Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 1/7/2008

Question
Hi! I have a parakeet named Bloo and her cage is lined with newspaper. I don't know when she started, but lately I've seen the newspaper ripped up and a few minutes ago, I saw her rip it up. I don't know if she's eating it or not but I want her to stop! Why is she doing that? Also, is there anyway for me to find out how old she is?

Answer
Hi, Hannah,

I found your question(s) in the question pool this morning.  Evidently, the person you sent your question(s) to originally could not answer for some reason.

You need to watch and see if she is eating her droppings off the newspaper.  If she is, this can mean a vitamin/mineral deficiency in her diet.  She may also be ripping up paper if she is ready to lay eggs (a single female can lay infertile eggs without a male).  She may be bored...does she have toys to play with or mental stimulation of some sort?  If she is tame, do you provide her enough attention?  I seriously doubt your bird is eating the newspaper, but she may be eating her droppings off the paper.  Also, be sure you use only black and white newsprint.  Colored print can be harmful to your bird.  What you really need is to have a floor grate in the cage so you don't have to use newspaper at all.  A floor grate will allow droppings, etc., to fall through to a tray under the cage bottom that you can empty when necessary.  This will allow your bird to stay free from her own droppings, etc.

Regarding age - this is only possible if the bird is less than 3 months of age or wears a leg band.  If 3 months old or less, she will have black lines across her forehead.  If she wears a leg band, the year of hatching may be on the band.  Otherwise, determining age is very difficult unless you have a lot of experience with keets/birds, and then it can be a big challenge.  If you haven't had her long, you may be able to go back to the seller and ask how old she is.

Chrys