New Quaker Pair

[jetajockey]

Hi everyone. We recently got a breeding pair of quakers, and are keeping them in a dedicated bird room. They were kept outside in a small cage with a breeding box attached to it. We still have them in the cage, but leave the door open in case they want to explore. Anyhow, they are extremely defensive, they panic anytime we try to make any attempt at interacting with them, and when we enter the room they just dive into their box or hide in the upper corner of their cage and do their little growling noises.

We expected them to behave this way since they are a mating pair, but is there anything we can do to get them to be more social in the long term? Will they ever open up on their own?

Thanks!

 

[thebirdnerd]

Quakers get very territorial when in breeding mode. It is going to be very difficult. If you don't plan on breeding them I would consider separating them.

 

[Pedro]

OMG these are a breeding pair & your wanting to turn them into companions. You can not separate breeding birds they will IMO fret for each other.

Seriously i would let them be. You really should have thought twice about buying a breeding pair if your not wanting to breed. It would be nice if you were able to put them in an aviary & enjoy them that way. And maybe if they do breed for you, one of their chicks could be your companion.

 

[jetajockey]

lol it's not really an OMG thing, really. We'll do what's best for the birds, no doubt. Was just asking if anyone had any experience with this and what our options are, or if their behavior would ever change.

Wasn't sure if the breeding thing is a phase that comes and goes, or if they are that way forever, or what.

They are opening up a little bit in the past few days, they are finally moving around the cage a little and making some noises apart from the growling/upset ones.

I'm okay with breeding them, I have the facility and time to do what needs to be done. We'll definitely act in their best interest as much as possible.

Breeding them is not a bad thing, we were looking forward to possibly raising some babies. One of the other concerns was that the home we got them from, they were being kept outside, their cage was infested with termites, and the place was literally some ragged tents, a popup camper and a shed, so yeah, really didn't feel compelled to leave them in that.

We already had their wings clipped and have plans to get them to the bird vet soon for a checkup.

 

[moochyesh]

OMG these are a breeding pair & your wanting to turn them into companions. You can not separate breeding birds they will IMO fret for each other.

Seriously i would let them be. You really should have thought twice about buying a breeding pair if your not wanting to breed. It would be nice if you were able to put them in an aviary & enjoy them that way. And maybe if they do breed for you, one of their chicks could be your companion.

 

[Pedro]

jetajockey, thanks for clearing that up i had dreadful visions. LOL. Yes i do own 3 Quakers although i am not breeding them these days. After reading your post i can now breath easy.

They do have a season & that will depend where your located. Quakers breed in the spring/summer here. Even though mine don't have a nest box the 2 girls are very aggressive all the time, the male was a companion & he is housed with the girls although they don't like him at all they do not fight. He is still rather friendly. & can talk up a storm.

Poor birds must have had a awful life. So glad you found them. A Vet visit is a very good idea.

 

[jetajockey]

jetajockey, thanks for clearing that up i had dreadful visions. LOL. Yes i do own 3 Quakers although i am not breeding them these days. After reading your post i can now breath easy.

They do have a season & that will depend where your located. Quakers breed in the spring/summer here. Even though mine don't have a nest box the 2 girls are very aggressive all the time, the male was a companion & he is housed with the girls although they don't like him at all they do not fight. He is still rather friendly. & can talk up a storm.

Poor birds must have had a awful life. So glad you found them. A Vet visit is a very good idea.

Thanks for the info. We have a trio of conures that happily take up every ounce of time we have in the bird room (they all scream their heads off when someone walks in, when they recognize that it's me, the jenday does a construction worker-esque cat call whistle at me over and over, I think because its the first thing I did when I first met them), so as owners we aren't exactly starved for attention, just hoping the quakers will warm up just a little.

I dislike the cage they are in, but it's their home so I really don't want to mess with that since it's their comfort zone. The top of the cage is covered with a solid pan, which is a bit frustrating because it doesn't allow much light in there for them. I'm going to see if there is a wire substitute that can be slid into its place, here's for hoping.



I know with the fish that I breed, when they are in breeding mode, they are very defensive and aggressive, but when they aren't spawning or rearing fry, they are pretty much normal, so I was hoping that the birds would act similarly.


So I guess my question is, do they act differently when breeding season is over, or do they act the same year round regardless?

 

[jetajockey]

Just an update. I left their cage door open for the last few days, as well as the viewing port on their breeding box. The sun conure cage is always open as well, since they like to climb out and on top of it from time to time. I noticed that the quakers have been making more social noises when I enter the room, rather than the usual hiding/growling.

Today my girlfriend found the pair of quakers on top of and in the cage with the conures. So it seems like they are becoming social, at least with the other birds, so I'm hoping that the conures outward behavior towards us will continue to rub off on them.