The Little Australian parrots, they are ideal for anyone who loves birds, if you do not, I assure you that knowing them a little more will love them, they are birds suitable for keeping them at home, they are fun, adorable, beautiful and social, in fact the latter can become in something negative since they don't like loneliness to Little Australian parrots and if they are far from their group or people, they could die of sadness, to avoid that some recommend placing mirrors in their cage, when they are reflected they will feel in company.
If you are well taken care of, an Australian parakeet can live even longer than a dog and a cat, but for this you must make sure that it is fed well and, your home must be completely clean. They are not very large birds, in fact, they can measure about 9 or 10 centimeters and weigh about 50 or 60 grams at most, what attracts both birds' attention, is their colorful plumage and song.
Australian parakeets colors
Australian parakeets are of many colors, they have black eyes with the iris White. The "most common" birds can be found in the following colors:green Sure, green Dark,green olive, blue clear or light blue, blue dark or cobalt, mauve, Violet, green greyish and Gray.
Budgerigar feeding
What does an Australian parakeet eat?. They are delicate birds, in terms of feeding, it is recommended that you have a strict diet, however, its feeding is not complicated, the seeds can be obtained at animal stores, they can also eat cereals, fruits and vegetables, you must give it the Food always well washed and peeled (in the case of fruits).
The fruits and vegetables They should be in good condition, otherwise your parakeet could get sick, you can eat fruits such as pear, apple, banana and orange, or choose to let it lettuce. Before feeding them you should make sure that the food is in perfect condition, you can also give some hidden vitamin, placing it in the water. Never give parsley, avocado, lemons, potatoes, dates or plums, as they are harmful to your Australian parakeet.
Give your budgie fresh seasonal fruits. If you don't like it, don't be surprised. Give some minerals to your diet (cuttlefish bones), these will help you develop in the best way. The feeding of this type of bird is of great importance since it depends largely on the brightness of its colorful plumage, if your budgie feels happy you will notice it when, hear it sing, when you see it play or even when you See eat, they are truly beautiful birds and taking care of them will be worth it.
Cages for parakeets:
The Australian parakeet cageIt must be spacious, do not get carried away just because they are very small, in fact, they need a lot of space because they are very playful, and if you have more than one, then with more reason, the cage should be large. Of course, we are not talking about a cage for parrots, but a cage of about 60 cm, would be ideal for your parakeets to play, socialize and have a great time.
In order not to have difficulties when cleaning the cage, you can place recycled or periodic paper at the bottom of the cage, food and water can be placed in ceramic containers, this, because plastic containers have to accumulate more Bacteria and fungi and this can eventually harm the health of your parakeet. The cage should be cleaned frequently to avoid the presence of possible parasites.
Despite being cheerful birds, it is not advisable to have them in very crowded places, for this reason the cage should be in a quiet place, and located in such a way that it receives the sun's rays, but not directly, and in winter, despite Since their plumage protects them from the cold, it is advisable to keep them inside the house. An occasional visit to the veterinarian is necessary, all to ensure that things go well.
How should the parakeets cage be?
As mentioned before, the Australian parakeets cage It must be spacious, but not only that it is essential for the bird to feel comfortable, the cage must also have a nest with a hole that will use entry and exit, and given that they are very playful birds it is necessary that the cage has wooden bars placed horizontally, since they like to climb a lot.
Inside the nest there should be rods that pretend to be the branches of a tree, so your Australian parakeet will feel more comfortable. The placement of the horizontal bars in the cage should be strategically, that they do not hinder the flight to the parakeet. The cage should be spacious enough, it will never be too big, in fact the more space the bird has, the better.
A round cage, is a sign of discomfort, should avoid this type of cage as much as possible, since they limit the flight of the parakeet, the cages made of stainless steel with lead-free paint are the most recommended, you must ensure that the space between the Cage bars are not so big, since the parakeet could get its head between them.
Australian parakeets at home as a pet
Always have a pet, in this case a australian budgie as a pet, is synonymous with responsibility, and caring for an Australian parakeet will not be the exception, even the adoption of these birds requires responsibility, if your desire is to have one of these in your care, you must choose not one, but two of them so that you do not feel alone, and these should not be very young or very adult, ask at the store if they are at least one year old.
Before taking that great step it is advisable to read a little about them, because their plumage says a lot about their character and this can harm their coexistence, for example one of the dominant colors is green, and a recessive one is yellow, if His desire is to reproduce this factor is one of the most important. Now, if they don't get along, it doesn't matter, it will be temporary, but if they start fighting, you should separate them.
Breed with Australian parakeets
You can start breeding with parakeets, the couple that you have chosen for Australian parakeets, you should get the idea that soon they will have chicks if the couple scratch each other, they lightly peck and if the food is regurgitated, the latter is important already that it is usually the male who feeds the female and if she accepts the food it is because she considers it a stable couple.
To motivate them to grow the family, they must place a nest, this will encourage them to have chicks, now if you only want to have a partner without young, then the nest in the cage or it will not be necessary.
How many nests to lay for breeding
So that the couple (s) of Little Australian parrots They feel comfortable, they must have the same amount of females as males and the cage must be large enough, the size of this is essential. It is necessary that you observe the behavior of the birds since some are usually very jealous and do not like that your partner is close to another, if this happens place separators in the cage, thus avoid this type of inconvenience and they will not feel alone.
After the time has elapsed, you can remove the separators so that the parakeets live together. Your garden is large enough, and has a large number of parakeets, instead of buying cage you can choose to build it yourself, with all the necessary bars, the bigger the cage, the better, since at some point you should separate the males from the females or separate one that is sick.
How to know if a parakeet is male or female?
How to know if my parakeet is a male or a female ?. So that your australian budgerigar He feels comfortable and happy it is better to have two, one female and one male, only then is it allowed to have a couple of these birds, since both of the same sex could fight. It is not the color of the plumage that will help you differentiate if your parakeet is female or male, but the color of the membrane that covers its nostrils, so if the membrane is blue or pink the parakeet is male, now, if the membrane is bluish white or brown, then it is female.
It is important to emphasize that the color of the membrane will only be able to observe it when the parakeet is adult. However, you can also differentiate them by the character of each one, the males are calmer, sociable and very singers, quite the opposite of females, they are aggressive and do not sing frequently.
Life time of an Australian parakeet
What is the life expectancy of a parakeet, or how long a parakeet lives. Well look while you are well taken care of, the parakeet can live for many years, they are not prone to getting sick or anything like that. This family of Australian birds are considered pure, since they do not mate with others other than those of their same group.
The time factor also depends on whether the bird has lived in freedom or in captivity, since being exposed to nature is very likely to be infected with bacteria or fungus faster than living in captivity, in fact, in freedom you can live at most 6 years, and living in captivity can live up to more than 15 years, if only yes, receive the necessary care.
The best lifestyle for an Australian parakeet
The more care an Australian parakeet receives, the longer it will live, and for the bird to have an excellent lifestyle, it should be taken into account, avoid reproducing frequently, as this could harm the health of parents by wearing them, keep it in a place with little noise, these birds tend to be very stressed (especially females) and this can cause them to change the plumage very often, showing an increasingly weak one.
If you notice that your parakeet changes its behavior and appearance you should choose to change your diet, you should give it some vitamin and as a last resort go to the veterinarian and this will recommend what to do, the opinion of an expert is never there. Parakeet hygiene is of the utmost importance, since if you do not receive the necessary care you can get a disease or get lice.
The temperature and the light of the environment where the parakeet is found become relevant topics, to avoid stressing or feeling uncomfortable with its surroundings, the temperature should be as acceptable as possible, even for you, it should not be too hot or very cold, the Australian parakeet should not receive direct sunlight, as this could be harmful to your life. Remember to feed it correctly if you have any questions consult a veterinarian.
How a parakeet's cage should be
Even when the parakeet is a bird that can be tamed to the point of being able to let it fly free through our home, to prevent accidents there will be times when it must remain in its cage.
He will go to the cage to eat and drink, and what matters is that it be a cage as comfortable as possible for him and that allows him to carry out common activities or movements in the parakeets in live in freedom, including short flights and flutters.
One of these movements is to climb. The parakeets love to climb the bars of their cabin as if they were small branches, hang from the ceiling head down and make a thousand antics. Therefore, the cage of a parakeet should be either horizontal bars or contain watts bars as well, which serve as a support point for climbing.
The parakeets enjoy some toys such as the swing (almost all the parakeet cages bring it incorporated) or a hanging accessory finished in a bell or rattle that is within reach of the parakeet so that you can shake it and make it sound at your whim. It is essential that the cage has some transverse sticks, since they are where the bird spends much of its time and where it usually sleeps.
However, even if our pet enjoys various accessories and toys, it is important do not overload the space. It is worth remembering that there is no cage too large for a parakeet and there are too small.
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Although it seems obvious we must repair the quality of the cage that we are going to use to house our parakeet. We must bear in mind that the material to be used is usually chrome or stainless steel.
The paint should obviously be lead free, as it could be deadly for our bird. Finally make sure that the bars are not malleable, it should be impossible for the parakeet to run its head over there.
Not recommended models
We found two models of cages not recommended for Australian parakeets:
- round base
- in very capricious ways
With round cages, the parakeet cannot properly cling to the bars to climb, in addition they are usually so small that prevent the flight within them and disorient the birds.
In the case of cages with picturesque shapes, besides being able to hinder the activity of climbing so typical of these feathered friends, depending on the design could evenoccur accidents if there are incoming volumes within what is the cage receptacle.
The best option for the parakeet is always the rectangular base cage and horizontal roof.
Budgerigar breeding
The breeding cage of the Australian parakeet besides being wide must be short in order to avoid accidents to the chicks in their first attempts to flutter out of the nest. A bad landing from about 20 cm is not the same (imagine that the nest is located halfway up the cage) than from 1 meter high.
In addition to conventional cages, if we are going to have several pairs of Australian parakeets with us, we can consider the possibility of build them aflyer (a large cage, made with suitable metal mesh) so that they all live together.
Once the pairs have been established and there is no copy left unpaired. The aviary complements are larger, and this cage modality has the advantage of being able to include some natural branch as part of the "furniture".
- There are breeding cages that allow you to create a separation of spaces, this can be very useful in some cases.
Things you have to know
It is essential that the cage of a parakeet always has two feeders and a drinking fountain at least to those who can access without any problem.
We will review the drinkers and feeders making sure the water is clean and the food is abundant. You should check regularly since the parakeets (like other birds) usually husk the seeds on top of the food itself and as a consequence a layer of important shells is created.
It can give us the feeling that a feeder is full when the reality is that it presents an accumulation that cannot be transferred. For this same reason, the seeds on the surface of the feeders should be blown frequently, at least once a day.
I advise you to do it with a soda straw so that they fly away but they do not stick to our face or hair, once we have caught the trick we will realize that it is very simple. Even so, we will always find some seed in the soil of our parakeet!
When you want to try to have a pair of parakeets breed, if the cage is not very large, a removable nest-house is usually placed attached to the door, for sale in specialized establishments. Additional observations to prepare the perfect home for our parakeet:
At the bottom of the cage, in order to facilitate cleaning, you can place gritt (a mineral contribution) or current gravel.
The parakeets bathtub It will be placed regularly so that they enjoy the bath and the cleaning of their feathers. It helps them prevent mites. When our friends have taken a shampoo, we will remove it, we should not leave it as a permanent element, they could defecate and drink at the same time.
What is convenient for the parakeets to always have at their disposal is a cuttlefish bone or a salt tablet that fulfills the same function. In addition to providing calcium helps them avoid excessive growth of the beak.
There are also auxiliary devices external to the cage so that they can eat fresh food regularly in a more hygienic way. Some of the foods we can offer daily:
If you want to read more articles similar to Types of cages for parakeets, we recommend that you enter our What you need to know section.
Stress, loneliness and changes
As we pointed out in our post “Is your bird bored?”, A bird that lacks attention or elements of recreation can lose interest in the world around it.
The parakeets will look for the exit to their sadness pecking the first thing they have at their disposal, even if it is counterproductive to your health.
Stress can take over birds for various reasons, as Marta Bravo points out, an expert biologist in exotic animals:
- Sudden changes in your environment
- Removals
- Different location of the cage
- Feel alone, without the company of another parakeet
To divert the attention of our decayed parakeet, it is suggested offer you non-toxic chewable products and items, that can peck without problem:
But there are more fun proposals, which will delight your parakeet and rescue him from the drowsiness in which he feels.
We tell you here:
6 tips to make a parakeet happy
It shows that a parakeet is happy because it sings, jumps, communicates with its caretakers, is attentive to human gestures and participates with our proposals.
For all this you will need part of your time. If it is gold, do not worry, it will be returned to you in the form of happy songs.
Here are six guidelines to help you achieve your enthusiasm:
1. Assorted games and attractive colors
Isn't it true that if we always play with the same thing, we get bored? Well, your budgie is not going to be less. For this reason, you will need to have a good assortment of proposals at hand to enjoy doing what you like best:
- Going up and down: They love it, don't forget the stairs.
- Swing: In the good sense of the word. For your relaxing moments.
- Balance: Nothing better than a swing to de-stress.
- Spin a wheel: A classic that you can not miss.
- Hit: Indispensable for your curious explorer.
Put some paper balls and roll them to stimulate your parakeet to do the same, it is an economic and effective entertainment.
- Touching a sound object: Surprise will keep you intrigued.
- Perch on a branch: From it you will scan your surroundings.
- Hide: Ideal to incentivize your tracking instincts.
- Interact with people: To have fun together and strengthen the bonds of friendship.
From time to time, we can exchange some toys for different ones, in order to keep their attention awake towards novelty.
Note that These birds are extremely curious and fascinated by discoveries.
2. Activities outside the cage
Since not everything is going to be playing inside the cage, your budgie will love to have fun outside.
Try a playground in a safe area, where you can get distracted at ease, with your collaboration and endless activities you can imagine. Close doors and windows, cover mirrors, protect plugs, and remove any other item that could ingest or hurt you.
3. Fit parakeet, in the gym
Birds need to do a daily activity to stay fit, both physically and mentally, so having a small area to do their sport will be great.
This is what happy parakeets usually do in the gym: climbing, hanging and swinging.
4. Your finger, a safe place for your parakeet
One way to strengthen the relationship with your parakeet is to teach it to rest on your finger. To get it, you will first have to accustom it to the presence of your hand inside the cage. Then you can introduce a hanger (it's a piece of bird stick):
- Insert the hanger into the cage gently, until it makes contact with the parakeet's abdomen.
- Invite him to go up, telling him "go up". He insists several times.
- When on the hanger, place your finger on it to encourage it to be held on your finger.
- Once on the finger, the hanger will no longer be needed.
- On your finger you will feel in a warm and privileged place to scan your entire habitat.
"That the parakeets enjoy with the toys, does not mean that we should cram the cage with them, they are birds that also need a space where to move easily and feel comfortable"
5. Teach your male parakeet to speak and sing
With patience and tenacity, a parakeet will find in words and song another means of communicating its well-being.
- Choose short words and phrases and say them to the parakeet frequently and with the same intonation.
- Watch his progress and reward him for it.
- Sing him a song, just like you would with a baby, until he gets used to the melody and tries to play it (in his own way, of course).
- When a melody dominates, try another simple one and so on.
6. One, two and three, the one who has not hidden, has had time!
This fun kids game can cheer up the most boring parakeet. Is about leave the parakeet in a safe area of the house, with enough space for the human to hide.
Encourage him, call him by his name and go saying "Look for me" or "Where am I?". The moment the bird manages to see you, offer him a treat and a caress.
“To be happy and stay healthy, parakeets need to live in a good environment. It is also essential the company and the affection of other colleagues of their kind and of the humans with whom they live ”.
If, despite following these tips, your parakeet is still tired, take it to the specialized veterinarian, to examine it for other possible causes and remedies.
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The choice of our parakeet
Let's not run to our pet establishment and we acquire the first funny specimen that is within our sight. The choice of a parakeet it is not difficult work but there are a few factors that need to be considered (sex, color, age and health status, for example) and that is why we suggest that before proceeding with the purchase, we entrust the most important positive and negative aspects to memory or proceed to write them down on a paper that we should take with us.
How many parakeets to buy?
First of all we must decide if we want only one bird, one couple (male and female), two of the same sex or an appreciable number of them to start a breeder's activities. If we have never previously owned a parakeet, let us suggest that It is best to start with a young specimen that is less than three months old.
If we consider the possibility of acquire two birds due to maintaining the mistaken idea that the parakeets are "inseparable" and will languish as a result of loneliness if they do not live as a couple, let's forget it, because it is we who are going to provide you with all the company you need.
If what we consider is the purchase of a couple with the purpose of eventually mating and blessing our home with a nest of small parakeets, let's forget it too, because an isolated couple living in a cage as pets rarely breeds.
If we are lucky (or misfortune, depending on how we look at it) it is possible that such circumstance occurs but the probabilities are very remote since parakeets that have been domesticated and trained are not usually good breeders. Apparently they completely lose their procreative instinct and even when they lay an egg they show no sign of how to incubate or care for their chicks.
The average life expectancy of a parakeet varies from twelve to fifteen years and its breeding has been perfected to such an extent that there are many large-scale breeders who obtain excellent quality specimens that they sell at reasonable prices. In fact, many breeders have learned to choose their breeding birds with great care, which means that the ones we acquire are of an optimal level.
When proceeding to purchase, it should be noted that there are a couple of systems that allow us to save money. The males reach, sometimes, higher prices than females, which is because some people mistakenly believe that they have a better predisposition to speak.
This is a misconception. A female has the same possibilities to become a good companion animal, it is equally domesticable and equally talkative. We also have that manually domesticated specimens usually reach a higher price because someone has taken the trouble to start their training.
However, since any parakeet less than three months old can be tamed quickly and easily, acquiring a copy "domesticated manually" is a totally unnecessary luxury. Even adult specimens (which are the least expensive of all unless already trained) can eventually be tamed if the necessary patience is applied to it. It may interest you how to tame a parakeet.
What sex do I choose? Male or female
Sex should not come into consideration unless our intention is to mate our bird. In some varieties, the hue of the male is darker than that of the female but the plumage of both is equally bright. Either one can be trained to become a talkative expert and perform various games and tricks, both will enjoy our love equally.
Young females show inclination to be more aggressive than males and more inquisitive. Apart from that, they require more time to get used to our person and are louder. In short, the situation is fairly balanced.
Some say that the aggressiveness of the young female is useful when it is necessary to distinguish between the sexes. The female, when taken for the first time, usually bites harder than the male. We also have that the young female shows a tendency to "cluck" softly when she is uncomfortable.
Above the top of the peak is a cerulean-looking band that is called "waxy". It surrounds the nostrils and its color allows us to determine the sex of the adult specimen. The male's waxy is dark blue while that of the female is off-white, pink, light blue or brown.
In the case of young specimens, establishing sex is practically impossible because the color of the waxy is similar in males and females until they reach eight or ten weeks of age, although the waxy of the young male is usually slightly thicker and more pronounced.
At approximately twelve weeks, the male's waxy begins to acquire a blue hue that eventually transforms into a bright blue. That of the female becomes progressively whitish to become a toasted hue when it reaches approximately one year of age. When he is able to raise, his waxy acquires a dark brown color.
How old should the parakeet be?
Let's choose a bird that is between six weeks and three months old, the younger the better if we want to have a specimen that can be tamed, trained and that you can teach the parakeet to speak with ease (but never younger than six weeks since in this case it is still too early for him to leave his parents).
The age of a young specimen can be determined in several ways, one of which, the color of the waxy, we have already considered. All young specimens have a pale shade of wax and their eyes appear larger than those of adult birds, which is due to the fact that both the iris and the pupil are deep black.
When the bird reaches three months of age, the iris begins to pale and at six months its color is gray. The pupil remains obscure throughout life. The beak of the young specimen is black until it reaches six or seven weeks of age, from that moment this color begins to pale.
The simplest way of all, as regards the identification of a young specimen, is observing the stretch marks or wavy bands that cover the back of the neck and head. When the bird has an age between ten and twelve weeks, these bands begin to slowly disappear and the upper part of the head acquires a white hue in the specimens of bluish hue or beautifully yellow in those of green and yellow.
Therefore, to be sure that what we acquire is a young specimen, let's look for a parakeet aged between six weeks and three months, with some black at the peak, completely black eyes and wavy bands on its forehead.
What color should the parakeet be?
No budgie color is better than another. There is no known relationship between color and intelligence, a green parakeet is no more domesticable than a blue one. Let us choose, therefore, the tone that attracts us the most. Here you can see all types and varieties of parakeets.
Undoubtedly we will have to pay more for a copy of those considered as "rare" (opaline, lutine, albino, etc.) and less for any of the remaining, that is, cobalt, mauve, light blue and yellow. But under the feathers they are all the same, except the albinos whose vision is more deficient.
Nor is there what has been called a "lineage of talking parakeets" that can be distinguished through color. Choose a bird whose plumage appears compact and bright, and with a natural luster.
How active should it be?
There is no secret as regards determine the health status of a parakeet. Your eyes will be clear and your plumage lustrous and compact unless you are in a period of molt. Let us choose a young specimen that has not yet lost its wavy bands on its head.
Also be vivaz y permanezca posado en actitud de alerta, orgullosa incluso, y que reaccione ante nuestros movimientos. Evitemos aquel que permanece posado en actitud decaída, carezca de la larga cola que caracteriza a estos pájaros y dé muestras de una actitud apagada y privada de reacciones.
No escojamos un pájaro que no pueda volar. A este respecto cabe señalar, sin embargo, que son muchos a los que se ha recortado las plumas de un ala para restringir su capacidad de vuelo.
Estas plumas volverán a crecer de nuevo y no debemos volver a recortarlas. Un pájaro que intenta volar y descubre que no puede hacerlo, pronto se vuelve tímido e inseguro de sí mismo y se convierte en un animal de compañía de escaso valor.
No debemos aceptar, por supuesto, un ejemplar cuyo lomo aparezca arqueado, presente hinchazones, carezca de alguno de los dedos de los pies, muestre un plumaje raído, tenga unos pies escamosos, posea un pico o unas patas deformadas, o sus ojos lagrimeen. Prestemos atención a las plumas en torno al orificio anal. Si faltan o se hallan manchadas, ello constituye un indicio de desarreglos intestinales.
Si nos preguntamos qué es lo que hace esta banda o anilla de aluminio en la pata del periquito, deberemos decir que constituye la identificación de su criador (cómo criar periquitos). No todos los periquitos de buena calidad llevan una banda, a menudo el que carece de ella es de igual calidad.
Hoy en día cabe adquirir buenos periquitos en toda clase de establecimientos de animales de compañía. Su demanda es tan generalizada que casi todos los establecimientos del ramo disponen de un amplio y variado surtido de periquitos de buena calidad, así como su alimento (ver qué comen los periquitos).
Asimismo creemos que de todos los animales de compañía que podamos adquirir para instalarlos en nuestro hogar, el periquito es el que más ofrece en términos de satisfacción y placer a cambio del menor coste posible. Eso sí, como toda mascota requiere unos mínimos cuidados, puedes ver cómo cuidar un periquito.
¿Quieres saber más sobre periquitos?
In Curio Sfera .com esperamos que te haya gustado este post titulado Cómo elegir un periquito. Si deseas ver más artículos educativos parecidos o descubrir más curiosidades y respuestas sobre el mundo animal, puedes entrar en la categoría de periquitos. o la de todas las aves exóticas del mundo.
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