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Learn how to care for parakeets (budgies), recommended diet and habitat setup. Find the right food, supplies and equipment at your neighborhood Petco.
Updated on November 13th, 2025
Search Petco for the information needed about your bird’s body language. We will help you look for the signs in your bird & help you communicate with them.
Updated on November 13th, 2025
Green-cheek conures are highly inquisitive, bold, and engaging birds. Learn how to care for Green-cheek conures, what to feed them, habitat setup, and more.
Updated on November 13th, 2025
Learn more about beachcombing tips with your water-friendly dog to understand how to get most out of your dog’s day at the beach.
Updated on November 13th, 2025
Get prepared to react calmly and efficiently when accidents happen by learning basic bird first-aid skills and putting together a pet bird first-aid kit.
Updated on November 13th, 2025
There is no one perfect toy for all parakeets. They need toys that can be destroyed and toys that can't. Cardboard boxed, paperback books work well. Forging toys to stimulate puzzle solving, can be beneficial. Good luck.
Updated on August 12th, 2025
Destroying wooden toys and ladders is actually natural behavior in birds and is good enrichment. Some things you can do is offer a variety of other toys and things that they can destroy. Use newspaper or cardboard rolls to wrap and hold treats to give them something to destroy and forage at the same time. You can consider getting slightly thicker woofer toys that may last longer or combining some plastic perches and ladders with wood. A variety of shape sizes and textures is healthier than one size and style only. Concrete type perches help to file thier nails. Wood such as Manzanita is extremely hard and much more durable than the plain wood perches. Below are some toy ideas. There are also resources available on the web to see what tree branches you may have in your yard that are safe for perches. https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/top-toys-for-parakeets/ https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/bird-owners-can-find-new-uses-for-these-recyclables/
Updated on August 12th, 2025
Cute budgies! If Pluto likes to be out and about, adding in a cage-top or table-top activity center (most pet stores and online retailers carry them) may be a good idea. These often have spots for additional perches, toys, etc that can help Pluto interact and play and have some fun (and give Joy more space to rest and relax if she needs). If both birds are housed together, making sure to place in additional food, water and resting spots for each bird can also help prevent competition over these resources and may give Joy some more places to rest and relax without being bothered. Adding in hanging or preening toys between perches can also help break up the cage into more sections, and provide entertainment and fun to get out extra energy. Budgies are also great at bonding with people, so working with Pluto to teach him to perch on you or talk may also help enrich his world and get out that energy!
Updated on August 12th, 2025
Time and patience are key to helping your parakeets get used to you, and each individual bird may bond differently to you due to their individual personalities. If your birds have a favorite treat, you can also use that by giving it to them every time you visit their cage or interact. I'm also including an in-depth article on teaching your bird to step up which can help with the bonding process as well: https://www.petcoach.co/article/basic-bird-training-how-to-train-your-bird-to-step-up/
Updated on August 12th, 2025
If at first you don't succeed, try try again! Patience and retrying are your best bets. Birds can be picky eaters, and sometimes it takes several introductions of the same thing over and over before they decide to try (and like) it! You may want to try introducing those treats again at different intervals or times of day to see if they eventually start to check it out. In some cases, a bird may never be interested in it, especially if they weren't exposed to it when they were younger, and as long as they have a balanced diet otherwise, that is OK- toys or attention can work great for enrichment as well!
Updated on August 12th, 2025