Iodine deficiency can be detected when you see a spongy appearance on the beak. This could be dealt with by keeping a cuttlebone in the cage. Above all, you should take care to help the bird tide over mood swings, by being a good companion. Since most parakeets take the pet owner for a companion, you can keep your pet happy by lavishing it with as much love and attention, as possible. Bathing Clip the wings; trim the nails Your parakeet's eyes… Like birds of many other species, parakeets love to play around in water; so, it is essential to provide them with a big water bowl in the cage so they can splash around and wash the feathers, beak, feet and claws, clean of any dirt. As a rule, you should change the bath water, every day. It is a pleasing sight to watch the birds indulge in their favorite pastime of preening, washing and fluffing their feathers. They gently slide their beaks through their feathers, use the claws to brush their head, and puff out the feathers to shake out the dirt, or dust. Like sloughing, in the case of a snake, the birds are seen to shed their feathers in summer, and regrow them in winter. As a responsible pet owner, it's your duty to keep their wings and nails trimmed. Clipping the wings helps prevent parakeets from flying haphazardly, and hurting themselves. Trimming the nails is also intended to prevent them from hurting themselves. Next, in importance, are their eyes. In the wild, the birds depend on Health Care their eyesight to help in obtaining food, as well as watching out for predators. Eyelashes on the eyelids help parakeets keep their eyes clean. The beak also needs exercise, as parakeets in captivity may not have the facility of digging holes for nesting purposes, as they do in the wild. When they break open seeds, they also unknowingly file the beaks. When a bird is in captivity, the ideal solution would be to keep a cuttlebone in its cage. As the name suggests, it is the bone in a cuttlefish or a mollusk. About two inches in length (a main body / head plus 10 tentacles), most mollusks have shells outside their body, like oysters and clams. The cuttlefish has its shell within its body. Besides helping file the beak, it also provides them needed calcium and iodine. It is not unusual for the beak to grow uncomfortably long. Watch out for any such development, and if it happens, get the beak trimmed down, with the help of a vet. Their nostrils are situated on the beak and if you notice any Help your bird file its beak Health Care It is a pleasing sight to watch the birds indulge in their favorite pastime of preening, washing and fluffing their feathers. discharge from them, speak to your vet. If you are a true parakeet lover, you should not find it difficult to give them enough freedom to fly outside their cages, preferably within the limits of the home. Very active as they are, it would be cruel to keep them within a cage for their whole lives. Clip their wings selectively, so that their flight is restricted to short distances. I know of some so-called parakeet-lovers claiming to insure their safety by keeping their pets caged all the time. What such people should realize is that the active and fun-loving birds would die of boredom (they can literally hurt themselves) if imprisoned in a cage, all the time. Letting them fly around is not the ultimate answer either. These birds have a tendency to get into tight spots. Therefore, it is necessary to clear the clutter from all the rooms where they are likely to get entangled. Simply put, keep your house neat and fit, especially the bathroom, where the commode cover should be kept closed. This is because parakeets love taking baths and preening themselves, and if they Keeping your house safe for your parakeet Health Care decided to take a dip in the commode, they could end up drowning themselves. |