I have been looking for a quaker for some time now with no luck. However there is a breeder that is willing to sell me one as soon as he has some available. Only problem is they will not be weaned. I have not decided yet if I am going to do this or not, and I do have plenty of time to possibly find one that is weaned while I am waiting for his to be born. But if he becomes my only option by then can someone tell me how hard it is to hand feed a baby. I have been reading ALOT of stuff about how to do it and all. And although it doesn't sound all that hard, I am scared to death. And not only feeding it right, there are so many other factors that go along with it. Has anyone ever done this? And just how hard was it.

I have hand raised birds before, and if you don't have any experience it can be a lot more difficult and stressful than it looks. Even those with TONS of experience have accidents, equipment failure, etc and the bird is the one that pays the price with it's life many times. My advice, if you don't have anyone that can basically stand over your shoulder and help and teach you hands on, then don't do it if you don't have to. It's not worth the risk and the heartache.

I also wanted to add that when a breeder is willing to sell an unweaned baby to an inexperienced person, it's a big sign of an irresponsible breeder that is only in it for the money. I would avoid them at all costs and find a breeder that actually cares about the lives he creates. Find one that sells only weaned babies, even if it means you have to ship a bird to you. Our very own Andie would be a great breeder to turn to. There are a few people here that have one of her birds, and they all swear by her. I've actually rehomed a bird to her, and highly recommend her. The woman knows her stuff.

Do you know how I could get in contact with her? I got a tip about a Quaker up for adoption in my area but don't know if it's availale still or not. I have been looking for so long for one.

As far as the breeder selling the babies unweaned. I thought that was kind of messed up too. But as I've been searching for one of these birds, I have come across alot of breeders that do this. I personally could not do it if it were one of my babies. I guess some people are LIKE YOU SAID just in it for the money. And that is sad.

Hopefully I can find a weaned baby, or even one that is older. That is the ideal way I would like to get one.

You can pm Andie. Her call name is AndiWanKenobi. She can tell you what she has available, and if she doesn't have anything may be able to point you in the right direction of a good breeder.

Hi
Maybe you already have, but I suggest trying www.petfinder.com.It helps you find shelter birds in your area. You can search for baby, young, adult, or senior quakers and you can search male or female. Hopefully, there will be some in your area. Most shelters list there animals with petfinder too.Good luck!!!

Also try here:

http://www.avianbiotech.com/Breeders/default.asp

There are numerous listings for aviaries.

Also where are you located?

I have to agree with Stacy...If you haven't ever had birds before, and this is your first...Do NOT try to hand feed yourself. I just posted something to this nature in another thread So many things can go wrong. and it can happen in a heartbeat and be the death of your baby. As Stacy said even the experienced feeders can have problems. Burned crops and asperated food. Meaning its sucked into the lungs and they die

Temp of the formula has to be just right or as mentioned, you can get a burned crop which if undetected can be a serious problem and it can also mean that the birds will need to have Expensive Surgeries to remove the burned tissue and close the crop.
Too cold of formula leads to a slow or sour crop and that can be deadly as well.

Since I'm Andie Wan Kenobi's mom I can tell you, at this time I don't think she has any Baby Quakers available...but that can change Or she can search for some just pulled and raise them and wean them and get you one that way....But it would mean a little longer wait and it would cost you extra for shipping...However, its better to do that than take a chance of having problems with a baby and losing it. All the babies that Andie sells are completely weaned and eating pellets and fruits and veggies or they don't leave the premises. In fact she prefers to keep them a week or two longer than some breeders just to make sure there isn't a relapse and they go off their pellets etc.

Contact her either through a PM or visit her website @ andiesark.com and she'll be glad to help you...

Also Cheri, Quakercuties has a new clutch of baby quakers that she's hand feeding now I know...several members are in line to get babies from her...She's in Florida...I don't know where you are but it might be closer...I don't know if Cheri is willing to ship however, you'd need to contact her personally through a PM to discuss it with her.

Dallas, Texas...I believe.

I think getting one of Andie's babies would be awesome...I think it would be worth the wait. Like others have said, there are so many things that can happen with new unweaned babies..
Just be patient and wait and the perfect one will come along...

Rebecca