January 14, 2021
Yellow young parakeet.
Why does she go.under paper and stay there?
Question:
Answer:
Hi Ceseley,
If this is a very young parakeet that you recently brought home, this is very normal. Parakeets are sold to pet shops as soon as they are eating on their own – some breeders take them out of the nest box if they are old enough, knowing that they will most likely learn to eat from the other young birds. So they basically have had no time to adjust to being out in the cage in the open. They are scared being in a pet shop and then being in a new home, so if they can hide, they will. It’s OK to allow this for a few days or up to a couple of weeks. But after that, I would stop using paper and either have nothing on the cage floor, which means you have to clean the tray daily, or use something like aspen shavings, which are the only shavings that are safe for birds. Most cages have a wire grate that keeps the bird from access the cage tray. This is best because it keeps him from picking through old food that many have poop on it. It’s not good for the bird to hide all of the time – it will prevent him from settling into your home and becoming used to people and tame. You can cover one half of the cage with a light towel, and this can provide some privacy that he needs while he is settling in. But he needs to be out on a perch, so that he is looking at his surroundings and getting used to everything.
Here is a link with more information to help you:
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
