health of parakeet

Question
i have a indian rose ringed parakeet. he is left open and free to move any where.his diet is also fine and he is happy with it. he ia also very attached to me as he loves me to wave fingers round his neck.but still his feather are falling firstly his tail feathers had fallen and now his body feathers are falling. he is a lazy parakeet and do not want to fly. he is also little bit scared of height. and loves to sit at one place with his neck inhis feathers i ont know his exact ae but he seems to be a little one.  

Answer
Hi Divya,

 Thank you for writing to me. It sounds like you have a wonderful and happy bird. I do have a few concerns though. First, I believe that it is important for a bird to have a cage to stay in when it is home by itself. Birds are very curious and can quickly get hurt or killed by doing things like chewing on electric cords, eating things that are not good for them, or by falling into a pot or glass of water and drowning. MY birds are allowed out of their cages when I am at home and can supervise them but when I am away from the house and also at night, they stay in their cages. They actually will ask to go in their cages at night because it gives them a place to rest that they feel safe. Also, once your bird does start flying, if he is loose all the time he can accidently fly out of an open door or window, or may get startled and fly in to a wall or window. If he gets out of the house, there is little chance you will ever find him again. If he flys full speed in to something hard, he may break his neck. I would have someone who knows how to clip wings show you how to do that.

The feathers falling out are nothing to be worried about. All birds go through a molt once or twice a year. The old feathers fall out and are replaced by new ones. This is perfectly normal. If you do deicide to have his wings trimmed, you will have to do this again each time he grows in new wing feathers.

When you bird sits in one place with his head and neck in his feathers, it means he is resting or sleeping. It is nothing to be worried about.

It sounds like you have a wonderful new companion. I hope you have many happy years together.

Jan