im thinkin about gettin either a quaker or a cockateil, im a beginer and this will be my first bird
so many ppl tell me to get a teil as for a beginer they are easier to take care jst give them food and water pretty much and some say quaker are harder to take of have to givin variety of food
well if i buy a quaker is it ok if i jst give it same kinda of food?
i really like the quaker its so cute =)

Most folks on here will tell you that Quakers -- in fact, any pet bird -- need a lot more than just food and water. They need a wide variety of food, much like what you eat yourself, including fresh fruits and vegetables and even stuff like rice and chicken. Plus they're pretty messy and if you'd have a problem with that, you need to know before you get the bird. They also require a lot of time and attention -- you can't just leave him in his cage all the time. You have to get him out and play with him and let him sit on your hand or he'll get bored and frustrated and possibly start plucking out his own feathers. It's like having a dog. They want to be near you and have lots of one-on-one time with you. And they will poop on you. Mine does constantly. Some of the talented birds on this board -- including mine -- can even shoot poo out through the bars of the cage so that it hits the table and floor. I don't care -- I just clean it up, at least it's tiny little poo -- but that would really, really bother some people. But they are adorable and if you can handle the care, they're the best little buddies in the world.

Just want to add that a Cockatiel should be given fresh foods as well. No parrot should be on a diet of seed or pellet alone. They need fresh foods.

Please do a lot of research before bringing home a bird. Regardless of what species you get, they are a lot of work.

how often should i switch out the food and wat kidna the food? i eat rice everyday lol, would be ok if i give the rice like 3 times a week? is the rice suppose to be cooked?

They should have a steady supply (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) of pellets or seed, and it should be changed daily.

Cooked rice is fine, but try to stay away from white rice as it isn't as healthy as the other types of rice. Here is a great website for Quakers, and gives a lot of important information on diet, housing, etc.: Click~Here

The rice should definitely be cooked. It may be an old wives' tale that uncooked rice swells in the crops of birds and can do damage, but better safe than sorry. And for changing the food, part of the reason is that they drop the shells of their seeds back into the dish so at a glance it may look like there's still food in there, but it's all empty shells. I dump Clyde's dish every day and refill it with a mixture of seeds, pellets and dried fruit mix, and give him various other things like sweet corn, blueberries, bananas, green beans, whatever I think he might eat.

HI!
Good luck with your (possible) purchase of a quaker. ROUDYBUSH has a low-fat pellet diet that is excellent for quakers, as they are prone to a condition called fatty liver disease. Roudybush is the only brand (maybe there is another one, I forget the name...) which makes low fat food. You can buy it via website http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/shop.cfm?c=5059 ... Anything that has a high fat content is a no-no for quakers, I would guess that it is the same for a 'tiel (?)...