Thinking about reclaaiming my quacker

[kevinb]

Hey guys and gals. Me and my gf will be moving out somewhere around august-october this year and I think I might reclaim my quacker parrot "Piper" from my grandparents when I go. I had to let them keep him because I was living at my girlfriends house and he couldn't come with, now I saw he but I'm not 100% sure...maybe one day ill get him/her sexed. Anyways, I didn't quite have quacker husbandry down as he was thrown onto my lap by my neglectful aunt. I feed him seeds and such which I know ks very unhealthy. I want to know if there are any good care sheets or owners to let me know what good generalized husbandry should be? What pellet food is better/best? What raw foods should I offer? Basically anything to keep him happy and healthy.

Many thanks to any replies.

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[ball python 22]

I feed mine katyee exact rainbow formula for parrots and conures but trying to get her to switch over to zupreem fruit blend bird food cockatiel.

http://www.quakerparrots.com/

The people on this forum are helpful and will answer any questions you have. And also it has articles on how to train your quaker and another thing is you want to get your quaker off seeds as soon as possible as they are prone to fatty liver disease

[Pixall]

Good way to in the interim turn those evil seeds into a nutrient rich healthy powerhouse is to soak them overnight and let them germinate. Whenever my three get seeds, it is this way. Sprouts/germinated seeds are VERY healthy.

Lafebers is a good product, as is Zupreem and Harrisons. Personally, I don't feed pellets as a staple. I give them more often than seeds/sprouts, but I mostly feed a raw diet. Fruits, veggies, a SMALL piece of cheese once a week, little bits of cooked meat and bone as an occasional treat. My three are very healthy and happy on this. Takes up a lot of time, but it is worth it when they are so healthy and happy.

Hope this helps. I have been keeping and rescue/rehab/fostering birds from little parrotlets all the way up to the mighty Hyacinthe Macaw(largest parrot species) for years. If you have any questions, let me know, I am more than happy to help.

P.S. Make sure if they aren't already that you get those flight feathers trimmed. Can't tell ya how many one winged birds I have had from injuries sustained while flying around. Of the horror stories of the ones who don't make it.... In the wild birds fly for two reasons; to find food and to escape predators. In your home they are(hopefully) not exposed to these reasons.

[kevinb]

I visit my grandparents every week to see him, I clip his wings when needed and give him a little bath once in a while since he refuses to use a bath dish/bowl. I plan on buying him a bigger cage if I do take him, one with a jungle gym on the top so he can be out. I also have read that you should rotate toys every week to keep his mind stimulated? Is this true? How many toys should be kept in his cage?

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[kevinb]

Also what do you do exactly when you soak the seeds?

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[Pixall]

When you soak the seeds you just rinse them off real good(make sure there are only seeds in there too, otherwise the pellets get mushy and gross lol) and set them in a cup of water or a covered jar overnight. Just that simple. Rinse them off real good before feeding. To make them into sprouts, rinse them real good and let them sit in a covered glass or jar(no water). rinse 2-3 times a day until you see little spindley things coming out of the seeds, and feed. Make sure you rinse real good before feeding, and if there is ANY foul odour, toss them out. They should smell sweetish the first day or two after soaking... hard to describe, but once you get a nose for it, you will know everything is going well by the smell.

As far as the toys go, all birds are different. My oldest(13ish) only likes his toys rotated once a month, any more frequently and he gets scared. With ANY new item(toys, cages, etc) make sure you introduce slowly. Put it in the room so they can see it for a few days and realize it is okay. With a new cage, make it seem really fun! Put him in it/on it for a few minutes each day before making the final change. Parrots are prey animals so new things CAN scare them. They don't always, but better safe than sorry. My youngest loves to have so many toys that anywhere she turns there is something new to do. My oldest likes to have one or two tops. (he loves having lots of room to hang off of his pink chain. lol) A good rule of thumb is to put enough that it is always fun in their house, but not too many that they can't move around and flutter their wings. Have something to do on every level of the cage. I like having a long toy that hangs from the top to about midway down the cage. Then I put wood or something at mid level and a ball or two at the bottom. My youngest loves those cat jingle ball things(I get the sturdy kind made for ferrets).

When you switch his cage, make sure you put his old toys in the new cage for a little while so he feels like his stuff is in it so it must be his house. Birds are silly.

As with your snake, there will be an adjustment period when you move him to your new place. Until he settles in, expect him to behave a little different from normal, some are quieter, some louder, sometimes they get timid or mean for a little while. Make sure you reassure him and let him settle in before changing his toys, diet, or cage.

I just went through a move with my flock, and honestly I worried about it more than they did.

[kevinb]

Thanks a lot for the help. Mine can be quite bitey sometimes, but I feel its only out of nervousness.

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[Pixall]

What do you do when he bites? Do you pull away and say ow? You just trained him.

You put him away? Taught him to bite if he wants to go home.

It sucks, but the way I train to not bite is to completely ignore it. If they start "chewing" on you, gently touch their tail. It puts them slightly off balance and they let go to see whats going on back there. Not the only way to train to not bite, but it works for me.

[kevinb]

I never ever pull away. The most I do if he does get a good solid grip and starts chewing is lift up on the upper half of his beak. He usually lets right go. Like I said though he only really bites if I am trying to give him a little bath and he gets freaked out.

[DellaF]

I feed mine Zupreem pellets and vegetables. I have two Quakers now. One I have had since he was a baby. The other I just recently got from a lady that couldn't keep him anymore because of health reasons. I'm not used to having a bird that likes to bite. The new one sure does Hopefully with time he will get used to me.