Quaker Parrots: Terrific Talkers for a Tiny Price
by Mattie Sue Athan
Quaker Parrots consistently rank high on every list of best talking parrots. Learn more about the Quaker’s talking ability and ways to improve the chances that your bird will talk. This article first appeared in Bird Talk magazine and is re-printed here with Mattie Sue Athan’s permission.
When naming the best talking parrots, African greys and yellow naped Amazons often head the lists. But these are pricey, long-lived species involving a large initial investment and a couple of generations of planning and commitment. For a sturdy bird with a more reasonable price and life expectancy, many who fancy a talking bird are now turning to the quaker parrot.
At first glance, the quaker or monk parrot (Myiopsytta monachus) does not appear to be particularly compelling, but it’s plain colors and unimpressive size mask a truly exciting personality. Among other things, it’s not unusual for this intelligent little bundle of energy to use human words with understanding before it’s six months old. In a recent survey of 64 quaker parrot owners, three reported that their birds spoke their first human word at six weeks. Little wonder that in the states where it’s available, the quaker parrot is rapidly overtaking the cockatiel as most frequently acquired hand-fed baby parrot.
A “GUARANTEED” TALKING BIRD
No baby parrot, including the quaker parrot, can be guaranteed to talk merely because it is of a particular species. In order to study the extent and frequency of talking and non-talking in quaker parrots, I conducted an informal survey of the birds’ owners who subscribed to two e-mail discussion groups: the Quaker Parakeet Mailing List and the Pet Bird Report List. While this survey represents a very narrow segment of the community that cannot be considered a true scientific sample, it can provide a clearer picture of the companion quaker’s potential in the hands of literate and, presumably, good-talking humans. Of 54 birds over one year old in this study, all but three were talking. Among the ten baby birds, only three were not yet talking.
While all but one of the birds in this group talked by ten months, it’s not unusual for a quaker parrot to learn to say its first human word after it is one year old.
PROLIFIC VOCABULARY
One of the most exciting aspects of the talking capabilities of the quaker parrot is the sheer number of words these birds can acquire.
In this group, quaker parrots over one year old averaged between 50 and 60 words. Many of these birds have learned both to use words with understanding and to sing word songs. The latter use of language probably more accurately resembles bird song, and for the purpose of this study, the number of words in songs was not included in the total number of spoken words.
MODEST UNDERSTANDABILITY
On the other hand, quaker parrots are not known for being especially easy to understand. On a scale of one to ten, with “one” being “absolutely not understandable to anyone” and “ten” being “absolutely understandable to most people”, humans responding to this survey said that their birds averaged somewhere between seven and eight.
Experience tells me that both the birds and the humans in this group may be especially articulate. Remember, these birds live with humans who use computers for something other than games.
USING WORDS IN CONTEXT
Of the older talking quakers in this study, all but one could use at least one word with an apparent understanding of it’s meaning. While many quaker parrot owners reported that their birds used an average of 15-16 words in ways consistent with their meanings, seven of the 58 owners of talking quaker parrots reported that their birds spoke ONLY with apparent understanding. That is, these seven birds do not merely repeat any old word at any old time, they use all words only with the apparent intent of conveying appropriate meaning at the appropriate moment. Most of the birds in this group spoke an average of about 8 words. Two birds in this group averaged a reported 150 words.
SELECTING A TALKING BIRD
While no baby parrot can be guaranteed to talk merely because it’s a baby quaker, an experienced handfeeder can usually guarantee that a particular individual baby quaker will talk. This is because baby quakers usually begin trying to mimic, often actually making understandable sounds, by the time they are fully weaned. But even if a baby quaker has not talked by the time it weans, a bright eyed, interested bird that vocalizes and seeks interaction at ten weeks will probably have at least a few words by the time it’s a year old. In this group, the average age at which a quaker parrot spoke it’s first human word was four months.
Most Commonly-Reported First Words of 55* Talking Quaker Parrots
These words also appear to be most commonly repeated in a manner consistent with their meaning. *Other responses were unique or unknown. |
IMPROVING CHANCES THAT THE BIRD WILL TALK
Even among the more expensive “talking” parrots there are occasional individuals that do not talk. Motivation to speak can often be improved if the bird’s confidence can be improved. Especially if the bird feels unsafe, it will not wish to attract attention. Sometimes merely raising the bird’s cage and play perches and moving them to more protected locations can stimulate talking in an individual that has previously remained silent.
Allowing the bird to choose to hide might improve both the feeling of safety and the desire to communicate. Most parrots do not choose to talk when humans are looking watching. However, many birds are motivated to talk for attention when humans are out of sight. Sometimes this is only a matter of placing the cage or play pen around a corner from view of humans. Sometimes this involves putting a towel over about a third or half the cage or situating the cage behind a plant Show the bird what is expected by copying what the bird says.
This might be difficult when the bird is doing that little hiccup noise that some people call “quaker cussing”, but all baby birds make at least a few noises that humans can readily copy. It’s not that different from the bird’s point of view. There are probably only a few human sounds that a baby parrot can easily copy, the rest is practice, practice, practice.
Don’t forget that quaker parrots appear to prefer to use words appropriately. Like humans, a bird is more likely to learn to use words in context than simply by rote memorization.
Dr. Irene Pepperberg has demonstrated in her studies involving Alex, the African grey, that the process of learning words can be improved by providing a rival for the attentions of the favorite human. Indeed, most African greys, which are known as exceptionally adept mimics, are said to speak in the voice of the rival (African greys usually also learn words in the favorite person’s voice). Although quakers are seldom understandable enough to verify who’s voice they are speaking in, the presence of a human rival often stimulates the quaker parrot to learn human words.
GENERAL CARE
General care requirements for quakers are similar to those of other parrots. These birds need a nutritious diet; a clean, safe environment; exciting toys; opportunities for independence; and opportunities for interaction. Quakers need access to clean, fresh water for drinking and bathing. Like human children, a quaker parrot might be so interested in anything and everything that it will refuse sleep if it is not provided with a cover or a roost cage in a quiet area away from human activity.
Quaker parrots are especially prone to accidents in the home, including flying away. Wing feathers must be trimmed at least a couple of times yearly to prevent drowning in the toilet, burning up in the skillet, or crashing into the ceiling fan. Tame quakers that fly away in urban areas are usually easily recovered.
SPECIAL BEHAVIORAL NEEDS
Because they are famously territorial, quakers have special behavioral needs. Like humans, if quakers do not learn cooperative habits and limits of acceptable behavior by they time they reach sexual maturity, they may be completely out of control. It’s best for quaker parrots to learn cooperative behavior just after weaning in order to prevent the development of early aggressive behaviors during the developmental period called the “Terrible Twos” (which usually appears sometime between 9 and 18 months in quakers).
Most behavior is comprised of a series of habits that are routinely reenacted. A bird that learns to habitually cooperate will be less likely to try to dominate humans in the environment. In order to create good habits and to establish a pattern of cooperation in the bird’s behavior, we practice a couple of interactive exercises — step-ups and the towel game — most days in neutral territory.
STEP UPS: In order to expect the bird to respond dependably from the cage or other established territory, the bird must first be patterned with regular and diverse step-up practice to cooperate in neutral territory. A bird that will not cooperate in neutral territory will probably usually refuse to cooperate in its own territory.
From the bird’s first days in the home, daily step up practice should include:
- Stepping the bird up from an unfamiliar stationary perch to a hand.
- Stepping the bird up from hand to hand.
- Stepping the bird onto and off of hand-held perches.
Later when the bird is expressing it’s normal quaker tendency to protect the cage or when it’s feeling feisty for any other reason, the habit of cooperation can be maintained, without fear of nipping, by handling the bird with hand held perches. Hand held perches may be occasionally necessary or necessary for some people in the bird’s established territory, as a typical quaker parrot may behave like a total brat toward most people at the cage and a little green angel away from it.
THE TOWEL GAME: A new baby quaker parrot can easily be carried around in a towel like a human baby. Continuing and maintaining this behavior in a playful way will help to ensure the bird’s disposition for a lifetime. A bird that routinely plays peek-a-boo in the towel and is unafraid of the towel will have a much easier time when it goes to the veterinarian or groomer.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Because of the quaker parrots’ instinct for territorial aggression, it’s important not to service the cage with the bird in it. Just open the door, let the bird come out to the top of the door, then step the well-practiced bird up to a hand or hand-held perch and put it on a play pen. Then food, water, toys, or perches can be safely changed, and the bird will not learn how much fun it is to chase hands and other human parts.
A well-adjusted quaker parrot is too busy to be noisy. If the bird is making lots of unpleasant sounds, it may be unhappy. Try to find out why. Much chronic noise making is a habit, like any other. First assess and improve the environment, then guide the bird to replace habitual noise-making behaviors with more-appropriate behaviors. These little green feathered dragons are never spayed or neutered for behavioral reasons, and therefore, they may be expected to demonstrate several diverse forms of sexually-related behaviors. In this group, approximately half of the birds over one year old masturbated. While a little more than half of those birds seemed to prefer the pleasure of a toy, a little less than half seemed to prefer their favorite person’s hand. One of the birds in this study was reported to pleasure itself frequently “with anything handy … while saying `peek-a-boo’ the whole time”.
THE QUAKER CONTROVERSY
In times past it was feared that escaped quaker parrots could represent a threat as potential agricultural pests. Several states reacted by banning or otherwise regulating the ownership of quaker parrots. Because so many modern quaker parrots are hand feds that could probably not survive outdoors, it would not be surprising to see a little easing of these regulations.
Actually quaker parrots might be the first birds we see with permanent ID requirements such as microchips. And, because a quaker that could not reproduce would not threaten the local environment, quaker parrots might be the first parrots spayed. While this may seem hard on the bird and not at all ideal, if spaying could help a quaker parrot remain with its long-time family, it just might be worthwhile.
Mattie Sue Athan has been a companion parrot behavior consultant since 1978. During that time she has averaged two to three new Quaker clients per week. Her first book, Guide to a Well-Behaved Parrot, is an industry standard. Her second book, Guide to the Quaker Parrot, sold out the first printing in 5 months. She also wrote Guide to the Senegal Parrot and Its Family and Guide to Companion Parrot Behavior.
Email: msathan@aol.com
This is the 1st time on this site. Love it! I purchased a Quaker parrot Oct 1997 for my 2 neices, however my bird, Franchessca became more attached to my Mother. We have had so much enjoyment with her over the years and will have much more. Franchessca does not act like a pet she thinks she is the human and we are the pets. Her first words were nigh, night. Which she said every night at bedtime until she grasp the meaning of the words and discontinued saying it. She mimics my Mother very well especially her laughter. She does not speak unless its appropriate. We are amazed that her speak is in direct response to our conversation. And when she can’t hear or you are speaking to someone else she’s good at saying “what”? She also dance and move her head as I do and say what I am sayig while we are dancing. She does not like to be ignored and can cry jsut like a baby. It truely touches your heart to hear her cry. I can take children and people crying but I can not handled Franchessca crying. She is also very jealous, she does not like babies receiving more attention that her. She truely does act like a human. She also saids hello, bye bye, what’s up, Franchessca what’s up, pretty bird, Tracy, hey baby, baby,. She also repeats made up sounds and noises I make. I have not gotteen her to say “I love you” but when I say I love you, she responds with kissing sounds. I is very cute. When my Mother is out of town for any lenght of time she is very sad. My Mother was out of the country during 9/11 and was delayed getting home, Franchessca stopped eating properly. I just gave her more and more attention, which did help her mood. I actually dread every time my Mother leaves town because I don’t know what she will feel and for how long. She is the most wonderful pet we have had. I now worry that she doesn’t get enough sleep.
Hello everyone .. I am getting a quaker monday 9-14 . She is 3 years old . She has learned vocabulary from another quaker the lady has . This parrot likes her husband but not so much her . Do you think one on one with her she will bond with me ? This is my first time owning a parrot . I would love to hear any advice anyone has to give .
I had my Kiwi for 7 and 1/2 years. He was born April 29,2002 and he passed away on October 9, 2008. I WAS DEVESTATED. The day before he passed away, I had him out and the pour thing accidently flew into my mirror. He was perfectly fine. The next day I noticed Kiwi just wasn’t acting like himself. He was being very quiet, wouldn’t come out of his cage, and his breathing was very hard. I rushed him to the vet where they put him in an oxygen cage for about an hour and sent me home with antibiotics and steriods to give him. The doctor believed he had severe head trauma. They said he would be just fine. They gave him his medicine and we left. By the time I got home my poor baby couldn’t even stand up. I help him on my chest for about an hour, told him how much I loved him, as I sobbed my eyes out on the phone with my mom. At 7:30 pm he flew to the end of my bed and passed away. Mom said he was flying to an angel. That he knew it was him time to go. I miss him soo much. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be ready to get another bird. Kiwi was definitally a one person bird and I loved and cared about him very much. A lot of people don’t understand how I could be so attached to a bird or grieve the way I am…but he was more than a bird. He was my family. He was only 7 and 1/2 years old. He was a great member of my family and I don’t think another bird could or will ever take his place.
I am thinking about purchasing a Quaker parrot in the future but I am 13 years old and I am at school from 6:40 am to around 3 in the afternoon. My dad is at work from about 8 to 12 so is it ok for me to leave and then my dad take care of him/her for a while then leave, come back and “hang out” with the bird? And then of course I’d spend a ton of time with the bird when I get home from school and on weekends and I am on year round so for 3 straight weeks 3 times a year I get to spend all the time I want with the bird. I want the best for the bird so if this type of environment is not suitable for the bird, I will not purchase one. And if you currently have a Quaker, how long do you spend away from the bird? Thank you!
Greer,I spend 8 hours away from my bird
I own a 1 1/2 year old male quaker who can say about 75 words and sing a couple of songs. He is very cage aggressive which is common but I work with him to handle him. He is very affectionate and I love him very much.
I just bought a 6 mo. old male quaker parrot. I just love him. I also have a parrotlet and a parakeet. I was wondering if my relationship with my new parrot will be hindered having my other two birds. Can anyone help me.
be very careful with your new quaker parrot!! they are very affectionate and protective little birds! mine is 1 and 1/2 yrs old and my bf and i got him when he was 5 weeks old.. since day 1 he has clung to me like white on rice and will not let anyone come near without attacking that person or thing..i recently bought a cockatiel and couldn’t keep her because my qp was so protective and atatched to me. if you want to have your qp with other birds just take care and have patience letting him/her get adjusted to the situation and teach it that it must “share” you with the others!! good luck to you and enjoy you new little friend..it will be loyal to you til the very end!
I live in Orlando and I am looking for a baby quaker parrot for less then $100 can anybody help me find one?
I want a bGreen quaker realy bad there sooooooooooooooo cute imight get one for X-mas i hope get one too
Dont be worried that just means u need to talk to it more
I have a 5 month old Quaker whom I adore. My question is when can I start him on a training diet ? Also, He loves his pellet crumbles but seems to waste an awful lot in the eating process. Should I keep emptying out the “dust” or just keep topping up with fresh pellets on top. He also has veges and fruit.
I just got my two Quaker parrots today. The male is over protective of the female. He is really aggressive. He wants to mate but the female wont let him. What can I do to help with the agression?
To Shirl@8:13
My little Lucy leaves a lot of left-over pellet dust in her bowl. I buy small jars of organic vegetable baby food and mix about a tablespoon in with the left-over pellets. My vet said “If she’ll eat it… go for it” She gets the benefit of sweet potato, carrots, peas, ect. Lucy likes it warmed up a tiny bit and I give it to her as her evening meal/snack. Lucy loves it and there is no wasted food. Sometimes try it with unsweetened apple sauce but not to often. More veggies. Let me know how it works out for you.
SUCH A GREAT IDEA TO USE BABY FOOD EITH THE LEFT OVER PELLETS. WHAT ABOUT ADDING LEFTOVER PELLETS TO HOME-MADE BIRDIE BREAD ?
hi i bought a Green Quaker parrot i have a few problems the first one i am trying to teach him how to step up on my hands as he refuse to do it. he is now 7 weeks old and i am trying to teach him a few words but he can’t say the word is he still too young to learn words or he will learn over the years
I have been searching for a good recipe to use all the food dust also. There are so many sites that use prepared mixes, but I’ve been doing a lot of research about the negative properties of foods (GMO, etc.) for humans. How can we in good consciousness feed these foods to our feathered family?
If anyone should have a real, SAFE recipe it would be sincerely appreciated.
Does anyone have an answer? Thanks in advance, Orrie
These birds should come with a warning label !!!! If you like to sleep in on your days off, watch tv, or just need some quiet time,This bird is NOT for you !!!!!!!
I have a dna tested female quaker named Bogey she is 8 years old and I think I need to find her a new home. I work 730-430 and my 25 year old daughter, who moved in a year ago, is home and moves her cage into the bedroom and shuts the door. Bogey is not happy about being in the bedroom all day and I really cant blame her. When I get home from work she screeches and squacks all evening and I can not stand to be in the same room with her. I try to get her to step up and she wont hardly do that anymore, she just stands there rolliing her head around looking like a demon bird. I am at my wits end. Anyone have any advice?
Hi everyone i just signed up on quaker parrots.com i own a quaker. His name is Buddy. One of the girls my boy friend works with gave him to me to give him a good home and to get him out of her bathroom. When she had him the only person who dealt with Buddy was her boyfriend and they told me that the only way you can get him out of his cage is with his perch. But since i’ve had him he will walk onto our shoulders oh and he likes to bite while he is on his cage.
If anyone has any suggestions please feel free to e-mail me
Hey, I live in St. Charles Illinois and would love a Quaker Parrot, but I have a small budget. If anyone is or knows a breeder I would love to see any male quaker parrots! Thanks, please respond if you know about a breeder in my area!
Dear Quaker lover,
I rescued a Quaker eleven years ago when she was being sold on consignment by a pet shop near me. Her elderly owners died and she was passed through five households, mostly young people, none of whom got to know her and some of whom abused her terribly (even today she panics at the sound a plastic bag rattling). I think she was one of a pair before I found her. After a rocky start and eleven years we’ve grown accustomed to each other and she more or less trusts me. I provide plenty of companion toys, quality meal, seed mix, morning pumpkin seeds and dried fruit treats. I originally bought her for my husband, but apparently he reminded her of the wrong person and she wouldn’t have anything to do with him (we went through boxes and boxes of bandaids, and he didn’t understand that just letting her get used to his presense was key.
Her cage is always open, though I have to keep her wings clipped because I no longer live in my own house. I have begun to let her wings grow out in the case that I may have to let her go free, but they’re not quite grown out yet. I worry about the feasibiity of her surviving in the wild, even if I take her to a known, safe feral community site. She’s definitely old, she’s always been in captivity, she has both my little dogs respectfully intimidated so she’s not afraid of them, and she greatly needs to be cuddled every day. Not a lot, but always some. She even demands it in a shy sort of way. She withers without it… it takes weeks for her to recover her good nature when I have to go out of town for even a few days.
I’m very sick and am going to live with my sister in Phoenix, AZ. My sister doesn’t want a bird in her house… lots of reasons, but mainly she doesn’t like the sqwauking, and Quaker definitely sqwauks. I have to leave here (North Carolina) in two and half weeks, and will be taking the southerly route so as to stop in Dallas to see a niece. I thought I knew someone in Florida I’d trust to take her (he was my brother-in-law and stayed with me for a couple of weeks while he did some work for me at my house before I sold it… he would just stand and commune with her without trying to touch her or even speak to her… she was really intrigued… he would liked to have had her and I would have given her to him then, but his wife wouldn’t have it…. he has since divorced) but he has apparently moved and I can’t find his new address or phone. She doesn’t seem to trust young people generally, but adores little, white-haired old ladies. Even if I find someone older I’m afraid of putting her back in the situation where she will outlive her owner and be at the mercy of strangers again.
She needs someone very patient and understanding of what she’s been through.
By the way, she has a large vocabulary, but only talks when she is happy and getting lots of attention. She says, C’mere, C’mon, Tickle-tickle, No, Gimme a kiss, You’re a good boy, Quaker (Quaker is her name and her favorite word), Peek-a-boo, whistles Pop Goes The Weasel, and I forget what all. She hasn’t spoken much since I’ve had to move in with a friend after my husband’s death. The friend is a little, white-haired lady and Quaker has done everything to get her attention to no avail, the friend knows she’s been a biter and is too afraid to touch her, much to Quaker’s disappointment.
Please help.
I will deliver her in person, totally free of charge, together with all her gear… cage, foodstuffs, etc. to someone who will treat her tenderly and understand if she bites and not abandon her because of it. Please help!
Gratefully,
Kathryn Arnold
919-896-4656
katrinika@yahoo.com
katrinika.m@gmail.com
Hey Kathryn ,my name is Mohamed Agha ,32 years married expecting a baby soon,,im a physician live in libya(north africa) ,I was looking for a scarlet macaw actually and when I read you wrote I think Im interested to have that poor quaker,,,,,I really dont know how you can really handle it to me but you can conact me on my nimbuzz or you can have my yahoo,,,,,drmichle2002@yahoo.com add me I believe I can help,,It’s worthen to try,,,dr.M.Agha
Hey all you experts! I’ve been asked if I want to adopt a 19 year old Quaker who is lonely and sad now that her human kids have left home. She has started to bite and is irritable lately. My question is: Is she too old to be adopted? Who has an opinion on this?
I have a 9 year old that was given to me. It loves me but hates the other members of the family. It will actually go after them. This is not the annoying part. I think the bird has some issues and I dont know how to deal with them. It will walk in circles at the bottom of its cage and squawk horrendously over and over to the point where we have to remove it into another room because my husband works from home and he cant conduct calls or even concentrate because the bird is so loud and ear piercing. What do I do??
I have two of the most amazing birds my 17 month old cockatiel Koby (thought he was a buy, til a week before christmas when she laid three eggs! LOL) she has attitude like you wouldn’t believe, but she’s also very loving and cuddly, and she loves to have her head scratched, she thinks I should be scratching her head at least 23 hrs a day lol!!!! and if you don’t scratch her in just the right place she’ll tell you off (she makes this squeaking noises) and gives you a good pecking!! she never bites, she loves all food she even had a tiny bit of plain cheese cake once! and there is my newest love Romeo (i think he’s a boy, getting him dna sexed soon) he is so awesome and smart, and can he talk, he’s almost 8 months, I got him when he was 11 weeks old, and he was saying his first word within days, he says hello, hi,bye bye, whatcha doing, he barks like a dog, says oh,oh, ooops, says mama, screams mama (lol when he doesn’t see me) peek-a-boo, peek, where you going, whatcha doing, come here, he says koby’s name 5 different ways, says pretty girl koby, come here koby, whatcha doing koby? wanna play? hemakes kissing sounds, imitates koby’s calls, squeals, and chirps, (he also told koby to shut up the other day!!) don’t want him to continue that, imitates my cell phone buttons (do,do,do,lol) he imitates my laugh, he’ll sneak up on koby or me and yell peek-a boo- orjust peek! he is so incredibly awesome, he’s trying or is learning and saying a new word every day, he also loves to be scratched, he looooooooooooves to snuggle and will literally ram his head into my neck and say awwwww snugga, snugga, (my version of snuggle snuggle he copies)he tries to kiss koby but she just hissess at him and runs away lol I could go on forever about these two never knew I could love little feathered creatures the way I do I’d be lost with out them! The make me laugh so much, there is never a dull moment in our house with my littlest babies around, I always look forward to seeing what they’ll do next or what romeo will say and do next,ahhhhhhhhhh bird love is so awesome, lol
i have one quaker parrot and his name is buddy and he is the most stubern parrot at time but he also thinks he is a human which is so cute. But also he is very protective when people touch me so he attacks the person who touches me how do i stop that????
What can I say, all useful info, some not, but its the Bird that makes it all happen. My three year old “Baby” has the run of our place. Sleeps in his cage and thats it unless feeding and bathing, but the rest of the time, listens to music while im at work, but when I’m home, its him and I. We eat cookies together, he wants em muched a lil, and still aint talking. But as far as understanding, we have developed a good one on one. He answers with certain pitches and sounds for questions. He does get a lil babyish when Im on the keyboard, but I still baby the dude. I wouldn’t trade him for all of Bill Gates $… Tweet!
Forgot Kay,
My Baby is protective as well, has the most awesome growl when anyone gets too close. But its being protective and thats ok. Spend your one on one every day alone with him, teach him that you will always be there, also it helps to let him sit on your shoulder as you allow people to get close. And if they have a piece of food they can also start to feed him. But I warn ya, I get jealous when he starts to trust someone. I know it sounds lame, but I love my Baby, and don’t care if people come and go. Im bad, Lord forgive me, seriously! My bird has no guile, no plots or plans, just loves me for who I am and thats worth living for! Tweet!
I have had my QP for 2 years, I have a certificate that says she is a female and think she is about 3-4 years old, she will not talk, she listens when she wants to, any suggestions on getting her to talk? do you think she ever will?
Re: Valerie @ July 13, 2010 While I realize this is very late in the conversation, but if you still have Bogey, I would suggest giving her a bath (in about a 2 inch deep 10×10 dish) and offer some broccoli with vegetable oil on it. My wife and I went through quite a time with our “male” green Quaker. At about year five he would scream and scream and was inconsolable. Finally, a friend who use to raise birds for years told us about the piece of broccoli with vegetable oil on it. After giving it to him, within a day or so, “he” passed an egg, then another and another. So, “he” turned out to be a “she”. She must have been very uncomfortable and egg bound. If this is the case, you’ll recognize the signs. They change personality (get aggressive) and guard their cage and squawk all the time. Still to this day, she will still get very squawky even when it’s not her breeding time of year. If I’m not keeping her up (she gets cranky when she wants her quiet for nite nite) That’s when it’s time for a bath! After offering the bath, she calms right down. Sometimes we have to encourage her to get into it, but once in, it always does the trick. Some people recommend a steam shower (which does hydrate their feathers) but (to me) there’s nothing like a good old fashion dunk in the water. My experience with the bird is that when they squawk… they’re unsatisfied. They want something. What that something is, is for you to figure out. ha! Try offering a bath, and/or some fresh veggies, a new kind of food or put something in the cage to change her environment, such as a bell. Our Quaker loves ringing that bell to get our attention. Good luck. Best, Lar in New York
On subject… (it’s been my experience) Quakers love to talk. They love the attention and the interaction. Our Quaker thrives on personal attention and says about 15 or so words. She’s probably 8 years old now. The way to she started talking was simply through interaction and repetition. You have to spend the time to teach, just as you’d teach any animal. However, just remember whatever you teach them, will imprint. That’s very important to remember because you’re going to have to hear (what ever you teach the bird to say), for long, long, long time. We never used a reward system when we tried to teach her new words, but I’m sure that would help. Her reward was being clapped for her when she said a word, which would make her bob up and down and give a shriek. When we first started offering the Harrison’s pellets every morning (fine pellets softened with boiling water, then allowed to cool before serving), one day my wife put a slice of banana in it. That was something different from the norm. Well, the Quaker loved the banana and made a big deal out of it, bobbing up and down. So, naturally… we told her what it was… “That’s Banana”. “Banana” we repeated to her. Well, the next morning when my wife gave her the Harrison’s pellets, out pops… “Banana”. She associated the “food” with the word “banana” and now ALL FOOD is “banana”. She doesn’t differentiate, between spinach and pasta… it’s ALL “banana”. So, be careful how you teach your bird. They’re only as smart as the one doing the teaching! I’ve also found that the bird picks up what is heard on a daily basis. Since our gray cockatiel “Buddy” is always getting himself into mischief, his name was repeated over and over in the house by my wife when she called him. The next thing you know… the Quaker started calling him too! “Buddy, Buddy….”. So, be patient. Your Quaker will talk…. it’s just a matter of time and effort.
hi im like 13 and i week ago my quaker passed away the reason is unknown to me at the moment but i highly suggest this bird but u will have to teach this bird to bond with multible people but instead my bird bonded with me and no one could hold or pet her but she was a amazing bird she learned so many sounds words like hello,uh oh,pretty bird,haha,she also would copy movment like if u bobed your head and clucked she would do the same if u went down she bobed her head down if u bobed it up she would do the same she was the sweetest thing im still crying because she was always there when i was sad or lonely or felt like no one understood me because i feel that way alot cause im the middle child .