Uncoodinated female parakeet or just the way she is?

[ksmith5151]

I'm hoping to get some thoughts on one of my new little female parakeets. I bought two females a little over a month go. One is grey/blue (Misty) and the other one is blue/white (Tia).

Tia acts like a normal playful bossy female. Since she's settled in, I'm seeing her true devious personality. lol. But Misty is quite the opposite and I can't help thinking there is something off about her. I just can't pin point what it is or if she's normal. I haven't had all that many baby parakeets. Misty mainly just sits looking happy. I've seen her eating and drinking and her poo is normal. She seems pretty healthy but she seems uncoordinated. I've never seen her hop to another perch or onto the feeding or drinking cup. She climbs. When I pick her up she wobbles a bit to get her balance like a new hatchling. She does perch on my finger but seems to prefer me to picking her up with my hand flat.

Since they both seem really healthy I've recently let them play on top of the large play cage with the other parakeets. They are all getting along really well but Misty doesn't interact yet with any of them. I have 3 male parakeets too. When the females are old enough next year I'm hoping to get some pretty babies.

So do you think this is just the way she's going to be or will she get more active and coodinated when she's a little older? Can anyone guess how many months old she is?


------ Kimberley

 

[Nocturnal]

How old is she? A long time ago I had a parakeet that I named "Klutz" because she wobbled like that and couldn't hold her balance very well.

Well, I found the reason for this was that I had bought her as a very young baby at the pet store. When I bought her she had only ever been in the big cage there, hopping about--- they clipped her for me before I took her home.

So she basically never had the chance to fledge. Typically if a parrot does not get a chance to fly around a bit before being clipped, they are really odd about their balance. My friend even has a hyacinth macaw that was mistreated and never allowed to fledge, and at 2 years old he still cannot balance very well and is very uncoordinated. We are trying to get him to fly but no luck yet.

Anyway-- Klutz's balance issues were resolved as soon as I allowed her flight feathers to grow in and let her get a few good flights in before clipping her again.

I suspect this is what could be the issue with yours.

 

[ksmith5151]

Thanks! I don't know how old she is. I'm guessing a few months old but maybe 4 months. When I held her near the window today I saw that her eye color is starting to turn lighter (grey eyes, dark pupil). I bought Misty and Tia at Petco and they already had their wings clipped. Misty has one flight feather that has grown out so I'll let the rest grow out too.

----- Kimberley

 

[Nocturnal]

Yes, I would do that-- let her flight feathers grow out and let her fly around and see if that helps her balance any. If she does balance well after a week of flying you can clip her again if need be and she won't have any issues.

 

[ksmith5151]

Oh gosh, I felt so bad for Misty today. Tia or somebody chased Misty off the cage and she landed inside a box (which was on the floor). I had just put the box by my dresser (which the cages are on) because I'm cleaning up my studio a bit. She's has a couple flight feathers now but they aren't helping her any yet. The box wasn't quite full yet and she was flayling around wildly, upside down and every which way because she couldn't get her footing. It was only seconds before I picked her up from the box but oh that poor baby. She is still so very uncoordinated. I almost thought she was hurt but she's okay.

I do see one positive side to her condition. She is getting to be the sweetest parakeet I've ever had. I think I'm gaining her trust more so than any of the other parakeets. After I picked her up she sat in my hands as content as can be and now she is inches in front of me on my work desk, sitting in her food dish, eating. I wanted to watch her for a little bit to make sure she's okay. She is just as content as can be, and she even let me pet her cheek after that box incident when she was sitting in my hand. Oh and a funny thing about her when she eats.... she won't perch on the side of the dish no matter how big or small the dish is. She sits right in the middle of the food. lol.


------ Kimberley

 

[94lt1]

By looking at her, she's very young.. Her eyes and markings show that...

We have a sun conure that is the same way.. Very clumsy.. We wonder if he wasn't injured when they candled his egg... It doesn't take much.. But who knows...


She looks very sweet indeed.. Good luck with her.

 

[ksmith5151]

I have some good news to share. I just saw Misty play for the first time this morning and she seems much more coordinated than before. Still not 100% coordinated like the other parakeets but much better. (She still doesn't have her flight feathers.) Since I got her she just sat in different places and never played. This morning she joined in the play with Tia, nibbled on toys and is having a grand time it seems. It's so good to see her so happy.


----- Kimberley

 

[Kalidasa]

Misty is a cutie! This is a good time to bond very closely with her, hold and play with her every day...as if you needed convincing of that! She's such a little doll!