:D:D:D:D Yaa!!!! :):) I LOVE BIRDIES!! :):):)

Oh, wait!  Are you thinking of getting a parakeet or small parrot???  If so, all this stuff below applies to that.  If you mean a songbird of some sort, then nothing below applies.  Ask me about those, and I'll give you new info!! :)

Okay, now, are they good pets??  For where you get the bird, DO NOT get a "bin of budgies," as they call it at Petco.  Those parakeets have lived in a giant enclosure with other birds their whole life, and cannot adapt well to anything other than that.  I bought my birds from a bin of budgies, and look, they still don't come out of the cage. :( Preferably, buy your bird anywhere that says they were hand raised.  That requires no work in training them, which would have been very helpful for me to have known! :) Unless you're willing to spend at least three hours a day with the birdy, buy two.  Parakeets are flocking birds, and they need to have a flock.  While more would be better, two is about the most noise anybuggy can handle! :) Oh, and, make sure the birdies are mostly green!!  Blue, purple, white, etc birds don't live very long (B.B. only lived to be two).

Make sure their cage is pretty big.  Buddi's cage looks like it's probably 2 1/2 feet tall and 1 1/2 feet wide.  That's a good size.  Buy a stand, too, because hanging it from a ceiling is a dumb idea (think about how much it'd weigh!).  Put corncob bedding on the bottom of the cage, or, if you want, no bedding at all; just use newspaper.  For perches, use wooden ones, or, even better, branches (NO cherry branches!!).  Don't use plastic, because parakeets like to chew! :):)

Toys are fun for birds!! :):) You can always buy plastic toys (right now, she has some rings and a sliding spinny thing on her perch for plastic toys), which are cheap and easy.  Even cheaper, you can make homemade toys, such as Buddi's macrame rope (about 8" by 1"), leather strips (or thick string) hanging from the cage, or bells hanging on leather strips (make sure that the bells are not jingle bells; birds can get their toes caught in the hole, and rip their toys off!!!).  You're creative, so I'm sure you could think of more safe toys!!! :):) Oh, tame parakeets actually enjoy pushing small balls and marbles around on the table!! :D

Nutrition is important for birds.  Give your birdy a cuttle bone (gross, I know!), which you can find at all pet stores.  Yes, it is a bone, but it's good for bird beaks.  Don't buy the scented ones!!!  THEY STINK!!! :):) Also, you can buy mite control things, but those may cause cancer in birds, so I wouldn't recommend it!

Recommended food varies, depending on opinions.  Vets say you have to buy Harrison's pellets.  NASTY!!!!  My parakeet HATES them!! :):) I feed her about a tablespoon of them.  I also feed her a tablespoon of normal seeds.  And I feed her about a half of a tablespoon of dried egg mix, which is good for her, I guess (she's obviously not a vegetarian or vegan!!).  When she's molting, I give her molting seed, also.

WATER!!!!!  If there's enough room, you can buy your parakeet a 'bathing house'.  Buddi doesn't have one, so we spray her with water in a mister every once in a while.  She drinks water out of a little water cup hanging on the side of her cage.  She doesn't drink out of her other water dish.

Feed them treats, such as seed sticks, millet sprays (small amounts at a time), moist lettuce, and other fruit and veggies.  Buddi likes lettuce and apple peels best! :)

They need to be taken to the vet about once a year for a check-up and nail clipping.

Try to spend at least twenty minutes with them a day, preferably an hour or so.  I don't do well at this part.....

This may seem like a lot of work, but really, it isn't! :):) Parakeets are a great deal of fun!! :D:D

August birthday over here also! :)

Oh, I hope you get a bird!:):):)

My computer won't show the one of the cat. (it shows Bob and Alice though.) He sounds cute!! (or she?):):):)