Gifting A Pet Bird Parakeet For Christmas Or Any Occasion. What You Need.

I’ve decided that it’s time for me to get a new budgie, or a parakeet, whichever name you want to call them.  I prefer a parakeet. When I was a child, my parents always had parakeets and my mom would teach them to talk.  Then, when I had my own kids too wanted birds. I had several types of birds but when I moved out of state, I had to leave the birds behind, except the parakeet who has been long gone over 10 years now.  I gave the other birds to a family friend who loved them to the end. Since then,  I’ve not had any birds.  Reason being, birds are a really big responsibility.  As of October of last year, yes almost a year ago, I started thinking I’d like to buy a parakeet again.  And every month, I had to reevaluate if I still wanted the responsibility of owning a bird.  After 8 months, I know without a doubt that I am up to the task of becoming a bird mom again.  There is just something that is so calm to me when I hear birds chirp.

I briefly thought about adopting a pair of Lovebirds, and I even went so far as to fill out an application.  But the more I thought about the enormity of owning two birds, and I took into consideration the noise level Lovebirds make, I quickly returned my thoughts back to a parakeet.  Parakeets make the best beginner bird pets for people that live alone, like some of my elderly neighbors.  They’re not expensive to purchase and they’re not expensive to house and feed.   Keeping one of my neighbors in mind, I threw around the idea of purchasing a parakeet for her while purchasing my own.

She lives alone and is wheelchair-bound so it would be hard for her to own a dog that needs taken out day and night.  She wouldn’t be able to clean out a litterbox for a cat on her own either.  Plus cats scratch and she only has one leg.  I’d be afraid of an infection from a cat scratch on her good leg. My sister got a scratch from a cat and ended up having to have surgery on it. Ruling out cats and dogs for her,  I decided to see what her reaction would be to owning a bird.  Even though it’s a gift, I’d never buy a pet of any sort for anyone, without them thinking about it and deciding that the pros VS the cons of owning a new pet.  And when it comes to birds, there’s the added concern that they may outlive senior citizens.  Parakeets live up to 20 years.  Other birds live even longer.

After careful consideration, she was excited about the companionship a new feathered friend would bring her and that’s when I went a little bit crazy with shopping for not one, but two birds.  Parakeets can be trained to talk with love and care and daily interaction. After buying and putting together our cages, hers is smaller keeping in mind her disabilities (and I even bought one even smaller that she can put her feathered friend in to take outdoors to sit with her) and buying all of the necessary supplies and of course toys galore, I then went out into the bright blue yonder to find two healthy male parakeets.  Reason being males generally talk more than females and are easier to train.  Be sure to check back next week to meet my newest family member.  If you haven’t signed up for my newsletter yet, now would be a good time to so you don’t miss any upcoming Christmas Gift Guide 2019 posts (right sidebar).

With Christmas coming up, I thought I’d kick off my Christmas Gift Guide 2019 with gifting birds as a gift idea for an elderly person or even for a responsible child.  I’m going to give you an idea of what you need when you gift a parakeet or any other bird and please keep in mind that birds need plenty of toys because they’re a lot more intelligent than people realize and they especially need different size perches (or they get arthritis from hanging on to one size).

Here is a general list and I’m going to break this down even more for you.

1. Cage
2. Food
3. Birdbath
4. Food bowls
5. Health supplies
6. Perches
7. Extras for the new bird owner
8. Bed
9. Toys
10. Bird

 Cage

Large OR Medium PLUS Travel Cage

 Food

Bird Seed, Pellets, Millet Sprays

 Birdbath

With Mirror, Hanging

 Food bowls

Stainless Steel, No Spill

Health Supplies

Cuttlebone: Twin Pack OR 16 pack Mineral block: Orange OR Apple Grit: Twin Pack

Perches

Rope, Flat, Hanging, Ladder

Extras For Mom Or Dad

Manual, Journal, Bullet Pens

Bed

Winter Plush, Year Round Hammock

Toys

Bird Toys, Baby Toys

Last on my list is the bird.  Before you head out to buy a parakeet, make sure that the person you are buying one for is up to the responsibility.  Again, birds live a long time. They need daily interaction, and constant care (vet bills, nails clipped, etc).