Parakeets – Parakeets For A Buddy

Paraketts are one of the most affectionate, entertaining, intelligent and fun pets anyone could ask for.

If you want a pet that is low maintaince, high energy, loving, and that will provide hours, even years, of joy, a parakeet is for you.

Picking a pretty bird, setting up a nice cage and going about your life waiting to be “entertained” is not the way to get the most from your bird. Parakeets love interaction. Love to fly, be talked to, held and played with. The more time you spend talking to your bird, the more talkative they will be. Therefore, the more enjoyment and bonding you will receive. Be very hands on.

My family has had two parakeets. Sweetpea lived 7 years and Rugby 8 years. That is a great deal of time to get very attached and establish a real relationship. The key is to keep them “safe” from escaping to the great outdoors and keep their environment as “bird friendly” as possible.

With both birds we chose to let them fly free in their rooms. We did not clip their wings. It just doesn’t seem right for a creature that is born to fly, to not have that option. But again, their environments must be safe.

Sweetpea talked, sang, blew his nose (did his imitation of a person blowing) chased paper airplanes in the air and on the floor, played with his toys and gave us so many hours of fun.

Our second bird was given the name Rugby, by my husband, because he had a big white stripe on his blue belly, just like a Rugby shirt. He had many many more tricks in his bag than we could have ever anticipated. His favorite game was to pick up coins in his beak, fly around the room and throw them at a target or place them in his cage or wherever he chose.

We were very lucky with both birds, but there are some things to consider before you make the commitment to buy a bird.

1. A parakeet can live 15 years or more. Are you prepared for the responsibility?

2. If by chance your bird remained timid and shy and didn’t speak, how would you react?

3. Do you have enough time to devote to your parakeet? Time to whistle tunes, talk and

give a lot of attention to it?

4. Do you have other pets that might not get along with the bird?

5. If the bird is for a young child it will still be up to you to watch out for the bird.

6. It is best to have only one parakeet at a time in order for it to bond with you rather than another

bird.

If there is a parakeet in your future I wish you many, many years of enjoyment and fun.

Susan Rutter

http://www.read-by-ear.com
Susan Rutter http://read-by-ear.com