What should I look for when I go to buy my first baby parrotlet How do I tell if its healthy

When you select your baby parrotlet, look for these important physical traits:

1). Clear, unswollen nares (area around nostril) free of discharge

2). Full, healthy feathers, that don't appear scruffy, plucked or dirty

3). Look at the bird's feet and check that it has all of its claws. Sometimes a bird's parents will 'groom' off its claws, and sometimes the brooder humidity is too low, and a band of dry skin constricts the toe, until it's lost. Whatever the reason, a bird missing toes will have trouble climbing and perching, and will probably use its beak to compensate. This means that it will probably bite a lot -- not to be mean; but it will hurt.

Birds missing toes deserve love, too, and make wonderful pets, but they're hard work.

4). If the baby bird has a head that appears too large for its body, or its breastbone sticks out as prominently as an adult's does, be cautious. These are signs of malnourishment, and may mean that the bird either has a disease, or isn't really fully weaned. Sometimes pet stores and breeders try to force a bird to wean before it's ready, and when they pass that bird onto an owner, the owner inherits a bird who is weak and hungry all the time, and may have health problems forever as a result.

5). Ask what it's fed, observe its droppings; it should be eating a pelleted diet, or at least be pecking at an offered dish of mixed veggies with its diet. It's droppings shouldn't contain too much white uric acid, or be too watery. Dark, dark green droppings are a sign of liver dysfunction.