Parakeet healthcare

Parakeets (also known as budgerigars) are very popular pet birds. With an average life span of seven to ten years, parakeets are friendly pets with a loving personality, making them popular companion birds.

They are smart, can be easily trained to carry out basic commands and can be taught to speak with their raspy voices.

Your Parakeet's Food

Parakeets generally have a very active metabolism and can become ill if they are not fed for 24 hours. Ensure you provide your Parakeet with a staple diet of fresh parakeet seed or pellets daily. Also, ensure you check your pet's food dish daily, as they will only eat from the top of what is offered.

Asides from offering your Parakeet a pellet diet, you should also feed your parakeet's chopped veggies as well as a variety of fruits, hard-cooked eggs, and grated cheese. Remember to remove fresh foods served to your Parakeet after two hours to prevent them from getting spoilt.

If your bird starts getting watery stools, this could be because it has received too much liquid from fresh fruits and vegetables. If this becomes a problem, limit the fresh foods given to your parakeet for a day to see if the issue resolves.

Finally, Parakeets need fresh water every day.  Ensure you wash and rinse your pet's dish thoroughly each day to prevent bacterial growth. Supplemental vitamins can be sprinkled in their food but refrain from adding supplemental vitamins to their water as it can support the growth of bacteria.

Need options for your pet's food, check our Parakeet category.

How to handle your Parakeet

Most parakeets can be hand-tamed. It is easier for your pet to be hand-tamed as a young bird than as an adult. To do this, you need to experiment by using a treat that your bird enjoys. If your parakeet is afraid of your hand being close to its cage, start by feeding it treats through the bars to coax it to come near you.  It could probably take a while for your little pet to learn to trust you and understand that you mean no harm.  When your parakeet becomes used to your presence near its cage, you could use the same method you used to tame it to also teach it new tricks or make it sit on your hand.

Your Parakeet Health

1. Ensure your Parakeet wings and nails are trimmed by a vet to ease the taming process.  Please note that clipping wings and nails should only be attempted after getting instruction from your vet because parakeets can easily bleed to death if a feather or nail is trimmed too close to a vein.
2. Parakeets love to be clean. Ensure you offer it a warm birdbath 2-3 times a week, or a refreshing mist from a spray bottle.
3. Parakeets are sensitive to gases, smoke and very strong odours so ensure you keep their home out of the kitchen.
4. If your bird would not eat a broad-based diet, give it the Fussy Feeder Bird Starter Pack. All products contained in this feeder are designed to be mixed into the drinking water. They provide vital nutrients which are important for general health and vitality. Click here to order.

1. Use the F10-avian-cl-concentrate in disinfecting cages, perches, feed, and water bowls. This powder has been formulated to kill all known types of avian pathogens including Circovirus (PBFD), Avian flu, Aspergillus species, etc.

Click here to order.