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Training Quaker Parrots to Step Up

Shelly Lane — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:24:07 +0000

It's not as difficult to get started with training your Quaker Parrot as you might think. You can start by teaching your Quaker a few basics, and this is true whether your pet has been with you a few days or a few years. In my opinion, one of the best things you can teach your bird is to have a reliable step up response. What this means is that your Quaker will step up immediately onto your hand when you give it the command to "step up."

Why is this important? For one, it allows you to remove the Quaker Parrot easily from its cage. It also helps when trying to remove it from a shoulder - either your own or someone else's. Some Quakers will try to bite when being removed from a shoulder, but this is less of an issue with a bird that is well-trained to step up. You will find that a QP that has learned the step-up command is easier to handle in unfamiliar or even dangerous situations such as if the bird would ever escape your home accidentally. Plus, it teaches your bird to cooperate with you, which as you can imagine is an important advantage as well. So all in all, the step-up command is a great place to start when first beginning to train your Quaker.

Quaker Step-ups 101

The step-up command is an easy behavior to teach your pet bird. You simply place your finger in front of the bird's feet and say "step up." At first your Quaker is not going to understand what you want it to do, so you may need to gently press your finger against the lower belly area which will cause the bird's balance to shift backwards. In most cases, the QP will step onto your finger as you give this gentle push. Be sure to enthusiastically praise your bird when he steps up correctly. You can then practice a few more times asking your bird to step-up from finger to finger.

Instead of stepping up, some Quakers will cling to the perch for dear life. Who knows what is going on inside their heads, but this is how you handle this situation. Keep your finger in front of the feet as described above, but take your other hand and move it around behind the bird like you are going to scoop it up from behind. This presents the parrot with a choice - either step up to the hand in front or be scooped up from behind. Nine times out of ten, your bird will choose to step up. Again, wildly praise your pet for being smart enough to know that stepping up was the better choice. LOL!

Keep on Stepping!

Keep practicing step-up with your Quaker on a regular basis. It's a good idea to practice daily at first. But even throughout the bird's lifetime, it's still helpful to occasionally practice step-up just to reinforce the behavior. If more Quaker Parrot owners did this, they would find that their birds would be much more cooperative with them, and even the "terrible twos" are easier on a bird and owner who have learned the step-up command together.

Male vs Female Quakers - Is There A Difference?

Shelly Lane — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 16:42:24 +0000

I recently wrote an article about blue and green Quaker Parrots and the differences I've noted between these two color varieties. A question popped up on the Quaker Parrot Forum yesterday about whether there are differences between male and female Quakers, so I thought I'd try to address this question here.

In my experience, I have not noticed any differences between male and female Quakers in personality, talking ability, train-ability, aggressiveness, intelligence or any other trait or skill. There are only a few responses to the question so far on the forum, but those who have responded up to this point agree with my own experience.

Now, I have to qualify this statement to say that this is true when Quakers are housed separately. When a male and female are kept in the same cage, all this can change. From what I understand, this is true of other types of parrot pairs as well. For a particular species, generally either the males or females become more aggressive when kept in pairs. For Quaker Parrots, it is the female that becomes more aggressive. But again, this is ONLY when they are kept in pairs. This extra assertiveness does not present itself when a female Quaker is caged by herself.

With one of my pairs, this female aggressiveness is particularly evident. The female will squawk and try to get a nip of me through the cage bars whenever I go near the cage. The male will actually push her out of the way and then squeeze his own beak through the cage bars. The only difference is that he is asking for kisses instead of wanting to rip my flesh apart. LOL!

So there you go. In case you were wondering if a male or female Quaker would make a better pet, I'd like to reassure you that males and females make equally wonderful companions. We have 5 females and 2 males in our household, and I wouldn't hesitate to add either a male or female to the flock if the inn wasn't already full here. ;-)

Blue Quaker Parrot vs Green - What's the Difference?

Shelly Lane — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 20:47:10 +0000

A question that sometimes comes up about Blue Quaker Parrots is if there is any difference between them and green Quakers other than the price. This is an important question, because Quakers are often chosen as pets not for their looks but for their great personalities. They truly are "a lotta parrot in a little package." So if there is a difference in personality in blues vs greens, I agree that it should be noted.

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Alex the African Grey Parrot has Died

Shelly Lane — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 11:43:11 +0000

Sadly, Alex the African Grey Parrot passed away about a week ago at the age of 31. Since I named my first Quaker after Alex, it seems fitting to recognize his passing and celebrate his life. I remember first reading about Alex more than ten years ago. I was charmed and amazed at his human language skills. I even have several video tapes in my library about this very special African Grey.

A remembrance page has been set up if you would like to express your condolonces. And many newspapers around the globe have reported on Alex's death (See Bird Brain or Parrot Prodigy and Death of Gifted Parrot Stuns Scientists). I'm sure you can also visit any parrot forum on the Internet to witness an outpouring of sadness and respect for this very unique Grey.

Dr Pepperburg has stated that Alex never stopped learning. In one of the above articles, she relates how Alex made some new progress just last month. We have learned so much about our own parrots because of Alex. This was the first real research that showed parrots are able to go beyond simple mimicry and actually understand the human words that they learn to say. Alex the Grey will be deeply, deeply missed.

New Article: Quaker Parrot Diet

Shelly Lane — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 02:33:51 +0000

Why do we take the time to feed the best possible diet to our pet Quakers? Because like humans, diet has a direct impact on how long our birds live and the quality of their lives. Parrot diet can be a somewhat controversial subject. It seems that even the experts can't completely agree on what foods provide a nutritious and balanced diet for birds. Based on both personal experience and research, Kyra Brown discusses her own thoughts regarding Quaker Parrot diet in the following article. Here's an excerpt:

Simply put, our Quakers should eat as we should. Not as we do, however. Quakers are somewhat prone to fatty liver disease and hypertension, and therefore it is extremely important to offer them only foods that are low in saturated fats and sodium (salt). There is some debate over the ratio in which our birds should eat, but it is somewhere between 60%/40% pellets-fresh food and 80%/20% pellets/fresh food. Your Quaker will probably set its own pace somewhere within that acceptable range.

To learn more about the best foods to feed your Quaker, please click through to The Best Quaker Parrot Diet. A list of toxic foods is included at the end of the article.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider Story

Shelly Lane — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:49:54 +0000

I don't like bugs. I really don't like spiders. I have no problem with removing them (one way or another) when they invade my home. With that said, an itsy bitsy spider has taken up residence in my bathroom. Now, this isn't just any little spider, mind you. This is a very SMART little spider!

I noticed him a few days ago. I think he was even a little bit smaller then. As I walked up to… err… dispose of him, my body cast a shadow over him, and he scampered to a little web that he has made for himself. Here is a picture of our itsy bitsy spider in his little web house.

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My Bird Laid an Egg - Help!

Shelly Lane — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:53:21 +0000

I've received several questions about egg laying recently, and this is definitely the season for it. Not all female Quakers lay eggs, but some do. Most owners are usually surprised when their single bird lays an egg, and many are often concerned by it and wonder what they should do.

A while back I wrote an article that discusses egg laying in parrots. It focuses more on chronic egg laying, but the advice in the article is still appropriate and helpful even if your Quaker only lays one or two eggs. If your pet Quaker has suddenly produced an egg and you're wondering what to do, this article on egg laying in parrots should help.

New Article: Best Cage Size for Quaker Parrots

Shelly Lane — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 23:53:35 +0000

Here is a question that comes up a lot from new Quaker owners: "What's the best cage size for my Quaker Parrot?" This new article not only answers this question in detail but also provides additional tips to help you choose the best cage for your new bird.

When I first became involved with Quaker Parrots, the wisdom of the day was to purchase a cage that is no smaller than 18×18×18. I believe the thinking was that this size would be sufficient to allow a Quaker to stretch and flap its wings. Of course, that would depend on how many toys and other items are in the cage, but that was the general idea. After living with these birds for a number of years, I agree that this size provides a sufficient home for a Quaker and personally would never consider a cage that was smaller than this.

Read the full article: The Best Cage Size for Quaker Parrots

Edgewater NJ Monk Parakeets Need Our Help

Shelly Lane — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 17:48:04 +0000

Please take a few moments and send a postcard to the address below to help the Quakers in NJ. This would be the first legislation of its kind and as such could have an impact on the wild Quakers in other states as well. Thank you in advance for helping out our friends in New Jersey. Also, once you have mailed your postcard, I'd love it if you'd post a comment below to let everyone know.

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New Article: Parrot Screaming - Causes & Solutions

Shelly Lane — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 11:22:12 +0000

Many years ago I heard bird expert Mattie Sue Athan describe this time of year as "the screaming season." She was referring to the time of year when the days start getting longer but before spring officially hits. The phrase has stuck with me as each year around this time I see many Quaker owners come to the forum in search of help with screaming issues. Unfortunately, there are no quick and easy solutions for parrot screaming, but hopefully this article will help you understand why birds sometimes scream and some things that may help. The following excerpt sums up the article:

My husband and I live with 8 Quakers, and while we have our noisy times, the majority of the time it is fairly quiet in our home. These methods really do work, but they do not work overnight. Once again, patience and consistency are the keys. And it helps to remember all of the wonderful qualities that our Quakers have to offer - and that we humans are not so perfect either.

Read the full article: Parrot Screaming - Causes and Possible Solutions