I'm considering buying a parakeet (budgie) and have questions....?

1. NO! Parrots, that being all members of the psittacine family, do not need grit. Because of their natural diets (fruits, vegetation, some seeds, grains mainly), they don't need little rocks cluttering their crops because their foods are easily digested already. The grit often tends to do more harm than good, and I've heard some stories of grit actually becoming a health issue. With fortified diets that we feed, everything is 100% digestible. Fruits, vegetables, grains, pastas, pellets, and some seeds. For budgies, a good mix is 10% fresh foods (no avocado, chocolate, alcohol, caffeine, carbonated items, tomato leaves, apple seeds, fruit seeds or pits, mushrooms, and onions and try to aim for organically grown foods to avoid the risk of pesticides), 10% seeds, and 80% pellets (I highly recommend Harrison's, Roudybush, and/or Zupreem. All are great brands that I've had such awesome experiences with.).

2. Budgies in generally are pretty friendly, but there is a risk of two females becoming territorial upon sexual maturity (I believe it's around 8 months? Maybe a bit earlier...?). If you do cage two females together, you'll want to get a nice big, spacious cage so if they do get territorial at some point, they have the space to get away from each other. The best thing to do is cage them separately at first, and if you get them from two different sources and/or at two different times, you'll need to cage them separately for quarantine purposes. During quarantine, you keep the birds separated in different rooms with little air circulation between the birds' respective rooms for a minimum of 30 days (some people go much longer, like for 60 days; it's up to you) so that any illnesses can work their way out of their systems. In this time, they should also be checked by a certified avian vet (you can find one near you using this: http://aav.org/vet-lookup ) to make sure all is well on the inside and out.

3. You only need to clip wings when you don't want them taking full flight. It's really up to you how often you do this because you may find out that you like having flighted birds. I have to admit that I love having my four flighted lovebirds and have no intention of clipping their wings. At your initial vet visit, you'll want to ask the vet to do a wing clip so that the bird(s) can have a graceful landing, rather than dropping to the ground like a rock. Dropping so hard can cause internal damage and may result in death, so you definitely want them to be able to "catch" themselves in that way! A vet can recommend how long it will take to grow back, when to return for another trim, and if you request, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to show you the proper way to clip your birds' wings without traumatizing or injuring them.

Oh, and I say breeder, definitely. Pet stores have bad reputations for their horrid pet care, which I agree with having seen it first hand. If you do buy from a store, make sure it's a clean, highly socialized, reputable store. Large chain stores are generally terrible for their standard of care, so you'd probably be wasting your money on a sick or horribly socialized bird and supporting the chain of irresponsibility in large corporations like that. A few points to keep in mind when evaluating a store (it's best to find one that specializes in avians only) are:

- Is it clean?

- How many toys do the birds have?

- How many perches?

- Is it too crowded, or is there ample space to exercise?

- Are they handled often?

- What's their diet like? Do they get fresh foods in addition to dry pellets and some seeds?

- How often are the cages cleaned?

- Are the birds all alert-looking, bright, cheery, and vibrantly energetic?

- Will the employees care* when you mention a concern for one or more of the birds?

- Can they answer your questions*, not only correctly, but sufficiently? You can even try quizzing them to make sure they know their information.

* I went into a large chain pet store, PetCetera and I blatantly pointed out a canary with disgustingly overgrown toenails and no toys. Employee shrugged it off. I pointed out the fact that they caged three aggressive species of birds in a small confinement. Didn't care. I pointed out their chinchillas' water bottle fell and I had to prop it back up or they'd dehydrate. No big deal. See what I mean? Good employees in a good store will know their stuff when you ask a question and will be genuinely concerned about the animals under their care. Also, they'll probably want to screen and evaluate you as a potential bird owner, since it does entail so many different care needs than other animals.

Other than that, I highly suggest you go to a breeder (evaluate breeders the same way - many people who breed birds are totally oblivious to proper care and only breed them because they're easy to breed and create a profit) or a rescue. I recommend http://www.mickaboo.com/ to everyone because it's a fantastic avian rescue.

Good luck.

I currently own 5 Budgies and one Cockateil (not counting past birds) and I've done a LOT of research, asking a lot of the same questions you are!

1. No, your bird does not need gravel or grit. Only birds who eat the seeds whole, such as pigeons or chickens, need grit. Parrots shell their seeds and so do not need it. Some people provide grit for the extra calcium (shell grit etc) but this can be gained from cuttle bone and mineral blocks. Grit can actually hurt birds, causing impacted crops and other problems. You should also not line your bird's cage with grit or sand covered paper (use old newspaper)

2. Female budgies can be friendly. With birds (as with most animals) it's really about the individual personality of the bird rather then the sex. Males do tend to be more vocal then females but apart from that the differences are mostly between the individuals. You can keep two female budgies together, but you can also keep any combination of males and females together that you want! If you get two females they might be less active or vocal and play with each other less but this is not always the case. My friend got two budgies who were the most lively pair, and it turned out they were both females.

You also do not need to worry about a male and a females having babies as they will only nest if you provide a nesting box. Males with males don't fight either, as is a common mis conception. Nor do females with females.

I currently have 2 males and 3 females in one cage (as well as the cockateil who goes in there to visit) with no problems.

3. It's rather sad that most people will as 'How often?' instead of 'Should I?'.

How often? Never would be my answer. Why deprive a bird of it's most basic instinct and form of movement, exercise and happiness? Don't let anyone tell you ti's so they don' crash into things, because birds who have never been clipped know how to fly and don't crash into thing. Have you ever seen a wild bird crash into a tree?

Taming your budgie may take slightly longer without clipped wings, but wouldn't you rather have a budgie tame because it trust you rather then tame because it has to rely on you to get around? Wing clipping can also lead to a more timid and scared bird.

Clipping bird's wings also prevents them from exercising properly, leading to a less healthy bird. Not mention the affects it has on their mental health too.

There are many other things to consider before getting a budgie and please do lots of research before you decide! But I really do recommend Budgies. They make wonderful pets, they are beautiful and amazing to watch and the noise they make really livens up a house. I love all of my wonderful feathered little buddies and wouldn't given them up for the world.

1.) Budgies should not be given gravel or grit. Ever.

2.) You should have no trouble getting two budgies of either sex to live together happily. It's very difficult to sex young budgies however, so unless you get "used" or shelter birds you probably won't know they're sex until you've had them for several months.

3.) www.Budgietalk.com has all kinds of vital information, along with a section on wing clipping. You should have your avian vet show you how to do it right before you try yourself.

Going to a shelter is better than going to breeder, but going to a (good) breeder is better than going to a pet store.

Budgies should be fed a good quality seed mix, as well as a pellet, along with lots of fresh veggies such as kale, broc, collard greens and corn.

PetCo sells a short book tittled Parakeets for Dummies, and it's a very helpful read. Parrots For Dummies and Bird For Dummies contain more information, but are also more expensive and longer reads.

You do not not gravel or grit because that is put on the floor of the cage. Also, It doesn't matter if you put two female parakeets together because unless one of them is mean, they will get along fine. You do not need to clip the wings unless you want to. I have only cut it twice. If I were you , I would cut it evertime they are able to fly out of the house.

No, they dont need grit it upsets there stomach and can cause some problems. all parakeets are friendly when they are tame even if they are not they are easy to train and and will only bite if you grab or upset them. you clip there wings when they begin to greow back and keep 2 or more birds in a cage is great as long as its big enough. also keep in mind if you have more than one bird they all need there own food dish to prevent fighting.

I handled mine when it was young and trained it to come to my hand. It was friendly. The males can learn to mimick sound. My birds did very well with us and learned a few phrases. A friend of mine had a female and needed to find a home for it so i took it on. After that my bird began to interact more with the other bird thanit did with the humans in the family. It would still come to me but it personality had changed a little.

As far a sond goes the bird will bond with one person and learn form that person. The bird in our home bonded with me. The funny thing is that I was not trying. My husbadn sat ther for and hour each night saying HELLO to the bird

I would whistle and sing while doing house work and I would pass the cage and say "hello what a pretty bird" (I would only do thies once a day.)

That bird NEVER learned to say hello but it learned to whistle the song I would whistle and it learned how to say Hello what a pretty bird.

1.Yes they need "grit" (a rocky substance that can be bought at a local pet store) to digest food.

2. Yes female are friendly, yep its ok to have 2 together as long as they have enough room.

3. they need to have there wings cut every 3 months, by a vet. (Scissors maybe will work but to be ont he safe side I would go to vet!

You could look on line a Pet CO or a local pet store in a local town, for a breeder you could look in the local classifieds for a breeder or on line. Hope you have good findings!

i used to have a parakeet she was soo pretty her name was misty... i was 5 okay? anyway, we had this thing that they chewd on tht was good for their teeeth, i dont no about gravel and grit...2 females is fine my sis and i had 2 females in the same cage and they never fought...just dont have another male w/ the females...my bird eventually died of a tumor :[ i felt soo sad. and ask your vet how often to clip the wings, i never did..the beauty about all of this is u can actually teach them how to talk...its hard, but you can and they LOVE to be on your sholder, head, and fingers. a fun game is to put them on your finger, then put a finger above that and they'll climb it; it keeps them busy for hours...but they poop alot so beware! good luck!

well to answer half of your question yes you need a gravel and i don't think its a good idea to have two female parakeets together they tend to be very aggressive so its better to buy a female and a male.

I wouldnt recomend putting two females together unless they are quiet young, and two female love birds can chew each others toes I have heard from a pet store owner.