Covering the Cage at Night

User Question
I just a got a new bird from my aunt who didnt want it anymore its about 9 months old...we've never had a a bird before, this one is a harliquin budgie...and before i read your sight...the bird hit the window a few times..befor i relized i had to close it...we've had the bird for about 4 days now...we've tried picking it up and it goes onto r fingers very easy...but it cant really land it always flys in a bunch of circles before landing on the ground....

we also have a cat who has scared it twice...both times we were already asleep..i guess the bird get freaked out jsut but the cat looking at it becuase its in its cage....we treid putting a balnket over the cage at night but he completly freaked out when we did that...

also in your site it says that birds like to talk alot...are bird doesnt really talk at all it just makes the odd noce maybe once every 2 hours...it also preens itself all the time..how much preening should the do?....i've always wanted a bird and i'm really excited that we got it..but i want to make sure were doing everything right....can u please e-mail me back..

Lisa's Answer
OK first, yes your bird might be spooked the first time you cover the cage. After all, this is something "new". However. it's something you need to do. Parakeets need peace and quiet and dark to sleep, and they can NOT sleep with the beady little eyes of a predator staring at them! So just cover the cage every night and your keet will get used to that.

Birds won't talk when it's silent, usually. Your best bet is to find some fun music and play it for your keet. Keets don't like silence, silence is scary for them. So you need to talk to your keet, sing to him, play with him and then have music for when you're not around. This will get the keet vocal.

Preening is healthy for birds. Their feathers are their most important body parts, feathers are what allow them to escape from enemies. Make sure you have a clean bathtub available for your keet to splash around in, to keep his feathers clean.

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