Is an Indian Ring-necked Parakeet the Right Pet for You?
Tag Archives: parakeet
about that new bird
Last week we told you about the intro vlog featuring our new parrot, Ceylon. This week, I wanted to share a little more about this amazing new bird.
Ceylon (formerly Zazu) landed at our local animal control under the watchful eye of my friend Dianne, who knew I had several parrots and loved them dearly. She contacted me almost immediately after the bird was dropped off with its two budgie roommates. Sadly, all three birds were housed in budgie cages, even though the ringneck was clearly much larger than his friends.
Although Ceylon was in cramped conditions, he was still active and vocal, suprising the animal control staff with some of this loud calls! When I came to meet this bird, I was in love.
Since bringing Ceylon home, I have found out that he is pretty different from my other parrots. He vocalizes in a much higher pitch, he is actually a bit more reserved than most of my other birds, and he LOVES FRUITS AND VEGETABLES! He also is an active climber and prefers to be at the highest point of his cage (which has been upgraded). Finally, he loves to bathe and receive a spray down (as you can see in the last picture). This is pretty in line with what I have learned about Indian ringnecks as a group. Soon, I hope to train him and see what kind of tricks and behaviors he enjoys doing for rewards. I am hoping he will be the first bird in my flock that can be trained with fruits and veggies (how awesome would that be?)!
For now, I will continue to just bond with this sweet little bird and let him settle into his new routine. Make sure to keep an eye out for more videos and posts featuring this new superstar!
Courage in My Cupped Hand
After several failed attempts, I finally got Mango to enjoy getting under the running water faucet in the kitchen today! The trick was to gently let the water run into my cupped hand so that he could drink it and then eventually walk underneath the stream of water from my arm, when he felt ready. After that, it was full-on birdie bath time!
As you can see from the picture, he got himself really wet, and I was thrilled to be able to get his very first “wet birdie” picture. For those of you who don’t know, those are classics and the world of parrot ownership!
If you have a bird and you are having difficulties getting it to enjoy baths, try different approaches. Some birds will see a dish of water and jump right in. Others prefer a more creative approach, such as being offered a wet piece of a green, like kale, which they can roll around on. This also usually makes for healthy snacking for the bird! Using a spray bottle containing fresh water and misting your feathered friend is also an option. Ensure that your water is room temperature, and never spray your bird in the eye. Our cockatiel loves this approach, and it’s fun to watch him spread his wings and walk around as he is being spritzed.
Soda Pop Birdie
Our little Sprite.
Our Birds Get Sushi
In running a YouTube channel about birds, one always thinks about content. Content. Content. Content. What do I post about? What do my viewers want to see? What will make my stats get better? I realized, in my most recent contemplation, that I had sorely neglected sharing recipes with my audience. Bird recipes are so fun and often easy to do. Alongside a little research into what’s appropriate to feed birds, there exists an endless number of possibilities for birdie treat diy projects.
So this week, I decided to try bird sushi! I personally have a huge love affair with sushi, finding it both beautiful and very pleasing to the palate. Although I couldn’t fix my birds a lobster roll or a spicy tuna, I did find that there are several ingredients that birds enjoy which would make a really mean looking sushi roll. So I “rolled” up my sleeves and played around in the kitchen with some turnip greens, peppers, cucumbers, carrots and brown rice. Here’s what I came up with! The birds really enjoyed it, and you can check out our YouTube video featuring the birds eating their new treat and also ending with bonus footage of our conure inspecting some of the ingredients. Keep being creative out there!
Like Mango?
We spent a wonderful weekend at the Nashville Exotic Pet Expo talking about our YouTube channels and educating people about bird ownership and care. Of course it is very difficult to go to an expo and not fall in love with many of the animals represented there. Hence, our flock got a little bit bigger yesterday. Meet our new sun conure, Mango!
Mango is already proving to be such a sweet and smart bird, so we can’t wait to share more pictures of him with you and hopefully train him to do some fun behaviors as well, which we will share on our YouTube channel. Here are a few more pictures of some of the fun things we saw at the Exotic Pet …
Sexing Your Budgie
We’re so excited to say our new video is up on YouTube! It’s about determining gender for a budgie. This can sometimes be a pretty tricky endeavor, so we hope you enjoy the little tips and tricks that we’ve added to the video along with a few surprises. Check it out!
Lucky-Lou
What a lovely story about how charismatic a female budgie can be and how an owner can be a trusted friend to their bird. I hope you enjoy the share!
Photos of Lucky: Stephen Kenny (my brother-in-law)
The years after my divorce were pivotal ones for me. I came out of my shell and into my own. It’s not really that I learned to stand on my own two feet, so much as I learned that I had always been able to take care of myself.
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We’re Baaaaack
Hi everyone! Whew, it has been a minute since we’ve published much from the perch! Over the last year, we have flown to another home and have been adjusting to changes in jobs and family. However, 2018 promises to be bigger and better than ever for the birds. Their new bird room has lots of space for add-ons, so stay tuned for some exciting new surroundings for the birds and some new additions of other kinds (shhhhhh…it’s a surprise). Thanks for continuing to share our journey with us. We love you all!
Siri, Sunny, Segoe, Sydney and Sophia
Do Parakeets Make Good Pets?
Here at the perch, I often get asked whether parakeets make good pets. Although I think they make awesome pets, there are both pros and cons to owning this sweet little parrot. So….you know, since I am a youtuber and all, I decided to make a video to help those folks who want to know more about budgies as pets. Check out this fun little video, featuring me, Sydney, Siri, Segoe and Sunny!!!
The Parrot Perch 