Hey y'all. My name is Brandie and I live in Arkansas. We are currently waiting on our first Quaker Parrot to be weaned so that we can bring him or her home. I just wanted to introduce myself and ask a couple of questions. The breeder said that she recommends manzanita perches over the typical dowel rod. Does anyone else have an opinion on this? Also, what do y'all use in the bottom of your cages? Newspaper or some sort of litter/bedding? I've been doing a lot of reading and everyone says something different. Thanks for talking the time to read this and hopefully some of y'all will be able to give me some words of wisdom for our soon to be feathered friend.
Oh yeah, we are going to be getting a baby Green Quaker Parrot. Anyone have some cute name ideas?
Full Version: New Member In Arkansas
Hey Brandie,
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new quaker baby. This place is great. You will learn so much here. I am from Arkansas too. What part are you from?
Regarding perches. It is recommended that you have several different size and style perches in their cage. So mazanti is good. You can get little ones and larger ones. I also use flat stone perches, rope perches. Hope this helps!
Names.....well here is the list of my fids names:
Kibbles
Petey
Ruffles
Shrek
Melon (MelMel)
Jade
Cinny
Piper
Co-Pilot
Pilot
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new quaker baby. This place is great. You will learn so much here. I am from Arkansas too. What part are you from?
Regarding perches. It is recommended that you have several different size and style perches in their cage. So mazanti is good. You can get little ones and larger ones. I also use flat stone perches, rope perches. Hope this helps!
Names.....well here is the list of my fids names:
Kibbles
Petey
Ruffles
Shrek
Melon (MelMel)
Jade
Cinny
Piper
Co-Pilot
Pilot
Welcome to the Forum! Congratulations on your new baby quaker.....Ruffles Mama gave you some good info....
Welcome Brandie!
Congratulations on your soon-to-be-home baby Quaker! They are great! First I would like to recommend Mattie Sue Athans' book, Guide to the Quaker Parrot. It is the best resource I know on Quakers!
Perches - Personally I do not care for the dowel perches. My avian vet recommends wood perches made from safe woods such as manzanita, grape vine, dragonwood, cajaput, etc. You can even use fruit tree wood EXCEPT CHERRY! Of course, it will need to be cleaned thoroughly and dried to be safe for your bird. Perches also need to vary in shape to give the bird's foot proper exercise and to prevent foot problems. Birds are on their feet at all times unless they are flying!
Newspaper is probably the best for the bottom of the cage. The plain black & white newspaper (Not sure if all colored newsprint is safe.) it even has properties to help prevent bacterial growth. Never use the glossy sales papers from your newspaper, it is not safe for our birds. Also, I would not use any of the litter they have for sale to use with birds & other small animals in or around my birds or their cages/play stands. Sometimes birds will play & chew it and unfortunately just because the pet store sells it & they manufacturer says it for birds it doesn't mean it ACTUALLY is safe for birds! Speaking of unsafe products never buy the sand perch covers or mite protectors. The sand perch covers will irritate their feet and they may even ingest some of the sand causing health problems. Mite protectors have toxic chemicals in them which are more hazardous to our birds than to the insects they are supposed to protect them from. Also, as long as your bird is indoors and you do not bring in branches from outdoors for the birds to use, you should not have problems with mites. They are transmitted bird to bird or by coming in contact with them on a branch or other place where a bird that has mites as been and some crawled on the wood/branch.
Names - My birds usually help me to decide what their name is. It just takes time and getting to know your new bundle of feathers and they usually pick their name! At least that is how it seems to work for me most of the time! I rather like the name Shamrock & you could call him Rocky for short! But I know you & your new baby will soon have his/her perfect name picked out!
Jess
Congratulations on your soon-to-be-home baby Quaker! They are great! First I would like to recommend Mattie Sue Athans' book, Guide to the Quaker Parrot. It is the best resource I know on Quakers!
Perches - Personally I do not care for the dowel perches. My avian vet recommends wood perches made from safe woods such as manzanita, grape vine, dragonwood, cajaput, etc. You can even use fruit tree wood EXCEPT CHERRY! Of course, it will need to be cleaned thoroughly and dried to be safe for your bird. Perches also need to vary in shape to give the bird's foot proper exercise and to prevent foot problems. Birds are on their feet at all times unless they are flying!
Newspaper is probably the best for the bottom of the cage. The plain black & white newspaper (Not sure if all colored newsprint is safe.) it even has properties to help prevent bacterial growth. Never use the glossy sales papers from your newspaper, it is not safe for our birds. Also, I would not use any of the litter they have for sale to use with birds & other small animals in or around my birds or their cages/play stands. Sometimes birds will play & chew it and unfortunately just because the pet store sells it & they manufacturer says it for birds it doesn't mean it ACTUALLY is safe for birds! Speaking of unsafe products never buy the sand perch covers or mite protectors. The sand perch covers will irritate their feet and they may even ingest some of the sand causing health problems. Mite protectors have toxic chemicals in them which are more hazardous to our birds than to the insects they are supposed to protect them from. Also, as long as your bird is indoors and you do not bring in branches from outdoors for the birds to use, you should not have problems with mites. They are transmitted bird to bird or by coming in contact with them on a branch or other place where a bird that has mites as been and some crawled on the wood/branch.
Names - My birds usually help me to decide what their name is. It just takes time and getting to know your new bundle of feathers and they usually pick their name! At least that is how it seems to work for me most of the time! I rather like the name Shamrock & you could call him Rocky for short! But I know you & your new baby will soon have his/her perfect name picked out!
Jess
Just wanted to add that Shelly, owner of this forum has just written a new book on Quakers. When I can get my copy to read I will be happy to recommend it as well as Mattie Sue's Guide to the Quaker Parrot. I'm sure it is an excellent resource but until I read it I can't recommend it from my own experience with having read it. Sorry I didn't think to add Shelly's new book in my first post. Oh, & Shelly's book is downloadable too! Definitely a plus to have that quick & easy access to helpful information! Thanks Shelly for making it quick & easy for everyone to read your new book! Hope I can get my copy soon, have to wait until I get my bills paid to see when I can get mine!
Jess
Jess
QUOTE (Flying Feathers @ Oct 1 2009, 10:27 AM) 
Welcome Brandie!
Congratulations on your soon-to-be-home baby Quaker! They are great! First I would like to recommend Mattie Sue Athans' book, Guide to the Quaker Parrot. It is the best resource I know on Quakers!
Perches - Personally I do not care for the dowel perches. My avian vet recommends wood perches made from safe woods such as manzanita, grape vine, dragonwood, cajaput, etc. You can even use fruit tree wood EXCEPT CHERRY! Of course, it will need to be cleaned thoroughly and dried to be safe for your bird. Perches also need to vary in shape to give the bird's foot proper exercise and to prevent foot problems. Birds are on their feet at all times unless they are flying!
Newspaper is probably the best for the bottom of the cage. The plain black & white newspaper (Not sure if all colored newsprint is safe.) it even has properties to help prevent bacterial growth. Never use the glossy sales papers from your newspaper, it is not safe for our birds. Also, I would not use any of the litter they have for sale to use with birds & other small animals in or around my birds or their cages/play stands. Sometimes birds will play & chew it and unfortunately just because the pet store sells it & they manufacturer says it for birds it doesn't mean it ACTUALLY is safe for birds! Speaking of unsafe products never buy the sand perch covers or mite protectors. The sand perch covers will irritate their feet and they may even ingest some of the sand causing health problems. Mite protectors have toxic chemicals in them which are more hazardous to our birds than to the insects they are supposed to protect them from. Also, as long as your bird is indoors and you do not bring in branches from outdoors for the birds to use, you should not have problems with mites. They are transmitted bird to bird or by coming in contact with them on a branch or other place where a bird that has mites as been and some crawled on the wood/branch.
Names - My birds usually help me to decide what their name is. It just takes time and getting to know your new bundle of feathers and they usually pick their name! At least that is how it seems to work for me most of the time! I rather like the name Shamrock & you could call him Rocky for short! But I know you & your new baby will soon have his/her perfect name picked out!
Jess
Congratulations on your soon-to-be-home baby Quaker! They are great! First I would like to recommend Mattie Sue Athans' book, Guide to the Quaker Parrot. It is the best resource I know on Quakers!
Perches - Personally I do not care for the dowel perches. My avian vet recommends wood perches made from safe woods such as manzanita, grape vine, dragonwood, cajaput, etc. You can even use fruit tree wood EXCEPT CHERRY! Of course, it will need to be cleaned thoroughly and dried to be safe for your bird. Perches also need to vary in shape to give the bird's foot proper exercise and to prevent foot problems. Birds are on their feet at all times unless they are flying!
Newspaper is probably the best for the bottom of the cage. The plain black & white newspaper (Not sure if all colored newsprint is safe.) it even has properties to help prevent bacterial growth. Never use the glossy sales papers from your newspaper, it is not safe for our birds. Also, I would not use any of the litter they have for sale to use with birds & other small animals in or around my birds or their cages/play stands. Sometimes birds will play & chew it and unfortunately just because the pet store sells it & they manufacturer says it for birds it doesn't mean it ACTUALLY is safe for birds! Speaking of unsafe products never buy the sand perch covers or mite protectors. The sand perch covers will irritate their feet and they may even ingest some of the sand causing health problems. Mite protectors have toxic chemicals in them which are more hazardous to our birds than to the insects they are supposed to protect them from. Also, as long as your bird is indoors and you do not bring in branches from outdoors for the birds to use, you should not have problems with mites. They are transmitted bird to bird or by coming in contact with them on a branch or other place where a bird that has mites as been and some crawled on the wood/branch.
Names - My birds usually help me to decide what their name is. It just takes time and getting to know your new bundle of feathers and they usually pick their name! At least that is how it seems to work for me most of the time! I rather like the name Shamrock & you could call him Rocky for short! But I know you & your new baby will soon have his/her perfect name picked out!
Jess
Welcome Brandie! Congratulations on your soon-to-be addition!
Real wood perches are better that dowels! The size variation in a real wood perch is much better exercise for their little toes! My understanding is that their toes should fit approximately 2/3 of the way around the perch, but again, vary the diameter so the toes are exercised. My husband and I have read the "Tree safe" list, and we have actually made most of our perches from real tree branches - it is cheap, easy to provide a huge variety, and some woods with soft bark provide a lot of fun for the guys because they can peel the bark off! Of course, we have to thoroughly clean the branches before we put them in the cages! But it is fun to see the birds take to a new perch and start chewing!
Around here, newspaper is the cage bottom liner of choice!
Michelle
Real wood perches are better that dowels! The size variation in a real wood perch is much better exercise for their little toes! My understanding is that their toes should fit approximately 2/3 of the way around the perch, but again, vary the diameter so the toes are exercised. My husband and I have read the "Tree safe" list, and we have actually made most of our perches from real tree branches - it is cheap, easy to provide a huge variety, and some woods with soft bark provide a lot of fun for the guys because they can peel the bark off! Of course, we have to thoroughly clean the branches before we put them in the cages! But it is fun to see the birds take to a new perch and start chewing!
Around here, newspaper is the cage bottom liner of choice!
MichelleQUOTE (ruffles momma @ Oct 1 2009, 08:53 AM)
Hey Brandie,
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new quaker baby. This place is great. You will learn so much here. I am from Arkansas too. What part are you from?
Regarding perches. It is recommended that you have several different size and style perches in their cage. So mazanti is good. You can get little ones and larger ones. I also use flat stone perches, rope perches. Hope this helps!
Names.....well here is the list of my fids names:
Kibbles
Petey
Ruffles
Shrek
Melon (MelMel)
Jade
Cinny
Piper
Co-Pilot
Pilot
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new quaker baby. This place is great. You will learn so much here. I am from Arkansas too. What part are you from?
Regarding perches. It is recommended that you have several different size and style perches in their cage. So mazanti is good. You can get little ones and larger ones. I also use flat stone perches, rope perches. Hope this helps!
Names.....well here is the list of my fids names:
Kibbles
Petey
Ruffles
Shrek
Melon (MelMel)
Jade
Cinny
Piper
Co-Pilot
Pilot
RufflesMom,
I am originally from southern Arkansas but now I live in Jonesboro.
Thanks for all the great advice y'all. I'm gonna do a little online shopping right now and get some perches ordered and try to find that book that everyone seems to love so much. I'm also gonna have to look into Shelly's book. It's so great how this big online community works.
~Brandie
~Brandie
Oh this is too cool! I am in Jonesboro too! If you ever need any help just let me know.QUOTE (BrandieLeigh @ Oct 1 2009, 05:25 PM)
RufflesMom,
I am originally from southern Arkansas but now I live in Jonesboro.
I am originally from southern Arkansas but now I live in Jonesboro.
QUOTE (ruffles momma @ Oct 2 2009, 04:18 PM)
Oh this is too cool! I am in Jonesboro too! If you ever need any help just let me know.Thanks! That is cool. I do have a question for you. Where do you buy your parrot food? Petco is the only pet store I know of here and I haven't been able to find anything that people have recommended there. All I could find was the Zupreem fruity looking stuff with artificial coloring and I've been told by several people not to get that. Also, who is your vet? The vet that I take my cats to doesn't work with brids and I know I'm going to need someone to clip wings and do check ups ect.. It's good to meet someone who has experience with finding what you need right here in Jonesboro. Thanks so much.
Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new addition to the family. You will love the forum and your fid to death.
Welcome to the forum, Maggie!
Hi Brandie
Welcome to the forum,
I`m new on here too, my quaker`s name is Kes, I thought I type in a few of my other favourite parrot names too.
Silver Bell
Bailey
Snoops
Toot toot
Feathers
Coco
Speckles
Precious
Thats all I can think of up to now. Let me know what name you decide to call your fid. Welcome once again.
Linn.
Welcome to the forum,
I`m new on here too, my quaker`s name is Kes, I thought I type in a few of my other favourite parrot names too.
Silver Bell
Bailey
Snoops
Toot toot
Feathers
Coco
Speckles
Precious
Thats all I can think of up to now. Let me know what name you decide to call your fid. Welcome once again.
Linn.
welcome to the forum. pull up a chair and make your self at home.
BrandieLeigh,
Sorry I have not been on here in a few days. I use Dr. Huff on Gee Street. He is with Animal Medical Center. In my opinion he is the best in town. He is not an avian vet but as close as we have here. If it gets more than what he has knowledge about he will research and send you to an avian vet in Memphis or Little Rock. He has been there for me many many times. His manner with the birds is just awesome.
There are a couple other vets in town that will work on birds but I do not recommend them. I have used both and have been disappointed with both. Dr. Guntharp did a wing clipping on my IRN a long time ago and he cut every feather off that the bird had on each wing. At that time I didn't know any better. The poor baby fell like a rock when he would try to take off and fly. That was the last time I used him. Since I have learned how to correctly clip their wings and my hubby and I do it together. Dr. Ryan just does not have a good bedside manner with birds. He guesses what is wrong with them and sometimes guesses wrong. If you ever decide you want to learn how to clip his wings let me know and we will help you.
I do use Petco to buy my food. I use the Zupreem Avian Entrees, Garden Goodness. There are no dyes in it and it has dehydrated apple chuncks, peppers and sweet peas mixed in. My birds love it. It is cheaper if you can order it online though. Online I can get it for 13.00 a bag. Petco is $16.00 a bag.
Good Luck!
Sorry I have not been on here in a few days. I use Dr. Huff on Gee Street. He is with Animal Medical Center. In my opinion he is the best in town. He is not an avian vet but as close as we have here. If it gets more than what he has knowledge about he will research and send you to an avian vet in Memphis or Little Rock. He has been there for me many many times. His manner with the birds is just awesome.
There are a couple other vets in town that will work on birds but I do not recommend them. I have used both and have been disappointed with both. Dr. Guntharp did a wing clipping on my IRN a long time ago and he cut every feather off that the bird had on each wing. At that time I didn't know any better. The poor baby fell like a rock when he would try to take off and fly. That was the last time I used him. Since I have learned how to correctly clip their wings and my hubby and I do it together. Dr. Ryan just does not have a good bedside manner with birds. He guesses what is wrong with them and sometimes guesses wrong. If you ever decide you want to learn how to clip his wings let me know and we will help you.
I do use Petco to buy my food. I use the Zupreem Avian Entrees, Garden Goodness. There are no dyes in it and it has dehydrated apple chuncks, peppers and sweet peas mixed in. My birds love it. It is cheaper if you can order it online though. Online I can get it for 13.00 a bag. Petco is $16.00 a bag.
Good Luck!
QUOTE (BrandieLeigh @ Oct 4 2009, 03:41 PM)
Thanks! That is cool. I do have a question for you. Where do you buy your parrot food? Petco is the only pet store I know of here and I haven't been able to find anything that people have recommended there. All I could find was the Zupreem fruity looking stuff with artificial coloring and I've been told by several people not to get that. Also, who is your vet? The vet that I take my cats to doesn't work with brids and I know I'm going to need someone to clip wings and do check ups ect.. It's good to meet someone who has experience with finding what you need right here in Jonesboro. Thanks so much.
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