Pets One Stop For Pet Care

7 Responses

1. gastonatwork

   at

   Ciara

   you have about everything but it would be nice if u got them a swing to get on (u dont have to)
2. jjthinstrips

   at

   Anderson

   If you have a single bird, a mirror is practically a must. A lone parakeet will enjoy your company, but a mirror helps them feel less alone when you are not around. You can also buy bird stand-ins from pet stores to give your keet company, but that seems rather silly to me. Consider getting a second bird for ideal level of companionship for your parakeet. However, you may want to keep multiple birds separate when they are young so they will learn to bond with humans rather than just other birds.
   2. Be Sure to Vary the Food

   Plain old bird seed gets old fast. Pet stores and most supermarkets sell a range of birdie treats, from clip-on treat sticks to millet sprays to birdie biscuits. You can also give your birds small pieces of fruit as a special treat…
   Parakeets are playful creatures. And there are many toy options you can get for your bird, from rings to swings to bells and beads. Parakeets are drawn to shiny things, things that make noise, and objects they can move around with their beaks or feet. Just take care that any toy you give your parakeet does not have small parts which can come off and become a choking hazard. Don’t over-clutter the cage, either, but rotate through several different toys for variety…
3. Kristine H

   at

   Trevor

   You definetly need to keep the cuttlebone in their to keep their beaks trim. And you really need to get some gravel or gravel paper on the bottom. They are supposed to eat the gravel and this helps their digestive system. The last thing you need is a rough perch to keep their nails on their feet trim. You can get all this stuff at the pet store.
4. doctorbeaver69

   at

   Leon

   buy them a cat az a pet lol
5. thefinalresult

   at

   Israel

   Toys. They like toys with beads.

   Learn as much as you can about budgies (parakeets).

   A great online educational message board is go there register and ask away.

   Make sure you love em.
6. berkyx3

   at

   Gena

   Parakeets are a great bird for your first pet bird. It sounds like you have everything you need in their cage. If you are feeding them seed only try to get them to eat other things like carrots, celery, scrambled eggs and try to get them on a pellet food. Seed is not really good for them as a constant diet. Also, try to tame them if they aren’t already. You can also teach parakeets to talk if you work with them! Good luck with the birds!
7. PinkDagger

   at

   Rena

   Alrighty,

   Food should be a variety. Seeds are unhealthy, and especially due to their rep as ‘little tumour machines’, you’ll definitely want to avoid all seeds at the risk they may develop fatty tumours. Their diet should be 10% seed, 10% fresh foods (fruits, veggies, pastas, grains – NO avocado, onion, mushroom, tomato leaves, chocolate, or alcohol, avoid salty and greasy foods as well for obvious reasons), and 80% high quality pellets. The best pellets known are Harrison’s, Roudybush, and Zupreem. WEAN THEM ONTO THIS! DON’T JUST GO FOR COLD TURKEY! For budgies, I would recommend Harrison’s Fine, Roudybush Crumble, and Zupreem for small birds. Avoid the ones with artificial colours because this can dye their poops, and poops are a good way to ensure their healthiness. They need to have some whites and some greens and **** should not remain watery for more than a few hours.

   Avoid vitamin drops in the water unless you’re willing to clean it, literally, every hour or two. Adding anything to water speeds bacteria growth in it, and if you’re not cleaning it often enough, it could end up harming your birds and making them ill instead of any better. Also, if their water is a funky colour, they could outright refuse to drink it, thinking it’s been tainted.

   Do they have a big enough cage? I really hope you didn’t go for the starter kits, because everything they come with just plain stinks. If you got a mite protector, throw it out. It kills more birds than it saves, and over six years of owning by birds without a mite protector, they’ve not once gotten mites. The best thing you can do is just keep your area clean. Anyway, the cage should be square or rectangular, preferably rectangular with more width than height. Since birds prefer to fly, they fly horizontally and not straight up. Round cages generally are not good because they can cause anxiety with no corners to hide in when fearful. Bar spacing should be no more than 1/2 an inch and the bars should be coated with powder coating or should be stainless steel. Otherwise, the cage should be replaced regularly to avoid toxic poisoning if the budgies’ beaks are causing any wear and tear.

   Toys! Try everything, literally. All birds have different preferences as to what they like to do. It’s your job to find out what they like best. Colourful beads, mirrors, ropes (watch for pieces that could snag a bird’s toe or beak), bells (cow and liberty bells are best), wood, shreddable, etc. Wood chewing have been favourites in my home, and you can also get shredder toys that they can preen and pick at. They’ll typically come in pinata-like appearances. Mirrors, bells, and beads will likely be very popular with them.

   Perches! This is very important. If you want to avoid arthritis and pain for your birds, you’ll need a variety of perches. The perches that probably came with your cage are straight, wooden ones, I presume? They need more than that. Try cement perches, natural wood (manzanita, dragonwood, grapevine, cholla, etc.), pedicure, rope (very good for tired little birdy feet), but NO sandpaper perches. These, while good for keeping nails trimmed, irritate the skin on the bottom of their feet and can cause cuts. They need a variety of thicknesses and textures. A word of caution: if your birds pick at the rope perches, keep a close eye on them and cut off any threads that hang off and could snag their feet. If you’re starting to see the dull colouring underneath of the colourful rope, throw it out. That’s when you know you’ve exhausted the perch’s use.

   I’d like to point you to two awesomely wicked websites now: has a TON of budgie information and is really a wealth of knowledge you can’t do without! has a TON of awesome bird toys and perches that are spectacular for birds. I’ve bought from them and everything is safe and of high quality. You can also purchase the pellets I mentioned above from here, and having bought from many places, this site has great prices.

   And as a last note, take them into a certified avian vet for a little checkup. Should run you about $50 and is good to guarantee you got a good bird, one that’s not totally illness stricken and dying. Many chain pet stores are notorious for giving crappy care to their birds and just selling disgustingly sick ones. It’ll also prepare them for the experience, should you run into any emergencies where they’ll need to see a vet.

   Good luck. :)