Crystalkitsune85's posts

Outboard Motor (for a boat)

My Parakeet 101 thread is live! The link is in my signature if anyone wants to check all the hard work I put into it lol

@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.

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:

Sick and Aging Parakeets



Even if you give your Parakeet all the love and care one person could possibly muster, there is a chance your parakeet might get sick. There are many things that could happen with you parakeet either over time, or suddenly. Getting older, is a big possibility of them getting sick. Parakeet life spans can be up to eight years, maybe longer. But they can sometimes have internal problems that we can't see on the outside that when it comes out in the open it's usually to late to help them.

I don't want to list, all the problems that parakeets could have, but I'll at least list the basics.

♦ Stress: Sometimes if a parakeet is in a stressful environment they could get sick, or at least molt heavily. Molting is when their feathers fall out, but don't worry they will grow new feathers back after a while. If you notice bare spots on their heads or chest, and see feathers on the ground, it's just molting. The usually do it when the seasons change. If they molt a lot, you can get special molt conditioning food that'll help regrow feathers.

♦ Respiratory Issues: Trouble breathing, labored breathing, could be a couple of things. The vent they have on the bottom is also related to how they breathe. If a female gets egg locked, (which is an egg that hasn't exited the body and gets stuck) It can cause her to have trouble breathing and die. Other breathing problems can occur too, which can also cause problems and eventual death.

♦ Tumors: Sometimes, internally, a parakeet will get a tumor. Whether it is cancerous or just a mass, sometimes they can block nerves or cause other internal problems that can end up paralyzing your pet. Sometimes when that happens, they can't get to food, or water and end up dying.

♦ Seizures: It's possible that some neurological problems could happen to your parakeet. I had two different parakeets that had neurological problems. One was unable to walk, and ended up with shakes until she passed. The other one I had, would have seizures every so often, which would slow his heart each time. Before he passed, he had two in a row, and when I checked on him when I got home, he was gone.

♦ Old Age: There will be a time, when your friend will come to the end of it's life. Hopefully you had a good time with your feathery friend, and they lived a good life. It is totally normal to be sad and never want another pet after they have died. But just remember the good times you had together. Maybe you'll get a new friend someday, but if you follow the above tips, your parakeet should have a good life with you.

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!

Parakeet Snacks!



Parakeets don't just eat seeds. They enjoy other things as well. I'll give you a list of items to give them, and also a list of things to NEVER give them.


Clip these on the inside of the cage and watch them go nuts!

Cut broccoli into florettes and stick inbetween the bars of the cage. Very good treat and gives them vitamins

The spice doesn't bother them, since they don't have pain receptors on their tongues!

Best way is to knot a piece of twine at one end, feed them through then tie the string in the cage from the top.

Rolled oats, or Oatmeal is a treat some parakeets like. Purchase a small additional dish and put some of these inside for them to eat.

Make sure to only give them fresh SEED sprouts. You can sometimes get plain bird seed from a pet store from a bin. You can grow your own by putting seeds on a wet paper towel and keep the towel moist. Not many people do this, but it is something you can give them.

Tear up some leaves into a dish and let them chew on them. Another alternative is Chard and Kale. You can sometimes pick up a mix of all three.

Parakeet NO NOs!

X- Never give parakeets avocado. Every part of the Avocado plant is poisonous.

X- Avoid giving them anything that has salt or fried. So no potato chips, crackers or anything like that.

X- Make sure they don't consume anything with dairy. Parakeets cannot digest dairy.

X- Not a snack but keep parakeets in a well ventilated area. Try to keep them away from drafts, areas that get too hot or too cold, otherwise they could get sick or overheat.

X- REMOVE ALL TEFLON-RELATED ITEMS FROM YOUR HOUSE. The toxic odor omitted by Teflon is EXTREMELY deadly to birds. Shirts, cookware or whatever else that has been treated from Teflon can kill your bird if you use them. So be cautious of that.

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.

So, you've got a Parakeet. How do you Tame it?



Now, is the more difficult part of owning a Parakeet. If you haven't bought one already tame, then you have a bit of a challenge ahead of you. The best way, to tame your new friend, is with a lot of patience. And bribery. Some books I have read, suggest that you put a Millet Spray in your hand and hold your hand in the cage and wait. It may not happen right away, but the curious (and hungry) Parakeet may eventually crawl onto your hand.

Keep doing this technique over and over, each time slowly pulling the bird further out of the cage. If you get him/her out of the cage just sit still and let the bird eat the treat. Slowly over time the bird will be comfortable with your hands and then you can start getting it to sit on your finger. Again, put your hand in, press your finger gently against the bottom of it's chest and see if they step up. It may take some doing, but you can also attempt to slide a dowel or small stick for it to sit on instead, and then try getting it on your finger after it's outside the cage. Don't get discouraged! It takes a lot of time and effort to tame a bird.

Also NEVER try and reach in and grab your parakeet with your hand. That will result in almost immediate distrust and if you DO get a hold of it, it's natural instinct will be to bite, and parakeets can bite really hard.

If your friend gets out of the cage and lands onto something before it's tame, a few methods are using a stick/dowel to coax it off of wherever it is, or throw a towel over it before it flies off again. That way you can scoop them up and place them safely back into the cage. If you do have to grab a hold of them, don't snatch at it. Instead, inch your hand over gently and get a hold of it firm but gently and do expect a bite or two, until they're back inside their cage.

Training a Parakeet is a long term investment. If you work with them, get them used to you and then you neglect them for a long while, you may have to start over again with the basics. Even hand tamed ones will turn slightly 'wild' if you don't work with them on a daily basis. Even talking to them and reaching in for pets or to give kisses to, to acknowledge you still care, will help immensely in keeping them tame for you.

If you are new to owning a bird, it's best to start with one, and then later you can get another one if you so wish. However trying to tame a new bird, in the same cage as the other one, might get difficult. It's not impossible but the other bird will be in the way and might even revert back to it's wilder days when the new friend comes in. If you get two at once, you can try taming them at the same time. Giving them both attention and training them the same way as before, but two untamed parakeets can be a handful. There's always different scenarios depending on the bird. If you get two from the same place at the same time, and they look friendly towards each other, they'll be more likely to be able to be trained together. But if you have two stranger birds, they may not get along. If you get two of the same gender, there is a possibility they'll not be comparable and end up fighting.

Fighting parakeets are not fun. Usually the stronger one, will grab on to the other and bring him to the bottom of the cage where they'll roll around. Only way to get them to stop is either spray them with water or intervene with a hand. If you have that problem, you may need to return the new parakeet or put him in a separate cage.

If you're interested in breeding parakeets, that will be in the next section.

Moose

Well I'm doing my Parakeet 101. I'll post the link when I'm pretty much done.

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