Help with quaker research?

[Ashling]

Hey,
My friend is interested in buying a quaker and it's research time!
I was wondering if anyone with some quaker experience- or knowledge on quakers- could give me the lowdown on these birds? It'd be much appreciated!

Feeding:
Cage size?
Toys?
Personality?
Noise level?
Mess level?
Talking ability?
Bonding level?
Anything else she might need to know about these little guys?

Thanks very much in advance!

[Courtzrocks]

If you get one that talks they have a very good (one of the best) talking abilities...it sounds a bit robotic lol but they usually use words in context.

I would say about conure size cage...although they're not as active as the conures.

Toys are hard...it just depends on the bird.

Feeding: pellets (i would put seeds in too but its a personal choice) fruits and vegies.

They have a generally good personality but can bond to one person so good socialising with other people to avoid aggression and clean and change food bowls while its out the cage cos chasing fingers can be a game to them. Also if you have more than one they can gang up on other birds but they are pretty sweet birds..also they can go through that terrible 2 stage so lots of handling and training then mostly gets them through it. They are pretty friendly and sweet birds and most i have seen love scratches.

They arent "loud" but they can be noisy ie. consistant but they dont have the sun conure screech.

Mess...depends on the bird...I have known of some quakers throwing their food out for attention...also they are pretty much the only parrot to build nests so they might try rip things up and stuff.

Yeah bonding can be an issue, but as I said, training and lots of socialization can prevent this.

I think they are very cute and a pretty nice bird from my experience...never owned one but have family that does Plus there is stuff in there also I have read up in parrot behaviour books but all in all each bird is different.

[Wally]

Our Sugar does not talk much. She did a little after we had her for about 4 months, but seemed to stop after about a year. She has her share of chirps, whistles and sqwawks. She has this one call that is just like a whip-por-will that is really cute. We had a couple of Amazons when she joined our flock, so she has to steal lovin' from me and my wife whenever she can. She loves us both, and in different ways. She really enjoys skritching, and really loves me to help preen those feathers on her neck and head that she can't reach on her own. She also likes grooming my beard and mustache, my hands, but we have to watch out if we have a freckle or little scab, as she will try to pluck it right off. She always has to be in on what's going on, and is also the rooms sentry, watch who goes there. They are a big personality bird in a small body. [Never let them hear you say they are small...heh..heh...heh...]
Ours eat the same as our zons except not almonds in the shell like our zons.
Wally

[Zanzi's Mom]

I have one quaker and I love him to pieces! I have never really heard a conures screech but I know if I am to close to Zanzibar when he yells, my ears ring. Mainly he does this when he is hollering back at my other birds but sometimes he will get frustrated with me and squawk in birdie human, "bad, BAD bird" Emphasis on the middle one because thats the loudest part! :) That is usually when I am in the kitchen cooking and he wants to join me to have a taste of whatever is going around. They really have alot of personality and I am impressed by how many words he understands. He has a pretty big vocabulary, but he only wants to talk if it is to his benefit lol. Of course in the mornings while he is walking the tops of the other birds cages "visiting", he likes to talk back with me since he is eye level with me. You can almost see the wheels turning and watch him try to form his tongue and beak into words I am coaxing him to say. I have never regretted having him but sometimes, his volume can be tiresome.

The only toys he likes are his mirror with beads and a sisal rope thing he uses to clean up his face after he eats. He likes to eat apple, banana, green peas, lima beans, black eyed peas, and he LOVES fresh Jalapenos(ribs and seeds) and corn(cooked). He likes bits of meat also. He eats a seed diet and was adamant about refusing to eat pellets when I bought it for him to try.

There are alot of cute videos of quakers on youtube, including mine hehehe. :)

[Wally]

That is one Characteristic I have noticed about a Quaker once they have settled in. They seem to have to make sure everyone else is O-K and where they are suppose to be. Ours is like a sentinal----always watching the door to make sure whoever comes by is an 'approved' entity. [Of course approved by her] And also to keep tabs on who left the roost.
All our parrots get a couple of Nutra-Berries in their bowls, along with their other mix of dried food. It's nice because it does have pellets mixed in with the seed, and it is fortified with different nutrients. They get Zu-Preem fruit shaped pellets, some Roudybush Rice pellets, some dried papya & pineapple, a chunk of millet, some seeds, a peanut, and a parrot bisquit in their dry bowl. We also share fresh fruit and veggies along with some of OUR meals.
Our Sugar is free flighted and allowed to fly around when ever my wife or myself are around to supervise them. Ever time we tried to trim her flight feathers, she would pluck some of her other feathers. After a few times of different styles of trimming, we gave up.
A lot of times they can be one person birds, but if properly socialized, they can be good to other family/freinds. There are days that our Sugar will want to be clingy to me, and other times to my wife.

[Ladyparrotluvr]

Hi, I'm not sure if anybody mentioned this, but there are some states where quakers are ILLEGAL. Here in Ohio they are legal as long as their wing feathers are kept trimmed. They are NOT legal (& could be euthanized) in states such as Pa, Ky, Ct, Ca,.....There are 13 states in all if I am still up to date on my info. Please make sure they are legal in your state.

[Ashling]

My friend and I live in Australia. It's a shame they can be euthanized in some US states :( I asked about quakers for my friend, cause she's a little shy about posting! I know quite a bit about quakers, cause I research every new species I am interested in, but the information of an actual quaker owner is invaluable. I've never even held one :( Thanks everyone!

[madisgiftpaiges]

I just got my new quaker about a month ago, his name is Tippi and he is 3 months old now. He is great and the family already loves him to death. We have had a couple of parakeets before and they were really, really mean, I was surprised that such a small bird could draw so much blood, lol. We also had a cockatiel that had been my husbands parents from the time he was a baby, His name was Butcher (it is now Rhett) and Butcher was the perfect name cause he too drew blood from anyone or anything that came close enough until my dad came along, this bird on his own flew to my dad and would sing to him and love on him, so after about my dad's sixth visit and this happening every time, we decided Butcher would be happier at my dad's, and he is, my kids can now hold the silly little guy!

Anyways, back to Quakers, I did a lot of research on the internet on different types of birds and totally fell in love with the Quakers.

Tippi is totally my bird, he will do different things for me but he is also lovey with the rest of the family as we made sure everyone held and loved on him from the day he came home. He already laughs at us and the other day said his first word, I walked by and he yelled "kisses" and made kissy sounds when I walked over to him he gave me kisses, I was so excited. He is so smart and such a character already. I don't have a wealth of knowledge, my best advice is to find a breeder and spend some time with a Quaker or two, that is when my final decision was made, I met the clutch that Tippi came from and when I picked him up I just knew he was meant to join our family.

He can get a little loud at times, but there are only certain times of day that he does and they are pretty consistent on time frames from day to day, most of his noise is low-medium and he is mumbling, then he moves on to laughing then he just gets so excited he lets out a couple of hollers and then back through the whole process again, then at bedtime, he starts his quiet night night chirps and if I don't acknowledge him right away he will scream and fly of his cage and come yell at me until I take him night night. Right now his favorite toy is anything that he can shred, his shredding toy I bought him, newspaper, he is finally starting to warm up to his other toys and his favorite thing to do is to throw it as far as he can and then laugh cause he knows the kids jump right up to get it for him.

Good luck!