How much attention does a parakeet need a day?

if you just have one parakeet, it needs as much attention as you can provide, because parakeets are naturally in flocks in the wild. a single parakeet will rely on you to be it's flock. if you can't spend much time with it during the day because you work, go to school, etc. then think about getting it a cagemate. i have two males because I'm going to college. they get along fine. you also need to let them out for at least an hour or two a day to play and socialize outside of their cage. =]