Affection and Cuttlebones

User Question
My parakeet is about one year old. Her favorite thing is tapping my fingernail with her beak once, then rubbing her "cheek" - first one side, then the other, against my finger. She'll do the rubbing part on objects in her cage also. I'm sure it's some kind of affectionate gesture, but is it something keets do in general?

Also, how do you get a parakeet to peck at her "white bone" that's used to keep her beak filed?

Lisa's Answer
That's sweet that she is affectionate, lots of keets do all sorts of different things to show their fondness.

That white bone is a cuttlebone, and keets gnaw when they need to. You don't file your nails 24 hours a day, I imagine! So your keet will gnaw on it when she feels her beak needs a trim.

All Questions in this Category

List of Parakeet Question Categories

NOTE: Because of the huge volume of incoming questions, I no longer answer them one by one. Instead, we have created a live, free Parakeet Forum which is very active, where people are online 24 hours a day to help you with your parakeet related questions. If you have any questions about parakeet care - or simply want to share your parakeet stories and photos - please join us!

Parakeet Forum