About Parakeets

Series Summary

Having a pet bird is a big responsibility for any animal lover. While on the surface, owning a bird may seem as easy as owning any other pet, birds require stringent, specific care to stay healthy. On top of that, each species has different needs: some birds are domesticated and adapt well to life in a small cage, while some are large, untamed and unruly, and are not appropriate for most people to keep as pets. Small birds like canaries, parakeets and lovebirds are well suited to live in a typical household setting. There are an abundance of resources available to help you raise birds properly, including instructional books, pet supplies and local veterinarian offices that can treat them.

In this free video series, learn all about pet parakeets. Also known as budgies, these birds are very active and love to be sociable. They make excellent first birds. Let our expert, Elizabeth Cantu, show you everything you need to know to care for a parakeet. Learn how to buy and pick out a healthy parakeet. Also, learn how to pick a parakeet cage and toys. Learn how to clean up after parakeets, and if you are a brave soul, teach your parakeet to talk! With Elizabeth's help you form a loving and healthy bond with your bird. So, what are you waiting for? Bring home a budgie today!

Video Transcript

"Hi, today we're talking about Budgies and what they are, or parakeets. Parakeets come from Australia and Asia, and there's many different species of Parakeets. The most common in captivity are Budgies. But, there's also Rosella parakeets, often times, Quaker parakeets, also known as Monk parakeets, and there's Plum faced, Plum headed, which are from Asia. So there's a lot of different species out there. This is the most common one kept in captivity. They are from Australia, and are, all parakeets are parrots, so they're Citerzines, they have a hooked beak, they're Omnivores and mostly eat grains. They all have two feet, two toes in front and two toes behind, and a lot of them will pick up food with their feet, except for the smallest ones. They have a long pointy tail and generally are very, very strong fliers."