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How can I tell if my three parakeets are happy and healthy?

I don't know if my 3 parakeets are healthy because I don't feed them fruits and veggies. I do put fruits and veggies in their cage but they never eat it. They stay away from it like it is a monster who will kill them. I've tried apples, celery, banana, cabbage, and brocolli but when I give them their seed diet in their food cup with vitamins, they only eat millet and I don't give it as a treat, it is in their seed diet. I don't really know if my parakeets are happy. But they always chirp out loud(very loud, you can hear them 3 houses away from ours), kind of active because they always stay in spot cleaning themselves and I spray them with mist 3 times a week in the summer and I only got them this 6-23-07. They only play with three toys wich are balls, swing, and a mini ferris wheel toy. That's all they ever play with. Are they healthy and happy enough for them to live long?

Public Comments

1. They are probably fine. Signs of illness in birds are: discharge from the eyes or nose diarrhea not eating anything being lethargic difficulty breathing (you can tell if your bird is having trouble breathing by watching them when they sleep or relax. There tail will bob up and down if they are having problems, and be still if they are breathing normally). feather loss (except when molting) Puffed up feathers when alert (puffy feathers are normal when sleeping). Keep them away from the kitchen when you cook. The tefflon from pans is very toxic. Don't cook anything for your birds with a tefflon pan for this same reason. Keep them away from cigerette smoke, perfume, air freshener, sented candles, and similar products. Breathing this in can kill them. Keep them warm, but not too hot. About 74-78 degrees F is good. Hope this helps
2. Budgies (I am assuming that is what you are calling a parakeet, there are many different kinds of parakeets) have a life expectancy of 12-15 years. Most of those that die young are either unhealthy or develop a tumor. This tumor tends to be a not so uncommon occurrence. It tends to show up just before or during the 5th-7th year. diet of just seed is also pretty common amongst budgie owners. for the best health a diet of pellet is better and even that should be mixed with seed and fresh veggies and fruit. the way I get budgies on a pellet diet(because most budgies when purchased are on seed) is I give seed with a small amount of pellets and every 1-2 weeks I increase the pellet and decrease the seed. another thing about budgies if you have paid attention when you change out their food, they tend to eat only the food on the top\surface. The fresh foods should be finely chopped.. From what I read they appear to be healthy. Also it is not unusual for them to have a preference on the toys they play with ( have yet to see one that does not like bells).
3. Although it is a good thing to try (and continue trying), especially offer, parakeets tend to be seed only birds and will sometimes starve themselves to death. With this in mind I recommend you go ahead and purchase a good parakeet seed diet and if you can afford it purchase some of the natural finch size pellet to mix in with their seed diet. This is how I finally got my cockaiel to eat pellet. The pellet is the same size and color as seed mix. Millet should only be given as a treat, and not as a part of heir ever day staple.
4. They should not be on a all seed diet, They would be better off on a Pellet Diet But you'll have to convert them slowly, you can't just go buy pellet parakeet food and pour it in thier food bowl and expect them to it it how to convert from seeds to pellets Week 1: Pick a brand of pellets...I recomend Zupreem, Roudybush, Harrisons, Prettybird or Hagen's Tropican lifetime pellet or tropimix. You can also do a combination of to give them choices, and I'll address this later on. Offer the chosen pellet in the primary food dish, free choice...that means 24/7. IN A SEPARATE DISH offer your seed mix for 20 minutes twice a day. Do this for a week... Week Two, follow the steps to week one, only allowing 15 minutes twice a day Continuing on...keep doing this until the bird is recieving seed 5 minutes twice a day then start only offering it once a day, do that for a week, then once every other day and if they are still clinging on to the seed, once every third day...by this time they will be eating pellet and seed will be seen as a treat. I feed seed a couple times a week, except for my breeders they are starting to get it every day. NOW to talk about the mixing of pellets. I believe that variety is the spice of life. Always have a back up pellet in case you run out of the primary, or you go on vacation and can't find your normal pellet...the delivery is sloughed off a day or two and you have to fill in...we hate to think that this happens and we wouldn't be resposible enough to get more before we run out...but sometimes things are beyond our control. So every once in a while mix in some extra pellets and see if they'll eat them. I perfer Kaytee Brand Parakeet food for Mine, But my quaker gets Zupreem Fruit Blend Just make sure what ever Pellet diet you chose that it is for Parakeets and mine doesnt play with any toy he has, not even the bells, He is very content just to sit on his play gym ( which has a swing, bell, and a ladder) that is on top of his cage and just chirp and tweet all day I've put toys in his cage, along with another bell and he want's nothing to do with it at all nor does he want to eat any fruits or veggies BUT i keep putting them in his cage any way, Somtimes i'll use a clothes pin to attach it to his cage where he sits at the most while in his cage, and other times i just put it right on top of his food and he'll eat all around the fruit or veggie that is in his food bowl and only eat his pellets BUT i havent gave up yet i've had mine since the week of mothers day ( may 07)
5. first of all i think carrots are good and put music on for them they like that or read to them.h