Changed Behavior

I rescued a Quaker 2 years ago and it took him 2 years to warm up to me. He would gladly come out of his cage and fly around. eat from my hand, fly to my shoulder from the cage for dinner. Making great progress. Last few months he has become evil. Does not bite but will push me away, always mad at his toys and shakes them violently, does not want to come out of open cage, will eat some veggies but mostly wants Sensible Seed. When I cover him at night he comes down to his food bowl and starts to eat and will let me scratch his head a liittle. I suppose some hormonal- what do I do? Thanks

alleng8304 said:

I rescued a Quaker 2 years ago and it took him 2 years to warm up to me. He would gladly come out of his cage and fly around. eat from my hand, fly to my shoulder from the cage for dinner. Making great progress. Last few months he has become evil. Does not bite but will push me away, always mad at his toys and shakes them violently, does not want to come out of open cage, will eat some veggies but mostly wants Sensible Seed. When I cover him at night he comes down to his food bowl and starts to eat and will let me scratch his head a liittle. I suppose some hormonal- what do I do? Thanks

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Quakers mature sexually around 2..This means you are dealing with an adult or teen as opposed to a docile little baby and you will have to re-build some trust. Birds often push away or change preferences during this time (much like a teen).

You want to make sure you are not a sexual object to your bird.DO NOT lead your bird on..it will only make things worse, even if it SEEMS to make your bird happy temporarily.


1. NO SNUGGLE HUTS/TENTS/ access to shady or dark spaces in or around the cage (including boxes, drawers, low shelves, under clothes, under pillows, under furniture, etc etc). REMOVE these if you have them..it may temporarily shake things up, but it is for the best..not only because they create hormonal (and therefore, behavioral) problems, but also because they are extremely dangerous for other health reasons (the huts/tents in particular).

2. 10-12 hours sleep nightly on a schedule (w/ light during the day and dark only at night)..SO important for immune health, hormones and behavior

3. PET ON HEAD AND NECK ONLY-- anything else is like foreplay and no matter how much the bird likes it, you don't want to take that route because if you can't "do the deed" with your bird, eventually you will be on the "poop" end of the stick...if you get my drift...

4. Make sure he has plenty of activity and non-sexual interaction with you (like training etc--but in a way that doesn't make him too mad or stressed out)

5. Avoid warm, mushy foods.

6. Consider your reactions and how they might be reinforcing bad behaviors inadvertently (even though it is likely hormonal, once you remove all triggers, if it is still happening, you must address the behavioral components)--look up ABA..

7. Even though you FEEL like you had a close bond, things change a lot, so go back to building trust and it will work out if you eliminate sexual triggers and take care of the bird's sleep/dietary/health needs while re-building trust. Remember to be patient and remember that any attention can be perceived as good, even if you are mad when you give it...so catch him being good and pair yourself with as many positives as possible (and it must be positive to him---just like one kid may LOVE Power Rangers, another kid might like Barbie , another kid might like cupcakes, another kid might like getting out of chores and another kid might like praise......same goes for birds--- your "positive" isn't theirs unless it motivates them.
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

^see above

Thanks -all helpful
Other behaviors: When I walk up to the cage he starts talking all his words. But will show me is back all the time. When I walk away he screems.



Also have a parakeet who I leave out in the morning to fly around for exercise. Loves to actual shower, eats other things out of hand, will fly to you when called. no problems- going on 3


I cover both at night- but uncover Parakeet first until his ritual is done. The uncover Quaker. Otherwise- Parakeet will go over to the Quaker, if given the chance and the Quaker will attack the Parakeet.


Thinking of putting cages is separate rooms


Thanks for detailed help