Hello everyone

I'm about to purchase one or two Quakers and I am really excited. I have been preparing for a few months and I've chosen a reputable breeder who expects her birds to lay within the next few weeks, and I have placed my name on a waiting list for a pair of birds. My question for you is, in your experience do you think I should start with just one bird, or go ahead and purchase a pair?

I used to have a pet cockatiel who was a wonderful house pet but I never felt great about leaving him alone during the day while I was at work. So far I have planned to purchase a pair of Quakers, so that they each have company during the day. However I also plan to spend time training them daily. Some of the material I've read says that a pair of Quakers will be considerably louder than a single bird, and I have questions about a birds ability to learn from me if they have a friend they'd rather impress!

I suspect I may be trying to accomplish too much by by getting a pair, hopefully someone here can let me know if I'll be making things more difficult for myself by doing so.

Any guidance and advice you can offer will be greatly appreciated!

Dave,
Sydney, Australia.

I would start off with only one. You can always get another one later. I got one, but in a few years I hope to get another Quaker or an Afrian Grey or a Senegal or a Conure. All birds are loud but I can see how two may be louder than one. Also, I suggest having your bird(s) DNA'd, that way if you have a female you can learn about egg binding, which is not all that uncommon. If you get two you will need a big enough cage for them to both be on their own so they don't fight. Congratulations though! Sorry I didn't say that sooner! If you don't mind me asking, how much are the birds you are getting? Are they blue or green? Hope I didn't scare you off by all the information!

Thanks for the advice Lexy, that was fast!

I am on the waiting list for one green and one blue at this point. The Green is $150 and the blue is $220. As time goes by I am starting to think I should just get one, like you say. Not sure if I'll choose a blue or a green yet, maybe a green, I have read a few articles that say blues may not talk as much as greens, but that seems like myth to me! I'm sure it comes down to the birds personality more so than it's color.

The breeder I have chosen is just wonderful. She breeds hand-raised companion parrots of many varieties and the facility is awesome, set in the forest. Her whole family is involved and her young sons help too, handling the birds so that by the end they're well socialised in a home setting.

I cannot wait to get my new little friend home! I've been looking forward to this for so long Thanks again for your advice!!!!

I think the blues talk just as much as the greens. Just my opinion.

I would just get one quaker to start with. Also a reason to just one is so he/she will bond with you and not the other quaker

The pair bonding would be the trouble.... getting two birds if you really have the time to work with two of them and you don't mind double the mess, noise, and toy bill isn't necessarily a bad idea. Seperate cages if you want to be able to handle them like a pet would keep them from bonding too closely. There was another thread on that very thing just a couple of days ago and the common suggestion if you're worried about not being home enough was to get a couple of budgies instead of another quaker. Pet birds don't seem to be as species snobbish as their wild counterparts. =) A pair of budgies in their own large cage with lots of toys would provide noise, entertainment, and a bit of company for a quaker baby without you running the risk of losing any pet quality to a bird/bird bonding. And the two budgies can bond together and not need as much from you training or time wise. You give up the pet bonding with the budgies... but it does offer a workable solution.

One of the reasons parrots are so sought after as pets is because they have to ability to transfer their flock drive to us big non-feathered chickens. If you give them the option of another bird they have to do a lot less work with the whole communication barrier and lack of wings/beak/feathers and most times you'll find they'll want very little to do with you if they have a live-in buddy. There are always exceptions... but if you're looking for the snuggly pet quaker whom you can teach tricks and to talk, you're not going to want two of them in the same cage.

Don't forget to post pictures, regardless of what you decide!

I agree :: Start off with one, and then later add another if you think you can handle a second! There are Very Few species you can remain Completly Bonded to a human, and have a cage-mate at the same time. QP's are not usually one of them!

People have had success with keeping two QP's (or more) in the Same House, but once they live in the same cage they tend to form a Greater Bond with each other than their human companion.

I second that blues talk as much as greens. I have a 10 week old blue and she's already talking.

Post Script ~ I would get a blue. But I suggest getting the money to purchase a blue, and then go and let your baby pick you out! That is how I ended up with my female cockatiel when I was a kid, and come to think of it my QP too.

Letting them pick you makes the best bond!

My female cockatiel was worth 4 times her weight in platnum. I would have give anything to have her now. (It has been more than 15 years since she died.) I had her when I was... Oh, I think 13. Glyc didn't live as long as she should have because I made the worst mistake :: I let a family bird-sit her for me when I went to have surgery, and I forgot to clip her wings before I left.

(Busy getting ready to have my hips replaced.)

My cockatiel got startled by their youngest child, and almost flew down two flight of stairs. She landed on the second landing, and tried to fly back up. *Tries Not To Bawl* Then Glyc flew into the wall, and fell all the way down the double flight of stairs to land on the concrete.

She broke her neck, and although the family has a lot of money they couldn't do anything to Save her. I think her spinal cord had snapped.

*Very Sad*

This is why I am a Firm believer in two things :: Clip your birds, but not before they learn how to properly Fly, and if you choose to leave your bird(s) unclipped make certain that they are not loose throughout the entire house! Bird rooms work best in these situation.

It's sad that most breeder's do not have the space to allow our pet bird's learn how to fly properly! If they did my Glyc would have known how to turn, and wouldn't have had her Fatal accident....

So sorry to share such a sad story!

Check your breeder though to ensure she allow's the babies to learn how to fly before giving them their first wing clipping! And with a QP, I'd keep your baby Clipped!

I would get 2 if you eventually want another , as at least getting them as babies they will grow up together accepting each other , keep them in seperate cages and have them out together as playmates , I would also get DVA sexed males as you won`t have the worry of egg laying...
If you play and have your fids out everyday they will love you and each other you will all belong to the flock . I think its great to have two fids mine are company for each other when I am not here ...

I think one at a time is probably better, too. That way you can spend plenty of time and attention learning all about Quakers and your particular Quaker, and falling in love (that takes approximately nine minutes ). Then once you've gotten all used to each other and your bird has trained you thoroughly, you can get another if you think you can handle a second one, too. But if you do, remember No. 1 Quaker must ALWAYS be No. 1 Quaker and get greeted first and kissed first and everything first. The second one will be okay with that; birds expect that kind of hierarchy in the flock. They're not like dogs -- dogs always vie for the No. 1 spot. Jade is No. 2 Quaker because we had Clyde first, and she accepts that without question and waits her turn -- more or less patiently -- when it comes to treats and greets.

Wow. Never thought I'd see "Jade" and "patiently" in the same sentence... *wicked grin*

Thanks so much for your help, as time goes by I am thinking it's better to start with one. I can forgive myself for wanting to start with two, how awesome to have a pair of friends! Ultimately though I think to begin with my bird and I will be happier with ust the two of us, it'll allow us to form a routine and bond and if we want to build on that in a year's time and bring in a second, we can do that together. I will DEFINITELY post photos when Birdy arrives!
The name I have chosen is Kupono but I'll change it if I don't think it suits him. We have to meet to know for sure!

Thanks for the help!

You have received alot of great advice. And like the others said......you want the bird(s to bond to you and if you have two, it would be ok, but it will twice the work of cleaning cages, twice the work, working with each of the birds, one on one.....If you get one, you will have a Pal forever. I got my Mr. Kiwi after the death of my Son. I didn't do any research on quakers.......I have learned so much from Mr. Kiwi. I got him as a baby about 9 weeks old. He will 10 yrs old on Nov 5... Good luck on whatever you decide...

I got two quakers to start with. A blue one and then two weeks later brought home the green one. I love them both very much, but two is definitely more work than one. I almost didn't get the green one. I realized within those first two weeks that I was really bonding with the blue one. That we were spending lots of time together and really enjoying each other. I could tell that brining another one in to the mix was going to take a lot of work. So I went to get my money back and decided to hold the little green guy one more time and that was it! He is part of our flock! I have thought several times since then that I should have only gotten one and the reason why is this:

First of all I had to buy TWO cages! I did not research that (probably because I didn't really want to know) in the beginning and then later realized it becoming a problem and just bit the bullet and did it! Boy am I glad that I did.

Second, I seam to still get them out of their cages at the same time. I have such a hard time getting just one out at a time. So I am still spending equal time with both of them. They both love me LOTS! I can tell, because they each get jealous of my attention to the other one and I love both of them very much! We could never be separated now! Never!

The benefit that I can see is that they love and accept each other. From reading on here, and asking around - I guess that they might not do that later down the road. You know like if you try to add a baby later they may never like each other. So I guess that is the chance that you take.

I have had these guys for a couple of months now and yes they are a lot of work, but are proving to be worth the effort! My relationship with both of them is very rewarding and only gets better each day!

Oh, and my blue bird is saying just as much as my green one...

Hi, and welcome to the forum, you will love it here.

I would start with one. For all the reasons you have already read.
I have one. I got Max when he was about three months. He is a litttle over 3 years old now. I get so much enjoyment from him, I don't want another one.
Only if something happened to him would I get one.