Is Owning a Single Parakeet Cruel?

User Question
I had a parakeet for over 10 years and was very saddened when I lost him. This was over 5 years ago!

I just bought a beautiful keet yesterday! He is very shy!

He did eat today and is on occasion chirping a bit! I have 2 small dogs and do not intend to let him out to fly!

Do you think this is cruel? Should I get a companion for him/her?

Lisa's Answer
Congrats on the new parakeet! I would definitely start working through the hand training of the keet. I think actually that it's more cruel to coop your keet up in the cage all day and NEVER intend to let it out, vs not having friends for your keet! At least the keet has you and the two dogs to chat with and be 'part of the flock' with. But your keet only has a tiny cube to live in. What if someone tossed you into a tiny cube and made you live there your entire life, never even getting to wander around a bit! Heck, even prisoners get to leave their cells to go wander around the prison yard and stretch their legs.

Sure, you have dogs. Most of us parakeet owners have other pets, too. Lock them out of the room for 1/2 hour! You take your dogs out for walks, your parakeets also deserve their time to play and stretch and explore. Heck, have someone else walk the dogs for you and that can be the time that the keet gets to have his fun.

If you work or aren't home all the time, I would advise getting a second keet in a while. First you need to train the one you have so it is hand trained. Once the first keet is fully hand trained, that would be when you look into bringing in a second one.

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