Dear Fellow Quaker Parents,
This is my first time writing on this forum, any advice would be great. I have 3 quakers (one is almost 7, the others are 2 and 3). I found them in a neighborhood in Chicago that has many nests- over the course of the years, I literally had them fall into my lap, as babies fallen from the nest, or very young and not quite ready to fly. My husband and I may have to leave Illinois to find work, and some of the states that have potential positions are states where quakers are "illegal", such as new jersey and connecticut. I have read a lot about people trying to save the wild quakers in those areas, but what about bringing them into the state and having them as pets? I know technically, it is illegal, but do fish and wildlife reps come to one's house to confiscate? Is it possible to get a registration in New Jersey (despite what I have read that it is almost impossible?) I have a wonderful vet here in chicago, and he told us that vets will service, and NOT confiscate or report almost any exotic (save for things that are downright venomous, and NOT a pet in any kind of way...)- Is there any quaker owners in New Jersey that could give us some more information? A name of a good avian vet in Jersey would help too! Thank you so much!
We never want to endanger our little guys, or leave them for that matter.....

Do you know where in New Jersey the new job may be. I ask because there are parts of New Jersey that border New York and they are not illegal here! I do not know from experience, but I have heard that getting a permit in Jersey is tough, I don't know if the fact you already have the birds will make a difference. You may want to contact the NJ officials to inquire, or if the job is close enough to the border, you can live in NY.;

Hodaya's Angels - I believe the concern is irresponsible QP owners releasing birds into the wild.... Hmmm?
Doesn't sound like you!!!
I would be REALLY SURPRISED if the QP STATE POLICE swooped down and came after your birds! Make sure you tell your new neighbors that they are pygmy macaws!
New QP Dad

That's why I joined this group. I was wondering the same thing as we were thinking of moving to one of those states. There is a website that lists which states will not allow them and which ones will but with stipulations like they have to be closed banded. Just make sure you check how strict they are in those states. I think some of them don't even enforce the law where quakers are concerned.I know there are people on this list that know about this and should be able to give you some guidance Good luck. I know how you feel.

I lived in Calif for 4 years with my quaker, Mr. Kiwi. I went to Nevada to have a check up. Everything worked great. Even tho Calif has border checks........ We would just put Kiwi in the bathroom with his cage , in our Motor Home, and there was no problem. We did alot of traveling thruout Calif and Nevada with no problems........I now live in Oregon and I am so happy not to have to worry about the Calif. law If you don't have a border, then I don't think you have a thing to worry about I would just make up an address and take your bird to the the next legal state to have a checl up. ThAT IS MY HONEST OPINION!!!!!

Well I had a friend that lived in PA and someone reported her and they did come and take her quaker and sadly they put him to sleep. No ???s asked they do and don't care. So to me its not a chance I would take as it only takes a nosey neighbor, vet, anyone seeing the quaker in your car and it only takes 1 time no matter how careful.

Thank you all so much for your advice and encouragement. Our first choice is to of course be in a state where our little guys are not endangered in any way, and just the thought of even the tiniest possibility of someone harming them (like Julies Jungle mentioned) has had my stomach in knots. The job is in west jersey, not close to the NY border, unfortunately. I know that Brooklyn has a wonderful community of parakeets! I wish I could just rest assured that some over zealous person would not go and report us, but its hard to feel secure when you know the lives of creatures you dearly love could be at stake. I just looked over the application to get one's "dangerous animal" registered in New Jersey, and it seems like the only stipulations are, that you must specify a vet, detail their medical info, but- here's the catch- if they are not captive-bred, you must have some kind of proof that they were legally in your possession from before 1991. My guys weren't even alive then, so I am not sure how that has bearing on what I would put down on that application. It would be terrible to apply, and then get rejected for some reason... I don't know what is better, to just "sneak" our quakers in, or try our best to get them registered? If there is anyone out there that has successfully registered their quakers in these "illegal" states, I would LOVE to hear from you! Thank you again for all the replies, and I wish everyone in my situation the best of luck! ----------Pygmy macaws!Ha-ha! I just looked them up on the internet- I think quakers could pass for these guys, at least to the not-so-trained eye! My husband and I were just discussing how we could try to pass them off as parrotlets, or some kind of conure..... but this is way better!!!

try to pass them off as Grey Cheeked Parakeets! it works for me and my vet! but im lucky for i llive close to bordering states where they are legal as pets. good luck

LOL - With a great number of "not-so-trained" eyes, you could pass them off as fat budgies. I don't know how many times someone has told me about a friend having a bird that is "just like mine" only to find out they have a cockatiel or an amazon of some kind.

Something I just found out recently is that if you are a government worker or military and live on federally owned property, the state can not control what type of animal you own.

It's great that you're checking this out in advance. I don't have any experience with this (Quakers are legal everywhere in Canada), but I know several people who have lived in states where Quakers are illegal and they did just fine. Some had vets that knew the birds were Quaker (I'd be worried about the quality of an avian vet that didn't know what a Quaker looked like!!) and just labeled the bird as a Grey Cheeked Parakeet. They resemble each other enough.

I have to tell you that most non-avian people have NO idea what a Quaker looks like and even more have no idea there are laws making them illegal in certain states. It's not like the government does advertising against Quakers

Personally, I would do what I have to do and if that means moving to an area where Quakers are illegal, then just rename your bird to a different species and go from there. They do not have Quaker police knocking down doors And, while some people have had their birds confiscated and euthanized, it is very rare. If caught, most of the states just ask that you remove your bird from the state by a certain time frame.

I asked the same questions when I joined this forum, as we were going to move to TN from TX. Thank goodness we didn't, but my plan was to go with the Grey Cheeked Parakeet defense. Most likely it will be fine, but I would check the laws for the state about what the policy is if you were caught. As mentioned above, some states will euthanize, no questions asked. I saw online in the TN wildlife rules and regulations about quaker parrots that in it would be possible to get a permit, but when I contacted the Wildlife Department they said no permits whatsoever. WHen I quoted them the specific section # and everything, they just ignored me. So I am really glad that we didn't have to move at all so I don't have to worry about it. I can tell you that a vet isn't "required by law" to tell any government agency that you have a quaker, so if you can find a nice vet, then you won't have to worry about that at least. Other than that I would just be careful about who you let see the bird when they come over to your house.

I can't actually believe someone would report a quaker owned by a neighbor! I mean, if someone did that to me, and they euthanized my bird, I don't know what I would do to that person!!!!! Or what my husband would do either, for that matter.

We were looking into it because my husband was thinking about going into the Marines which would have us in California for 2 years while he did training. I spoke with a local vet - who not only treats Quakers but ferrets that are illegal there. They had never heard of anyone who had been called in on a Quaker, but the ferret owners who flaunt their animals get called in on a regular basis. She said quite a few of their clients said all they got were notices to move the animal out of the residence to a "safe" place. All of those people who got notices, still had their ferrets. There it wasn't illegal to treat Quakers or ferrets.

She said tat most people had no clue what a Quaker looks like and even if you said Monk Parakeet, they would never connect the two.

My father is one of the investigators for the Agriculture Department in one of the states they're illegal in. He didn't even know they were illegal until I made the mistake of telling him. THAT was a tough time. ( me and my big mouth ) We still go home, and may even get stationed there next. And if we do, I will be telling people they're grey cheeked parakeets, and relying on the ignorance of society.

Good luck!

As it turns out (fortunately, and unfortunately) we ended up not getting any of the jobs in Jersey, or California. I mean, its not pleasant for my husband to be without work to say the least, but admittedly, there was a huge sigh of relief knowing that we won't (for the time being) have to deal with our little guys' legal status and possible related dangers... The other states we have job possibilities in are Indiana and South Carolina, both which have no restrictions. I know that there are no 'quaker police' per se, so I should "logically" not get too concerned, but the mere thought of any harm coming to our little quakers makes me worried and angry. The "grey-cheek" solution is what I will rely on if the time comes. I even read on one site that quakers are called "grey-breasted parakeets", so its not like we are stretching the truth TOO much!