What do parakeets and babies have in common? They both learn to talk by listening to you talk. First they mimic the rhythm of your voice. Later they learn to say words and short phrases. If given a comfortable cage, the right diet, and attention, parakeets will give you many hours of enjoyment. The great part is, unlike children, they won’t ask for a bigger allowance.
A wire cage is the best cage. The cage must be big enough for the bird to stretch its wings out and turn around without touching the sides of the cage. You should never get a round cage since parakeets find them boring. They may be kept outside in a draft free, dry cage made of two types of mesh. It needs to face the sun, but have shade and must have an insulated room for shelter.
Parakeets like to sleep as high as possible so they feel safe from predators. Their cage should have three perches; one low, one high, and one swing. Many parakeets prefer to sleep on the swing since it will sway if something touches the cage, which serves as sort of an early warning system for security. Some parakeets prefer to have their cages covered at night for warmth and privacy.
Toys and sounds are very important to keep parakeets interested and happy. A mirror is also an important item in the cage. Parakeets love to look at themselves. A mirror provides company for them. They think their reflection is another bird. The sound of running water will excite the bird to no end and send him chattering a mile a minute.
The basic diet for parakeets is seeds, greens, and vitamins- with seeds being the most important food. You can buy a wide variety of seed mixes for your convenience, but the best mix has white millet, red millet, canary seed, hulled oats, and hemp seeds. Parakeets also like sunflower seeds, oats and safflower seeds.
Fresh greens and fruits should be given daily. They can eat a wide variety of greens, but most seem to prefer clover, beet, or carrot tops. Certain parakeets thrive on a diet of fruit and grain.
Vitamin supplements may be needed during molting, but if you feed your parakeet a balanced diet it will get the vitamins it needs on its own. A cuddle bone, for calcium, should be available at all times.
Parakeets, just like people, like a special treat every now and then. You can buy fruit and seeds mixed with honey formed in interesting shapes like bells, hearts, or rings. These treats hang in the cage. You have to be careful or the parakeets will eat them and not their regular food.
It is very easy to understand how a parakeet feels by watching its actions and listening to the sounds it makes. A happy healthy parakeet plays with its toys, bathes and preens itself, hops around the cage and chatters excitedly.
A deep cooing sound means the parakeet is happy and content. Sometimes they will do that for hours. Some people think that when a parakeet stands on one leg it means it is going to sleep, but it actually means it is calm. When the parakeet stretches one leg under its wing and back to the tip of its tail it isn’t bored or tired, it is healthy and satisfied.
When the parakeet is in pain or is afraid it will bite at empty air, itself, or anything else available. Shaking its feathers is a way to release tension and stress. To cool off we fan ourselves but the parakeet raises its wings.
There is no indication that color has anything to do with which parakeet will be more talkative. Teaching it to talk takes a lot of time and patience, but it can be done. It learns by hearing sounds and words repeated over and over again.
Parakeets are very simple to take care of if you take a little time to understand your bird. Just about anyone can take care of them since their needs aren’t very big or time consuming. It is the perfect pet for all ages- from small children to the elderly in a nursing home. It is also perfect for any type of home- from a small apartment to a large two story house.
All it takes to make a parakeet happy is a large enough cage with the right type of toys and perches to have a healthy happy habitat. A proper diet is made easy with the wide variety of seed mixtures on the market. It just needs to be supplemented with fresh greens and water. Add a lot of love and attention and from there the parakeet will guide you. Just listen to him as you would a child and he will let you know what he needs and wants.
But watch out! Because just like a child the parakeet will try to take advantage of you. It will beg for treats and act abused if it doesn’t get them. It will chatter and squawk loudly if it doesn’t get the attention it thinks it deserves. In no time at all the parakeet will be part of your family and you will wonder what life was like without it.
