash your hands before hand, so you don't get them sick. If you keep handling them regularly while they're growing up, soon they'll be old enough for weaning and perch training.

Baby parakeets start out squishy. Slowly as they grow, the'll start to get their chest bone which goes from their chest down to their vent. At the middle stages, babies will start getting their chest bone, but their bottoms will still be heavy, so when they try to sit on perches they end up falling backwards because of the imbalance. Just be sure to be there close by to catch them, and only do perch training over a soft surface, like while sitting on a bed or couch. A good tip, is get a small wooden ladder, put them at the bottom of it while holding the top, and urge them to use their beak and feet to climb towards you. If they are attached to you as they should be, they'll want to get closer to you for warmth and they will try to climb the ladder to get to you.


Next section is snacks and things to avoid giving parakeets.

Parakeet Colors (WOW!)

Parakeets as mentioned before, can come in a WIDE variety of colors. Some pictures below will show you just how many possibilities there are for color choices!

Questions and Comments



Here I will list all the questions asked in the thread. So it will be like a FAQ for anyone else to read through. If you have any questions about parakeets that I forgot to mention, feel free to post them now. Comments are also appreciated so feel free to talk about any of your pet birds in the remainder of the thread!

♦Asked And Answered Questions:

@Xanthan: Parakeets are like the one thing I guess I'm passionate about. As well as know a lot about so I thought I'd share my knowledge to those out there who might want a pet parakeet.

@Xanthan:

With some aspects, Cockatiels are much like Parakeets with care. Except they are bigger and need more space. When I was REALLY small, and hardly remember, my grandparents used to have large birds. They had a Blue and Gold Macaw and I think a Cockatoo. And a couple of other smaller ones like Conures. I don't remember back that far, but I do remember we had Cockatiels in the kitchen for a while. We bought two from a breeder, thinking they were a male and female but they were two females. One was tamed the other one wasn't. We got them both males, and had bird boxes on the cages for them, and only one laid eggs, but we never got babies. Eventually my grandmother got tired of the noise so we sold them to a guy my grandfather worked with.

@icedchai: I'm glad you thought the thread was informative ^^ And I'll list the names.

MALES:
Teenie
Pookers (Spooky)
Gummy Bear
Sweetie
Munchkin
Nibbles,
Hoshi
Fluffy
Cuddles
Chocobo

FEMALES:

Cookie (Who actually passed away last night)
Dumpling (who is sick and will pass soon)
Nugget
Trouble
Pipsqueak

@icedchai: Actually later that day after I posted that, Dumpling passed. So now I'm down one more female. I have four left.

The boys are all doing well. Loud and obnoxious as usual lol.