hi i have a question that has been bugging me for a while, it is all about confidence in parrots. you see up to now i have not worried about it as i was planning on getting a quaker(i here they are scared of anything ) however i live in norfolk in england and to get a quaker i practically have to go to another country sadly that is not an option, but things are on the turn and i have discovered a meyer parrot or the meyers parrot and they seem like a great parrot for my living situation (i.e children shouting dogs barking lots of doors banging ect. )but i was wondering are meyers fearless like the quakers, and is there anything i can do to make it more confident when it is young? thank you freddie.

I think if you start with a young bird...they will get used to whatever situation they are living in

I agree with Angie.

Also, keep in mind that when you read stuff about specific species personalities, those are just general remarks. ALL birds are different and I think it is just their personality.

For example, I have 8 Cockatiels and each one of them is different. I have 1 that is afraid of *every* little noise and I have another that isn't scared of anything (she'd go head to head with my Quaker if I'd let her).

So it just depends on the personality of the bird. As for finding Quakers in England....we have several Quaker owners here who got their parrots in England.

O woow, well i guess i should look harder then i guess they must be out there somewhere

lol...if you're still interested in a Quaker, why not start a new thread and put something in the title to attract responses from fellow posters who live in England. Maybe they can tell you where they got their Quakers

thats a great idea ill try that thank you

As far as Meyers, I have one and she's I wouldn't call her fearless... but I would call her ultimately laid back. She won't go looking for trouble (like say my caiques) but whatever happens, loud noises, bumping her cage, etc, she takes it in stride.

That said, developing confidence in parrots is a super interesting question! I think that once a bird feels completely safe in its surroundings, then it WILL develop confidence. Some birds are more confident than others, naturally, but they can all feel safe and comfortable in their homes if their parronts are careful. For example, Grace, my grey, went through a scaredy-cat stage when I was simply changing too many things on her. For awhile EVERYTHING scared her. So I moved her cage to less stressful location and tried not to change anything for awhile. Now she is absolutely queen of her area, and with that comfort comes the confidence to check EVERYTHING about... and to get into trouble!

So whatever bird you get, whatever its base personality, making sure that it feels safe and loved and paying attention to its body language and respecting its needs will give you a confident and happy bird!

At least, ninety nine times out of a hundred.

Good luck!

(If you want a quaker in England, I would suggest PMing our members Captain Quark and Stendeck'sMom... I know that CQ works for a bird rescue group so he knows toooooooons of people with birds all over England!)