Parakeet Life Span

Are you thinking of bringing home a parakeet? Before you go to the pet shop to select your feathery friend, let me give you some information about these beautiful birds. Parakeets are members of the parrot family. These birds can be found in Asia, Australia, Africa, Central America and South America. As far as their physical appearance is concerned, these are slightly different from parrots. They are smaller in size and have long, tapered tail feathers. You will be absolutely mesmerized when you look at these playful birds. If you are a bird lover, you will find it hard to take your eyes off a parakeet. Once you bring home a parakeet, make sure that you provide them with good food and a proper environment. Keeping parakeets as pets will give you lots of joy because they are very lively, but make sure that you make them feel at home. The parakeet life span will greatly depend on how you treat your pet. Here's some information on factors that will affect the parakeet life span.

Parakeet Life Expectancy

Wondering about the average life span of a parakeet? Though the average parakeet life span ranges from 5-9 years, it can vary depending on how well the parakeet is cared for. Sometimes parakeet life span might also depend on factors such as genetics. Those parakeets who have adjusted well to their surroundings and are well-fed might even live up to 15 years. Pay attention to parakeet care and your parakeet will live longer. Let me give you some parakeet information on how to prolong your parakeet's life span:

Interaction with Parakeets
The playful parakeet behavior makes them very popular as pets. These birds are highly affectionate and playful, so, make sure you interact with them for at least half an hour daily. They love it when you stroke them and talk to them. Therefore, before you get one home, make sure that you are willing to spend time with your exotic pet. If the birds begin to feel isolated or bored, it will have an adverse impact on the parakeet life span. So, talk to the bird in soft mummers and play. Never let the surroundings be quiet or very loud, it might scare the bird. Also get hold of some bird toys, bird swings and bird cage ladders. You must prepare the cage properly. You must get a big airy bird house with numerous bird perches. The bird will feel claustrophobic if the bird house or cage is small. Make sure you keep both the bird and its cage clean. It would be a good idea to cover the cage on a few sides with a cloth at night. This is to make your pet feels secure at night.

Parakeet Food
Giving good food is a must for prolonging the parakeet life span. Your parakeet needs fresh food and water everyday. For that you can buy nutritious bird pellets. Several brands of healthy pellets are available in the market. So, head out and select the best for your pet. Let me tell you another important parakeet care tip. If you give the same food everyday, your parakeet might start showing a disinterest in eating, so, make sure that doesn't happen. Besides the 1-2 teaspoons of pellets, give them seeds, cottage cheese, peanuts, bean sprouts or mealy worms. You can also give them ½ cup of fruits and vegetables such as mangoes, papaya, zucchini, carrots, green peppers. Make sure that you don't give them any processed dried fruit.

Parakeet Breeding
Let's move on to the aspect of parakeet breeding. The parakeet life cycle comprises of stages such as the laying and hatching of eggs, nestling and molting or shedding of the bird's feather. Molting marks the reaching of adulthood. As far as parakeet breeding is concerned, care must be taken that both parakeets must be adults, preferably older than a year. After mating, the eggs that are fertilized take about 18-20 days to hatch. Then it takes about 4 weeks of care before the chicks are fully feathered and ready to be on their own. Before you think about parakeet breeding, it would be a good idea to get in touch with a veterinarian to check if both parents are healthy enough to breed.