A few of my favorite things

Being my first blog, thought I would write about something I love, my pet birds. I know most of you are probably laughing, but it is true, I am the proud owner of four beautiful parakeets: Captain, Chione, Lilly and Loco. I love birds, if you are also an owner then you will understand how much fun it is to have such amazing pets!

If anyone is in the market to buy a pet, I would suggest a bird. Birds are low maintenance. They require that you give them food everyday and change their water two to three times daily. No brushing or bathing is involved, and they don't require be taken on a walk or let outside to use the restroom. Of course the cage needs to be cleaned out, but that is normal with any pet that lives in a cage.

Birds are very social creatures. They have to be able to talk to someone, whether it is another bird or a person. If a bird is alone it needs to be shown a lot of affection by its master. My advice would be to have at least two birds.

Our bird Loco was left alone in a cage by herself with no one to talk to. Her previous owner didn't think anything about it and just assumed that the bird was supposed to break things inside of her cage. Unfortunately by the time we were able to rescue her, it was to late. Loco was trapped in the cage so long that her wings are messed up beyond repair and there is no way she will ever be able to fly. On a happier note, she is in a much larger cage with four other birds and has plenty of toys and room to walk and climb around. She tries to fly and the other birds encourage her in a way, it breaks my heart to watch.

Lilly is our newest addition to the family, and was bought from a pet store. She like almost every other bird had her wings clipped and is waiting patiently for them to grow out. I refuse to clip the wings of birds. I feel that if they were given wings to fly then they should be allowed to do that. Birds should be allowed out of their cage for a few hours everyday to fly around and exercise/stretch their wings. I leave the door on the cage open and I close the door that leads to other rooms of the house. This way the birds are confined to one room with the windows open that have screens in them and not confined to a cage.

Captain and Chione love treats. Birds are just like any other animal. Each bird needs it's own food and water dish, cuttlebone and designated treat spots. For instance, Captain knows that if he is going to get a treat then he has to be outside of his cage on the top. Chione knows that if she is going to get her treat then she needs to be outside her cage on the ramp that connects to another cage. The separation of the animals during treat time allows for everyone to have their share of treats and with no fighting there is more harmony amongst the flock.

The best part about parakeets, unlike humans, is they don't judge each other based on looks. It doesn't matter to a bird if another bird is yellow, orange, blue or purple. As long as it is someone new to talk to then he or she will be happy. Many people wonder how you can tell if a bird is a male or female, the answer is simple. It all depends on color.

The female parakeet has a brown cere and the male has a blue cere. The cere is the area just above the beak that connects into the rest of bird's head. You don't really have to worry about mating; with parakeets if they don't have a nesting box then they usually are not in the mood to mate. If, however, you choose to try to breed your birds then the optimum breeding time is during the spring and early summer.

Take the advice of the new girl. Birds are excellent companions and first time pets for kids!