My parakeets won’t eat a cuttlebone and is too scared to get his/her nails clipped.HELP!(How do u know M/F?)
I got two new parakeets, like a month ago, and I need help…please…i have two cuttlebones. One hanging on a holder, and one thats covered in poop on the ground. I also have a perch that has sand things to help wear down their nails, but they hardly go on it. I have toys but they never play with it…HELP!
Chewing on a cuttlebone is not a real delema, really. As long as they have a supplemental calcium source (calcium water drops, scrambled eggs or use a chesse grater and mix it in their foor with a little water) they will be fine. The best thing to have them on is a kibbled diet. It does not have a lot of calcium in it, but there is enough to help avoid problems.
Remove the sandy-crap from the cage. Those are actually rather dangerous to parrots. A bird’s feet are very important, and rarely, as they should not, do they ever leave their feet. The sand and gravel may cut the mushy pads on the bottom of their feet, which can get infected easily due to their over-use, and take months to heal. I believe, if we would not want to walk on sand paper or jagged, lumpy cement, why should they need to?
Toys are usually put on the back burner if you have more then one bird in a cage. They my enjoy wanting to be with each other more, which will keep them more then occupied. If you find you are still concerned, remove ALL toys from the cage and pout in one at a time. Chenge the toy every week to keep them on their toes. This usually just amuses them 
To clip nails:
Lightly wrap them in a small hand towel or washcloth and flip them on their back. If you wrapped them properly, the wings will be pinned and the feet will be easily accessable. Please, only clip the tip. If you cut too much, they may bleed to death through that little cut. If you do clip too much, use the towel end and pinch lightly- the pressure will help it to clot quickly. If you are still timid, call a certified avian veterinarian to aid you.
To sex parakeets:
Parrots have a waxy flesh above their beak called a “cere”. This is, basicly, their nose. The colors can tell gender, and most of the time DNA, blood or feather sexing methods are not needed.
Males have a light blue to dark purple cere, and females are light pink, beige or brown. Lutinos and Cinnimons can have somewhat of a white, and those are also female.
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