New parakeet... might be sick please help!!!

Hi EVERYONE!!!

I have bought a parakeet yesterday(name Cutie).... I read a lot of books and websites on their care and health... But one thing i noticed really bothers me... My keet has a bald spot around its anus. its about a size a thumb nail... when i got my bird i didnt notice it.. but later that day i noticed that sometimes poop gets stuck to her feathers and that she has lil hair in that anus area.... Im really worried... my girlfriend who had parakeets for4 years told me not to get alarmed. However i love my bird Cutie and dont want anything to happen to her!

Also question number 2: When i bought the bird i was told it was around 2 months... the stripes are all over the forehead so its deffinetly not old plus it looks thin and the feathers look smooth... I was told that its likely that is a boy... the area above the beak is somewhat close to blue but deffinetly not strong blue like most male parakeets.... does this mean that my bird is possibly older than 2 months because her area above the beak is developing a slite blue tint?

Also is it possible to teach my parakeet to talk if might be around 6 months or older?

Thank You for taking time to read this!!!

I'll be waiting on the reply, thanx again!

 

Your girlfriend is correct in saying not to be alarmed over the feather loss chances are when the bird has been preening he has pulled the feathers out.

A bird undere 6month old will have alot of barring on the head and the feathers should be smooth even in an older bird.

Once a parakeet starts going through its first molt at 4-6months old it will lose the barring on the head.

At 2months old it is still hard to determine the sex as the blue tint can disappear and turn out to be female.

I had a pair of green pied parakeets and the female had a blue tint to her cere until she was 9months old then it went dark brown because she came in to breeding condition.

As i mentioned in your other post some parakeets never learn to speak, but using simply short words like hello, will help the bird learn.
Birds over the age of 5 are harder to teach things too so you still have plenty of time.

The more time you spend with the bird trying to teach words or tricks the better chance your have of suceeding.

Do not be too disappointed if the bird never learns like i say some never do.
It can take weeks even months for a bird to pick up just one word so do not expect this over night.

Mike

 

Thanks a lot Mike...

I can finally start to relax... I'll love my bird no matter what even if he or she doesnt talk...

But do you happen to know how much a visit to a vet would approx cost to find out if its a female or a male for sure?

Thanx Again.



Alex

 

It all depends on where your at here in the uk it costs £45 just to do a DNA sex test.
I would not put any of my birds through the stress of a vet visit just for sexing as stress can cause sudden death of a bird.

I would wait another couple of weeks and you will notice what sex it is.
you will also find througout the time you have your bird they worry there owners alot, Just keep and eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

In time you will know your birds normal behaviour and when it changes you will know something is wrong.


Mike

 

Thanx Mike!

Another lil question. Today is the 3rd day that i have the parakeet and i can tell that she is comfortable with the cage CUTIE is always active but then today i noticed that she tried looking for a way out of the cage... he/she started sratching the bottom of the cage and trying bite the cage open... So afterwards i felt bad and let her out to fly.... as soon as i did i noticed that she started flying so high up that her entire back was grinding aganst the ceiling... that happened everytime she flew... and when she gets tierd she just falls... and i try catching her before she falls.. i feel so bad i never saw a parakeet fly like that.... is that ok?

will she get any better at it?

 

Chewing the cage and trying to find a way out is normal for birds parakeets are destructive birds and will chew up anything they can get here beaks into, This is a boredom thing and to help solve this make sure he/she has toys and swings it can play with.

This is normal for birds as out in the wild they know if they fly at a height they stand less chance of being caught.

When he/she is falling after flying for a while is normal for a young bird as it is very exhausting for them this is why for the first few weeks they should only be allowed out for about 10-15 mins per day.

As he/she gets older the longer it will be able to fly for, Once it has your trust he/she will not fly so high.

Mike