New to birdland

[imzadi]

Is a quaker a parrotlet?
If so, here is my question (one of many)

I just got (1 wk ago) a 5 month old quaker. He is very sweet. he has not been trained, but has obviously been well handled. his brother at the pet store bit the heck out of my, but "Pickles" does not bite hard and it seems that he is just warning me or exploring depending on the situation.

My question is how much should I push him when training him, specifically to step up. When I open his cage, I try to encourage him to step up, but I don't want to force him to do something he does not want. He rarely wants to step onto my finger, but when I try to put him back in the cage after 1/2 hour to 2 hours, he is reluctant to go back in.

Should I let him make hte decision or am I just training a spoiled bird?

[Beaks]

Make him step up dont let him make the decision.

no a quaker is not a p-let, not even remotely close except for the fact that they are both parrots.

[PowerBBS]

Um... no a quaker is not a parrolet. Think of a bird about the size of a finch (maybe tiny bit bigger) and you have an idea on how big most parrolet's are. Quakers typically are even larger than a Sun Conure.

Wider/Bigger beaks. Quakers are clowns and very bonding. You'll enjoy them. Training... well first comes trust. Get total trust first. When he's stepping up onto your finger on command and stepping down on command and not flyiing away from you, but actually comming to you on his own free will. Then consider training.

With training, I can recommend that you setup a staging area (perch typically away from view of the cage with no other distractions) and set aside a food item (treat) that is reserved for training only that your fid loves and consume quickly. (I use rice crispies). Training sessions typically last only 15 to 20 minutes a day. Birds can get bored of tricks easily - they don't have the longest of attention spans - so keeping it short and simple keeps their interest and also typically makes them look forward to the next training session.

From there on it's just figuring out/learning/asking how to get your fid to learn "tricks" and training it to be social to other people. BirdTalk Magazine is a good suggestion I have for you. Magazines.com offers it currently for 13.99/yr (which is the cheapest I've found it anywhere) and it's produced monthly (12 issues a year).

That's my quick skivey on it. I'm sure we'll get others to chime in and help you more.

[imzadi]

Ok, my first mistake. He's not a parrotlet.
He doesn't seem diminutive at all anyway.
He is the sweetest. I think he already trusts me pretty much, but having only been together a week, maybe the jury is still out. Someone suggested I don't let him make the decision and just insist. is that a good way to gain trust?

[Beaks]

LOL you have to stay one step ahead of a quaker because they are too smart for their own good and are pretty good at training their owners to do whatever they want them to do.

[huntress]

just for the record... a parrotlet is a species and not just a word for a small parrot. There are many types...Pacific or Celestial Parrotlet, Green Rump Parrotlets, Spectacled Parrotlet, and many more.
Quakers are cool too!!