Quaker Parakeet sticking tongue out

ONBirdLady · Feb 5, 2015

Hi, my 9 month old quaker parakeet has been sticking his tongue out to one side of his beak. Its hard to explain, but he sticks it out and kind of licks his beak, and then proceeds to rub his beak on whatever he is standing on (perch, blanket, me). He is eating normally, vocalizing, poop seems normal, and just took a bath. i have noticed him doing it for a few days, but not to the extent like this. Does this sound like a serious issue? i plan on calling my vet tomorrow morning when they open, i just thought i would get some opinions.

I don't know if this has any relevance, but he is also biting his nails a lot. they are not long or overgrown. Please help!

OOwl · Feb 6, 2015

I don't have a quaker but an elderly family member does. His bird LOVES me and I play with him almost on a daily basis. We play a lot of silly games, just between us. One of those is that I whistle at him. When I do that, he sticks his tongue out the side of his beak and rolls it around. If I lean my forehead toward him, he'll then taste my forehead with his tongue. I thought it was just his own, weird, unique quirk, or part of the game he made up.

This bird is a DNA male, about a year old, pallid green. He's healthy (vet checked and disease tested), so whatever the tongue rolling thing is, I don't this it's a serious issue. I've never been around quakers so I'm assuming (especially after reading your post) this is just something they do. Not sure what it could mean. I'll be following this string to see if someone else with more quaker experience knows.

Scott · Feb 6, 2015

My male Eclectus frequently "played" with his tongue. He would stick his out on cue from me with about 90% immediacy!

But if you have concerns, seek veterinary advice. Hopefully it's no problem!

RavensGryf · Feb 6, 2015

It's a normal parrot behavior, though I'm not exactly sure what. When I've looked up information, I've read from some sources that it is an expression of play, and it says especially Macaws commonly do this (Tab's Macaw Fargo is well known for this) although all parrot species do it. I've also read somewhere it can be excitement as in a sexual or mating gesture? Idk. My parrots do it too.

This topic was posted a while ago, and the person ended up taking the bird to the vet, and they said it was behavioral. That is if you are describing what we 'think' you are describing.

Birdman666 · Feb 6, 2015

And another bird falls victim to Miley Cirus' Grammy performance...

You can't unsee it... and sooner or later it takes over your brain, and you just can't stop wagging your tongue!

Isn't that right, Fargo?!

SoCalWendy · Feb 6, 2015

Yeah, Rio has started to do the same thing. She just sits there sticking it out and playing with her tongue. It's really cute, and I stick out mine. She doesn't seem as amused when I do it though.

thekarens · Feb 6, 2015

I think I'd be more surprised I'd Zoe actually had her tongue inside her beak. It's out most of the time, usually in my ear with me pushing her head away telling her she's a weirdo

Allee · Feb 6, 2015

Both my quakers do the weird tongue roll. When my female sticks her tongue out the side of her beak, I think she means it as a rude gesture, when my male quaker does it, I think he's just playing. Both of them are healthy and neither of them do it very often.

Since this is a new behavior for your bird and he's doing it repeatedly, it may not be a bad idea to have him examined by an Av Vet. I'm guessing he just discovered a new trick.

tab_xo · Feb 10, 2015

You know if someone said to me in the past- Tab, one day, your future parrot will be known for his tongue...
I would have never believed them

hahaha

I wouldn't be worried, it is just a quirky behaviour, they also catch on quickly that- Oh, this is getting me attention

Is it like this?

Quaker Parakeet sticking tongue out

ONBirdLady

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OOwl

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Scott

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RavensGryf

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Birdman666

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SoCalWendy

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thekarens

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Allee

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tab_xo

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Wet mouth?

Can birds aspirate from bathing themselves?

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