All About Parakeets

Parakeet Lifespan

7–15 years

Roommates

Parakeets are social little birds that can be housed either alone or in groups. Pet parents commonly keep 2–4 parakeets together in the same enclosure. When keeping a solo parakeet, it is important to spend even more time with your bird as they are highly intelligent, social creatures.

Handling

Parakeets can be nippier than some other bird species. Parakeets raised by humans tend to be more social with their handlers and less likely to be stressed or nippy when handling.

Teach a perch command using either a perch or your hand, allowing parakeets to choose to step up to perch with you when they wish.

When holding a parakeets, make sure they can move their chest and abdomen in and out to breathe.

Environment

Place your parakeet’s enclosure in an area that you regularly frequent so they can observe you throughout the day. Do not place them in an area with too much noise, large temperature changes, strong drafts, or strong smells, such as Immediately in front of or near doorways or kitchens and windows. Home offices, bedrooms, or living rooms work well for housing parakeets.

Pet Parents

Parakeets can make great pets for almost any age. Children old enough to handle the responsibilities of care and handling the birds safely will enjoy keeping parakeets. Their small size, small housing requirements, and low cost makes it easy to adapt your home and lifestyle to keeping parakeets.

Other Pets They Can Live With

Other small birds may live within an enclosure with parakeets, but larger birds will need to be housed separately. No natural predator, such as cats, should be present in a room with a parakeet when it is out of its enclosure. The same is true for animals with a prey drive, like dogs, which should be closely monitored. Large dogs that could break into an enclosure should not be left unsupervised with parakeets at any time. Other small pets like rabbits, mice, rats, and hedgehogs can safely be around a parakeet.

Family Friendliness Level

Parakeets make perfect family pets. They are highly social and thrive in situations where several people provide socialization and enrichment. They are easily trainable, will often vocalize (but not too loudly), and they can sometimes even mimic words.

Parakeets can be nippy depending on the bird and they can be hurt relatively easily due to their small size so adult supervision is recommended for children.

Enclosure

The minimum enclosure size for a single parakeet is 18x18x24 inches. A pair of parakeets require at least 24x24x36 inches. Provide more horizontal space rather than vertical space. There should be a quarter- to half-inch spacing between the bars.

Bedding

Parakeet enclosures do not require a thick level of bedding, but the bottom of their enclosures but should always have a liner that can be easily removed for easy daily cleaning. Typical inexpensive and safe liner choices include:

• Newspaper
• Brown paper bags
• Brown kraft paper rolls
• Butcher paper
• Paper towels

Avoid magazine paper or any other paper that is shiny or glossy as these can be toxic to birds.

The thicker layers of bedding commonly used for keeping smaller pocket pet species can harbor bacteria and mold. They also prevent easy observation of droppings, which is necessary for monitoring the health of parakeets.

Feeding Dishes

Feeding dishes can hang on the side of the enclosure, or heavy bowls can sit on the floor of the cage. Parakeets will likely try to perch on the side of the bowl to eat. Hanging bowls made of plastic or metal can be used for food or water but must be cleaned daily regardless of type or contents. Always monitor plastic dishes for sharp edges or cracks.

Water dishes should be large enough for one parakeet to bathe in at a time.

Each parakeet needs their own feeding area to prevent aggression or competition. Offer separate bowls for water, dry food, and fresh food.

Parakeet Diet

A balanced parakeet diet is made up of 60–70% high-quality pelleted food and 30–40% fruits or vegetables. Seed diets can pose significant health risks and are not recommended.