Parakeet Care 101: How To Take Care of a Parakeet

You are considering introducing a parakeet into your life. Like any conscientious pet owner, you also want to educate yourself about your new feathery buddy before bringing them home. Parakeets entered our list of the 13 finest pet birds since they are among the most beautiful birds seen anywhere. With an outline of the most crucial knowledge and tools you will need to give the correct care for a parakeet, we are here to help you get ahead on this amazing bird.

Parakeet Info

Just what is a parakeet? Actually, the easiest question in the world to respond to is not this one. As our specialists report, the name “parakeet” is used in many countries to describe several bird species. The bird we call parakeet in the United States is the budgerigar, sometimes referred to as the “budgie.” In other parts of the world, they refer to the budgerigar as a parakeet; rather, they call birds of the genus Psittacula, sometimes known as ringneck parakeets, parakeets.

Simply put, the parakeets we will be discussing here are the little, vibrant “budgies,” which originated in interior Australia. Actually a species of parrot, these birds frequently have long tail feathers and a slender physique.

Types of Parakeets

Unbelievably, there are about 115 parakeet species worldwide, encompassing all parakeets rather than only budgies. More specifically, this figure comprises any little parrot count. Common ones housed in captivity are:

Australian/American Budgerigar:

These are the birds we refer to as “parakeets” here in the US (and will discuss throughout this page). Their colors range from green, yellow, blue, and white to their scalloped markings on the nape, back, and wings.

English Budgerigar:

Though larger and usually quieter and calmer than the Australian/American budgerigar, this one is comparable. Originally imported to England, budgies were intentionally developed to be calmer and bigger than the common budgie that gained popularity in America in the 1800s.

Ringneck parakeet

Usually green in color, ringneck parakeets are midsize parrots; males have a red or black neck ring, while females have a gray neck ring. They are teachable in speech.

Monk parakeet

Small and brilliant green in hue, the monk parakeet or quaker parrot boasts an orange beak and gray breast. They can pick various words and sentences and grow in their capacity for speech.

Lineolated parakeets

Mostly green in color, lineolate parakeets are observed in dark green or even black. They even feature stripes.

Names for a Parakeet

Parakeet names typically range from sweet and beautiful to hinting at their tropical roots. Some that are popular right now are Sunny, Tiki, Sweetie, and Baby. See our bird name list for even more name inspiration for your feathery companion.

Parakeet Lifespan

The kind of parakeet it is determines how long it lives. For example, whereas monk parakeets can live upwards of 20 to 30 years, budgies, the ones discovered here in the United States, can live anywhere from 7 to 15 years (with the possibility of survival to 20 and beyond).

There are several factors that can affect a parakeet’s lifespan, such as:

• Diet and Exercise
• Contacts with infectious diseases
• Running across predators, including dogs, cats, ferrets, certain reptiles, and snakes
• Degree of personal contact
• Stress levels might change blood pressure and feather quality.

There are even more specific factors that can affect their lifespans. Birds given a seed-based diet without supplements of fresh vegetables, fruits, grains, pellets, vitamins and minerals, for example, may develop ailments earlier in life. Among these could be disorders, including:

• fatty liver syndrome
• hypovitaminosis A (caused abnormalities in the kidneys, lungs, and reproductive tracts)
• calcine deficits
• cardiac condition

Furthermore, wing clipping is not advised, even if it was accepted as usual in the past. It reduces a bird’s whole quality of life by interfering with one of their most important natural activities—that of flying.

Parakeet Behavior

Parakeets, like any pet, show both typical and possibly alarming habits that would be reason for you to call your veterinarian.

Typical activities consist in:

being active, perching on branches, flying within a safe environment, preying for food, including investigating the bottom of the cage, playing with toys, and vocalizing and socializing with other birds or humans throughout the day.
Depending on their activity, healthy parakeets should also nap regularly—about 12 hours at night with one to two more naps during the day.

Activities calling for a veterinarian’s call include:

• Sitting on the perch fluffed and hiding their head behind their wings for longer than normal. Although this is a typical sleeping pattern, there is reason for concern if the bird does not rouse and react carefully when a human tries to contact or if it is happening for several hours a day.
• Indices of respiratory pain: Among these are open-beak breathing—that is, tail bobbing up and down when perched.
• Leg or wing slouch
• Problems climbing, walking, or perching.
• Pushing food back or throwing up
• Either loose or absent stools
• Every one of the above could point to underlying medical problems needing expert attention.

Are parakeets easy to take care of?

You might be asking: Parakeets require what level of maintenance? Regarding the daily time spent with their parakeet, how much should a bird parent allot? And what annual parakeet care expenses could you be expecting to pay for?

Generally speaking, parakeets have a low maintenance level among other birds. Since they require less upkeep than other parrots, many view them as the “perfect parrot.”.

Still, keep in mind that birds generally want lots of social interaction. Offering a good, balanced diet, including foraging, to engage them all day helps them flourish. Birds should be in direct sunlight, ideally not via a window. Should that prove unworkable, everyday UVB exposure will improve their general mental state. Their diet should also include fresh fruits or vegetables every day.

Regarding the time you should spend with your parakeet, that depends on the bird. Aim for at least 30 minutes every day, as social animals like you spend most of your time with need lots of attention. Some parakeets, however, are shier than others and could require pauses from human contact. Parakeets should spend at least several hours during the day in undisturbed repose. Of course, never have your bird participate in human activities if it seems afraid.

Their demand for attention does not always depend on immediate touch. Sometimes spending quality time with your bird means just sitting in the same room and chatting with it or doing your own activities while it is doing its thing. Keep them close to the activity core of your house so they may experience social interaction.

Parakeets are among the more reasonably priced animals as well, though. Food runs at an expected cost of between $50 and $150 a year. Usually costing between $75 and $150, an annual wellness visit by a veterinarian Additional costs could include:

New perches; cage furnishings; toys; veterinarian treatment should the bird become sick.
Generally speaking, parakeet care should be budgeted for minimum $300 year.

Do Parakeets Need To Be in Pairs?

All birds are social animals, so having a friend usually helps them. Still, if people can commit enough time to socialize with the parakeet, they can be friends. Nonetheless, some parakeets could rather have another bird of the same species as a friend than a human.

Keeping your parakeet in the same genus is best if you want a friend for it. Parakeets can therefore coexist with other parakeets, canaries, finches, or other Psittacula-genus tiny birds.

Mixing any birds, though, requires careful observation to make sure they interact harmonically. Before putting birds into a flock, they should also be tested for infectious diseases.

Parakeet Supplies List

Whether you keep a parakeet (or any pet, for that matter), there are always those first one-time purchases as well as items you’ll need to routinely buy.

One-time buys consist of:

• An eagle cage
• Water and food dishes
• Perches Toys
• Carrier or travel cage

For colder climates, a heater or heated perch is optional.
optional UV lamp for birds lacking direct sunlight
Consistent supplies include:

• Food substitute sites
• Replacement toys for a paper substrate
• More specifics on all of these items are included below.

What Do Parakeets Eat?

Pellets, seeds, and fresh meals should all make up parakeets’ diets.

Generally speaking, parakeets should eat half of their diet as formulated. About 25 percent seeds and 25 percent fresh fruit and vegetable supplements should comprise the other half.

• Squash Leafy greens
• potatoes sweet
• Peppers and carrots
• Apps
• bananas and pears
• Graspers
• Mangoan
• Papella

Their diet can consist of grains including rice, sorghum, quinoa, spelt, oats and millet. Foods and organic components are advised to be best by experts.

You should also never give your parakeet some of the things listed here. They consist:

• Avocados onions
• Garlic:
• Nut macadamia
• caffeine
• The pits found in every fruit
• Apple seeds.
• Processed goods meant for human consumption like chocolate, candy, and chips
• Products related to dairy
• Meat and eggs

Best Food for Parakeets

Consider these rules when deciding what food your parakeet needs:

Examining the nutritional data on a given bird meal, the protein level should be between 6 and 31 percent and the fat level should be between 4 and 5 percent. (Note that these suggestions might differ depending on the age, lifestyle, reproductive status, and health state of your bird, so be sure to talk with your veterinarian.)
Birds typically consume seeds more than pellets; hence, it is advisable to choose a diet that is pelleted only rather than a mix of pellets and seeds/fruits.
Parakeets should ideally be fed a diet of 25 percent fresh vegetables, fruits and grains, up to 25 percent seeds, and somewhere between 50 and 75 percent pellets.

Parakeet Housing

The price will differ since bird cages range in size from a single-bird cage to an aviary. Your parakeet will need a cage large enough for wing stretching and flying.

What Do Parakeets Need in Their Cage?

Parakeets need different-sized, shaped, and textured perches. They should be distributed among the cages at several tiers.
They must have fresh water and food within reach. Stainless steel is better, even if most parakeet feeding and water dishes are plastic. You should ideally have two food bowls and two water bowls.
There should be a minimum three or more enrichment toys on hand. A monthly rotation of these will keep your bird fascinated.
To meet their hunger, cardboard tubes made from paper towels or toilet paper rolls can be housed in the cage. Additionally, placed on the bottom of the grate for chewing are untreated North American hardwood branches and small wood chunks.
To enable bathing, place a dish of shallow water at the bottom of the cage.
Parakeet bedding—non-absorbent, paper-based materials like paper towels, packing paper, or recycled newspaper used to catch droppings (poop) and thrown food—also has to be in your cage. Depending on their level of dirtiness, the papers should be changed once a week or daily.

Important note:

Never let your bird access beds or tents to sleep in or cloth fibers. Many small birds have sadly perished from improper chewing on the cloth and fibers, which results in ingesting.

For vet visits or any other reason you would leave home with your bird, you also want to make investments in a traveling tiny cage or carrier.

Vitamin D is also necessary for birds. Most windows screen UV light; hence, it is advised to use bird-specific UV lamps that fit the side of the cage. production of vitamin D depends on this.

Regarding the whereabouts of your parakeet’s cage, you will have to satisfy some fundamental needs:

Mental wellness: Keeping your bird in the middle of the action in your house can help tremendously; nonetheless, parakeets should also have a quiet area for retreat if necessary. Because of the possible exposure to poisonous fumes from burning food, or Teflon, which can injure birds, it is advised against keeping birds in the same airspace as a kitchen.
Parakeets call for a temperature between 68 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Noise levels: Parakeets themselves can occasionally get noisy; hence, noise levels can range from low to high. They may startle from sudden, loud claps or bangs; hence, avoiding these kinds of sounds is crucial.
Safety precautions taken to bird-proof a room consist in:

• Verifying closed windows and doors
• Making sure the bird cannot nibble on anything except a pre-approved bird toy or something else entirely wooden
• closing apertures to objects containing water, such toilet bowls, fish tanks or pots of water
• Make sure they don’t have access to any poisonous plants, preventing access to little dark corners and cavities the bird could consider as a nest and try to get inside

Parakeet Health

Parakeets have occasionally been reported to have specific health issues more often than some other birds. Veterinarians regularly observe, for example, bird liver diseases, including fatty liver syndrome, which causes extra fat in the liver. Bird owners can keep to a parakeet diet that is lower in fat and offers proper ratios of proteins and other elements to avoid these disorders.

pain,Many parakeets develop obesity and suffer from ailments connected to it, including heart diseases, high cholesterol, joint pain, and arthritis.

Vets also note that parakeets have more frequently occurring tumors than other birds. Though the cause is uncertain, genetics could be involved.

A low-fat, balanced diet with more variety in the food options—probably including some degree of a pelleted diet—should keep your parakeet in good health. They also need to be housed suitably, be able to exercise, and be kept safe from predators. However, keep in mind that parakeets can mask any symptoms of illness; hence, annual visits with an avian veterinarian are really necessary.

How To Hold a Parakeet

Parakeets are delicate and prone to damage, so be advised given they are such small birds. Treat them carefully, as you would a piece of exquisite porcelain. Birds lack a diaphragm and must move their keel to breathe; hence, never grasp a bird tightly or press the ridge of the breastbone. Never grab the tail or wings of a bird, either.

How To Train a Parakeet

These are some of the best tips our professionals have for training parakeets:

Positive reinforcement increases the likelihood of the bird engaging in a behavior by means of a reward it prefers. A seed, a nut or perhaps a head scratch could all be utilized as a reward.
Try to be patient. Some birds could need more time to trust you. Developing a healthy relationship may depend on making sure you always present valuable rewards when dealing with your bird.
To tame a parakeet, expect weeks to months—sometimes even longer. Youngsters raised under hand are the easiest to control.
Being prey animals, parakeets flee from danger. Starting to bond with nervous birds in a small room, darkening the lights, and speaking gently to them is a great approach.
Teaching your parakeet “step up” will help them to grab your finger and perch. Straight forward with your finger and proceed boldly under its breast. Most will pick up the finger instinctively.
To help your parakeet overcome its hand-related anxiety, feed it goodies from your open palm.
Rather than one long session, give regular, brief sessions.
Never scold or threaten your bird.

How To Get a Parakeet To Trust You

Being calm, kind, and understanding helps a human build a closer relationship with their bird. Never prod a bird to act. Rather, always ask a bird to perform something; if they object, honor that. People have to be on the lookout for birds since they indicate to us when they do not wish to engage in particular activities.

Generally, pay attention to the body positions, feather arrangement, and eye changes your bird provides to decipher their message. Usually, birds will exhibit many of these indications initially before they are pushed to their breaking point and decide to bite to drive people away. Learn their signals; respect them; then you will develop trust.

Finally, be composed and polite. Offer high-value goodies to build your bird’s confidence, and speak softly and sweetly.