Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 6/20/2006

Question
Hi there.  I recently found a parakeet outdoors and have brought him in for safekeeping while we look for its owner.  He is currently living with my parakeet. I am concerned because he is not very active, and frequently shakes his wings rapidly, but without opening them up, which is something I have never seen my parakeet do.  Since I dont know this bird, it is hard to tell if this is a normal behavior, or a sign of illness that i should be wary of. Other than that, he seems fairly healthy.  Thanks a lot.

Answer
Hi, Becka.  Thanks for posting.

Since parakeets don't normally live in the wild in the USA, this keet is most likely someone's pet that escaped (although if the temps in your area are warm all the time and food is plentiful, domestic keets could live in the wild).  He might not be active because he's tired (or resting from his experience of being outdoors), not being used to having to live outside and forage for food, having to find a safe place to sleep, etc.  I'd have to see what you mean by "shakes his wings rapidly," but this could be a normal reaction a keet has when a human comes up to the cage (mine do this often), a way a bird shakes things off it's body, could be a way the keet stabilizes its body temperature and/or is a way for the keet to show its fear of humans...not sure the meaning since I also don't know this keet.  

It's very possible this keet could have picked up some type of bug from being outdoors, especially since he's likely not used to being outside (stress of being outside), but most of the time, birds stay up high enough and move around so much, they don't pick up bugs easily.  

The worse thing you could have done was put this keet with your keet, just in case the found keet was carrying some type of illness.  If he is ill, he could pass any illness to your pet keet.  

This is about all I can offer from the information you posted.

Good luck in finding it's owner.  I've found a couple of keets outside and they turned out to be the best pet keets I had.

Chrys