I just bought two quakers that where hand feed and about 3 months old. From reading about them they seem to come of very shy and are always trying to fly away from me. I have had them three day and i think i have made some progress with them since they dont try and fly away right away. Everyday i try and hold them, pet them and talk to them. Should i keep this up or shoudl i try and give them more personal space. Also does anybody have any better suggestions to get them to loosen up a little.

I think they just need a little time to adjust to their new surroundings.
Sometimes just being in their line of sight and talking, humming, whistling, singing to yourself so they can get accustomed to your voice works. Also sitting outside their cage with the door open and talking sweetly to them or even just sitting near them in a chair while you read a book is great.

My birds are quite content to play on or in their cages if they can see me.
They even watch me take a nap without a bunch of noise (better than my kids ever did!)

If they aren't trying to fly away as much, then I think you are making some progress. Be patient and if they seem to be getting frustrated, or tired, then put them back into their cage (you can leave the door open if you want so they can come and go as they please under your watchful eye ). Always end the training sessions on a positive note

Are these two birds caged together? Or do they have separate cages?

Btw, welcome to the forum and it's great to have you here! Feel free to share some pictures of your little cuties. We love Quakers here!

I have them caged toghter. Sometimes i get a little paranoid but nothing a little patience cant fix. Thanks for the advice.

Just be aware that having them caged together will make the taming/training process much more difficult. They most likely are spending more time with each other, then with you and could very well bond more stronger with one another, then with you, leaving you the odd man out. This could lead to aggressive birds that, as they grow older, become bitey towards you.

It's not very common that two Quakers can be caged together and keep their pet quality intact. I'm not saying it's impossible, just rather uncommon.

Good luck

My birds are flighted and I prefer them that way , but for you right now trying to tame your little guys I would suggest you get them clipped , by a avian vet not so hard a clip they can`t flutter to the floor but enough so they can`t fly too far , once they have been with you and their wings grow back if you prefer them flighted (and its safe enough for them to be flighted , this depends on your house where they are situated and their attitude) ..If they were hand fed and use to people it should not take long to calm them down , patience and love, if you spend time with them everyday and don`t neglect them they will include you in their flock , my boys (sun conure and Quaker ) live together and still want to be with us their human flock members , I think its only if you just leave them without spending good quality time with them every day that they will cling to each other and exclude you..
Good Luck and be patient, just a though are these birds cluch mates..?? siblings..??? it would not be good if they are male /female breeding would not be wise so if that
were the case seperate cages and supervised out time may well be advised ..my guys are both males so no eggs for me (and they are different breeds too )..

P.S

yes they are siblings. I have seen some progress since they act more calmer now but they still like to run away from me and my wife from time to time. It almost seems like they enjoy running away. Ill post some pics soon when i get around to buying a digital camera. Also is it bad to pull them out of the cage so they can spend time outside the cage or should i just sit next to the cage with the cage open because they still have never left the cage on their own yet.

If you want them to remain friends with you, then I'd highly suggest caging them separately. You can try working with them in a different room away from his/her sibling and the cage... this way they have to focus on you more and not on trying to get back to the cage. Ideally you want them to be comfortable enough to come out of the cage on their own and not force them out... but they aren't going to get more comfortable with people unless you work with them away from the cage so I personally would take them out out at a time and work with them for very short periods of time.

Do you know their sex? If they are brother and sister then it really would be best to cage them separately so there is no risk of eggs in the future.

Good luck!

Casey's Mom made a good point. If they are siblings and you don't know thier sex, you really don't want to leave them together. I have seen many bad results of siblings mating. The babies often grow extremely long beaks and toenails at an unbelievable speed and sometimes have twisted, painful feather growth.

Also the point about caging them together causing them to bond to each other and NEVER bonding to you might be something to give some thought to. They may never be pets. It works that way most of the time, but NOW AND THEN we hear of two caged together where the people work with them and they remain friendly with their humans. I personally wouldn't take the chance. I want mine to love ME, not each other. Mine are crazy about me and I want it to stay that way.

Best wishes with these little guys. Keep us posted on how it's working for you.

So i went out and bought a second cage for the second bird but i had a few questions. When i put them to sleep can i put the cages next to each other? Also i have a small one bedroom apartment what kind of distance should i keep the cages at? Also can i let the birds play togheter outside of thier cage? Finally about how much is the DNA test to sex the bird?

Yep, the cages can be next to one another for now. If they are becoming over bonded, you may have to move them further apart in the future. Supervised, out of cage time is just fine, but be sure to watch them until you know if they are male/female or not.

The price for DNA sexing varies depending on if you have a vet do it, or if you do it yourself. Doing it yourself will run you around 20 bucks per bird. Here is a site where you can order free kits and it will explain how to go about taking the sample: www.avianbiotech.com

Yep keep their cages near each other or they may fret , they will be good company for each other when you are not there even in seperate cages..
Best of luck with your little guys post some piccys when you can love to see them..

So yea today i just put them in seprate cages and they freaked out. Its like i just bought them over again. But i guess in a few days they will level out. But at least now they leave the cage on thier own

Well here are some pics of my too birds