recently, we purchased a new cage (HQ) for ross which is a lot bigger than his previous, not too mention, he now has the play top on top of the cage....where here is where it gets ugly....he has started to become very AGGRESSIVE when we approach him...and its ONLY when he's on the top of the cage...he literally lunges at you soo fast that sometimes you don't have enuff time to pull away before he takes a bite outta you...now mind you, he was NEVER like this before with his old cage..so this behavior is quite new w/us...also, he rubs his body all over the paper up there...(its just newspaper) he seems the happiest little bird when he's up there, and he NEVER wants to come down...could this be a hormone thing? he's only 14months old....its like he's GODZILLA...he will throw his toys down, his food tray down, like he's playing a game..any idea where this behavior is coming from??? like i said, he was never like this BEFORE the new cage....any help would be appreciated!!!

Well I am not one of the experts on QP's but from what I have learned..... If the play top is taller than you than Ross is feeling like top bird. I have read that they should never be higher than eye level because they can become aggressive. As for the trowing things down that is their way of playing fetch, kind of a reverse of the way you play with a dog! With a bird they throw you retrieve. Mollie has toys that she will throw down on the floor or the bottom of her cage and I give them back to her and she throws them again. As for the newspaper thing, not sure what is up with that . Some of the others with more experience will be along soon.

as far as the distance of the top play gym, were still above eye level w/him but not as much tho...just a few inches where as before, we were def. taller but not as much now....if i had a video camera id tape him just so you can see what were dealing w/here..the newspaper is the oddest thing ive witnessed outta him!! haha its quite hilarious actually. thanks for the reply

Clyde was cage aggressive with his old, small cage but hardly at all with his new big cage, so maybe your bird is just the opposite. Could be he's so taken with his new cage that he feels he has to defend it from everybody, even you!

The top of Clyde's new cage is higher than eye level on both of us and he has high shelves just below ceiling height that he can walk on, too, and he doesn't act any different because of it. I don't think it's a given that a bird will get obnoxious just because he's up higher than you are. It must depend on the bird's individual personality. Maybe you should just give him a few days to adjust and see what happens.

good point...its been almost 2wks and i don't see him backing down anytime soon...he's as fast as a rattlesnake coming after you if your too close (quite funny) ohhhhh i just wish he wasn't acting this way bc it makes us want to just stick him in the old and be done w/it....we also added a huppy hut hoping he'd take a liking to it....NOPE! wants nothing to do w/it!

I would take that top tray out for starters and just let his droppings fall thru to the bottom tray. If he becomes too aggressive and starts to be com habit, you could try just taking the play top off for a while (I have an HQ and it is really easy to take off).

I have been told by a parrot expert- that a Happy Hut can make your Quaker very aggresive. It might be that?

i don't think its the happy hut b/c he started this behavior before i put the happy hut, and he has nothing to do w/it anyways...he's gotten a little bit better since i posted this, but not much.......im afraid i may have to take it away from him which i hate to do b/c he loves it sooo