Hello. How great to hear from someone showing the good sense to research this very important decision before making the committment. Living with a bird is so much more involved, (and can get expensive) than most folks realize so it's good to know all the down sides up front. Good for you. A little extra information will help me give you my best advice and guidance, if you don't mind. Will this be your first experience with any kind of bird? Any children or other pets in the home? Is anyone home most of the time or does everyone work outside the home most of the week? Are you considering a bird from a pet store or a breeder? Any smokers in the family, who will be unwilling to go outside for every cigarette? Anyone in the home with any allergies? About how much time, each day, will someone have to spend with a bird? Thanks, Patricia
Hi Rachel. I'm so sorry it took me this long to get back to you. Weekends around here get hectic with emergencies, as you might imagine. I just want to repeat how glad I am you are researching this. The first thing you need to know is that a pet shop is the worst possible place to buy a bird. Especially if it is one of the large chain stores like PetCo, PetLand, PetSmart, etc. Their birds often come from very questionable sources (bird mills) and are often sick already. One of the strongest instincts any bird has is to mask all symptoms of an illness for as long as possible. We will not see symptoms until the bird has become too ill and too weak to keep up the pretense. By that time, any so called "health guarantee" will be long expired and pet stores know that. If you decide this is what you want to do, your best bet is to locate a local, reputable breeder who has good genetically sound birds who will most likely be hand fed, hand weaned and already tame for the most part. And, they will usually be about half the price of a pet store bird. The best way to locate a breeder is to ask around at your local vet offices. No one knows better how well a person cares for their birds than a vet. Okay, that said, what I'm going to do for you is try to hit most of the reasons you might not want a bird. Most folks are more than willing to tell you all the good reasons, and there are many. But few, especially those trying to sell one, will tell you of the down sides and how much work they can be. There are also plenty of those. I will also be giving you a bunch of links to use for research covering pretty much everything you need to know to properly care for a bird, to house it properly and how many toxic items and products you probably have in your home that you will have to give up, to keep a bird healthy. Health is a big issue with birds because they are so delicate, especially as respects their respiratiory systems, (hence the mention of smoking) and if they get sick, you will find that Avian vet bills are among the highest around. Any vet who specializes in any of the "exotics" has had lots of extra schooling and experience and believe me, they charge for it, and rightfully so. When we need one, a competent Avian vet is worth his/her weight in gold. A pet store will try to sell you the smallest (cheapest) cage possible and will probably try to convince you the bird can live just fine on nothing but seeds to eat. They want to make a sale and they are going to tell you what they think you want to hear, to make that sale. Nothing could be further from the truth. Seeds must no be more than about 25% of a bird's entire dailey diet. Seeds are much too high in fat, which is especially deadly to Parakeets. It leaves them at high risk of fatty liver disease, (Hepatic Lipidosis), fatty tumors, obesity and other health problems. They need fresh fruits, vegetables, leafy greens and much more, everyday. With a Parakeet, this is not quite so much a problem but should you ever consider any bird larger than a Budgie; they can be loud, they are messy and many can deliver a serious bite. A Budgie won't be as loud, but he can be messy and if not hand tamed, can give you a pretty good pinch with that little beak. You will want to pay close attention to the links about bird proofing your home and all the toxic issues. The problem with that aspect of bird owning is most of these items and products are things we never give a thought to because they are harmless to us and most other pets. But for a bird, even one exposure can be fatal. The lists are long but just to hit a couple high points for you that we hear about most often as bird killers are non stick cookware, any kind of air freshener at all no matter the form, (sprays, plug ins, carpet sprinkles, etc.). Any product that sprays into the air, any kind of fumes, burning candles or incense, and almost all commercial cleaning products are deadly. So, check out all these links, bookmark or print them out for future reference and if you have any more questions at all, let me know. Printing them out is always a good idea because you can start your own "bird owners manual". I want to help you make the best decision possible for you, your family and the bird so let me know if you need anything further. Patricia
Click here: Grit, Gravel and your Parakeet / Budgie
Click here: Hepatic Lipidosis
Click here: PetCareLibrary - Tumors in Parakeets (pvy.com)
Click here: Parakeet Medical and Safety Information
Click here: Parakeet Budgie and Keet FAQs and Info
Click here: Toxic and Safe Plants/Trees for Birds - Household Poisons
Click here: Birdsnways - Safe Plants & Trees for pet birds, pet parrots &exotic birds
Click here: Nutrition
Obesity & Diets (budgies)
Click here: The Basics: Intro to Budgies / Parakeets
Click here: The Budgie and Parakeet Place - Care, Training, Pictures and More
Click here: BUDGIE CARE SHEET
Click here: Bird Proofing Your Home: Household Hazards for Birds
Click here: Bird Proofing Your Home - Avoid These Pet Bird Hazards
Click here: Find your local Avian Veterinarian
Click here: Avian Veterinarians Recommended by Bird Breeders and Owners http://www.birdsnways.com/articles/abvpvets.htm
Click here: World Wide Avian Vet Listing
Click here: BirdsnWays - Avian Veterinarians - Vets - Vet Services for Pet Parrots & Exotic Birds
This one looks like an advertisement for Harrison pellets but they are only sold by vets so it's another good list to check. Click here: Harrison's Bird Foods is a family of certified organic pet bird diets that were formulated to make your bird as he
Parrot C&onsultant
Published author, free lance bird behaviorist, adviser to the parrots at Sarasota Jungle Gardens.