how do i take care of a parakeet and keeping it healthy and entertained?

i just inherited a new blue parakeet, i dont know its age or sex. it has a cage with some neat gadgets in it and some seeds for food. what are some tips on keeping it happy?

Make sure you give your new bird a good parrot mix of seed everyday. They like sunflower seed, peppers, tonic seed, all in the mix. Make sure you give him/her a small dish of fruit, such a grape or two and a couple of orange segments, apples etc, and of course plenty of water.A blue parakeet? Maybe its a Turquoisine.

Well, for food, make sure it has a well balanced diet. That means feeding it pellets, seeds, and fresh fruits and vegetables. DO NOT FEED IT AVACADO, CHOCOLATE, ANYTHING WITH CAFFIENE, HIGH IN SUGAR OR SALT. If you get a bag of food from a pet store like PetSmart or PetCo (I don't know if you have either one of those stores near you but if you do, PetSmart is better), it's mainly seeds but there fortified so it's ok. Seeds should only be about 20% of your birds diet but like I said, if you get food from an accredited pet store it'll be fine. Make sure it has clean water everyday. The bowl should be clean. You should be able to drink the water. Bird experts recommend that you clean the cage everyday but once a week is ok. It's good to sterelize the cage and accesories about once a month. Make sure everything is rinsed extremly well. Cleaners can make your bird sick and even cause death. DO NOT SPRAY ANYTHING NEAR YOUR BIRD. Any sprays including deoderant, parfum/cologne, cleaning solutions can make your bird sick. They have a very sensitive respitory system. Make sure it's not near a draft like an open window for long periods of time. Give it toys that are the right size (small) that it can chew on. Little pieces of wood, rope, bells, and plastic beads. Make sure that they do't get in bad condition where it could hurt your bird and you should change the toys out about every 2 weeks. What I do is just get a few toys and put one or two in the cage and a few weeks later put the extra toy in the cage and take one out and just switch them around. That way you don't have to buy a bunch of toys. If you want to be able to bond with it, clip it's wings and nails (nails can get very sharp and it can cut you or itself). It's also good to get a book specializing in parakeets. It'll give you more info. I hope I could help!

I talk to my parakeet all the time, by whistling...and she does it right back...she has also made best friends with her toys...her favorite I think is her swing.

swich its toys almost every week.... so it doesnt get boredgive it a variety of foods to eatand thats all i can think of without my book! lol