Parakeets Enjoying Millets on Hand

Millet is like ice cream for parakeets. I noticed that they forget their fear of hands if they see millet! They must not see the hand anymore! Example below: 

The only tame bird here is the one on the bottom. The two on the top  part of the picture are not tame at all. They couldn't resist seeing my tame bird eating the millet him self and decided to come join despite their fear of my hand. 

Due to millet having a high source of fat, I would not recommend giving too much to your birds. It is an excellent treat to use to tame your birds. If your birds never had any, I would recommend leaving a little portion of it for them to taste. Once they taste it they will know that it is candy for them the next time. 

This will take some time so please be patient! Hold your hand in the cage every day with some millet on your palm. If you have more than one bird, sooner or later one of them is going to come and nibble your fingers. Stay still till they start eating from your hand. 

You will notice when one starts to eat from your hands the others will automatically look interested to and come closer. However this will take some time and the time varies depending on each bird, so be patient!

I think this is an excellent way to tame your parakeets, by using a millet. Any body else with more ideas? 

Parakeet Toy Time!

Home made parakeet toys! Only cost 2$ to make 3. 

If you would like to know how to make these toys leave a comment!

First Eggs!

April 22, 2013-- First Eggs! My cockatiels have layed their first egg today. At 1 years and 2 months of age, I believe there first egg laying experience is pretty interesting to them. The female comes out to get some daylight time to time. The male is very protective on its egg!

For the past week I have been noticing the male cockatiel setting up the nest. For example, chewing on the entrance a little more, sitting in the nest and guarding it to show the female that it is capable of nesting, and eating more cuttlebone than before. I have recently started putting some egg food in the cage for them and they have been eating it like they have had nothing better before! 

They should be laying another egg by tomorrow because most bird species lay eggs every other day. Hopefully everything turns out well, very excited!!

Homemade Cockatiel Toys

Owning a pet bird is exciting, fun and kind of expensive. Expecially when you want to give your pets a treat or something to keep them entertained. Well by now you probably thought to yourself one time or another that maybe you can create something for your birds using home matierals. All you need is some basic everyday homemade materials and creativity :)

1. One toy that you can provide to your birds is cardboard toilet paper rolls. This is easy to find and does not need any time to make. Cockatiels, parakeets, and parrots love to shred and tear up the roll!
2. Old prescription bottles can be used even after your pills are finished. Use them to fill some colorful beads and put the lid on. The lid is child proof so your cockatiels wont be able to open it. 
3. Another easy premade toy that is easy to get is whiffle balls. You can grab a bag from the dollar store. 

Homemade toys are easy to make and well sometimes they are right in front of you but you just have to use your imagination. Let me know if you have any other ideas or if you have used these ideas and your birds liked them! 

Safe Homemade Cleaning Mist

The most "FUN" part of owning birds are the cleaning part ;). In this post I have a easy to make homemade bird cage cleaner that I have found browsing the web.

What you will need:

• 1 empty spray bottle. Make sure it is clean
• 3 Cups of hot water
• 3 tbsp of  Baking Soda
• 2 tbsps of pure Lemon Juice

Lemon juice contains natural enzymes that act as a disinfectant to kill bacteria and help break down organic material. And it is completely safe for birds. 

1. Make sure water is hot. Hot water is better at dissolving powder like baking soda. 
2. Make sure the ingredients are as evenly distributed as possible. 
3. Make sure your spray bottle is extra extra clean, from chemicals or other materials that might have been prior to your use. Safest thing to do is to buy a new spray bottle, these are easy to find at dollar stores.
4. After misting and cleaning thoroughly rinse and dry cleaned surfaces for the comfort of your pet. 
5. Discard any leftovers, because there is fruit juice that may produce bacteria, it is best to make a fresh batch each time you need to clean your cage! 

Cockatiels

I have added a pair of Cockatiel's to the family. Before considering to add a new pair I have thought much about the addition to the household. Currently I have 4 parakeets and also considering that I have moved to a larger apartment I thought to myself that adding them wont hurt me in any way. Plus the experience of taking care of a bigger bird will be fun.

The Tiel's came from a very loving home but they are not to friendly which is the sad part. However I have provided them a pretty big cage for their comfort. I will post pictures soon.

Recently I have added my parakeet pair to the cage with the cockatiels after doing some research. The internet has many different types of information however I find it interesting trying out what my heart says to find out what really works. Many sites say that cockatiels are bigger birds which is why it shouldn't be a good idea to put them together. From my experience I think they are keeping each other more company than I can. The male parakeet trying to feed the male cockatiel, which obviously indicates them trying to be friendly.

I do see from my site stats their are many visitors,  it would be very interesting if any of you leave any kind of feedback or comment so we can get this page exciting. This will influence me more to add more information and stay up to date with my pet birds information. 

New Birds

I haven't posted since last year. However as my posting stats show their are many audiences stopping by for some information on Finches. This has influenced me to keep this blog updated. If their is anyone who would like to be a moderator or want to join me, explaining many types of birds and their habitats, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Birds are wonderful! Since I was 6 years old I have always found birds fascinating. They are just to amazing to explain in words. Since the last time I have posted, I have had over 20 Finches, and over 15 parakeets in my small apartment. I know that's a lot! Eventually I had to give them to friends and neighbors because of the space in my apartment, and not to mention the noise. 

It was exciting to see my birds multiply. I have followed all the top rated websites on Pet bird care to keep my birds happy and healthy.  I have moved in June to a new apartment and have kept 3 parakeets that were about 6 months old. One of them are hand tamed and a beautiful shiny blue.  It would rather stay with me than with its cage mates! 

This video is posted on my brothers account last december, I have a bigger cage now for them but the birds seen here are not with me anymore (family has them) , however I do have their 3 children :).