How to Prevent Biting in Quaker Parrots
by Mattie Sue Athan
One of the best ways to prevent biting in parrots is to work with the bird early in its life to help stop this behavior from starting in the first place. This article provides practical training advice of benefit to all parrot owners but was written with Quaker Parrots in mind.
Question: How can I work with my baby Quaker while it’s still young to help prevent excessive biting later?
Answer:
PREVENTING BITING BEHAVIORS IN THE QUAKER PARROT
Like humans, if Quaker Parrots do not learn cooperative habits and limits of acceptable behavior by they time they reach sexual maturity, they may be completely out of control. As a matter of fact, Quaker Parrots appear to learn cooperative behavior best just after weaning. Otherwise it’s very easy for them to develop territorial and aggressive behaviors during the developmental period sometimes called the “terrible twos” (this usually hits Quakers at about 12-18 months, but can be seen sooner).
We can’t address poor behavior in Quaker Parrots with punishment. We must help the bird to form successful habits in order to ensure it’s happy life.
Almost all behavior is comprised of a series of habits that are routinely reenacted. Cooperation can be habitual. Biting and chasing can be habitual. A companion Quaker parrot that learns to habitually cooperate will be less likely to express aggression toward humans or 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.
CHASING
Because of the Quaker Parrots’ instinct for territorial aggression, it’s important not to service the cage with the bird in it. A hand that touches a Quaker’s food dish or favorite toy should expect a ferocious attack. This is provocative behavior at its worst. It will stimulate biting and, if repeated, will pattern habitual chasing and biting behaviors.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.
GOOD GROOMING AND TRANSPORTATION DEPENDENCE
Flying 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. In addition, the flying Quaker Parrot may become increasingly territorial, domineering, and belligerent. Under just the wrong circumstances, a flying Quaker can take chasing to a whole new level.
If the bird’s wing trim is properly maintained and the bird has multiple places on which to spend time, then it will have to depend upon humans to move it from one place to another. This transportation dependence combined with access to multiple territories will contribute significantly to maintaining non-aggressive behavior in the Quaker Parrot.
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
Quaker’s are pretty much a 1 person bird but if you socialize them with a lot of peaple they will be less likely to nip at other people
We have a 1 1/2 yr old green quaker. He loves me and lets me handle him anyway, he used to let anyone pick him up, but now only me. This is a problem for my husband since it’s supposed to be his bird. Whenever he gets close to the cage he hisses at him and bites at him. He can pick him up with his whole hand, but no stepping up. Once he has him on his finger Cola doesn’t bite or anything, just sits.
It seems the bird is overbonded to me, and if my husband begins to work with cola, would it help if I stayed away from Cola while they bond?
I GOT A QUAKER PARROT 2 DAYS AGO.SHE IS 3 DAYS OLD.I AM AFRAID TO TOUCH IT BECAUSE I AM AFRAID IT WILL BITE.I REALLY WANT TO TRAIN IT AND PLAY WITH IT BUT WAHT IF IT BITES ME.HOW DO I HOLD IT.ALSO HOW CAN IBE ITS FAVORITE OUT OF MY WHOLE FAMILY.
I just got a quaker parrot today and it has already bitten by husban and my brother-in-law and even myself. what do I do?
Gary
In answer to your question, do they form bonds with certin people? ABSOULTY! YES! You are viewed by him, as HIS person. I have had my Quaker “Oscar” for 7 years and in the begining he would accutalt run down my shoulder ATTACK my daughter, every time she came close to me. They can be almost like an attack DOG. If your roomie is going to be around the bird, you need to teach youR bird NOW! to accept your roomie or else the biting will deffinatly becaome worse! They are very territorital with what is THEIRS! Find a place away from you and his cage, let your roomie come up to the bird and talk to him in a small almost baby talk. Repeat this often. Then slowly add petting him, with out picking him up. Soon, on his own terms, the bird will be happy to be with your roomie. It’s very important that you BOTH do this, or the bird will then OWN your roomie and NOT YOU! Lots of communication between them and THEIR POEPLE are very important for them to be a fun pet, instead of a vicious attack BIRD. The biting of any one has to be stoped immeadiatly or it WILL BECAME HABITTIAL! Please go get a book on quaker parots. They are VERY SMART and can be a lot of fun to have, if trained correctly in the begining. My parrot is like a child and interacts with us like a person. He even asks us for things HE WANTS, like a bath. If we are eating, he says “wanna a bite” and bobs his head UP & DOWN, meaning YES! He will not stop, until given a bite of something. He loves to eat with us. You would laugh yourself sill if you saw it. So, creat you own funny moments with your bird, and remember the sky can be the limit with what they can do. Please e-mail me if you have any futher questions. Put Quaker Perrot in the subject line, because I SPAM all e-mail I don’t recongnize. Kathy!
My boyfriend and I have owned a quaker parrot for about a year. We found him in a tree, so therefore did not get him as a chick. We are not sure as to how he was raised/socialized before we found him. So far it seems that he was socialized okay, as he was pretty willing to “step up” onto anyone’s finger/hand right after we found him, but as time has passed however he has become very aggressive and dominant… biting/dive bombing/ head bobbing, and wing display. My boyfriend tries all the time to socialize with him, by laying him on his back and preening his back feathers, and simply just spending time with him. Each time it’s like a battle. He flies from us, and we have to chase him to catch him, to MAKE him get our attention. As for me, the Quaker flat out hates me (it seems). He dive bombs me, tries to bite, shows wing display and head bobs every chance he gets. Is there ANY way at all to try to turn this around? LIke I said, when we first found him, he wasn’t like that. Now the Quaker is the dominant one over me, and my boyfriend is dominant over him so much so that the Quaker runs from him. The Quaker knows the word no, and it frustrates him/ makes him mad every time because he gets aggressive and “beats up” his toys every time I tell him no, or even talk to him at all (even in a pleasurable, nice soothing tone) Just one side note: the Quaker doesn’t have his wings clipped, would that help in any way to assert/change some of the dominance issues? I have read a few books but none seem to address these specific issues except to say they are dominance issues. Any input would be appreciated.
One thing I can suggest to new owners is to not allow the bird to perch anywhere higher than your heart for at least the first year you have them. I know that it is a difficult thing to do as I broke that rule many times when I first got my quaker but you are establishing dominance over your bird. If they are eye level or higher they are in a dominant position; this goes for handling as well as cage height. Cipping their wings is also important as they have to depend on you for getting from one place to another reducing the chances that they will bite you. They quickly figure out hey i need this human and if I bite them they will not allow me to go from place to place. Also people are easy to punish and not reward. If they do something good like a good session of step up, give them a treat afterwards. My quaker loves cheerio’s and fruity pebbles. Be patient with the talking, Dapper will say a whole lot of things, of course never when I want him. He will talk up a storm when I cover him up at night and they often say things that you do not expect them to say. He loves to cough after I had bronchitis for a couple of weeks. Also make sure the day/night cycle is constant, changes in light and dark create hormonal issues. Longer light cycles starts the breeding cycle which increases territorial issues especially if they have favored one human over the other. I make sure I uncover him the same time each morning and cover him up the same time in the evening and that seemed to help almost immediately. Be firm, be consistant, and your quaker parrot will respond accordingly. Good luck everyone!
My bird Papa has been biting me! is it because my family teases him? Also he hasnt started talking yet and he is two years old. I got him to say Papa but he is just making the sound of papa. I try to get him to talk but he just isnt. Will he start talking at his age? Why is it that he only lets me hold him and no one else and when I leave the room he squawks like crazy? Any ideas I need HELP!!!!!!!!!!
I HAVE A QUAKER FOR ABOUT 16 YEARS….I JUST LOVE HIM AND HE LOVES ME….HOWEVER, I HAVE SEVEN GRANDCHILDREN AND HE HAS BITTEN EVERY ONE OF THEM. HE IS TRULY A ONE PERSON PET. HE TALKS….CALLS GRANDMA … SAYS THANK YOU AND LAUGHS WHENEVER ANYONE LAUGHS AT HIM.
HE IS VERY TERRITORIAL. DOESN’T LIKE ANYONE TOO CLOSE TO HIS CAGE. I KEEP HIS WINGS CLIPPED AND NEVER CLOSE THE CAGE DOOR…HE HAS THE FREEDOM OF CLIMBING UP ON THE OUTSIDE OF HIS CAGE AND LOVES TO TAKE MY MAIL TO PUT INTO HIS CAGE…I DELIBERATELY LEAVE THINGS THAT I DON’T WANT SO THAT HE CAN KEEP HIMSELF BUSY…HE TAKES IT ACROSS THE TOP OF HIS CAGE AND CAN CARRY IT DOWN AND PUT IT INTO HIS CAGE. HIS BEAK IS QUITE STRONG.
WITH ALL OF THAT….AS I SAID BEFORE, I LOVE HIM.
My fiance and I have a green quaker Parrot named ‘Bird’ (he was my fiance’s before I moved in with him). Obviously he couldn’t think of a better name (ha ha). This bird has had two seperate owner’s before my fiance and he can be extremely vicious at times. He’s about 7 years old according to the timeline the most recent owner before my fiance has told us. He has a very bad habit of swearing =/ which really bothers me. Whenever he gets upset at something you do or say or someone he is not fond of comes around, he says some um, *mean things*. He is very fond of both me and my fiance and my fiance’s little sister. However, he absolutely hates my fiance’s mother and little brother. He lunges at them and mutters nasty things and he will bite them very hard (enough to draw blood) if he is loose or they try to touch him. He lets me pet him vigourously even under his wings inside his cage and outside of it but he will only let my fiance actually pick him up or get on his arm. He will not let me pick him nor will he respond when I put my hand properly under him, he just sits and looks at my hand or rubs his beak all over it. The only time he will come to me is on his own if he’s sitting ontop of his cage he gets really excited if I move away and flys over to my head. I want to be able to pick him up and teach him to say more appropriate things but I am afraid he’s too old and mistrained to do this with. Is there anything you can do to slowly teach an older bird “new tricks”? Or is is pretty much hopeless? He DOES say nice things occasionally like ‘Harro’ = Hello or “What”? when you’re talking a lot with someone else. I love him very much and he can be really adorable but I don’t know what to do to solve these two problems he is having.
I do also have the issue of leaving the room and Bird will go absolutely ballistic when I do. He HATES when I leave the room and sometimes will be nippy when I come back. I think he’s slightly over-bonded since he is in my room next to my computer and that is usually where I am. I don’t really have anywhere else to put him but perhaps moving him away from right next to me (across) the room – may help this particular problem?
Hello! My Quaker seems to strongly dislike my boyfriend. Sometimes my bird will attack my boyfriend, even if the bird is unprovoked. My Quaker just turned one year old today. Any tips for helping us through the terrible two’s?
I have recently acquired a young Quaker parrot (less than a year old) from my adult daughter who no longer wanted him. She had bought him when he was 7 weeks old and he was so sweet and friendly. He got a new dog shortly thereafter and his behavior changed toward everyone except her. Well, now I have him and he HATES me! I give him toys and treats and talk kindly to him and I let him out of his cage every day. But he tries to bite me when I tell him to step up. He used to do it but as time goes by he gets meaner and meaner. He hisses at my husband and son. Any suggestions? By the way, the bird STILL loves my daughter and when she visits she can even put her hand in his cage and he gets right on her hand and he’ll kiss her, too. It’s frustrating to say the least!
Hi I have 2 Quakers 1 I got last year he was already 2 years old and very aggressive. I just recently got a friend for him to see if he would become less aggressive. I am told the new one is about the same age. I haven’t put them in the same cage yet. I am trying to let them adapt to one another. I put their cages side by side so they will interact with each other. The new one seems very friendly as for the older one I don’t dare pick him up cause he bites very hard and chases your finger where ever he sees it go. I am able to towel him and he seems to like it he pecks a the fibers in the towel as if he is preening it. So my question is How long does it take for them to adept to one another so I can put them together in the same cage.
My room mates’ Quaker “Max” is about 6 months old. He can be a real little demon with his biting. I have been reading everything about what can be done to change this behavior. He is otherwise a really sweet little dude. My room mate taught him to lean forward and raise his wings up straight over his back by saying, “Max, be an eagle.” When he does this we praise him by saying goodboy or clapping softly and giving him a treat. He nods his head up and down. He also will turn a circle for a treat. I’ve noticed that he loves shiny metal objects like keys, the rims of my glasses and our other room mates gold necklace. Is it not a good idea to let him continue putting these metal objects in his mouth? He bites but, we love this little character and would be heartbroken if anything were to happen to him.
We have a Quaker parrot given to me,, he is a pleasure to have,,he talks and picks up many sayings,,he loves to get out and we let him out alot,, but we cant stop him from biting…we would like to love him more,, we buy him many kinds of treats and feed him fresh fruits and veggies,,please help me to figure out how to stop the biting…his name is,, Verday…thank you so much,, and i hope you can help me….Irene
ok i will start off i went to the flea market and this lady was selling these baby birds i don’t really know to much about birds i guess i was lucky he’s alive i just felt bad they were all cooped up inside a tiny fish tank i did some researsh and learned how to hand feed him i think he’s a him well its been two years and he only makes this loud noise he sounds like a duck he has the run of the house i rarly clip his wings lately he’s been like hovering over my two year old son i think he just likes messing with my son he dose not try to bite him he just follows him into his room or trys to steal his food i just was wondering if hes normal why he is not speaking or why he’s messing with my son?
I have a male quaker who is 9 mo old.He is attached more to me,being female than to my husband.I got him straight from the egg,and the breeder said he would be a better match since I would be the primary caregiver.He bites at my husband if he tries to get close to me when I have him on my shoulder. I would like to know why he gnaws at my shoulder until he pinches me.He decided to fly off the cage and out the door,we did find him.How do I train him to stay at his cage?
My quaker parakeet is nealry 3 years old now, I have had him since he was 8 months old. He has been fine with me but hates my husband and just recently when he has been out with me just walking about the house normally he will all of a sudden launch an attack at me and really bite me, he has only done this on 2 occasions now and my only hunch is that he has reached sexual maturity as i also think he tires to ‘hump’ me, he does strange panting noises and tries to staddle my hand or face. Is there anything I can do to stop him getting so jelous and seeing me as his mate and becoming too possesive over me? he is usually really cuddly with me but just recently (even though nothing has changed) he has become aggressive and frustrated.
I am gonna get a QP but I dont know what to do.My parents are afraid that it might peck me in the eye so if you can help me or tell me how you can train it,it will be thankful.Please help me!!!!
Hannah,
I used to have a QP but it died but I can tell you that if you get your QP to bond and go close to your husband.I bet you your QP will know him more and will love him.Your welcome for the info.
Anjali
Stella,
I have some info you might need.If your bird does not go in the cage get a towel and try to get it by throwing it on the bird and capture it.Dont worry it will not hurt your QP.It worked when I used to have my QP so it will work with your QP.
Nikki,
I think your QP is tring to have fun with your son but I dont know why your QP will steal your son’s food but you can research on it.
Anjali
You should catch him in a towel and wrap him in it. Not to tight on his chest but make sure it is around his head well so he can’t turn and bite you! Then hold and speak to him gently petting his head. You can watch tv!!! Don’t hold him longer than 15 min. cause he will get quit warm…In a matter of days you will open the towel into your hand and voila….Your quaker truste, respects and loves you! You can repeat this anytime in his life! Trainer and behaviourist.
How do you get an older quacker to stop biting? Nothing is working! Its mostly protecting her cage and her food but it’s breaking skin. If I handle her she bites me more. I don’t know how to deal with this.
I’ve had my quaker since he was 3 weeks old until now, about 6 months old. I’ve gotten him off of his formula and he’s eating hard food but he’s leaving his pellets alone. He only eats the seeds I feed my parakeet, and sunflower seeds, anything else he either pushes out of his bowl or flies away when I present something by hand.
Whenever he’s sitting on my shoulder or chest, he will always try to bite my lip or neck and sort of grind the skin between the tips of his beak making a very painful pinch, and sometimes draws blood. So far I’ve been gently tapping him on his back whenever he starts to do it.
What could be causing this behavior, and am I taking the right measure to stop him?
I got a quaker yesterday and it seemed fine at first no biting
but then last night he started to get agressive and would bite my finger when i ask him to step up.
is he getting used to the new environment? im not sure. any advice?? i need help!!
Ralph,
Well, warn your mom about how dangerous it can be for a bird that doesn’t have it’s wings clipped. A friend of mine lost her favorite bird she ever owned, Kasey, because he flew out the door, slammed into the neighbor’s house, dropped to the ground, where he was immediently attacked by a cat and died. Wing clipping does not affect the bird when it comes to how it feels. My parakeets weren’t depressed when I clipped their wings.
he will we have had ours for 4 months and she talks and is picking up words everyday!
DO NOT FEED YOUR QUAKER CHEERIO’S OR FRUITY PEBBLES. It’s a know fact that Quakers get fattyliverdisease. QP’s CANNOT digest sugar or salt. This may contribute2 their biting. Feed Mini pellets, which can onlyB purchased fr internet. Fresh fruit&vegies with no salt or butter. No sun or safflower seeds as these are high in fat. Reward with WET bread as they cannot digest dry bread. Also clip wings, sleep in quiet area of home for 12 hours. they need undistrubed rest. Poor diet, no rest/sleep may contribute to bitting behavior. More later
Hi,
I have a quaker parrot that is around 5 years old that i adopted from a bird rescue.He seems to love me being around his cage and he has learned to say alot and likes to be talked to and spend time on the playset with my other birds (cockatiels,parakeets and nansun conure).He is cage agressive and bites and doesn’t enjoy toys and doesn’t actually play with the other birds..just sits their. The conure and the quaker bonded over a few days of playing and talking in a sprite box and now they are inseperable,grooming each other etc.. I am sooo happy to see my quaker acting like a bird and playing with all the toys now..but I am concerned because he is acting territorial over my conure when I try to have him step up. My conure doesn’t want my attention when the quaker is around and my conure is a sweet parrot that loves people,gives kisses,talks and is great with me,my husband,and 3 kids(ages 2,6,and 11).The conure is a good influence on the quaker but I fear the quaker might be a bad influence on the conure…any advice would be appreciated. My birds are all cages seperately but I am a stay at home mom and the birds are out in the bird room all day.
hi, i have a 4 month old quaker parrot and she is constantly biritng me and i got her 3 weeks ago and she was a sweetheart. and now all she is doing is biting whenever i pick or pet her. how do i stop this while she is young???
Hello,
We have two quakers. The older is just over a year and the other is 6 months. We have had the same issue with both of our birds. We have discovered through other parrot owners that this is very common. When the bird starts to nip at you shake the hand he/she is sitting on. While doing this say a very firm “no!” when the parrot stops nipping praise him.
We have tried this with both of our birds. Polly, the older of the two is very smart. She took to it right away. Coo, on the other hand seems to have a stubborn streak and a busy beak. We are still trying to teach him. Each time he gets a bit better, so hopefully soon he will stop.
Sally
hello my buddy has a 3 year old quaker that is very territorial in and out of his cage. he is very smart knows over 100 words but just doesn’t like to be handled. my buddy has 2 kids and his wife is tired of being bit so my buddy wants me to take him off his hands since i get a long with him fairly well. although i’ve never successfully held him. i want to be able to hold him. what are some beginning steps i can make to earn his trust??
I was in the same situation you are in now. My sister in law took in the bird, but didnt have time to train him.He is also territorial, but he had grown attached to me when I stayed with them, so I took him home. I think the best way to gain trust is to first observe the things the bird doesnt like, and try not to upset him. Dont try to force the bird to do anything because that creates a negative situation for the bird. I played games like peek-a-boo in the doorway and gave my bird lots of treats like fruits and vegetables. When he bit me or tried to bite, i didnt make any noise or say no, I just walked away with my treats. This way he didnt get any positive reinforcement to make him want to bite again. He started to warm up to me after using this technique, and I got him to step up onto my hand from his cage (which is big since thats his domain). Other things I have been trying are: moving the cage around every couple of weeks so he doesnt consider that part of the house to be his, and switching his toys around often. He is aggresive around toys, and I think seeing that he is getting a nicer one if he give up a toy will convince him I can touch them and itll be ok. My bird is still in the process of learning, but I hope this will help. It takes some effort but its definately worth it. I actualy just started to be able to kiss him on the top of the head!
Chuck,
I got my first parrot about three years ago. She was 3 years old then.
I didn’t know anything about parrots, and to be quite honest, I was alittle afraid of her. I let her out of her cage, and had no knowledge on how to handle her to put her back! lol
Well, I ended up sitting in my chair beside her, baby talking her. About 4 hours later, she went back in her cage by herself, and then I closed the door and went to bed.
Today, I can handle her. She talks like crazy, and I am her favorite person in our house.
I guess what I wanted to tell you is that a parrot has their own personality, and its a bonding thing to a bird. Try taking an hour or two just talking with your bird one on one, maybe that will help!
Cheryl
I have 2 quakers, cockatoo, sun conure, 3 cockatiels
Kiwi (quaker) was the worst one of all, he is very aggressive when on or in his cage so i took his cage away and he has his playstand and i cut his wings to where he cant fly so now IT WORKED he gets on my finger without biting and he is learning few words and trying to laugh and always wants to be close to me cuz of jealousy when i have a sun conure that always flies to my shoulder so basically the cage i see is the problem, i also have a female quaker Lilly she was aggressive now she is a sweet bird, i just tamed her to get on my finger and all that she understands what NO means so im sure something happened with her from previuos owners, no wonder i got them free cuz they were prolly from abused homes but they are in a good home with me lol so just take the cage away and put them on the playstand and watch what happens they change so get them away from the cage hope this helps cuz this helped me big time good luck with ur birdies
i just got a quaker parrot a few days ago. he is about 9 weeks old and does not no how to step up yet. I have been working on it with him and he has been getting better. but when i hold him close to me he chews holes in my shirts.. is this something that they do? how do i make him stop or will he grow out of it. it wouldnt be a big deal but sometimes he misses my shirt and gets my neck or arm..
PRAISE YOUE BABY EVERY TIME IT DOES WHAT YOU WANT. IF HE IS DOING SOMETHING THAT ITS NOT SUPPOSE TO DO IMMEDIATLY PUT HIM IN HIS CAGE AND WALK AWAY. HE WILL LEARN THAT THIS IS UNWANTED BEHAVIOR. BE CONSISTANT!!
Okay so, I just got Binky 4 days ago… I got him/her because he was sweet and only nipped a bit… he’s got the step up thing pretty down pat if hes already on my finger, but he wont do it in the cage… that doesn’t really bother me, but when he gets on top of his cage he turns into an A$$hole… biting hard etc, but not to my one friend who is apparently a “bird person”… anyways.. my mom was trying to touch him and he was doing the same nippyness .. so she covered his head and gently pushed down and said no… it actually seemed to work because i guess he didnt like it so he stopped. I dont know if this is considered bad but it was working… should I continue with this? When he is away from his cage he’s sweet… he loves kisses and being rubbed all over his head and under his beak. I’ve read some of the posts here so hes not one of the worst cases, im just worried its going to get worse(hes 3 months old right now) What can I do? Do i need to move the cage away, & why does he like my friend all the sudden, she just shows up and boom, he likes her and no biting.. can they tell she has a bird or is she just dr doolittle … as you all know quakers are not cheap.. at least from the pet store.. i dont want to pay that kinda money for him to hate me. I need help!
For my birthday, My sister bought me a Female Quaker Parrot we named Rayne. She was the greates bird at first, but then she started to attack my sister and mother. I am now the only one that handles her. My sister stopped raynes biting habit by Buying a glove, and when she would bite, my sister wouldnt react, thus making it unfun, or not entertaining to Rayne,But she still hates my mother. I was told she was competing to be almost second in command. or like a wife…
I got a quaker like a month ago. Her name is Tula she is four months. The first day at home was horrible. She was so mad and wild! Now she eats from my hand I lets me pet her. If I dont’t feed her the snacks from my hand she won’t eat them. She also walks allover my arm. All this happens inside the cage. I feel she is not ready yet to step out of the cage. Next week I will take her to cut one the wings so that I can bring out and let’s see what happens. It’s not that bad, maybe because she is only a baby.
zaida