Pros and Cons of Owning Parakeets as Pets

Advantages of owning a budgie

There are so many reasons why we should love and adore a parakeet. Aside from their cute size and charming looks, they have natural actions and characteristics. They can make us want to bring home a parakeet the next day. When owning parakeets, the joy of their bright colors and happy little chirps is a welcome addition to many homes. Here are the advantages of keeping this tiny little birds as your feathered friend.

owning parakeets as a family member
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1. Parakeets are intelligent

To have a parakeet as your feathered companion is beyond exciting than what you think. Parakeets are naturally born intelligent creatures. What makes them stand out among all the animal companion is that they are responsive in what they see, not just through action but through speech. Yes, they can mimic voices and tones, and they can learn vocabularies of more than 100 words.

Sometimes, they will even learn to “talk”, especially the males. These little energy bundles are curious and need to be kept very busy in order to stay fit. Moreover, each bird is different from the next, simply because every parakeet has its very own character traits. Parakeets are not only ideal indoor birds for enthusiasts of Australian small parrots: because they are relatively easy to keep, they are also suitable for beginning parrot hobbyists, as well as for children, senior citizens, and those who are working full-time and do not have the time throughout the day to look after their pets. The effect budgerigars have on us humans is amazing.

As a pet bird owner, you could teach them to respond through cues and verbal commands. All of this can be learned through proper training. Parakeets are fast learners, and they can quickly understand or adapt to your actions.

2. Parakeets love social interaction

A parakeet loves human interaction. These cute little birds tend to listen to two people’s conversations and act as if he is a part of them. They prefer sitting on your shoulder to snuggle up to you so that you can scratch his head. Just like other pet companions, parakeets are fun-loving birds. They show their love through body language. They can wag their tail whenever you are around. It is a sign that they enjoy your presence and want your attention. As long as you keep them happy, they will be grateful for your act of kindness, and in exchange, they will give you their loyalty.

3. Parakeets provides endless entertainment

One of the things you will love about a parakeet is that they can give entertainment. Provide them a toy that best fits their cage. It can be ring bells, mirrors, and ladders. Make sure that it will not cause any harm to the pet bird. After giving a toy, observe how they play. It can be amusing to look at them as we see unusual times like seeing your bird playing with a toy. Indeed, having a pet bird parakeet enlightens our mood by plainly being just themselves.

4. Parakeets have a long-life span

Compared to other animals, parakeets have long life-spans. It will be easier for you to accept their loss when they are old because they necessarily need to rest given their age. Parakeets provide life-long companionship. Imagine they can be a part of your journey in life. From teenagers to adults, they are present in whatever life may give you. What a wonderful feeling to have someone who can stay during the tough times up to the glorious days. To have someone loyal and caring companion, you won’t be needing to ask these attachments to your parakeet. They give it voluntarily without second thoughts.

5. Parakeets can be your travel companion

Since a parakeet is a small-sized bird, you can take them at your convenience to your road trips, family events, and get together with friends. You will never have a dull moment while traveling. Having a parakeet beside you in your car makes everything more fun. It can ease your stress out in traffics. And that is one of the things that we need to have, someone who can provide us entertainment in the middle of traffic or even in rush hours. Everything gets better when you are with your parakeet.

6. Having a parakeet can be good for your health

American studies have shown that keeping parakeets not only lowers blood pressure, but it also prevents depression. The reason: the owners of budgies are more likely to communicate among each other, because the common theme of “budgerigars” also opens up avenues for other topics of discussion. Anyone who decides to get a parakeet is in terms of his or her own character, very open and approachable to the people around him or her.

Disadvantages of owning parakeets

Although you have your advantages, you might still encounter issues upon owning a parakeet. It is no doubt that parakeets have their downfalls and shortcomings as a pet. So before considering to have one, here are the disadvantages of owning a parakeet.

1. Parakeets are fragile

In the wild, parakeets are free to roam around because they are safe. Nature can help them with their growth development through searching for their food and exercise. However, if you plan to bring a parakeet home, you should check first their future environment. If you have appliances or things that contain chemicals, then parakeets are not for you. A parakeet is highly sensitive to chemicals. It triggers their health condition that might cause a consequential illness. A parakeet is not for polluted areas as well.

They can’t survive breathing in contaminated air. And, you don’t want to see your feathered companion dealing with respiratory problems. Parakeet has fragile health capacity. They can get sick due to slight temperature variations. It may result in susceptibility to tumors and liver problems. They have complex anatomy that makes them quite fragile as compared to other types of pets. When you have a pet bird, make sure that you are handling them gently. If not, they might be injured. They can also bite you when they feel you are showing aggressiveness towards them

2. Parakeets don’t do well alone

Since your parakeet is a social bird, you will need to have at least a pair of parakeets. They don’t do well when you only have one because it is their norm to catch up with each other like they do in the wild. In that case, having two pets will require more time to clean their cages. Make sure that they have a complete set of maintenance in terms of food and hygiene. It is not an applicable pet for those people who works eight to nine hours a day.

3. Parakeets are loud

Don’t let their small size fool you and think that they are silent. These small-sized creatures are extremely loud. If you have a quiet neighborhood, they will easily be disturbed as parakeets have no warnings when they talk. Some pet owners like to have a spacious and private place together with their pets. But having a parakeet may not be a good idea. You will find them playing but most of the time talking. They can be annoying if you want privacy. When they feel that you don’t appreciate their presence, they can do harmful things such as biting you.

4. Owning parakeets can be expensive

A parakeet will need a moderately large cage for their home. They need to have a spacious area to do bird’s activities such as exercise, eat, play with the toys, and fly around. If you have a tight or low budget for a pet’s cage. Then maybe a pet bird is not for you. Don’t waste your time trying to put your pet in a low budget birdcage.

5. Dust and Dirt

There is going to be some dust and dirt. If you allow your birds free-flight time, the birds will leave small bird droppings, and, of course, leftover food, in their travels throughout the room. Even caged birds can make quite a mess, and you will need to vacuum on a regular basis.

Should I be owning a parakeet?

At this moment, you must be wondering if you will adopt a parakeet. Especially when they’re babies, parakeets are adorable. They’re small enough to fit right in your palm. They fly away when they are pleased and yawn when they are asleep. When they’re babies, they’ll even cuddle with you. They’re adorable little creatures that love the affection of their owners.

You can train your parakeets through tricks and verbal movements. They know how to get back to the cage or when we have to pick them just by saying a few words. Our birds know when to go into the birdcage or when we have to pick them up by saying a few words to them. Training your parakeet requires patience.

Parakeets are appealing. Their body is like a work of art because of its warming colors. It comes with sorts of patterns and designs. They have colors like yellow, green, blue, white, and gray combinations. They may look different, but they are all equally charming.

Nobody can give you the comfort and entertainment that you need after a long day than a parakeet can. Just look at them whenever they are playing with toys like a mirror. They will sit and talk to his reflection. They can also imitate sounds that make them more hilarious.

Above all, parakeets have their love language. If you are giving love and affection to them, they will show their loyalty in exchange. They can be the best buddy animal companion that you will ever have.

Final Thoughts

There are many arguments in favor of these birds. As soon as you have gained the trust of your budgerigar there are absolutely no obstacles to having all sorts of fun and games for the two of you. Within a very short period of time, the birds become hand-tame and very much enjoy being gently scratched, principally around the head: but they usually do not like to be touched anywhere else on the body. The noise level of budgerigars (compared to that of other parrots) is low. so that they are very suitable for keeping in a (rented) apartment. This makes things easy on the nerves of your neighbors!

All in all, there are pros and cons when it comes to owning budgerigars or parakeets. However, as you realize that you have that passionate pet owner heart, you will be able to decide. Ultimately, you will be ready to take care of these little birds as their beauty will outweigh any mentioned disadvantages.

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