All That You Need to Know About Parakeets’ Behaviors
Like cats or dogs, birds are also very friendly pets and quickly assimilate to become a member of the family. Parakeets in particular are popular pets as they can be trained easily and are known for their social skills. While the birds do require time and attention to get close to humans, once a parakeet is able to trust their owner, it can become quite affectionate.
In order to get your parakeet to become familiar with you, it is important to learn about their behaviors and traits.
How Do Parakeets Communicate?
As you may already know, birds are not able to express or communicate what they want easily. People have to figure out the needs and preferences of their pets through their behavior. When an individual brings home a young parakeet, it takes a few days for the bird to adjust to their surroundings and become used to human presence.
They will most likely hesitate to move around their cage or even use their voice a lot during the day. However, young parakeets are very easy to train and can start perching on your finger or eating out of your hands in a short span of time.
Their body language is the primary mode of communication when the parakeets are young. Once they begin to grow, you can find out what the bird wants by keeping an eye on its behavior.
An Overview of Parakeets’ Behaviors
If you ask anyone about the parakeet’s behaviors in general, they will tell you that the birds are incredibly active, loving, and happy. For the most part, that is true as parakeets rarely have any problems once they have properly settled.
Their antics can be fun to watch even when the pet is inside the cage. You may have come across people in real life who have the birds sitting on their shoulders or eating out of their hands. There are also countless videos of pet owners with parakeets where they are listening to music together or even playing instruments.
Since the bird is essentially from the lineage of parrots, some parakeets can also mimic voices that they constantly hear. You shouldn’t be too surprised if you find your pet parakeet mimicking the sound of your ringtone or a song that might be playing on TV!
Should Parakeets Be Kept in Pairs?
This is quite a common question that most pet owners want to know about when getting parakeets as pets. Most people believe that the birds should be kept or bought in pairs; however, that depends on personal circumstances and situations.
You can do very well with just one male or female parakeet as they will become closer to you quickly. The lone bird prefers human companions better than any other mate or partner. Despite that, the assumption exists that parakeets have a prolonged chance of adapting and surviving if they are brought in pairs.
This is mainly because these are “flock birds” and thrive in groups or at least with one or more companions. Those people who cannot give their parakeets a lot of attention should consider keeping them in a pair.
Difference in Male and Female Traits
As it is with every breed in animals, birds also slightly differ in temperament when it comes to genders. While there are no obvious or huge changes in their traits that you instantly detect, male and female parakeets do tend to behave distinctively.
The males are known to be subtle and docile with softer voices. They are not the dominant gender of the species and may only get slightly aggressive during the mating season. Even if the male parakeet is in heat or requires a mate, they will only act out momentarily and could nip or bite the owner’s finger or hand.
This rarely causes any discomfort unless there is an open wound or if a small child is on the receiving end of a bite. Female parakeets are dominant, which is why you should not think about having two in the same cage. They can make shrill sounds and do not make much of an effort to mimic other ones or learn words from the human language.
What to Know About Parakeets’ Behaviors
If you observe your pet bird closely, it can become easier for you to guess what they want or how they feel. Parakeets’ behaviors are simple to follow or track once people know the signs and have earned their trust. It is important to know that each bird has their own personality and sometimes their traits could be an indication of something very different than your observation or perception.
Despite that, you can watch out for some basic behavioral changes to get an idea of your pet parakeet’s mood and communicate with them.
Happy and Content
Most parakeets are pleasant birds and can be found singing or chirping when happy or content. If your pet is singing a tune or song, you should know that they are cozy and happily adjusted to their space. The way they express their contentment can vary according to the personality of the birds.
Those that are vocal will showcase that through their behavior. Otherwise, the shy parakeets usually nap or grind their beaks as that also is taken as a sign or trait of happiness.
Affection
Once your parakeet becomes friendly with you, they will most likely be quite expressive about that with their behavior. The bird is not afraid to show its affection towards humans as well! They can perch on their hands or shoulders and sing to people.
Sometimes when owners visit their pets after a long day at work, the birds shake or move their tails at them. One of the biggest ways that parakeets show affection is pecking at the neck or ear once they are used to the human touch.
Loneliness and Boredom
Sometimes parakeets can become bored with their surroundings (cages) and start displaying unhealthy behavior. They can become obsessed with certain toys or even their own reflection if there is a mirror that reflects it. You could find these birds plucking out their own feathers in boredom or even depression, which could be expressed through inactivity.
Fear
The biggest behavioral trait that gives away fear is trembling. If a parakeet is anxious or fearful of someone, their entire body will begin to shake. At times, this could be a sign of cold weather or an illness so it should be taken quite seriously.
In order to figure out what the problem is, you can move away for a little while and leave the bird alone. If it’s afraid, the parakeet will begin to calm down or feel less threatened with time. Otherwise, they should be taken to a vet immediately.
