Hi, I'm NanaGail. I have 3 sons, one wonderful grandson and one on the way. If I had known that grand babies were this much fun. I'd have definately had them first. haha. I don't have a quaker yet. But, would love to get one. My friend has a African Grey and it's so funny. I have been told that the quaker is a smaller option. I don't want something too big, but I'd love to have a talker. I do have a parakeet, Cutie Pie, he's my only bird. I also have a cat, Callie, and a german shepherd, Beau.
I've never been a part of a forum before, so I will apologize now for something I'm sure I'll do wrong later. ahah

Oh dont be silly we learn as we go along. But Welcome!
Theres so many people here who really are very
helpful in specific facts its a wonderful place here.
Quakers can be loud but well thats a bird for you at times.
They love attention and can be wonderful talkers. (some
but not all) Read as much as you can on them. They can live to be 25 years old so its a real committment but at any
rate its nice to see you here!

Welcome aboard! You will find a whole lot of great help and advice here! I was a newbie two just 5 short weeks ago and I have learned so much from everyone on here, I feel pretty good about the little monster we adopted! He still is trying to adjust to us, but we are making some progress...Quake was adopted from another family. I have found great suggestions about every aspect of having a Quaker! Julie

Welcome to the forum! You will soon learn that these places are highly addictive!

If you want the big parrot mentality in a little package, then a Quaker is right for you! They can compare to the Grey's in their talking ability, but you do have to take into account that some (like the Grey's) are not talkers. There are a couple on here that can talk up a storm in context and a couple who only say one word once in a while. Ours, Casey, talks a lot and is learning new words all the time.

I would highly recommend the Quaker though, they are amazing little birds! Like Janet said, they can get loud at times, but their love and funny little words that come out of their mouths along the way make up for it!

Feel free to ask as many questions as you want, it's best to do lots of research before you get your little green chicken to make sure they are the right bird for you, since they are a big commitment... it's like having a permanent two year old!

Welcome!

Hey NanaGail! Welcome to our Zoo! You're going to love living here...and I say that because this place is addicting!

There's lots of great people here and all of us are pretty easy going. OK...well Most of us are pretty easy going.

Lots of combined years of knowledge here at this forum and no matter how long we've had birds, we can always learn something new.

Don't be afraid to jump in and ask questions or make comments...Its the only way we learn...No question is stupid here...

Study about the quaker or any other bird as much as you can. If you can go visit people who have them all the better...

Are you interested in getting a baby or would you like to have an older one? The reason I ask is because there are always people looking for someone to adopt their bird because of changing life circumstances. However...as a first time quaker owner, or Parrot owner, you'll want to be selective if you choose to rescue and/or adopt a "second hand (or more) bird. You're going to find that none are without their own set of problems and concerns.

Quakers are great birds for the first time owner PROVIDED you've done your homework and know what to expect. Since you have a parakeet you know that they can be messy...ALL birds are messy some more than others...Quakers in my opinion are POOP shooters...LOL...they will poop out the side of their cage if they can which means it will go on the floors, curtains, blinds etc.. So expect that.

Quakers can and will be LOUD at times. They are very intelligent birds and can learn to speak quite well and actually use them correctly. But as Cheekysmum stated, not all quakers talk, or talk well. And it doesn't matter if they are male or female. Remember, You'll have a forever 2 year old in your house when you have a quaker.
Depending on how patient you are, they can also learn to do any number of tricks as long as you have the patience to teach them.

I'd like to pass on one tip and this goes for any type of parrot you may decide to get. BEFORE you bring the bird home...stop and appraise your lifestyle as it is now...do you see it changing in the next 2 to 30 years? If you're older now...have you thought of what will happen to your birds/animals if something should happen to you and you can no longer take care of them? These creatures are life long commitments.
But I'm getting off track for my original thought here. What I wanted to say is...Appraise your lifestyle. Spend only as much time with the bird when you first bring it home as the amount that you think you'll have to spend with it each day for the next 30 years!

What happens so many times, is people will bring this new cute baby or adult home, and spend every waking minute with this bird. Carrying it around with them where ever they go...This causes the bird to over bond with you and will depend on you for all of its entertainment etc. A parrot needs to learn to play on its own and occupy its time while its human flock is at work or whatever. So you need to be prepared to TEACH it how to do that. How do you do that you ask? By giving it lots of different types of toys...foraging toys and shreddable toys and chewable toys etc. Birds in the wild spend most of their day in search of food...So we need to simulate that and offer as much challenge to them as we can... Foraging toys that you can put little pieces of food in for them to have to work at to get is a great thing. And have them in two or 3 places and that are different difficulties to access so that they are always challenged. They don't have to be the fancy schmancy acrylic toys you see on the market...You can make your own. Thats part of where doing your homework comes in.

Anyway...Good luck at your quest for a Quaker...and please, come join in on our fun anytime....

welcome to the forum! just keep in mind, we were all new at this at one time or another! this is an awesome place to ask questions and learn! good luck...

Welcome to our little corner of the internet!

Welcome!!!

Welcome to the forum you will love a quaker, don't forget to post a picture of Cutie-Pie.