I am really hoping someone can ease my worries. As of tomorrow, QuakerQuaker will have been with me for 2 weeks. The first week he behaved somewhat.
This weekend he was hell with wings. Wouldn't step up w/o biting my fingers or trying to bite my neck. Flying all over the house-and wing clipping is not an option in mine. He's being realllllllllllly loud. He tried to steal my conures cage out from under him and tried to attack my cockatiel.
All the literature I have read and posings on the forum say that they need time to adjust. I understand that and know it has not been enough time. Ummmmmmmmmmm.........how long do I give him. I suppose I also need time to adjust. I know that my conure and I took a couple of months to bond and then like a few more months for me to not think he was going to murder me every time I tried to touch him. And I hated how loud he was at first but now don't mind.
At what point do I give up with QuakerQuaker???????? Please help.

I dont know why you dont want to clip his wings...but until you gain control then it may be your only option.

I agree with Kate. It will make bonding easier in my opinion. And I'm not saying always keep them clipped...but it might be the way to go for now. If that isn't going to happen for you...I have a few questions
1.where did you get your bird
2.was it hand fed
3.how old is he
4.how is it getting near your other birds' cages when you have only had it for 2 weeks? it should be quarantined for 45 ish days!?

I can't clip his wings as I have cats and ferrets. His wings are his only fighting chance of getting away if he is caught.

Why are people so against clipping? It helps in training, Keeps them from accidently getting out....which we hear way to much about on this forum, and it is a great attitude adjuster. I let mine keep his wings for a while in the spring but his attitude changed and he started to think he was the boss so they had to get clipped again. Only 2 weeks with him and you sound like you are ready to give up on him. Maybe a quaker isn't the bird for you.

Okey dokey then.........

First of all. I have predators in my home that are usually not in the room to attack but have done so in the past. I am NOT against wing clipping and wanted to do so infact but because I take my ferrets and parrots to the same vet, she recommended that I not do so as wings can save a birds life.
Number two........I got my bird from a woman who had another quaker that hated him. He was not hand fed but she had him and a housefull of other pets and wanted to give him a home where he could get more attention. He just happened to fly down on my conures cage for the first time.
Number three, I DO NOT appreciate being told that I have given up on him. I plan on sticking it out but wanted to know if I was doing something wrong or maybe need to do something different. Is that not the purpose for this forum??????? And lastly, I do not appreciate someone telling me that a quaker isn't right for me as it has only been two weeks.

Thanks though.

I would like to ask members to focus on the subject and refrain from personal attacks ..

I would hope that this thread doesn't turn into a debate on clipping vs non-clipping .. Clipping is a personal decision that should be made based on the owner's ability to keep their bird and everyone else in their environment safe. I would like to add that a very high majority of the birds that escape are clipped and that although clipping makes dealing with behaviours easier the root cause of the behaviour is not always freedom.

---------

Having said that .. two weeks isn't very long and his behaviour is I am guessing as a result of everything around him being foreign and feeling insecure. Could be behaviour that was acceptable in the past as well ..

The fight or flight behaviour is very true in birds.. Birds rarely bite in the wild and usually fly away to get away from danger instead of staying to fight. In captivity the ability to fly away is lessened as a result of four walls and/or being clipped ... As a result they tend to bite ..

The first thing that comes to mind is definitely separate time out from the tiel .. Until he has settled in the tiel will most likely continue to be a target.

What works best for me is working with the birds individually, away from their cages and without any distractions. The bathroom sitting in the bathtub was the best spot for me .. No other pets, no distractions and he had no choice but to pay attention to me.

I would sit in the tub with the curtains drawn and practice step ups. I would always praise each time there was a step up and sometimes offer a treat. I would do this for 10 minutes at a time and once a day .

A separate timeout with him alone may be key to bonding with him .. It is hard for him to bond and/or focus if there are distractions and especially predators around. Is there a way to keep the ferret away from you and him while you work together?

You will also have to pay attention to your own actions when you work or interact with him. Parrots behaviours are as a direct result of previous consequences.

For Example ...

Wrong Approach to a bite

• Dee is taking Sméagol for his shower
• Sméagol bites Dee
• Dee says "NO" and jumps and hollers in pain
• Dee returns Sméagol to his cage ..

Two things are a problem here .. The parrot associates consequences with his future behaviours ... Sméagol could very likely continue to bite for two reasons ...

• Sméagol may have enjoyed Dee's reaction and when he wants to see her jump and holler he may bite again
• Sméagol may bite every time he wants to return to his cage ..

Different Scenario -- Approach to Same bite

• Dee is taking Sméagol for his shower
• Sméagol bites Dee
• Dee slightly shakes hand or perch and says a firm "NO". By slightly I mean very slightly just to put him a little off balance .. they don't like being off balance but you don't want to scare him either. The purpose is to provide an undesirable result for his actions.
• Dee continues to take Sméagol for his shower ..

The difference in this approach is that Sméagol received undesirable results from a bite so chances are he won't repeat. They are very smart creatures so if you can work towards modeling their behaviour you are living your life as a parrot which is the best way to be part of his flock.

Dr S Friedman's offers a wonderful online course on parrot behaviours ... "Living and Learning with Parrots" .. it is so enlightening and well worth the time .. There is also a Yahoo group that deals with parrot behaviours .. Applied Behaviours. The Yahoo group is moderated by Dianalee Deter, IAABC Certified Parrot Behaviour Consultant.

This approach is no different then how we approach our dogs .. Dogs are pack animals and have a pack hierarchy, pack leader, alpha roles etc .. In order to live better in the pack we apply the pack psychy to working with our dogs ..

In the case of a parrot we have to use applied behavioural analysis and the flock approach as that is how they think ..

I hope some of this was helpful .. My birds were previously clipped and are now completely flighted .. I work with them individually and daily to keep the communication open .. they don't physically interact with each other and never will .. but now enjoy out of cage time at the same time but in their separate corners .. lol

Good Luck

all i can say is good luck , no def not a good idea to clip when there are peditors around , i agree with that , def dont giveup just push through and try to bear the bites

Thanks Dee and Jeepingchick. I appreciate the approach that you took in giving advice.
My vet did not want to clip their wings and she is all about wing clipping. I saw someone's post stating that birds come into this world with wings why should we take that freedom away from them and I do agree with that. But I also know there are some positive things with cliiping them.

And when I think about it, a conures bite is so much more painful than a quakers.

Thanks.

Dee has given some wonderful advice that I couldn't even begin to add to as I have only had my baby for about a year, and we still have some issues with him from time to time deciding to take a chunk out of hubby's skin. The only thing at all I can add is that it's been helpful for hubby to give treats (in our case, pumpkin seeds) when working with Simon. Since he is a bit aggressive towards him sometimes and mainly my baby, hubby is the only one who gives him treats anymore, which was what the avian specialist at the vet suggested.

I can't really comment about wings because I totally understand why you have left him flighted. My birds are clipped, but I often feel guilty for that since being a bird means being able to fly. I'm just too terrified that one of mine will get out since I have kids and grandkids who live across the alley and are in and out of my house all the time, and don't always remember to shut the door. I can't risk loosing one of my babies like that.

Good luck, and I hope that some of the suggestions Dee gave you help you out. People have helped me tremendously on this board! Oh, I just thought of one other thing about the noise factor.....for the first month or so, Simon screamed the house down and I thought "I don't know how long I can take this" cuz we lived in an apartment, and there really was no where to get away from the noise. What I found out tho was that once he started learning words and talking, his screaming (which was a litany of jungle like noises) eased up some and his vocalizing was more words. Hopefully you will find the same thing with your little guy.

Thanks for understanding Slic. Quakerquaker loves gold fish crackers and I think I might try getting some and try to bribe some good behavior out of him. He's such a little piggy with fish crackers

i don't want to come across as, i dunno, attacking, but... we have a cat in the house and both our birds are clipped. louie came to me clipped and he was a complete doll once he got settled. his flights grew back in and he turned into a complete butthead. he would fly off his stand no matter how many times he was put back, and when he flew he flew to our 100 year old chandaliers. for his safety, even with the cat in the house, he got clipped. within a couple hours i had my sweet baby back. we have never had a problem with the cat getting either bird partly because we are diligent about someone grabbing the cat IF one of the birds launches, and partly because my ginormous 16 pound cat is a wuss.

i know you don't want to clip because of the predatory creatures sharing the house, and heaven knows we have heard stories lately about birds flying away or being killed by other pets. that's totally your decision, and i do understand that. but i strongly believe it would do a world of difference in quakerquaker's attitude in the here and now, while he does adjust to his new flock. what you choose to do with my experience is up to you. working with a bird who knows he is dependant upon YOU is way different than trying to work with a bird who is able to say, "forget this, i'm flying over here."

just my 2 cents. hope it's not taken the wrong way. good luck with quakerquaker. i think by posting your question here, and asking for advice, you aren't giving up on him. but i also understand the frustration with a flighted bird. i didn't want to clip louie, but i was at my wit's end with his flying around and getting himself in trouble. he's proven he can't handle it lol.

kris

I have a yorkie that I have to make sure he is secure somewhere before I let my birds out as well. So I know what having predators in the house is like. I still feel like your best option is to clip his wings for one time so that he doesnt fly from you or cause havoc elsewhere. Then when they come back in see how under control he is.Flighted or not I would never let him out when the cat or ferret are in the room. I know you said that they werent when he was out it was just in case the time occurred that he did need to get away. I know from first hand experience that even when flighted an animal can get them pinned before they can get away. But im sure given more time you will accomplish getting him under control. Taking him to the bathroom is a really good idea especially if you leave him flighted so he cant go far.Lotsa luck.

Thanks guys......and I am listening....okay, maybe not listening????? I am comprehending what everyone has said......but I can not take a chance and have the possibility that something can happen to him. While all of the group of ferrets are locked up, I have one roam free ferret.......who refuses to get along with anyone......that is out all the time. Luckily, all she cares about is me feeding her and she stays out of everyone elses business but I can't take the risk in having a poor birdie mauled. I am going to give it a few weeks and work with him and then decide if I need to have his wings clipped if we are not making any progress by then. But like Dee and Jeepchick said....it's not a good idea. My vet even said it was a good idea to keep them unclipped because of my situation. And trust me, she is all about the NO SEED AT ALL diet.......she knows all my other animals as her husband sees the mammals and her the birds.......she said I could do it but recommended that he be able to fly away..........

Hey I am sorry if I came across as harsh... It's just that I do see a lot of posts about I am so sad my bird got out a flew away please help me find him and it is usually the ones that think clipping is cruel.. Obviously not you now that I know you have pets that could raise safety issues. I guess the title of your post calling him evil kinda got me going....it has only been two weeks and his world has been turned upside down. Please just give him more time and understanding. Let him come around in his own time. I am sorry if I upset you in my previous post.

I've had my pitou for just over 2 weeks and i'm having similar problems. The first little while he was VERY good but now he is having crazy mood swings, screaming and biting (well mostly today). He is moutling (i think) so i think that's what's causing his behaviour. My bird is clipped, and he still has an attitude.. i think they just need time to settle into a new place. I think he's been getting pretty spoiled lately and is trying to start to test us.

Awesome xOxo11.....I mean not awesome you have to go through the same thing as me....but awesome to hear from someone that their birds wings were clipped and it's still got an attitude problem. I am just going to work really hard at making friends with him.
Good luck with pitou.

I would have liked to keep Chili flighted because of the Min Pin, my cat doesn't give a rip about him, my labs are scared to death of him, and the rat terrier is also afraid, but he ran into the patio door window. My very small house has large windows in every room. I was afraid I would have to report a dead bird to everyone, so his wings are now clipped. He seems just as happy. I don't blame you for wanting to keep him flighted. It is totally a personal decision.

Good luck with him. I'm sure you will be successful.

Nancy

I am glad that a few of you feel the same way I do. Thanks Nancy.

Clyde has always been flighted since he's been with us, so I don't know how he'd act if he were clipped, but he's really good about flying -- he comes to me and Hubby and back to his cage, and occasionally lands on Bonnie's cage to visit with her but only once in a great while. I think you just need to give yours a chance to settle in. He's probably just scared and uneasy. You have to get to know each other. Clyde used to bite VICIOUSLY and left bruises and broke skin and everything, but he doesn't anymore. He even cuddles when he's in the right mood!

The approach I use is different then Dee's but is for the same reason.

Acting rather then Reacting to the situation.

Dee shakes her hand gently and that is a good Action.

Screaming, running about and making what the bird thinks is a game out of it is reacting and a unhealthy way to deal with this issue.

I act by gently pushing into any birds bite, including my greys. It's a very gentle push that puts them off balance just enough they let go rather then bite the finger off, though I did lose a tip recently. I find that the shake works just as well but the push works a little quicker so I use that. I have used the shake if it's a small bird from Parrolet to conure size and it works wonders with those sized birds. Remember I gently push into the bite until the parrot lets go. There is no voilence or even a sense of violence on my part, just purely an action to his / her biting.

Sorry you're having trouble with your little guy. I have a couple of rescues and rehomes so i tend to get bit alot-LOL. I like the training links that Dee gave to you. I actually joined the Yahoo ABA group but the waiting period was sooooo long that I bought the training DVD by Barbara Heinreichs' GOOD BIRD INC-they are fantastic!!!! It shows step by step positive reinforcement training to correct biting and other problem behaviors.

I have a rescued peachfronted conure that will take a finger off! He actually pinched a bell (that was bigger than his head) totally closed so it wouldn't make any sound, thats how strong his little beak is-LOL. He is coming along very well with the training. I bet Quakerquaker would also.

My quaker bites also, she is a rescue and a plucker/mutilator so I don't work on her biting, perhaps I should but I'm more concerned with her plucking. I excuse her because she has to wear a collar most of the time.

Good luck and let us know how it goes. Bren

Thanks Bren......Lo and behold, Quakerquaker's attitude was not that bad last night. He has been doing a lot of talking the last couple of days. It's kind of cute. I'm going to give hime some space for a couple more days and will try again.

I have only had my qp Peanut for a few weeks also. But I wanted to tell you that having flight abilities around a feret does not always work. We have cockatiels also and my oldest daughter used to have a ferret. One night, I heard Lucas, a male cockatiel, screaming. I jumped out of the bed and ran to the livingroom where he was and when I flipped the light on all I saw was feathers. The ferret had somehow opened his cage and although he had full flight abilities he could not get away. Luckily, I got them separated and both of them back in their cages. Lucas had lost alot of feathers but otherwise was fine, although there for a long time he was a complete butt and would not let anyone touch him or even attempt to come out of the cage. He is all better now and lives happily in my 16 year olds bedroom along with Aiden, female cockatiel. And we no longer have a ferrett in the house. As far as clipping wings. I do not have the cockatiels wings clipped but when I bought Peanut (QP) the breeder recommended that I have at least one wing clipped just until we all get settled and a bond is formed. That has worked pretty well so far and it does prevent him from flying to any height. He pretty much stays ground level.

i have both cats and ferrets in my house although my ferret could care less about any of the other animals

i dont have my qp yet but i do have a parakeet she used to be flighted but she as very skittish i had her on her play stand one day in my room and i went out to use the bathroom well she must have gotten out before i shut the door and i didnt notice

she went downstairs and next thing i know my mom is yelling and i go out and she said the cat had her in his mouth she is fine and had no harm done but if she were clipped she would never have made it to the door and she has calmed down drastically

plus there is more she could have gotten into and behind where i could not catch her or get her out(i dont have a bird room so she can get anywhere in my room) and now she cannot do this anymore


i dont have a choice with my qp b/c in my state it is the law that qp have to be clipped so i would have no choice either way

not saying you have to clip or anything like that but i am just agreeing with the pp that a flighted bird does not alays mean a safer bird it just depends on where the bird lands and where the preditor is

good luck though i hope he gets a better attitude lol

Glad he was a bit better last night. Honestly, Simon's wings have always been clipped, and he still had one HUGE attitude most of the time. He's fine with me now, but when we first got him, in fact...the night we went to the pet shop to pick him up he didn't care if his wings were clipped or not, the lady took him out, and he flapped off her and onto the floor and it made his beak bleed. It really took him a good month to really become adjusted to us, his new home, and everything around him. At first, I got bitten almost everytime I tried to get him to step up, but I just persisted until he finally realized that I wasn't going to give up.

As far as having other critters around, I can relate to that as well. I had a ferret many years ago, and that little dude would NOT stay in his cage, no matter what we did. I honestly don't even know how he was getting out, but he could work his way out of anything. When we got our bird, my son had sugar gliders, and they, like the ferret, were virtually impossible to contain. I finally made my son get rid of them the first time I uncovered Simon and found a sugar glider clinging to his cage. He was terrified. Honestly I was glad to be rid of the gliders, since my son was not particularly diligent in caring for them, they smell, and the 2 babies were wild as hell, and would gladly jump on me and bite the heck outa me. We also used to have cats, but they were more afraid of the birds than anything else. They were both adults though, and all they wanted to do was eat and be petted...lol.

Keep us updated on your babies progress....hope things work out for you soon!!!

hi all just thought i would add something. i know most people dont have much time to spend with their parrots but mine only goes in his cage at night to sleep. the best thing i have found with all birds is to just take things slowly and repeat something you want them to learn for a maximum of 10 minutes. my quaker will nip when hes not being paid any attention, but i just make sure he has alot of foot toys and replace something hes not suposed to do with a toy and so far it has worked, except when he decides to use the cat as an aircraft carrier lol. my cat gets along fine now with chester but i would NEVER leave them alone together, the cat will even oblige when chester asks for a kiss and starts preening him lol. by the way none of my birds have ever had their wings clipped.

I have cats, too. (and rats)

The rats were rescued first. Then the cats were rescues.

The cats were young and were trained to leave the rats alone. We trained them to play together. When I change the rats cage, one cat is not interested. The other lays down with the rats. They crawl on her and they groom each other.

Lola came recently. The cats have been trained to stay away from the area where Lola is. There have been a couple times in the beginning when the cats got too close and lola made loud sounds and once bit one of the cats on the tail as it got close to her cage - and bit another on the ear when it rubbed against her cage. So the cats didn't find Lola as pleasant. They stay away. Anyway - you can train the cats to stay away when the bird is in the cage -- and to stay further away when it is out.

Lola has escaped a few times. The first time I was at work - - we have no idea how long she was out. the cats left her alone.

The second time she learned how to get the paper clip I had twisted around one of the doors (Didn't have a lock for it) off. And then another day my son was playing with her and didn't secure the area where her food bowl is. He was playing video games and the next thing he knew, Lola was sitting by his feet wanting attention. So we learned that Lola is really smart and must be locked inside at all times.

Good luck with your bird.

My Poco was full-flighted when my cat killed her in August. I had had her for 9 years and was completely heartbroken. Being flighted doesn't necessarily equal safety in a household with many different species. Cats, dogs and ferrets are so determined when it comes to prey. The best answer (just IMHO) is to clip QQ's wings and only have him/her out when the other animals are outside, caged, locked up, etc. Bailey Bird & Peachy get about 2 hours of out-of-cage time and all the animals get locked up when that happens and come back out when it's birdy bedtime.

I think clipping will curb his behavior at the moment, which is what you need to keep your cockatiel safe (I've heard stories of QP's taking toes off 'tiels!!) and it will most likely help curb his attitude towards biting.

The nice thing about feathers is that they are like hair. They'll grow back out.

So just to let everyone know at this point. I AM AGAINST clipping wings. As a few people have mentioned, they had wings clipped and no attitude adjustment resulted for their bird. I strongly believe that birds came into this world with the privledge of flight. I am not comfortable taking that away from them. I will try anything else that is advised but NO wing clipping. I understand that it doesn't hurt them. I understand that there is a lot of positive things that could result in clipping their wings.
I live in a apartment and do not have the option of letting animals outside to play unfortunately. However, when the ferrets are out now the cages are closed and out of their reach. When the birds are out, the ferrets are in their own room. I do not judge everyone else who clips their birds wings. I don't think it is a mean thing to do. I just don't want to do mine.

As I have said MANY times, I have ferrets (11 of them) 2 cats as well. It is not an option. My vet also sees ferrets and recommended that I not clip wings. My ferrets run in a pack. If one gets a hold of a bird, the rest are right there within seconds to join in the fun.

And just to let you know this is in no way yelling at anyone. The capitalized words are just stressed.

Hey everyone. Great advice. Thanks. Just an update on our progress.......QQ is doing better. Talking non stop. I decided to give him some space for a few days. I open his cage but let him just play on it. I've asked him to step up a few times but he doesn't want to and that is okay. His personality has perked up. I put a sun lamp by his and Cassie's cage and both birds were more active right away. This weekend I am going to work on stepping up again and will try to curb the bad behaviors like biting as well. I must say that I have fallen in love with him....even though I am still petrified of him. When a phone rings on TV, he likes to say hello. And when I walk into the room I hear Hi. He likes to tell knock-knock jokes, say his name, good boy, step up, pretty bird, oooooga-ooooga, call the cats and ferrets into the room. And when threatened by them he likes to puff up and caw like a crow. And there is always his impression of a bumble bee which is hilarious.

Also, I would like to just say that I have perused all of the other topics and am learning quite a lot in general about QP's and other birds and have really appreciated the info. It is hard to find info on specific species of birds when you just type it into the search field on a browser. I have enjoyed reading ALL the info on the forum.

And again, the previous reply-I wasn't yelling at anyone. I just wanted to stress that I don't want to clip his wings. I don't want anyone thinking I was mad at them or ungratefull for their advice.

Hey there!! Glad to read that Quakerquaker is doing better and that you are too! I have two Quakers, both re-homes and both biters. Pickles, although I LOVE him dearly, truly is evil. He likes to bite me, chew the skin he's torn off and laugh. I think he's planning on taking over the world. He is flighted and my other Quaker is not. I have 9 parrots in the house and two, my CAG and Pickles are flighted. Pickles doesn't like people and probably never will. If I clipped him and forced him to submit, I could probably lessen his bite frequency, but since I gave him back his flight, he has actually stopped plucking. He's been plucking since I got him a year ago and now he's finally letting his feathers grow back. He was actually bald on his chest before he regained flight. However, now I'm having some of the same issues you are. Pickles hates my maroon bellied conure and when they're all out on their cages playing, Pickles tries to dive bomb Sammi. I am always around when they're all out at once so I can discourage his behavior but it's a little frustrating and it scares Sammi. So Pickles is a poorly trained, poorly behaved, misanthropist who can fly. And I'm keeping him that way even though I'd LOVE him to be cuddly and well, tame I guess But it's not gonna happen for him I think. It's all in what's best for your birds in your home and you are the best one (along with your vet) who can determine that regardless of what works for others in their homes. Kudos to you for making a decision, sticking with it and accepting whatever happens and working with Quakerquaker through it all. My Quaker babies are challenging and I always find it comforting to read about someone else who goes through the things I go through and lives to tell the tale with most of their digits still in tact. hee hee hee!!

OMG....LMAO.....I am sorry Renee. I am not laughing at you.........I just had a flash back of that cartoon Pinky and the Brain. The two mice who escape their cage every night and plot to take over the world.....I loved that cartoon. And thank you for understanding my decision. I really appreciate the reply........and the flashback.

I'd simply follow Dee's great advice,because it works.I have both flighted and non-flighted birds,along with 6 dogs,10 fish,1 turtle and a partridge in a pear tree Flighted or not flighted is not the issue here,behavior is....Sweetie came from a horrendous previous home and has had these issues with the biting and the"earthquake" method solved that fairly quickly.She has her occasional"moods"
when she tries to bite my other half,but hasn't attempted to bite me in months.I believe Sweetie only tries to bite my other half when she feels that I'm paying more attention to someone other than her.A little gentle earthquake manuever is a reminder for her,as she HATES being off-balance,and she stops w/ the attempted biting.Good luck,hang in there,do some work w/ him and love him...you'll grow so attached to your QuakerQuaker,it'll be amazing~!

Glad to hear your quaker is adjusted his attitude for the better! They can be real little buggers. I sympathize with you on the clipping issue. I used to believe that birds should be flighted and my cockatiel was for 15 years. But one day he got out the door and I never saw him again. Truman is clipped because the way our house is arranged there's just too much chance he could escape. We have three cats, but I keep a close eye on him...escape is a bigger risk in my household than the extremely lazy predators.

I wonder if someone of your quaker's attitude problem is just the season. Truman is usually sweet but lately he's been a monster. He's loaded with pin feathers so I think he's itchy, plus he's building like crazy at the moment so there may be hormones going on too.

You've gotten some good advice so just keep applying it with consistency and hopefully your quaker will settle down and be a good bird (at least most of the time!).

I also wonder if it is a seasonal thing.
The good news is......drum roll please.............QQ was friendlier this weekend. He loves having the keratin taken off of his pin feathers. As soon as he realized he was getting scritches he perked right up. Only bit twice. And I sneezed-he sneezed and then said bless you.....it was soooooooo cute. My heart melted a couple of times....until he bit again.

haha, just a side note, I know exactly what you mean. I have been upset about certain things on this site in the past and every time I used a capitalized word it sounded like I was YELLING. Try using italicized words to get your point across. Sounds less obtrusive.

I also think you are doing a good job with quakerquaker. I haven't said much on this topic because I came into it a little late, and others had already said what I would have said...didn't want to sound like a broken record. I completely support your views on wing clipping. I am against it too, and feel that birds deserve to be kept flighted. I think there are other ways to train, handle, and maintain your bird, even when exhibiting "bad" behaviours, without clipping.