Hi- I just brought home my 3m old Quaker yesterday afternoon. He is not moving around exploring his cage, nor is he making noise. Is this normal for a new bird in a new home? I am assuming he is just scared.
Yes- that is normal. Birds move in slow motion. Do not rush contact--- just do things like reading near the cage. It can take months for them to trust you enough to step up and if you rush things, you will have to start back at square 1.
Here is my advice (a mini-novel) for all new bird-owners. If you are not a new bird owner, my apologies. There is just so much information that you don't encounter when researching what type of bird to get...
Due to deadly and odorless off-gassing, any sort of heated mechanism (anything that heats or is heated) and contains PTFE/PFOA/PFCs/Teflon should be out of the question in your home (doesn't matter where)--This includes things like pots, pans, cupcake trays, cookie sheets, cake pans etc, but it will also things like include hair-dryers, straighteners, curling irons, curlers, rice-cookers, SLOW COOKERS, popcorn poppers, air fryers, microwave meals (including certain types of microwave popcorn), steamers, irons, ironing board covers, electric skillets, griddles, George Foreman Grills, drip trays, toasters, toaster ovens, poaching pans, electric blankets, humidifiers, heat lamps, SPACE HEATERS, etc etc...To find out what contains PTFE/PFOA/PFCs/Teflon, you have to call and be a bull about it over the phone (and in some cases, you won't get far). Almost always, it will take a few days for them to get back to you and you must provide the full chemical names, abbreviations and brand-names. Shopping when you have a bird is super annoying..You cannot visually ID these chemical coatings, as they can be colored, transparent, or mixed into metal/fabric during the manufacturing process. Teflon and chemically similar productshave killed birds on separate floors with the doors shut. Similarly, while DuPont claims that off-gassing only occurs at higher heats, there have been myriad parrot deaths (even within academic circles) at temperatures well within the 300 degree F range! Think about all of the products you own currently and know that many of them are likely unsafe (toasters, irons, griddles, pans etc etc etc).
Also realize that neither you, nor anyone in your household will be able to break ignore this rule or shop without researching ptfe/pfoa/teflon/pfcs now that you have a bird.
Your bird should wake up about 12 hours after it goes to bed. They need 10-14 hours of dark, uninterrupted sleep. Sleep=essential to hormonal and immune function. This means that someone must be there to cover and uncover the bird at the same time each night and that your home must be conducive to sleep...or you must have a sleep cage in a quiet room. They need a decent routine (light/dark schedule) which means covering and uncovering around the same time each night.
Make sure (and your family) aren't using any unsafe products around the bird. This is pretty much everything with a scent (and some things without).
No perfume, carpet cleaner, flea shampoo, aerosols, solvents, air fresheners, paints, smoke of any kind, vaping, sunscreen, bugspray, candles of any kind (organic or non), insecticides, certain soaps/shampoos, fire-places, burning or heated oil/fat, self-cleaning ovens, gas and any standard household cleaners (e.g., bleach, windex, lysol, fabreeze, scrubbing bubbles, kaboom, pine-sol etc), nail polish, glue...You will seriously have to re-think your entire home and your cleaning routine will change a ton.
The list goes on. Birds have VERY sensitive respiratory systems. Essential oils are also fairly unsafe due to their ability to be absorbed into the blood-stream and due to a bird's sensitive air sacs.
Vinegar +water or grapefuit seed extract + water are pretty much the only safe cleaners. There are some veterinary grade avian safe products like F10 SC.
Birds hide illness like crazy, so there is nothing intuitive about their diseases. You have to be ready to study your birds poop and behavior daily, because even the slightest change can be a huge indicator. Blood work must be done yearly and should be done soon after you get a new bird. They can spread deadly diseases to other birds without showing symptoms---it's a giant pain. Make sure that you have a certified avian vet (CAV) near you. Exotics vets who see birds are not the same thing. If you don't have a CAV near you, your life will be much more anxiety-ridden than if you do (and the difference between a CAV and an exotics vet can mean the difference between life and death for your bird in certain instances). Also, be prepared to spend a lot of money on vet bills (set aside some emergency money).
Behavior stuff:
DO NOT assume that all members of the family will be able to safely handle the bird. It doesn't matter how much time you spend with a bird--some birds just prefer certain people....AND others may become the source of violent jealously (not always, but it can and does happen). If the "favorite" person is out for the evening, the person picking up the slack may get bitten etc, and that can wear on a person over time. Again--- not all birds are like this, but many are and even with proper socialization, there can still be issues in this area. There is really no way of knowing what you will end up with because they change so much over time (depending on environment, triggers, socialization, hormones and individual bird personality).
Pet your bird only on the head and do not allow any shadowy spaces in the cage (boxes, canopies/ bedding, crumbled paper, tents, blankets, low furniture, in clothing etc)..Cuddles are the devil...and so are tents/huts/hammocks etc. These things are hormonal triggers and they can cause health and behavior problems. If covering the cage, cover only at bed-time and cover it fully--some people do a weird partial cover to block sun etc and that is a very bad idea.
Also- do not assume that a bird's personality as a baby or even when adopted will stay that way forever. Babies are much quieter and much nicer than adults and all birds change when they hit sexual maturity. The age at which sexual maturity occurs varies by species, but it can take a few months to 7 years (depending on the species). Birds are often rehomed at puberty because their allegiances can change and they can appear to transform over night. Preventing hormonal triggers early on is huge in avoiding some of this, but it can't be avoided completely.
Read bird body language to prevent being bitten---do not rush contact or force contact with a bird who isn't ready. If you are bitten, DO NOT react to bites and do not scold. This is VERY difficult for most adults (let alone children). A bite hurts--- even from a small bird, and it is easy to say that you won't react, but this can be quite difficult for people who haven't been bitten numerous times before. It can really become a source of fear for people because the more frightened and reactive they are, the more the bird picks up on that...which changes bird behavior.
If your bird screams, DO NOT react to screaming and do not scold. Again, everyone who interacts with the bird must not react. Birds move in slow-motion and can "out-stubborn" the most willful of humans. You cannot give in to the temptation to attend to the behavior.
When they scream for attention you MUST ignore them until they are quiet, this can lead to hours of screaming at inopportune times early on. For example, nap-times, business calls, when guests are over for dinner etc..You just have to wait it out because, while attending to the bird will stop the screaming, it will increase the behavior pattern in the long run and teach them that if they scream, they get your attention (good or bad---doesn't matter to them).
Here is my advice (a mini-novel) for all new bird-owners. If you are not a new bird owner, my apologies. There is just so much information that you don't encounter when researching what type of bird to get...
Due to deadly and odorless off-gassing, any sort of heated mechanism (anything that heats or is heated) and contains PTFE/PFOA/PFCs/Teflon should be out of the question in your home (doesn't matter where)--This includes things like pots, pans, cupcake trays, cookie sheets, cake pans etc, but it will also things like include hair-dryers, straighteners, curling irons, curlers, rice-cookers, SLOW COOKERS, popcorn poppers, air fryers, microwave meals (including certain types of microwave popcorn), steamers, irons, ironing board covers, electric skillets, griddles, George Foreman Grills, drip trays, toasters, toaster ovens, poaching pans, electric blankets, humidifiers, heat lamps, SPACE HEATERS, etc etc...To find out what contains PTFE/PFOA/PFCs/Teflon, you have to call and be a bull about it over the phone (and in some cases, you won't get far). Almost always, it will take a few days for them to get back to you and you must provide the full chemical names, abbreviations and brand-names. Shopping when you have a bird is super annoying..You cannot visually ID these chemical coatings, as they can be colored, transparent, or mixed into metal/fabric during the manufacturing process. Teflon and chemically similar productshave killed birds on separate floors with the doors shut. Similarly, while DuPont claims that off-gassing only occurs at higher heats, there have been myriad parrot deaths (even within academic circles) at temperatures well within the 300 degree F range! Think about all of the products you own currently and know that many of them are likely unsafe (toasters, irons, griddles, pans etc etc etc).
Also realize that neither you, nor anyone in your household will be able to break ignore this rule or shop without researching ptfe/pfoa/teflon/pfcs now that you have a bird.
Your bird should wake up about 12 hours after it goes to bed. They need 10-14 hours of dark, uninterrupted sleep. Sleep=essential to hormonal and immune function. This means that someone must be there to cover and uncover the bird at the same time each night and that your home must be conducive to sleep...or you must have a sleep cage in a quiet room. They need a decent routine (light/dark schedule) which means covering and uncovering around the same time each night.
Make sure (and your family) aren't using any unsafe products around the bird. This is pretty much everything with a scent (and some things without).
No perfume, carpet cleaner, flea shampoo, aerosols, solvents, air fresheners, paints, smoke of any kind, vaping, sunscreen, bugspray, candles of any kind (organic or non), insecticides, certain soaps/shampoos, fire-places, burning or heated oil/fat, self-cleaning ovens, gas and any standard household cleaners (e.g., bleach, windex, lysol, fabreeze, scrubbing bubbles, kaboom, pine-sol etc), nail polish, glue...You will seriously have to re-think your entire home and your cleaning routine will change a ton.
The list goes on. Birds have VERY sensitive respiratory systems. Essential oils are also fairly unsafe due to their ability to be absorbed into the blood-stream and due to a bird's sensitive air sacs.
Vinegar +water or grapefuit seed extract + water are pretty much the only safe cleaners. There are some veterinary grade avian safe products like F10 SC.
Birds hide illness like crazy, so there is nothing intuitive about their diseases. You have to be ready to study your birds poop and behavior daily, because even the slightest change can be a huge indicator. Blood work must be done yearly and should be done soon after you get a new bird. They can spread deadly diseases to other birds without showing symptoms---it's a giant pain. Make sure that you have a certified avian vet (CAV) near you. Exotics vets who see birds are not the same thing. If you don't have a CAV near you, your life will be much more anxiety-ridden than if you do (and the difference between a CAV and an exotics vet can mean the difference between life and death for your bird in certain instances). Also, be prepared to spend a lot of money on vet bills (set aside some emergency money).
Behavior stuff:
DO NOT assume that all members of the family will be able to safely handle the bird. It doesn't matter how much time you spend with a bird--some birds just prefer certain people....AND others may become the source of violent jealously (not always, but it can and does happen). If the "favorite" person is out for the evening, the person picking up the slack may get bitten etc, and that can wear on a person over time. Again--- not all birds are like this, but many are and even with proper socialization, there can still be issues in this area. There is really no way of knowing what you will end up with because they change so much over time (depending on environment, triggers, socialization, hormones and individual bird personality).
Pet your bird only on the head and do not allow any shadowy spaces in the cage (boxes, canopies/ bedding, crumbled paper, tents, blankets, low furniture, in clothing etc)..Cuddles are the devil...and so are tents/huts/hammocks etc. These things are hormonal triggers and they can cause health and behavior problems. If covering the cage, cover only at bed-time and cover it fully--some people do a weird partial cover to block sun etc and that is a very bad idea.
Also- do not assume that a bird's personality as a baby or even when adopted will stay that way forever. Babies are much quieter and much nicer than adults and all birds change when they hit sexual maturity. The age at which sexual maturity occurs varies by species, but it can take a few months to 7 years (depending on the species). Birds are often rehomed at puberty because their allegiances can change and they can appear to transform over night. Preventing hormonal triggers early on is huge in avoiding some of this, but it can't be avoided completely.
Read bird body language to prevent being bitten---do not rush contact or force contact with a bird who isn't ready. If you are bitten, DO NOT react to bites and do not scold. This is VERY difficult for most adults (let alone children). A bite hurts--- even from a small bird, and it is easy to say that you won't react, but this can be quite difficult for people who haven't been bitten numerous times before. It can really become a source of fear for people because the more frightened and reactive they are, the more the bird picks up on that...which changes bird behavior.
If your bird screams, DO NOT react to screaming and do not scold. Again, everyone who interacts with the bird must not react. Birds move in slow-motion and can "out-stubborn" the most willful of humans. You cannot give in to the temptation to attend to the behavior.
When they scream for attention you MUST ignore them until they are quiet, this can lead to hours of screaming at inopportune times early on. For example, nap-times, business calls, when guests are over for dinner etc..You just have to wait it out because, while attending to the bird will stop the screaming, it will increase the behavior pattern in the long run and teach them that if they scream, they get your attention (good or bad---doesn't matter to them).
When I brought Consuela, my QP, home at 3mos. I put her cage next to my desk. I brought home some of the Little Golden Books and read them to her like reading to a child, making a big deal about the illustrations.
I also hand-fed her one seed at a time followed by a pellet, repeating this until she was full. Ten days later (+/-) and >BAZINGA!< she was converted. She is a year old and I had better hand feed her the pellets for breakfast!
Bird toys? You are the best bird toy your bird has. Get a clicker and glue a chop stick to the bottom and start touch-training. Keep a small handful of Birdy's favorite reward in your pocket and have fun. Consuela's favorite? Safflower seeds
Plenty of good information on YouTube and Google.
