KiDs KoRnEr

A special place for Quaker Kids!!!

Hello! Welcome to KiDs KoRnEr, a special section of Quaker Quarters devoted to young Quaker lovers like you. The funny looking Quaker on the left side of this page is named Silly Bird. Any time you see Silly Bird you can click on him for a special surprise! Go ahead, try it now!!!

See, neat huh! Now, don't forget to look for Silly Bird while you are looking at these pages . But don't skip ahead... Silly Bird likes to ask lots of questions, and if you don't read the whole page, you might not know the answers! Anytime you click on Silly bird and it takes you to another page in Quaker Quarters, you can look for the Silly bird on that page to get back to KiDs KoRnEr.

O.K., now that you know how KiDs KoRnEr works, let's get started. Ready? Maybe you already own a Quaker, or maybe your family is thinking about getting one. Even if you've had another bird before, there are some really important things you need to know to take good care of your bird friend. Here in KiDs KoRnEr you can learn all about the type of house your parrot needs, what kind of food is best to keep him big and strong, about his bird habits, what he likes to do, and what you can do to make his life healthy and happy!

First, all pet birds need a special place of their own where they can eat, sleep, and play. It needs to be a safe place for them to stay when no one else is home and when they are tired or everyone is too busy to watch them and keep them out of trouble. Oh yeah, Quakers do like to get in trouble a lot, so watch out! Since a Quaker is a medium size bird, they need a medium size bird cage. It is very important that their cage is not too small or they will be crowded and bored and you will just have to spend way more time cleaning it out. When you and your parent go to buy the cage make sure that you plan to spend enough money to buy one the right size. If you can't get a cage big enough to hold at least three basketballs, then it is better to wait to get your bird until you can. The cage needs enough room for the Quaker, three bowls, two perches (sticks to sit on) and at least 5 toys. Also, ask the person at the pet store to help you pick out one with the bars no more than two fingers apart, or your Quaker may get hurt trying to get out.

There are lots of bird toys for sale and also some good ones that you and your parent can make together. Toys are very important to keep your bird happy and also healthy. Birds who don't have lots of safe things to do usually make up games that are not good, like screaming and even pulling out their feathers! Do not get bird toys made for small birds like Budgies, or parakeets, because your Quakers beak is stronger and he might choke on the smaller parts he will try very hard to remove. Buy some plastic toys and some wooden ones. The plastic ones will last longer, but the wooden ones will be chewed up by your parrot and this is good exercise for him, so don't be mad! Good toys to make are out of clean popscicle sticks, new cotton mops, and paper towel rolls. If you need to color something, use Kool-aid mixed really strong. It's safe.

Now, to answer an important question you probably have. What do they eat? This answer may really surprise you. Most people used to think that birds only needed to eat seeds. Bird doctors, called Avian (A-vee-an) veterinarians, now know that seeds are really not good for birds to eat all the time. In fact, they say that feeding a parrot seeds everyday is like you eating only potato chips! Seeds have too much fat and not enough vitamins, so even though your bird may eat them, he won't get the things he needs out of them. So some companies studied what makes birds healthy and invented a new type of bird food called pellets. Pellets kind of look like dog food, only smaller pieces. The have all the vitamins your bird needs and so you won't need to add any other vitamins to their food or water. If you do, they may get too many vitamins which can also make them sick. Now for the really fun part! What do you think parrots eat in the rainforest where they come from? Fruits and vegetables! So it is really important that your bird is offered fresh fruits and vegetables everyday. It's also good to let your bird have a small amount of whatever you eat for breakfast and dinner, as long as it's not fried and before you add extra salt. Give them a plate of their own and let them eat at the same time as you. They love that!

Did you click on Silly Bird to the left? What did he ask you? Did you know the answer? Good! Well, what do you think the Rainforest was named for? That's also right, the rain! Guess what that means. Your Quaker parrot is from a place in nature where there is a lot of humidity, or water in the air. There is also a lot of rain water on the leaves of the trees and puddles to play in, so in nature your Quaker would take a lot of baths or at least get a lot of water on their feathers everyday. This helps keep the feathers clean so they don't itch and make your bird pull them out. Try to make sure your Quaker gets a bath at least twice a week. Only do this when your parent is around though, in case an emergency happens and your bird needs extra help. Your bird can take a bath in just a very little bit of room temperature water in a shallow pan or clean bathroom sink with no soap. Never, ever leave your bird alone around water, including the toilet, because wet feathers don't fly at all and birds can't swim, so birds drown very, very easily. This is one of the main accidents that kids Quakers die from every year.

Quakers are very smart. I don't know how old you are, but some parrots are as smart as a three year old kid! Pretty cool for a pet, huh? So this means that your Quaker will have feelings and understand lots of things just like you do. Never let anyone pester or tease your bird, like banging the bars of their cage or sticking their fingers at them. This scares them which will make them feel really bad and get mean, just like if a strange Giant came and banged on your bedroom window at night! Always talk nicely to your Quaker and treat them the same way you would your best friend, and they will learn to understand a lot of things you tell them and probably say them back to you! Quakers want to be loved just like people, so when they make mistakes or get honory, just put them back on their cage for a "time-out". Never, ever hit, thump, or drop your bird. They are very little and you could kill them. Plus, they will remember it and won't trust you anymore, which means they are more likely to bite you or act stubborn the next time.

No matter how well you take care of you Quaker, sometime he might get sick. You need your parents help right away if he does. You should ask your mom or dad to find out the name and telephone number of an Avian veterinarian, or bird doctor. The number should be written down somewhere easy to find in an emergency. Get an adult right away if your Quaker is very sleepy during the day, stays puffy, throws up, is bleeding, won't eat even his very favorite treat, has a lot more droppings than normal, especially if they are also a different color, or has no droppings at all. Also get an adult if you think your Quaker may have drank or eaten something besides his food, like a plant, or if he was dropped or bitten by another animal, even if he looks ok. Sometimes a bird can be bleeding on the inside and you don't know it at first.

I wrote this page to help kids like you who want to have lots of information to take good care of their pet birds. The only way a question is dumb is if you are too afraid to ask it!