Sprout the Lineolated Parakeet

Name:

Sprout.

Species:

Lineolated Parakeet (Bolborhynchus lineola.) Sprout is a Cobalt Blue color mutation.

Sex:

Male

Age:

12 weeks.

Favorite Foods:

Sprout's mom, Betty, says that his favorite food is definitely millet! He hasn't been weaned for very long, so he enjoys soft foods like millet and moistened pellets.

Favorite Toys:

"Sprout's favorite toy so far is me!" Betty says. "He will climb all over me, preen my hair, and pick at my freckles. He thinks I'm a playground!"

Favorite Perches:

Sprout has a comfy rope perch in his cage that he likes to sleep on. Betty says that he climbs up shortly after the sun goes down and stays until morning!

Dislikes:

So far, Sprout's biggest pet peeve is having to wait for his food. "He gets so mad if I'm not quick when he decides that he's hungry," Betty says. "I have to get a move on when he starts doing his 'hungry' screech!"

Special Talents:

Sprout may be young, but he's already a talented climber. "He will climb all over his cage, from the bottom to the top, and up and down his ladders" says Betty. "It seems like he never gets tired of climbing. Almost like the higher he can get, the better."

Life with Sprout:

Betty got Sprout when he was a month old. An experienced bird owner, Betty has two other birds that she handfed as babies, and was excited at the chance to handfeed again. "My other birds are 9 and 14 years old" she says. "I really wanted to have a little baby again!"

Lineolated Parakeets have always fascinated Betty, and when she decided to get another bird, she knew that a "Linny" was what she was looking for. After a few weeks, she located a breeder not far from her with some beautiful color mutations. "I was just going to get a green one to begin with" Betty says, "but when I saw Sprout and those beautiful little blue feathers that he was growing, I just couldn't resist."

Betty brought Sprout home shortly after her visit with the breeder, and they quickly became the best of friends. "We do everything together" she says. "We wake up at the same time, we go to bed at the same time, we eat together, and we play together. He's a perfect little companion."

Recently weaned, Betty is working on introducing Sprout to some healthy fresh foods. "I know it's important to encourage a varied diet even when they're young." she says. "I'm trying my best to introduce Sprout to many new foods, but he can be stubborn! Last night he took a piece of carrot out of his beak with his foot and threw it at me."

Well, kids will be kids. Congratulations, Sprout, on being chosen as Bird of the Week!

Do you think that your bird should be the next "Bird of the Week"? If so, check out these Bird of the Week Submission Guidelines to find out how to send me your bird's photo and story!