Well this weekend my family went to Petco and we got two parakeets. It was totally unexpected (and I know we shouldn't have gotten them there, but it wasn't quite my decision- although I could have went with not getting birds at all) Now anyways, I have no clue about birds. I've been to a couple of parakeet forums and read old threads about caring for them but that's about it. We didn't buy a book either because we can get the book cheaper elsewhere and the library has plenty.

What are some necessary supplies? Currently we have a cage and it's really big so no need worrying about space, millet spray (I think that's what it's called, and I know it's supposed to be a treat-I put it on my hand when I reach in there) 5 toys in the cage (no mirrors) and they have a pellet seed mixture (plus some veggies and fruit). Their water we buy specially so it's cleaned, but is that necessary? We drink tap water and so do all of the other animals in the house. Are cuttlebones necessary as well? We will buy one next time we go to Wal-Mart or Petsmart (sometime this week) and tons of more toys too.

Anyways, anyone have some good sites for me to check out?

Now to the birds- we think we have a boy and a girl. The green one (no names yet) is a male almost for sure. His cere is blueish purplish. The blue one, we're not quite sure because their cere hasn't changed all the way yet. But on another site I read from a breeder that sometimes if the holes on the cere (or is that the cere, lol I feel stupid!) will get white around it if it's a girl. Well there's white around this one's. We won't end up getting eggs if we don't put a nest in there right? I read that on a site at least. And if not, you can't spay/neuter them can you?

Ok sorry for the bunch of questions, I just have no clue about this stuff and I'm pretty much getting all my info on the internet and my grandma, who has had several birds before. Her last bird was a quaker (I think that's what it's called) and he would tell her to go back to bed, and would laugh if you told him a joke. Unfortunately he jumped off his cage a few months ago and my grandpa let in their doxie on accident and she killed him.
Which brings us to the other part of my post, Casey. As some of you may know she's a pointer. We let her in to see them and she just stared. Luckily we can break her attention if we open up a cabinet. The second time she came in that day she went straight to her room which is right next to the cage without bothering them. Which I think is a good sign. Any tips though on getting her to understand the difference about these birds and the outside birds?

I'll post pictures soon, I haven't even taken them yet though.
Thanks!

erl- a cuttle bone is necessary, not just for keeping the beak trimmed but also to prevent boredom. It sounds like everything is fine. As far as water- I only used bottled water one time in my life for my pets, and that was because I could smell alot of chlorine in the water I had. I would think using tap water would be fine. Make sure you change it every day, even if it looks like it hasnt been touched. The reason is the dander, or powder on the birds, and it does get in the water.
AS far as saying if they are male or female, a young bird will look male as a baby. How you tell is when the bands on the head near the nose- start from black bands across the head, to going white. Baby birds will make you crazy as far as being able to tell if they are male or female for about two months. At maturity- the cere is blue, and a female is tan. If you have like about 8 black bands on the head that have turned white, at that point its pretty safe you can tell.

http://www.kiva.net/~daylight/budgie.html try this link- it can explain it more clearly to you.

Thanks borzoimom. Sorry it took me so long to get back.
I posted on a budgie forum about the same time I posted this and they determined the my blue one is a female and the green is a male.
I ended up going to Petsmart several more times and we redecorated their cage and got them more perches and toys. As well as a cuttle bone, which is pink and the blue one's face is turning pink now. lol.
Thought since you gave me some info, I'd reward you with pictures! lol.
The cage before redecorating.
Them
Male
Female
Both

Thanks again!

They are adorable!!! What are their names???

They don't have names yet. It's the longest any animal has lived in our family without names. Any ideas?

Lets see- I had a Oscar, Teddy, Ricky, Saffy- ( short for saphira), Tidal, And Blue. ...

oh and Cheerio...

They are so cute the green male reminds me of my White Capped Pionus Parrot when he was little because of the way he looked into the camera. lol

I have come up with some names like Hydi, Jay, Jayden,Bridget, And Laci.

my cousin's parakeets' names were Kiwi (green female) and Sunshine (blue male). My first bird was a parakeet named Derby (short for Kentucky Derby lol big horse fan...) and now I currently have Toby (male cockatiel), Lily (short for Tiger Lily; the first time we heard her chirp was right after my mom pointed out the Tiger Lilies in the ditch by our house), Heila (used to be Sheila, until we discovered that the previous owners had made a mistake in the sexing so now it is HEila instead of SHEila) and Zeus (rare teal parakeet, formerly named Zazu). I think you should think of names that are unique to you birds' personalities and/or characteristics. Here are some popular bird names for the different colored parakeets:

blue: Sky, Sunny (if it has a yellow head), Laci (if it has a white head) and Sappire

green: Kiwi, Jasper, Jade, and a lot of tropical names, like Amazon and such.

good luck!

Can you believe it, I still haven't come up with any names. lol. It ranges from Taz and Jazz, Kibbles and Bits (not anymore though), Tequila and Margarita, and Tiki and Piper, but I want to save the name Piper, and my grandma has a sugar glider named Tiki.

They still aren't tamed all the way. I'm really beginning to hate getting the blue one out. Yesterday she bit my fingure and wouldn't let go and when she did she pulled, so now I have a chunk of skin missing. Vs. the green one who is almost all the way tamed. Maybe if I have the drink names the blue could be Vodka! lol.

The blue one looks exactly like my bugi. (she is chirping like crazy and my bro is gettin very upset!) Her name is Sky. I was gunna name her cloud, but she had to much blue.

As far as names, I reccomend Tweetypie for a very chirpy bird! Sweetypie What I mean is, that Tweetypie is cuter than Sweetypie.

How about Jekyll and Hyde? Bonnie and Clyde?

Make sure that you do not give them to many toys. Usually budgies feel distressed when given many toys to play with. This is more like trying to entertain yourself. Your budgies need to have some exercise place.
Good luck with your bird experience and remember BIRDS RULE!!!

Those two are really cute! Good luck taming the female. Just take it slow and easy with lots of treats. I hope you find the right names for them.

If I where you I would put the female parakeet Sky,and the male parakeet Polly.

Those are two, healthy looking cuties! Congratulations! I know how the first bird is. I purchased my first bird when I just started high school. It was my mother's idea, and I wasn't too wild about it. My pet hamster of 4 years had passed away, so she thought a replacement animal was necessary (I didn't). However, turns out I was more of a bird person than she was. Now, I'm basing my entire profession around the care of birds! So, you may find that even if you were reluctant about purchasing...you'll learn ti love them anyway. Now, down to business. You will learn that a lot of things that petstores try to pass on to you, isn't necessary. I was convinced that I had to purchase special bedding for the bottom of my bird's cage...until i found that plain ol' newspaper was just dandy (and actually more sanitary). I recommend filtered water, just because there are lots of different things in the water that may effect us less than a smaller bird. However, if you don't have filitered water readily available, and you have to buy it...this might mean you will change the water less often. Which is worse than just giving the little guy tap water. Try running the water for a few seconds before filling up the bird dish. This is usually adequate time to allow fresher, water to run through. (I read it in a book when I bought my fish, and I applied the process to my birds until I could afford a refrigerator with a filter). Cuttlebones are a neccessary, however. They are pretty cheap, and you don't have to buy the fancy flavored ones that the petstore peddles (I do...but it's not like it's a must). You might want to invest in a bottle to fill with water so you can give your birds a bath. Sometimes, parakeets have trouble with learning to be social with people, so until they learn to like you...you can spray them in their cage. You can buy the fancy bird bath spray at petstores...which...are better than water, but if you bathe them regularly, it should be no problem. Also, a cage to place them in while you are cleaning their main cage is good. I recommend cleaning their bowls everyday. I cheat by buying 3 sets of bowls. Soap and water will be fine for the bowls. Change the lining of the cage daily, and spot clean with a mild soap. Toys should be washed weekly, including perches with a mild soap. The cage needs to disinfected atleast monthly with bleach. It is important to disinfect. A good disinfectant is a 10% bleach/water solution. You can buy commercial disinfectant at a petstore (I like Cage Wizard), but it runs quite a bit more than bleach. It is good that you bought a lot of toys. Parrots need mental stimulation, so toys offer a good way for them to obtain this. I recommend not putting all toys in at once, instead alternate a couple at a time. Your birds will feel like they are getting new toys all of the time! The food sounds good, for now. You may want to read up on weaning them off of seeds as a main source completely. My birds are on a pellet diet, with seeds and fruits and veggies as treats. This weaning takes time though, so be sure to read up on it. Now, the dog. I have a black lab, English pointer mix...and they are NOT to be trusted around birds. Any dog is a natural predator and all birds are prey to dogs. (Unless your dog is a tea cup chihuahua, in which case, I guess it could be prey to say...a hawk ). Your dog will never understand the difference between your loving pet, and a squeeky toy. I'm sorry. I hope this helps.