Care of Weaned/Adult Quakers
Diet
While most birds prefer a seed diet, it is healthier for them to eat pellets. An all seed diet contains the “bad” fat, and can lead to obesity and fatty liver disease. My bird, Nova, was on an all seed diet and it caused her to get black spots on her beak, a symptom of fatty liver disease. I switched her to a pellet/seed combo diet with low fat seeds, and supplement her with fresh veggies every day, and I’m pleased to see she is healthy as ever, zero black spots anywhere.
However, it was very hard for her to want to eat the pellets, and it took forever to get her to even try to eat the pellets, so I would recommend starting your bird out on a pellet diet so that they don’t become addicted to the seed and not want to switch over. Sunflower seeds especially are high in “bad” fat, and should only be used for treats and rewards
Human Foods - Do's and Don't's
While parrots do need fresh fruit and vegetables and can share food with their parent, there are several foods that must be avoided if you want a healthy and living bird.
Yes!
-apples
-peas
-carrots
-pasta
-small amounts of bread
-small amounts of cheese
-chicken
-eggs
-bananas
-mango
-strawberries
-pretzels
-animal crackers/crackers in general
-oranges
-sugar snap peas (VERY popular with Nova)
-dried hot peppers (use only occasionally, the spiciness can upset their stomach)
-sweet corn
-nuts (shelled peanuts are great for keeping your bird busy)
-popcorn (putting it into strings is great to keep her busy and it’s tasty too!)
Grooming
No!
-avocados (these will kill your bird, do not ever feed them avocados)
-sugary foods such as cake or ice cream
-junk food
-too much dairy can upset their stomach
-household plants
-chocolate
-coffee (or anything with caffeine)
-soda
-anything with artificial sweeteners (Splenda, sweet and low, xylitol, aspartame, etc)
-raw honey
A tasty and healthy snack
Wing clipping - cruel or safe?
While there is much debate on the subject, I firmly believe that clipping your bird’s wings is necessary and will keep them safe.
Pet birds need their wings clipped. They can fly into windows, ceiling fans, hot water on the stove, fly outside, and a myriad of other dangers that could be avoided if you were to clip their wings. Ask me, an avian vet, or watch a YouTube video on how to clip your bird’s wings after they start to fledge.
When you do clip them, you will want to leave a few primary feathers on each side so that if she falls off of something, she can glide and land safely instead of tumbling to the floor and possibly breaking a bone. Nova is a very proficient flier, which means I can only give her one primary on each side, and even then I have to cut part of the one feather so that she can’t get lift. You’ll just have to experiment, and this is painless for the bird, like getting a haircut.
Baths
All birds love taking baths, and it is both physically and emotionally healthy for a bird to have regular baths. I take Nova into the shower with me, and she sits on the curtain rod soaking up the steam and occasionally jumping in the stream with me. Other times, I plug up the kitchen sink and put the faucet on a lukewarm trickle and let her splash around for however long she wants to. The bath should not exceed 2 inches of water; parrots don’t swim.
Do NOT try to “clean” your bird (like scrubbing with soap or shampoo). She is perfectly capable of preening herself and bathing in the sink or shower. Soap irritates their skin and could possibly be ingested the next time they preen.
Not a Quaker, but this three-point hold is very useful in restraining your bird so you can clip her nails or examine her. The red circles show where each finger should be
Wrapping your bird in a towel can help you safely control her
Nail Clipping
Nail clipping can be tricky, since Quakers have black nails and it is hard to determine the quick from the nail. I would recommend holding them in a towel and filing the nails until you get comfortable enough to clip them. If you go too far and quick her and she’s bleeding, get a paper towel to staunch the bleeding and put her back in her cage after she stops bleeding so she can regroup.
Beak Trimming
Most birds will maintain their beak by chewing on calcium blocks or hard bits of food (such as nuts), but occasionally the beak may get too long and require a little bit of filing. Do NOT try to cut a bird’s beak, let a vet do that. At the most, hold her in a towel and use the fine side of a nail file to keep the beak neat
Pooping
Birds poop. Everyone who has parked a car under a tree in the evening knows this. Birds do not have a bladder, or much of a small intestine, meaning that they can’t “hold” it and will poop the instant they have to. Clothing, chairs, floors, anywhere your bird sits will get pooped on. Luckily, bird poop is water soluble and does not stain, so it will not ruin anything. However, if your bird has been eating blueberries or blackberries or something of that nature, their poop will stain clothing just like the actual food would. Observing her stool will be helpful in spotting sickness; any abnormalities in consistency, color, or amount can indicate a problem. Go online and find what to look for in bird stool that may indicate sickness. There’s a whole lot bird poop can tell you, and it will be the number one thing (right up there with weight loss) that vets will ask you about should you take your bird in.
Molting
Once a year, your bird will start to lose her feathers and start growing new ones to replace them. This is called molting, and is completely normal. Your bird will be cranky during this time, and it would help to supplement her food with special food for molting and nesting, since molting is a stressful time for birds.
She will start to get “pinfeathers”, which is a new feather completely covered in a sheath that she can remove herself. However, she cannot reach the ones at the back of her neck and head, and if she will let you, you can help relieve her of the itchiness by carefully crunching and removing the pinfeathers, exposing the feather beneath. To do this, hold her in the three point hold illustrated in the previous passage, and gently roll and crunch the sheaths off, careful not to pull too hard or poke her with the pinfeathers. While this feels good for your bird, she might get tired of it after a while and try to bite, so just let her go and try again in a few hours or the next day.
While most people are enchanted with the idea of a talking bird, it’s important to note that not all Quakers talk. Nova has an extensive vocabulary, about 20 phrases and 30 words, but I’ve heard from other people that sometimes, they just don’t talk and there’s not much you can do about it.
Talking
Teaching to Talk
Learning to talk is something they can do quite quickly, should they talk at all. Repeating the same word/phrase over and over again for a period of time will eventually catch on, especially if you use the same voice inflection each time. Associating with a situation will help too. When I uncover Nova’s cage in the morning, I say “good morning!”, and now she says good morning every time she gets uncovered or when she’s ready to be uncovered in the morning. Same with “night night” and “let’s eat”. It’s all about teaching them to communicate with you so that you can have a better relationship.
"Step up"
The term “step up” will prove to be invaluable. If you want the Quaker to step onto your hand, press your finger against her breast and say “step up”. The pressure of your finger will prompt her to step up, and she will associate the term with being picked up. Nova asks “do you wanna step up?” whenever she wants to be taken out of her cage, and it helps her understand what I’m doing when I randomly reach back onto my shoulder to step her up and place her somewhere else.
Nova demonstrates the "step up" command
Quaker parrots are extremely smart and can catch onto new ideas quickly, but remember they are still animals and cannot be expected to perform well every time. Keep in mind your bird wants to please you, and scolding her or yelling at her does nothing but escalate the situation.
If you’re looking for a sweet little pet that will love you unconditionally, then you should probably not get a bird. Birds are very particular with whom they like and whom they don’t like, and there’s seemingly no rhyme or reason to it. Nova loves me and freaks out every time I leave the room, while on the other hand she absolutely hates my mother and will go out of her way to bite her, despite my mother being nothing but kind to her.
And yes, I did say bite. Quakers are known for being feisty and sometimes mean, and it’s only a matter of time before you get bitten. Luckily, their beaks are quite small and will rarely draw blood. My brother’s African Grey, however, bit me hard enough to leave a scar. Don't take the violence personally, it’s just a situation of your bird feeling cranky and you not picking up on her subtle body language. NEVER strike, hit or otherwise physically discipline your bird. You cannot spank a bird, they are too small and fragile and you could kill them or badly injure them. If she bites or otherwise misbehaves, place her in her cage for a time out. That’s it.
Temperament
Body Language
As you spend time with your bird, you will start to pick up on the intricacies of her body language and can read them seamlessly. But until then, here are some basic signs of mood and temperament of your bird.
Fluffed up, bobbing head - content, happy. *note: in most birds, fluffing up is a sign of aggression and anger, but I’ve noticed in Quakers that it’s the complete opposite
Smoothed down, neck extended, low growling - frightened or wary of something (usually something like a mop, broom, weird plant, etc.)
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Smoothed down, wings slightly held away from body, beak open - unhappy, aggressive, and ready to bite. Incoming cronch.
Preening - at ease, feeling comfortable enough to be vulnerable
Screaming incessantly - probably bored, needs attention or food
Screaming
Quakers are very loud, and can sometimes just screech their head off because they’re bored. To remedy this, do not shout, because that just gives them the attention they want and encourages them. Just talk in a low, kind voice, repeating whatever phrases they like to say, baby talk or whisper to them until they calm down. If you have a roommate, or a small child who still takes naps, this is not the bird for you. They will have screaming fits (usually lasting no more than a minute, but that’s more than enough to wake a sleeping baby). It’s inevitable, and some people may not want to deal with that.
Destruction
Quakers are super inquisitive and get bored easily. As a result, they end up chewing up and destroying things. Phone cases, keyboards, clothing, important documents, wires, earbuds, jewelry can all be victims of a curious parrot. Just pretend they’re a three year old with pliers. Don’t leave them unattended outside of their cage. It’s not their fault, they just get bored sometimes.
Small birds are generally happy with sitting on your shoulder for long periods of time. When I’m at home with Nova, she sits on my shoulder pretty much the entire time and she likes it.
However, if you choose to do this, you must clip your bird’s wings, or else she will not hesitate to fly away. Nova’s wings are clipped and she knows she can’t fly, so she’s content to sit on my shoulder all day, even outside and in public.
Important note: do not go outside at night with your bird. Owls are silent killers; you won’t even hear them and it is well within their capability to snatch a little bird off of your shoulder. If you have to go outside after dark, hold her in your hands until you get inside and are safe.
Shoulder Pets
My mother's computer after a session with a bored Nova
Quakers, once comfortable with you, are content with sitting in your hand like this for a period of time. This is how you should hold her if you have to go outside at night.
Housing
Cage
Quakers are very active and curious, and therefore need a cage big enough to have toys and other things to occupy their time when you’re not there. Nova’s cage is roughly 2’x2’x3’, and it has lots of toys and stuff to chew on and destroy. She likes bells and things she can chew up (popcorn strings, frayed ropes, etc).
Cages need to be cleaned at least once a week if not more. I’m a full time student, so Nova only gets her cage cleaned once a week on Saturday, but it never hurts to do it more frequently.
Some good bedding or litter is just plain newspapers laid at the bottom of her cage. They’re easy to change out and cheaper than buying actual litter or bedding.
Nova's cage
Nova's travel cage
Travel Cage
Say you and your family are going on vacation. You get a dog sitter and someone to water the grass. But wait! Who’s going to take care of your bird?! She’s too high maintenance for a regular sitter and she needs special care. But the cage is a behemoth and you can’t possibly fit that into your four door Honda. Solution? Travel cage.
Get a smaller cage, maybe one used for canaries or parakeets. Attach the food and water dish, pack some extra food and a blanket, and nestle it into the back seat and Bob’s your uncle. This is an easy fix for bird care, especially if you or your family travel a lot. I wouldn’t trust anyone else to care for Nova, so bringing her along on a trip became much easier once I got a travel cage for her.
Nova is very good at being in the car. Most of the time, she is out of her cage while driving, and she likes to sit on the steering wheel while we’re on the highway. She travels very well, and I’m sure yours will too.
