we adopted Babe two weeks ago, he(?) is said to be 6 or 7 years old. his former momma got sick and had move into a nursing to home. which meant giving up her collection of "fids"
he is a real sweetheart, although he can be a little nippy at times. he is a real snuggler and seems to get along with the family. he seems to be a good eater, liking a little of everything. in the past we owned a family of parakeets, but we Quakers are new to us. he has a great cage with grape vine perches, a happy hut, toys, the works!! at the moment I only have two questions for the "board" 1.do there beaks usually need to be trimmed or filed to maintain length? (similar to wings and claws) 2.any specific DO's or DONT'S?? we know the chocolate,avocado,lettuce, teflon stuff. and have done ALOT of reading to educate ourselves, but I know form other forums that there is an unbelievable wealth of knowledge out there, so any input would be greatly appreciated

thanks in advance!!!
Babe

Hi and welcome to the forum! You must show us some pics of Babe soon!

To answer one of your questions regarding the beak trimming:
From what I understand this is not a necessity unless there is some sort of a deformity of the beak. Generally the Q's do a fine job of filing their beaks on their cement and rock perches. I am sure some others will be along shortly with more (and better) advice for you. Congrats on your new addition!

Regarding the Do's and Dont's ... take a look at the pinned items, as I am sure this will answer most of your questions.

Good on you for adopting Babe.

Beaks should never be trimmed by anyone other than a vet. Beaks should generally never need to be trimmed. As Frankies Mom said they do a good job of looking after their own beaks, thank you very much. Maya like to wear hers down on my fingers. Kidding.

The only time they might need trimming is if there has been a crack or chip. Trimming in such cases can keep a beak in good shape until it grows back on it's own. If a beak becomes long or overgrown, see a vet right away as this could be a sign of illness.

Best of luck to you and babe.

Welcome! You came to a wonderful group of people for answers to any question you have. I have three quakers (soon to be four) and have never had to have a beak trimming done. The best thing to do is take him for a vet well check (an avian vet) and if they feel its necessary they will do it. There is a lot of great information on this forum and it sounds like you have been reading up already, good for you! Sounds like you will make a great quaker mom. Would love to see some pictures.

here is a pic of Babe. thanks for the input, we look forward to hearing more info.Click to view attachment

I think Babe's beak looks very good to be 6 or 7 years old....If he has a cement perch he will probably be able to keep his beak trimmed himself....I thought Harley's was getting a little long when I took him in yesterday for his checkup and Dr. said it is looking alright......But Harley's isn't quite as long so try the cement perches if you don't have them....Harley has two and it helps his....

Babe is certainly a beautiful quaker.....

his former mommy said that when he was a baby, she let him fly....and one day he was shot by a neighbor with bb gun. the result was that Babe's lower beak is split in two pieces vertically. this causes one side to grow up kind of funny, into sort of an under-bite. I was shown and instructed to trim this portion of his lower beak a min of every two weeks (it grows really fast) but his upper is looking rather long also, and thats what raised the question. He doesn't seem real thrilled with the whole bath thing, any ideas there? everything we've read indicates that Q's love showers/bathing.
well again, thank you all for any insight. and we'll keep reading and learning....Babe was on my shoulder while I made the last post by the way, is there a realistic way to pottie train him at seven?? Click to view attachment

welcome to the flock
their beaks usually shouldnt need to be trimmed your avian vet will let you know if its ever needed.

Sure you can potty train at 7. Sylvia is 7 and getting along splendidly with it. And to clear up the bath thing- Sylvia hates them! We've gotten to a good compromise where she hardly ever gets totally soaked. Instead, she comes in the shower with me and I hold her on my hand briefly in the spray off my shoulder (not the direct spray, the rebound spray) and she asks for a kiss when she wants to go back to the shower perch. That way everyday she gets a good misting, which I figure is good enough until we can work up to enjoying a good soaking.

O.K. I'll do that!! thanks for the input. we're trying to find a
vet thats closer to home, a check up is one thing. but in an emergency 60 miles is too far.

Babe really seems to be doing good! although he really doesn't seem to like my wife too much, he's good with the kids, great w/me not so much with her. any ideas??

how much does a quaker, usually "go"??? when he's being held or on the run, it seems to be pretty frequent. we use to have a family of parakeets, yea they went.....but not as much as he does, and it looks quite different from theres. what is "normal"
suppose to look like
Click to view attachment Bosun & Babe, they aren't exactly the best of friends, but they are tolerating each other nicely

Please be careful with Babe and Bosun...The least little scratch or any cat saliva can be fatal for birdie....It really scares me when I see birdie and a cat/dog that close to each other....By the way, Bosun is a very beautiful cat.....

Try doing the rescue technique with Babe and your wife....Take Babe is another room and leave for just a little while, I prefer the bathroom---toilet lid closed, and let your wife go in and rescue Babe and then give him a treat....This has worked for many and hopefully could work for you and your wife....If at first you don't succeed, try and try again.... Keep us informed....

wow!! you are full of great info...thank you!!

we will try it tonight.

babe and bosun are ONLY anywhere near
each other completely under my CLOSE supervision, and really they do keep their distance from one another.....actually bosun is terrified of birds. babe will chase her right out of the room if given the chance.Click to view attachment