Monday, November 28, 2011

The Importance of Being Social with Your Pet Parakeet

Parakeets are extremely social birds. In the wild, they live in huge flocks, sometimes numbering up to thousands of birds. Even in pet store cages, these quirky little birds establish pecking orders, form bonds, and play follow the leader. They even socialize with birds in other cages or of different variety.

This is why before you decide to raise a pet bird, you need to know how much time you're able to spend with it. The ideal amount of birdie playtime per day is 30-60 minutes. At first, you may be overwhelmed by this, but you may find that like many new bird owners, one you start playing with your pet parakeet, you can't stop. After all, parakeets are intelligent, playful, energetic, and curious birds. Something fun you could do with you parakeet is to let him explore the area, tweet along to a favorite song, or reward him with pats and treats for learning a trick. Many parakeets also enjoy showing off their acrobatics, like doing backflips on their perches or climbing things. If you really put in the time and effort, you may even be able to teach him how to talk!

Research by avian specialists and animal behavior experts have proven that birds, especially parrots, can get depression. This condition may be caused by grief or loneliness. Symptoms of avian depression are similar to human depression. They may include loss of appetite, lack of interest, and neglect of personal grooming, and an overall droopy appearance.

Make sure you prevent this from happening by giving your parakeet lots of love and attention. If you find that you are not able to spend enough time with your parakeet to keep him happy, a good thing to consider is to get him a little friend of the feathered variety!

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