Time Requirements for Parakeets

Video Transcript

"Hi. Today, we're talking about attention requirements or just daily requirements for these guys as far as interaction goes. If you've got a pair of budgies, or a small group, generally you can imagine that you're going to invest anywhere between fifteen to forty-five minutes a day, just cleaning their cage and tidying up around them, making sure that they have food and water, changing up their toys. But, they don't require a whole lot from you. If you only have one of these birds, though, because they're such social animals, it's very important that you spend a lot of time with them. Even if you have two, if you can involve them in your daily activities, it will make for a much, much tamer pet. You'll have a much better relationship with them. These guys are so small they're easy to carry around the house. You can sit at your computer with them on your shoulder. They'll meander across your keyboard. They'll get themselves into trouble. If they're flighted, they'll fly in and out of your trash can, digging for stuff. They'll be up sitting on top of a window ledge. They're very, very fun to watch. These guys are very interactive. One thing you do have to be careful with if you have your bird loose and you're spending any time with it, is that you've got to remember that these guys are very small and have high metabolisms, so they are not potty trainable and might go to the bathroom on your stuff about every ten minutes. Luckily, again, they're very small, so if they do, it's pretty easy to clean up. I would recommend that if you can't keep these guys in pairs, at least that you have at least two to four hours a day that you can spend with these guys on a one-on-one basis where you can carry them around, pet them, carry them on your shoulder and involve them in your daily life. "