The Moustache Parakeet - A Playful and Clever Pet Parrot

Moustache parakeets are attractive, intelligent and playful birds belonging to the parrot family. They’re entertaining to watch and can be trained to talk. Moustache parakeets are not usually “cuddly”, but they do like human attention, and if they’re socialized and handled daily from an early age they are friendly and affectionate birds and make lovely pets.

Moustache parakeets are also called moustached parakeets, mustache parakeets or mustached parakeets. They’re medium sized, green birds with a salmon-colored chest and upper abdomen, a grey head, a thin black band between their eyes and a wider black band on each side of their face, which looks something like a moustache. The pink chest develops gradually, and females usually have a paler chest than males. The female's head may have a bluish tinge. When they are mature the males have an orange beak while the females have a black beak. Adults generally weigh between 100 and 130 grams and are between 13 and 16 inches in length.

The scientific name of the moustache parakeet is Psittacula alexandri. The wild birds are often called red-breasted parakeets and live in Asia, especially in Indonesia. There are a number of subspecies. Two pet owners may find that their moustache parakeets look slightly different because they belong to two different subspecies. Wild moustache parakeets live in flocks and feed on fruit, leaves, grains, seeds and nuts. Pet moustache parakeets enjoy the company of humans and other birds and also like a varied plant diet.

Petra is my moustache parakeet. He was hatched in captivity and hand reared. Breeding in captivity is essential for the protection of wild birds. Hand rearing is also very important in the case of moustache parakeets to develop their friendliness and prevent any aggressive tendencies from appearing.

Moustache parakeets are often said to be “feisty”, but Petra is a calm bird. He’s affectionate, but he’s not as outgoing or as cuddly as Cece, my dusky conure. Petra is free-flying most of the time. He will get on to my hand and likes to be carried around on my head or shoulders. He enjoys nibbling my ears and will let me stroke him, although being stroked is not his favorite experience. He has a very different personality from Cece, who is a very assertive bird and loves to be stroked. Although some moustache parakeets enjoy being petted, some of them are very particular about where they are touched, or like to be touched by only one person. Moustache parakeets need to be handled daily to maintain their friendliness with humans. Keeping them used to being handled also makes vet visits less traumatic.

Moustache parakeets live for about twenty to twenty five years in captivity. They have a loud voice, although I don’t consider Petra to be a loud bird compared to my noisy, shrieking conure!

A moustache parakeet does well on a mixture of pellets, fresh, raw vegetables such as broccoli, spinach and carrots, raw fruits such as bits of peeled apple, orange and strawberries, and small amounts of protein, such as hard-boiled egg. My birds love cooked sweet potato. They also enjoy corn on the cob, after the cob has been cooked for a short time. Cooked rice or beans can also be given to a moustache parakeet. Seeds and nuts should make up only a small proportion of the diet. Avocado is poisonous to pet birds and should never be given to them.

Make sure that all produce is pesticide free and wash it thoroughly before you give it to your bird. Remove uneaten produce quickly so that it doesn't spoil. Also make sure that seeds and nuts are unsalted and unsweetened and are as fresh as possible. Petra loves peanuts, but they are high in fat and should be given as an occasional treat rather than as a regular food. He loves spray millet too, but this should also be given occasionally, since a bird can gain weight if he or she eats a large amount of millet.

Moustache parakeets are messy eaters, dropping food to the ground as they eat. My dog takes advantage of this behavior. He will wait wherever Petra and Cece are being fed, and pounce on the dropped food before any other pet gets it!

A moustache parakeet should have a large cage with plenty of room for climbing around. The cage should contain lots of interesting toys. Since the moustache parakeet is intelligent its mind needs to be kept occupied. Boredom will make the bird miserable and can lead to behavior problems. Even if a bird has to be left in the cage at some times, it should be let out for a lengthy period each day. Before you let your bird out of the cage, make sure that the room is safe for exploring, especially if the bird can fly.

Moustache parakeets love to chew, and need to be provided with lots of safe, chewable toys and equipment. Chewing is a natural instinct that needs to be satisfied. Toys are an ongoing expense when you own a moustache parakeet, since he or she will love destroying wooden ones! Other wooden items that are safe for birds can also be put into the cage for the bird to chew.

Like most birds, moustache parakeets enjoy a water bath. I put water in a dog bowl for my birds to have a wash, which they both love. Cece in particular gets very excited when she has a bath.

Molting is a normal process in a bird's life as new feathers replace old feathers. Molting in a moustache parakeet can be an alarming process the first time you see it, because in addition to the loss of feathers the bird may look dowdy and seem quieter than usual. I make sure that Petra is getting highly nutritious food during this period and also give him special molting food, and he soon returns to normal. You should watch your bird carefully during the molting process to make sure that he or she really is molting and isn’t sick. It's also a good idea to record the molting date so that you can see if your bird is molting with the change of seasons, for example, and know what to expect in the future.

To keep pet birds healthy their cages and the objects they come into contact with need to be kept clean. Food and water bowls need to be washed daily and filled with fresh material. The cage liner also needs to be replaced daily. The whole cage needs to be cleaned once a week, but the job is made easier - and the cage kept healthier - if small sections of the cage or items in the cage are cleaned once a day.

Bird droppings stick to bars, trays, perches and toys. Cleaning the cage is an easier job than it used to be now that there are bird-safe liquids on the market that dissolve the droppings. A damp cloth or brush plus a cage cleaner liquid gets the job done efficiently. Every when you're using a cleaning liquid that's claimed to be non toxic, the cage and equipment should be rinsed thoroughly after the liquid is used. Everything needs to be dry before a bird gets into the cage again. Since wooden perches and toys take a long while to dry, it's helpful to have a selection of toys and perches so that some can be used while others are drying.

Perches must have a suitable diameter for your pet’s feet. Natural wood perches are good. They should be placed at different levels in the cage so the bird can move from perch to perch as he or she would move from branch to branch in the wild. Don’t put perches directly above the water or food bowls, since bird droppings can contaminate the bowls. Perches covered with sandpaper shouldn’t be used, since they are too abrasive and can cause sores on the bottom of a bird’s foot.

You need to make sure that your moustache parakeet’s cage is safe and interesting, but you also need to make sure that the cage contains items that have surfaces with different textures to help your bird keep its nails and beak trim. However, you do need to be careful that the cage doesn’t become so crowded that the bird doesn’t have much room to move. Designing the inside of a cage is fun and it’s easy to get carried away!

Try to find an avian vet, or a general vet that has had a lot of experience with birds, to attend to your moustache parakeet. Hopefully your bird will never get sick, but if it does you will need a vet visit. In addition, if your bird needs a nail trim you might prefer to get your vet to do it.

There’s a lot to plan before you bring any pet bird into your house, and once a bird has arrived it will need a lot of care. Owners should touch and interact with their moustache parakeet every day. If moustache parakeets are left too long without human contact they often become wary and unfriendly. If you’re ready for the commitment, a hand-reared moustache parakeet bought when it is young and given plenty of personal attention is a wonderful pet!