BENGALURU: With different species of parakeets looking all beautiful and attractive, many people in the city like to keep them as pets. Little do they know that keeping the bird inside a cage has certain ill-effects on it.
An adult parakeet was kept as a pet and due to boredom and confinement, it started picking on its own feathers, thus making it bald at the front. The pet owner thought some of its feathers were falling on their own and ignored it, but after a while, he started noticing that the bird is continuously picking on its feathers and was in a terrible state in some time. He took the parakeet to People for Animal (PfA) Wildlife Hospital and Rescue Centre for treatment, where he was told that it is illegal to keep it.
Dr Karthik, senior veterinarian, PfA, said due to pulling its own feather, the parakeet’s back was wounded, for which a general treatment was given for recovery. “This is the Alexandrine Parakeet. Even when the parrot was brought here, it did not stop picking on its own feathers. So we had to put a collar around to stop it. Due to confinement, the bird was unable to fly freely, and got bored. It either spent time grooming itself or eating, but for how long can it keep up with it? So it started picking on its feathers. Sometimes, the feathers grow back but at times, they may not,” said Dr Karthik.
Jayanathi Kallam, co- founder and executive director, Avian and Reptile Rehabilitation Centre (ARRC), pointed out that it is illegal to have parakeets as pets or trap them, which is usually done by fortune tellers. “We get at least 10 rescue calls a month for parakeets who are either kept as pets or in captivity by fortune tellers. The parakeets are listed under Wildlife Protection Act 1972, they are protected and cannot be in captivity, sold or trapped. But even then, many people keep it. They are social birds and like to interact. Once they are isolated, their life cycle gets reduced. They need to be handed over to widlife rehabilitation centres.”
Dr Roopa Satish, wildlife veterinarian, Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (WRRC), said, “Villagers clip parakeets’ feathers and keep it with them. Their feathers take a long time to grow back. Also, many people who keep them as pets feed them rice, ragi and idli, which is not their type of food as they result in digestive problems. They bring them to us, after which we have to tell them that it’s illegal to keep a parakeet at home, and then leave it with us. Awareness needs to be spread on this issue.”