I have two Quakers, and I have to admit, I haven't been giving them the attention they deserve for awhile now. They are well fed and always have plenty of new toys to play with, but I haven't been good about handling them. They are housed separately, but next to each other and my husband and I just moved them to a room downstairs where they'll get a lot more stimulation and attention.

They both love it when I'm in the room with them and they'll chatter away at me, but they both lunge and bite if I try to pick them up. I know that they're both cage aggressive, and I let them come out on their own instead of offering my hand to them. I just can't get them off of their cages once they come out! They are great birds and I love having them, but this problem needs to be rectified.

They are both DNA sexed females. My green Quaker is 2 years old and my blue Quaker is just about a year old.

Where do I start at building a better relationship with my birds?

ALSO

Sometimes when they are out of the cage together they make this low grumbly noise in their throats and stamp one foot while they're doing it. Any idea what that is?

Well, I would start off by getting them off of their cage. You can use a perch to get them to set up on it (rather than offering a hand to bite). Once you have them off the cage take them into a totally different area than where the cage is (I also recommend only working with one at a time) and get back to the basic step-ups.

Thank you. My biggest problem is that I'm actually sort of afraid of one of the birds. I was almost wondering if there is some sort of glove I can wear when I work with her so that it won't hurt if she bites me. I know things would go better if I had more confidence when working with them.

In addition to the basic step ups...Something that might help with some of the cage aggression is to move things around on them a bit. Move perches and toys around so its all a little different. Especially now since you've moved them to a different room. If you do that periodically its supposed to keep them from being so protective of their cage. You might try doing it once a month or something...

Also something else you might try to lessen the severity of the bites is to push into the bite so it pushes the bird off balance, he can't bite nearly as hard if he's worried about falling. Also, if you bring your hand to them below their "strike zone" which is about 2-3 inches away from their body and down to about the middle of their belly, if you'll bring your hand in from below that area then they are less apt to bite you. Its really important not to jerk your hand away when they strike, or to make any noise, screaming or crying or yelling or cussing just acts as a reward and encourages them to do it again...Even if you laugh that's reinforcing the behavior you don't want.

I totally agree with Carrie about working with them separately and out sight of each other. Short sessions, 10 or 15 minutes a time and if you can do it a couple to 3 times a day that's great.

Just be patient...And if your husband will handle the birds its also a good idea that he also handles them both so they don't over bond to you any more than they already have.

Good luck...keep us posted on the progress!

Also... I'll tell your straight... If you're afraid of them, they will sense it, and bite you that much more. You have to get over that.

You have gotten some really good advise so far. Our QP went through a biting phase (still bites occasionally, but that's a QP for ya), and we corrected it by doing what the previous posts suggest. It's VERY hard not to react when they bite, but if you do, they think "WOW! I can make the human do a trick! Cool!" Re-arranging the cage DEFINITELY worked for us too. Another thing that helped with our QP was holding him wrapped up in a towel on his back (with his head mostly out) for a few minutes at a time while petting him and talking softly to him. It gave us a chance to not only show dominance, but also give him positive attention. The towel trick isn't for every QP though, yours may be really afraid of it.

Quakers are cage aggressive, but that doesnt mean they should bite you hard every time you stick your hand in there. I also have a 1 year old blue quaker. Sometimes they will fake like they are going to linge at you and they wont do anything.