Lucky the Quaker

Burd

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May 1, 2019
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Quaker
I’m new here, if you have read my posts, I posted I rescued a Blind Quaker, well almost all blind.
Heres a few strange things he does, he has a platform up high where he spends most of his time. It’s padded, I cover it with paper towel so I dont have to wash the fabric all the time. he gently lifts his one foot with his beak so his one nail catches the paper towel. And does it over and over. Lol
And if you put your hand in the cage, he rubs it with his beak, that’s nice but then hammers you with the beak 3-4 times, then back to the rubbing. A female can’t like that rite? :green2:
 

Jen5200

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Lucky sounds like he’s very tactile - I’m trying to picture getting hammered with the little beak :).
 

noodles123

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Jul 11, 2018
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
I’m new here, if you have read my posts, I posted I rescued a Blind Quaker, well almost all blind.
Heres a few strange things he does, he has a platform up high where he spends most of his time. It’s padded, I cover it with paper towel so I dont have to wash the fabric all the time. he gently lifts his one foot with his beak so his one nail catches the paper towel. And does it over and over. Lol
And if you put your hand in the cage, he rubs it with his beak, that’s nice but then hammers you with the beak 3-4 times, then back to the rubbing. A female can’t like that rite? :green2:

I have read that sometimes beak rubbing and tapping can be indicative of a bird claiming something as its territory (e.g., you), but since yours is blind(ish) it's hard to say if that still applies :) Plus, I am not sure that it is always a "claiming" behavior in all birds. I just know that it can be.
 

cnyguy

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Apr 23, 2010
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Syracuse, NY
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Quaker parrot, Ralph
Since Lucky can't see things, he's likely to explore with his beak and feet to find out what things are. It may also be that he simply enjoys tapping on things, as my QP Ralph does.
 
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Burd

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I’m still trying to figure all this out. Lol cockatiels are more straight forward, like they didn’t like the feet, tummy touched. He loves it. I think the old owners grabbed him when they wanted him to come out, when I touch his wings, he first want to defend them, then realizes it’s me. He lets me rub them now. The guy of the old owners had bites on his arm and neck, not sure what happened, lucky doesn’t bite. I’m not sure what he did to him. He doesn’t even bite the vets.
He’s a girls bird, he loves my daughter, you can see how blind he is, she’s at the other end of the large wrap around sofa, he’s very cautious walking over to her, just going across from cushion to another cushion is scary for him. He also gets stuck when he goes on top of his cage. I have to help him down, when he takes a bath, I have a shallow terra-cotta tray, he will back up to my hand in the water to feel secure. He likes to feel you close. I’m still learning lol.
I’ll post a pic of an eye. It’s very milky in the center, his left eye still has some sight in it. The old owner vaped and smoked by him, he said his eyes may be that way from the vapeing, what a moron.
 
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EllenD

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Aug 20, 2016
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Senegal Parrot named "Kane"; Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure named "Bowie"; Blue Quaker Parrot named "Lita Ford"; Cockatiel named "Duff"; 8 American/English Budgie Hybrids; Ringneck Dove named "Dylan"
As already mentioned, a totally blind bird, or "almost" blind bird, is going to use his beak, feet, etc. to feel their way around, so that's normal...And as Noodles already mentioned, usually when they rub you or "hammer" you with their beak, especially when they are inside of their "territory", their cage, that means that they'd rather not have your hands in there...My Quaker does this as well, I get one or two "warning beaks", and if I don't remove my hands at that point then I get a bite...So I just open up the cage door and step back, she comes out right away, then steps-up on my finger. I respect her territory, and she respects me...

****You DO NOT want to pet/touch your bird on his belly, legs, chest, back, wings, under the wings, tail, or anywhere near his Vent!!! This goes for ALL birds, with their heads, face, neck, and under their chin being the only places you should touch them at all, because pretty-much everywhere else will sexually-stimulate them, and that's why he likes it so much, lol...But the problem with doing that to a male bird is that eventually he is going to become extremely frustrated and that usually leads to eventual aggressive behavior, biting, etc. So that may be what happened with Lucky and his prior-owner, especially if they wrapped their hands around his body on a regular basis, eventually that will cause sexual-frustration which will lead to biting, and that's in-addition to them just not liking being grabbed in the first place like that...And trust me, Quakers can bite...HARD...Harder than you'd think. So I'd avoid the touching on the belly/feet/legs...

Also,, Quakers are extremely anxious and nervous birds at times, and many of them actually display their anxiety by "marching" back and forth over and over again (more like pacing I guess), as well as often biting and chewing on their feet, just like we chew on our nails...So if you see Lucky pacing back and forth or chewing on his toenails/feet, that means that he is nervous/anxious about something that is going on...Lita will chew on her toenails every single time she does something she knows she shouldn't be doing around me and I look at her, lol...Immediately her foot goes right in her mouth!

***I would highly advise that you practice the Contact-Calls with Lucky, because Quakers are professionals at this, and as I found out this past weekend (unfortunately), Contact-Calling with Lita is the only reason I have her with me right now, as she flew out the open door Friday at 5:30 and I didn't get her back until Saturday around 4:00 p.m....The only reason I was able to find her outside right after she flew outside was by Contact-Calling with her, and then on Saturday morning she was chased-off by Crows and I lost her completely for 3 hours...I couldn't find her, walking miles and miles all around my entire neighborhood, bordering farms, in the woods, etc., just constantly calling to her, and I was sure she was either killed by the Crows or they had chased her miles and miles away...Until finally after 3 hours of walking and calling to her I finally heard her respond to my calls to her, and I got her back...So with a blind Quaker the contact-calling will be extremely helpful with Lucky just being able to get around and to find you wherever you're at...
 
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Burd

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When I rub his belly he fluffs up and closes his eyes. I’d say he likes it. Same as his feet.
He doesn’t fly at all last time he flew was like a year ago. Im Just so glad he’s not a picker.
When I scratch him in his cage he’s friendly, he does do the same on the sofa arm. Rubbing my hand.
 

noodles123

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Jul 11, 2018
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
I am sure he likes it when you rub his belly because, to him, I am sure it is nice...But....you don't want to touch that area because it will stimulate hormones. Most birds love getting touched in all of their "off-limits" places. Just throwing it out there...

A hormonal bird isn't always super obvious...It is subtle and often very cute. Its the behavior that can come later that is often very confusing and mistaken for random acts of aggression, plucking etc. My cockatoo would absolutely love it if I touched her all over, but the potential for behavioral fallout and health risks in pent-up/hormonal birds is not worth it (in my opinion).
 
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EllenD

New member
Aug 20, 2016
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State College, PA
Parrots
Senegal Parrot named "Kane"; Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure named "Bowie"; Blue Quaker Parrot named "Lita Ford"; Cockatiel named "Duff"; 8 American/English Budgie Hybrids; Ringneck Dove named "Dylan"
Yeah, seriously, we're not telling you this to upset you or because we really care where people touch and pet their birds, lol, but because ALL BIRDS absolutely LOVE to have their bellies rubbed, and they usually also all LOVE to be scratched underneath their wings, on their backs, etc...But the problem is that they like it too much, and you're inadvertantly going to cause Lucky to become extremely hormonal...I don't know how old Lucky is or whether or not you have had a DNA-test done to confirm Lucky's gender for sure (you can't tell a male Quaker from a female Quaker visually, only by a DNA-test by blood or freshly-picked feathers), but constantly stimulating his sex-hormones, whether he likes it or not, is going to lead to severe aggression, biting/attacking, constant regurgitation, and then masturbation or wanting to masturbate on you, etc. And what happens is because you get him sexually-stimulated by petting/scratching him on his belly, chest, legs, back, wings, tail, etc., he eventually is going to become extremely sexually-frustrated because he is going to find out very quickly that he can't mate with you and finish what YOU started...That's why they eventurally become very aggressive, violent, and extremely frustrated...And this also can lead to Feather-Destructive Behaviors like barbering, plucking, and self-mutilation (with sexual-frustration and boredom being two of the main causes of Plucking).

***And if Lucky hasn't been DNA-tested and is actually a female Quaker, which is very possible if you've not had a DNA-test done, then every time you pet/scratch Lucky in a place that is sexually-stimulating, you are potentially causing Follicles to form, then Infertile-Eggs to develop, which Lucky would have to lay, with the average size of a clutch of Eggs from a Quaker Parrot being between 4-8 Eggs...And with each Egg that develops and has to be laid also comes the risk of Lucky becoming Egg-Bound, which is 100% fatal without immediate medical-intervention! So that's yet another reason, and a very important reason why you don't want to continue to touch/pet Lucky anywhere except the head, neck, face, and under the chin...That's it. And right now is also a natural Breeding-Season, with the second Breeding-Season being from late August/early September through late October/early November...So again, you're playing with fire if you keep touching/petty Lucky on the belly or any other sexually-stimulating places.

I know it's tough not to want to pet them/scratch them in the areas that they like to be petted/scratched, we all deal with this as parrot-owners, trust me. If you think a Quaker Parrot is tough, try owning any species of Conure, the "Velcro Birds", who regularly just roll-over onto their backs and wait for you to start giving them scritches on their bellies/chests. It's tough because yes, they do like it. Of course they like it, wouldn't you? I would, lol...But it's not just that "Lucky just likes having his belly rubbed", it's not that simple...The fact that Lucky likes to have his belly rubbed by you, so you rub his belly, and to this point everything is totally harmless from both of you. Lucky doesn't initially want his belly rubbed because he's horny, he wants it rubbed because it feels good. That's it....BUT, unfortunately, whenever you rub the belly of ANY sexually-mature bird/parrot, even though it starts-out as totally harmless, IT WILL SEXUALLY-STIMULATE THEM, regardless of whether they are male or female, regardless of their age as long as they have gone through puberty (Quakers go through puberty at around a year-old, give or take a month or two), and regardless of what kind of relationship or bond you have with them. It's simply a natural, biological-response, just like we as people have happen, it's no different. And unfortunately when it comes to pet birds/parrots, them being sexually-stimulated causes nothing but problems, everything from behavioral-issues like sudden and violent aggression out of literally nowhere, to psychological-issues like extreme sexual-frustration because YOU can't "fishish the job" and mate with Lucky, and then most-tragically the phyical/medical/health issues, such as Egg-Binding and death in females.

So that's the way you need to start thinking about Lucky in-regards to the way you touch him, handle/hold him, the things that you provide him inside of his cage, the things you allow him to have access to when he's outside of his cage, etc. Because we don't want you to suddenly one day be petting Lucky and then have him vilently attack you out of nowhere, or have him one day seemingly start "hating" you, or at least acting like he does, and have your bond/relationship with him ruined...And we certainly try to prevent all females from becoming Infertile-Egg layers, because Egg-Binding is a horrible, painful way for them to die, and when a bird becomes Egg-Bound there is little you can do except get them to an Avian Vet immediately upon seeing the bird "straining" and then hoping that they can either give them hormone-injections to cause them to lay the Egg, or get them into emergency-surgery to remove the Egg before it breaks inside of the bird, killing them...

And just as an FYI, if you haven't had a DNA-test done on Lucky (or you didn't get a DNA-certificate with Lucky), then it's a really good idea to do so. It only costs $20-$30, and that way you'll be prepared if any Infertile-Egg laying does start to happen...
 

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