Moustache Parakeet - updated pics

[Marnie]

so are these guys really parakeets or parrots? i see them listed either way, but i think they are more of a parrot to me.
Skittles is settling in well, she is patiently waiting for her new cage which i just ordered from ebay.
its 24X19X30 with play top and stand. she is now using Marnies "upper" cage till it comes.
i replaced marnies upper cage with her "camping cage" so she still has two and her little tree stand in the kitchen.
1st thing i noticed about Skittles was her very short stubby tail when they are supposed to have a long one like the IRNs do. do you think she is still growing it since she is young? or do you think she lost it living in that awful small round cage her previous owner had her in? i can see some new feather coming in but she " grooms " her tail a lot too. i hope she isn't over doing it.
she will take food from me, but she also bit me once when she wasn't in the mood for treats i guess and decided she'd rather bite the hand that feed her!
she broke the skin a tiny bit no blood.
she makes some pretty loud vocalizations, mostly when i leave the room. she is quiet as long as i am in here with her. which is good.
she is a good eater and will try most anything. i haven't found anything she is really crazy over though. she takes a bite of apple, drops it, takes a bite of green bean, drops it and so on.
she is interested in toys etc. i don't think she had many before but she does now.
she is a pretty cool bird though. i am looking forward to getting her settled in her new cage and working with her to trust us more.
i just got some pics of one of her grooming sessions....





ok stop taking pics of me already!


you can see she is all ruffled of course but her tail is quite short. i see new growth though

[Giantmoa]

so are these guys really parakeets or parrots? i see them listed either way, but i think they are more of a parrot to me.

a parakeet is a parrot, but a parrot is not necassarily a parakeet? any which way they're gorgeous birds. I'd love to learn more about them

[Marnie]

more pics of her tail feathers.



i sure hope they grow in nicely

[Azure Hanyo]

Oh that absolutely looks like problems caused by the cage. I wish I would have taken a pic of just Galileo's tail when I first got her- her tail was raggedy and the feathers looked horrible. She still has some ratty feathers, but they're growing in nicely. See, what she did in her old cage is she would hang up-side down on the side of the cage, right at the top, and rub the cage bars with her face. This caused her bottom and tail to press into the bars of the cage, which ruined her tail feathers as she would do this overandoverandover again. She did this right up until I moved her into her new cage (I think it's been two weeks now? I forget. ) But even in that short of an amount of time her tail looks a heck of a lot better. Her feathers were regrowing anyway, as she didn't cause as much damage to them as she used to since she was actually out of her cage a few hours a day with me.

Uh...sorry for the rambling... I bet his tail will grow in again in no time!

[gfish56]

Marnie
I have been looking for a mustache parakeet where did you get skittles. I had one years ago, His name was Alex he was a very good talker. thanks
ginny

[gfish56]

so are these guys really parakeets or parrots? i see them listed either way,

If memory serves me they are called parakeets because when matured they have a long pointed tail rather than the short square tail of other breeds..Similar to Derbian Parakeets that are much larger and Quaker parakeets and Indian Ringnecks fall into the same category.

Ginny

[entrancedbymyGCC]

a parakeet is a parrot, but a parrot is not necassarily a parakeet? any which way they're gorgeous birds. I'd love to learn more about them

Well, and "parakeet" is a generic term for smaller, long tailed parrots of all sorts. Some have been given a common english name including "Parakeet" ... and then there are budgies which people insist on calling simply "parakeet". Ain't the English language wonderful?

[Marnie]

hi Ginny,
i found Pandora (formerly Skittles) on Craigslist. i have had her a month now and she is doing fine.
she is not into fresh foods much but will try most anything once.
her tail has really grown in nicely.
she still does her loud war whoops and jungle noise when we walk out of the room.'
she can be really loud! i try to talk softly to her and she listens, but the minute i walk away, she starts! i don't turn back to her, i keep going. i don't want to reward such noise with my presence.
here is a recent pic


fixing a wayward feather....


i would love to hear about your Alex.

[ptuga72]

fixing a wayward feather....

I love it when they stretch so tall to get a feather right under their chin!!

[Marnie]

yeah, its amazing how much they can contort themselves to preen!
i think her head reminds me of an opal, very iridescent with many colors just like the gemstone.

here is how much her tail has grown in one month....


"ready for my closeup?"


here is a shot of Pandora nad Marnie checking each other out. i think Marnie wanted to kick some butt!



i had to take down the rope bridge so Marnie couldn't get at her. you can see Pandora is just a smidge bigger than Marnie.