Parakeets

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Parakeets
by Len La Riccia
Founder of Bird Crazy

Parakeets- a word meaning certain small parrots. They are one of the top ten talking birds of the world. A Parakeet has as many variations of its breed as there are varieties of its color. The most common colors are green with blue.

Overall, there are approximately 90 varieties of Parakeets in a variety of colors. Some of the variations include Budgerigar or English Parakeets (a man-made creation). The English Parakeet, the largest of the breed, has an enormous chest and head. Their life expectancy is only 6-8 years, compared to the normal life expectancy of 8-10 years of more common parakeets. It is also no longer uncommon for Parakeets to live up to 20 years. One problem that the English Parakeet tends to have is that it develops large non-cancerous fatty tumors around its head and neck. This does not seem to hurt them or effect them in any way, but it is a little unsightly. English parakeets are also better talkers, very laid back and mellow.

A female parakeet does not tend to make as good of a pet as a male parakeet. They can be very aggressive at times towards other birds and become little bullies. They will even beat up larger cockatiels and kill their young. Female parakeets also do not speak and are much quieter by nature.

Many Parakeets are hard to distinguish from the baby to adult stages. If you are looking to buy a baby, the best way to tell is if the tips of his beak are black. The beak turns to a normal color in four weeks after leaving the nest. After that, you will have to rely on the person or the store selling the bird to you.

It can be very difficult to find a hand-raised Parakeet since most are not hand-raised. When, or if, you can find a hand-raised Parakeet, it most likely has a very outgoing personality and can be an adorable little pet. This also depends on it’s individual temperament. If you cannot find a hand-raised parakeet and would like one for the children, the best way to tame it is in 20-minute sessions. Do this two to three times a day for several weeks. If you start with only one bird at a time, this also helps.

There is a huge group of birds named Parakeets. They include Alexandrine ring-necked (a larger bird of the species), Indian and African ring-necked, Rosellas, Scarlet Chested. Turquoisine and Eleganane are a type of Grass Parakeet. In Australia there is a Parkeet that lives in the grass and forages in the bush for food. Parakeets are spread throughout the world. Some of the varieties, though, have become extinct, such as the Carolina Parakeet.

The cost of a Parakeet can range from $10 to $25, depending on the type of bird you buy. They eat almost anything green, mostly fruits, mix of grains — like oat groats, hemp and buckwheat. They like to eat the smaller grains. Parakeets can breed as young as six months of age. Their average clutch size is four to five eggs, but seven is not uncommon. They lay one egg each day, instead of every other day like the bigger birds, and it takes about 2 ½ weeks for the eggs to hatch. They nest in wooden boxes, roughly eight inches front to back, and six to seven inches, left to right. The babies leave the nest at about five to seven weeks of age. A parakeet will breed year-round, except for the three hottest months of the year, typically June, July and August. While nesting in the box, the mother bird will stay inside with the babies while the father bird will feed the mother. Then, in-turn, the mother will take the food from the father and feed the babies. When the babies leave the nesting box, then the father takes care of the babies about 80% of the time. Parakeets often mate for life, but the male will colony breed if a lot of females are in the cage.

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