Hi,

I come from Kent in England and I don't have a quaker yet but I am very interested in finding out more. I just wondered if you have any advice for me. I had a budgie (Scully) who was great fun and an amazing character. I work full time so I am out of the house from 08:00 to 16:30ish.

The sort of things I would like to know are:

- how bad is the screaming, I have been reading the forum and this seems to be one of the issues talked about a lot?

- what do you do if you go away for a night but cannot take them with you? I used to set up the lights and TV on timers, and cover scully just at the back of the cage so she could retreat back into this area when she wanted to sleep.

- do they learn to nap during the day if they cannot get 12 hours sleep?

- Should you provide a nightlight? Scully used to get night-frights so we had a nightlight close to her cage.

- what are the best things about quakers?

- what does fid mean?

- should I get 1 or 2? If 2 will they interact with me and talk?

Questions, questions, questions......

I hope you can help me with the huge amount of questions I have asked.

I look forward to hearing from you and thanks for any information,
Belinda

how bad is the screaming, I have been reading the forum and this seems to be one of the issues talked about a lot?

They can and will have their moments! Some days my QP has screamed for a long time and now hes fine and dosent scream alot. Prob hormones. Sometimes lack of attention in some cases with people. You need toys to help play time. If you keep your QP on you ALL the time he wont want to play as much or not at all.
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- what do you do if you go away for a night but cannot take them with you? I used to set up the lights and TV on timers, and cover scully just at the back of the cage so she could retreat back into this area when she wanted to sleep.

Over night I think your fid will be fine maybe have a friend check on him.
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- do they learn to nap during the day if they cannot get 12 hours sleep? I would think YES
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- Should you provide a nightlight? Scully used to get night-frights so we had a nightlight close to her cage.

NO they need complete darkenss. NO night light!
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- what are the best things about quakers?
They have great personalitys, they talk really really well and in context to whats going on, if they dont talk you bet they understand loads and loads, they have real personalitys thus the parrot family.
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- what does fid mean?
It means feathered friend
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- should I get 1 or 2? If 2 will they interact with me and talk?
Many people will say get one b/c it will bond with you very well. Two will bond with each other and may not want your interaction as in the one would. But there are people who have 2 and they are just as loving. If you get two let them play together but not caged together. If you buy 2 buy them from the same litter as then theyll always be friends. Often and usually 2 fids from 2 different places dont like one another and prob never will. I have a sun and a QP and they dont like one another and may never and prob wont ever be friends. If they were raised from babies together they would be friends right now.

Hope something was of help here!
Oh yes and by the way WELCOME!! Really Nice to see you here feel free to join in soooo many Great people here!

I have to respectfully disagree with this. I have a night light on for all my birds and it never has bothered any of them. I do cover their cages and leave a hallway light on.

Just to add onto what Janet said about having 2 birds. I try to recommend starting off with one. This way you have time to bond strongly with the bird before adding another one into your flock. If you start out with two, then you have to split your time up between them and it might be harder to develope that bond right off the get-go. The bonus of starting off with two is that you have a higher chance of them getting along with each other. But having two birds means twice the work and twice the cage cleaning because you will want to have them in separate cages.

Welcome.

- how bad is the screaming...
Hemingway has had his moments from time to time. He makes this "ak ak ak," yell that can get to us. But we've worked with him and now that he's well-settled in, it's much better. It wasn't all the time-- just a few times a day when he'd get worked up. His episodes lasted perhaps 15-20 min and maybe 2x/day (not sure if this was typical).

- what do you do if you go away for a night
Haven't left him overnight YET-- but hopefully if someone can check in on him food/water-wise he would be OK. I can't imagine leaving him alone without social/out of cage time more than one night though

- do they learn to nap?
From what I've read-- 10-12 hrs is ideal but I think there's some people on here whose birds get less. Hemingway gets about 11 hrs/night.. and he is inclined to take an afternoon snooze if left to his own devices.

- Should you provide a nightlight?
We cover his cage with a dark sheet but there IS a faint nightlight in his room

- what are the best things about quakers?
They are so intelligent! They notice everything in their environment and are extremely interactive. Hemingway isn't into the "be still and cuddle with me" moments but he loves to hang out on our hands and walk around on us. They're endearingly "clowny" and the talking is just an absolute hoot. Hemingway was even trying to play "peekaboo" with the dog today.

- what does fid mean?
Feathered kid

- should I get 1 or 2? If 2 will they interact with me and talk?
From what I've gathered on here.. 1 would be best for interaction with you? Hopefully the guys with more than 1 will be along to give input.

A night light can be used, not all birds need them...However if you choose to cover them I would suggest a night light because of night frights...they are able to see a little bit then should they fall from a perch if they get startled.

Should you get two of them to start...I wouldn't...Several reasons...If you get two and decide you can't handle the noise you've got twice the noise...And then two to worry about training at the same time etc.

I don't necessarily agree with the two birds different species not getting along either...it really depends on the individual birds...for instance I have a blue crown conure and a quaker and they get along great...play in each others cages and play outside their cages etc. They are close to the same size however. They were raised in different homes to begin with but now are side by side in seperate cages. When its time for bed they go into their own cages and tell each other g'nite...LOL, when I say its night night time....LOL

As far as screaming...noise levels...depends on the bird. I've heard parakeets that are as noisey as a quaker, just a differnt pitch.

And I want to welcome you to the forum as well...You're gonna love it here

Hi Everyone,

Really nice welcome - thanks!

Thanks for all the advice too from what you are saying you have convinced me that it would be a lot of fun and that they can fit into my lifestyle.

One of the things I loved most about Scully was that she was extremely interactive and an amazing character. She really knew her own mind and it sounds like Quakers do too!

Can't wait to get my new fid!

Thanks,
Belinda

- how bad is the screaming, I have been reading the forum and this seems to be one of the issues talked about a lot?

Mine only screams in the morning when he hears me wake up and I don't go see him

- what do you do if you go away for a night but cannot take them with you? I used to set up the lights and TV on timers, and cover scully just at the back of the cage so she could retreat back into this area when she wanted to sleep.

I leave the TV on for mine, if I am gone longer than a day then I have someone watch him for me

- do they learn to nap during the day if they cannot get 12 hours sleep?

Mine is the exception, but I am not on a normal schedule and he seems ok with that, so mine does nap sometimes

- Should you provide a nightlight? Scully used to get night-frights so we had a nightlight close to her cage.

mine doesn't

- what are the best things about quakers?

they are awesome companions that will make you smile every day

- what does fid mean?

feathered kid

- should I get 1 or 2? If 2 will they interact with me and talk

I think they are more likely to ignore you if you have two, but if you don't care about them being companions to you and will be away a bit, getting two would be a good idea. It depends on the bird, some get along great with other birds, some do not. I was told mine hates other birds, so he's all I will have for life :-)

Hello to you in Kent,England.. and welcome !!

Fid is not feathered friend-

Its Feathered Kid- FID ..lol because they're our kids accept they have feathers..lol