Raising Pet Parakeets

Parakeets are small, colorful birds that make great family pets. When happy and healthy, they sing, mimic words and sentences, and exhibit humorous, playful behavioral antics. These little birds are fairly easy to train and with proper patience can be taught to perform a variety of bird tricks. These are sociable birds that crave attention from either humans or other parakeets. If you cannot provide them with the attention they need, then consider raising two or more parakeets together.

In their native environment of Australia, parakeets live in large, roaming flocks. As flock birds, they enjoy company and have an inherent need for a partner. They are also very active birds and do need to fly to obtain proper exercise. With proper care and treatment, a healthy parakeet can live to be ten to eighteen years old, which means that raising parakeets requires a fairly long-term commitment to their care.

Requirements for a Parakeet Cage

As birds that need to fly in order to get the exercise they require to stay healthy, parakeets need a fairly large cage. If you are raising more than one parakeet together, additional considerations must be given when selecting the size for a cage. Generally speaking, a cage should be at least 40 inches long by 20 inches deep by 22 inches tall. This gives your parakeet room to fly back and forth from one side of the cage to the other. You can get by with a smaller cage if you can commit a few hours per day when the pet bird is allowed to fry freely in a room. They do, however, need to fly and should never be couped up in small cages with little freedom.

Bars for a cage should be made of metal. Parakeets can gnaw through wooden bars, so wooden or bamboo cages do not make good homes. Bar spacing should not be wider than 1/2 inch. Parakeets are ingenious escape artists and will get through bars that are spaced wider than 1/2 inch. Parakeets also have a natural need to climb, so bars on at least two sides of the cage should ideally run horizontal.

Perches in a cage should be made of hardwood and each perch should be a different thickness to simulate different sized tree branches. This helps to keep the bird's feet strong. Mount food dishes near top perches to prevent contamination from droppings. Parakeets enjoy playing with toys and are particularly fond of mirrors, swings and bells.

The ideal location for your parakeet cage should be in a room where the where your family spends their time. Once a parakeet becomes accustomed to you and trusts you, he or she will enjoy your presence. Avoid locations near drafts, direct sunshine or heat vents and radiators. The cage should be placed against a wall and ideally at eye-level. Parakeets naturally fear attacks from predators from above, so if you have to lean over a cage to view your bird, you will make the little guy nervous.

The cage should be thoroughly scrubbed once per month to keep it disinfected. Material in the bottom of the cage should be changed frequently to keep it clean. Water and food needs to be changed daily.

A Proper Parakeet Diet

Parakeets require a varied and balanced diet. Seed is an important part of their diet, but seed alone will not provide the nutrition they require to remain healthy. Plants and fruit are also a vital part of their diet and different types should be offered each day.

When selecting seed, look for a seed mixture consisting of canary grass seeds and several varieties of millet, to which oats, niger seed and linseed are added. Always make sure that the seed is fresh. Check for dates on the packages.

Parakeets need fruit and greens every day. They may not necessarily eat it every day, but it should nonetheless be provided. Fresh herbs or greens such as chickweed, dandelion leaves and spinach are very nutritious. Wash all greens several times in lukewarm water. Peel vegetables and fruit to remove pesticides that may be found on the skins. parakeets enjoy carrots, cherries, strawberries, apple sections, grapes (cut in half), pear slices and tangerine slices.

Sprouts are a very healthy food to add to their diet. Sprouts can be made from birdseed mixture. Just take a tablespoon of seed and place it in a glass. Cover the seed with about 3/4 of an inch of water. After 24 hours, drain the water and place the soaked seeds in a shallow bowl. Cover the bowl to keep the seeds moist. In 48 hours, the seeds should sprout. Wash the sprouts and serve them to your parakeet. Whatever has not been eaten in a few hours should be removed to prevent spoiling.

Spray millet is especially nutritious and parakeets treat it like a delicacy. It can be hung in a cage and your feathered friends will peck at it during the day. Bird gravel aids a bird's digestive process and should be added to the cage. Oyster shell mixes or cuttlebone adds needed calcium to their diet.

Parakeets make great family pets, but raising them does require a commitment. Make sure that you can dedicate a certain amount of time every day to training and taking care of your bird and you will be amazed at how well they respond.

Additional References About Raising Parakeets

Feathered Friendlies

Your First Parakeet

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