Weaning my quaker?

[ArchersAndy]

I have had Archer for 5 days and he is 9 1/2 weeks old. The breeder I got him from had him down to one nighttime feeding and a seed diet the rest of the time. I would like to get him on a pellet, seed and fresh vegetable diet. Does anyone have any suggestions? Also I know its only been 5 days and every bird is different but our green cheek conure was instantly friendly, how long until Archer becomes comfortable with me? Also what are your thoughts on wing clipping? I want Archer to fly but its hard to spend time with him when hes always flying off lol...Sorry if that was too many questions for one post.

 

[JerseyWendy]

As for getting your Quaker to eat a good, healthy diet, this thread may be what you are looking for:
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/23367-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

And a link to safe and healthy + unsafe foods:
http://www.parrotforums.com/general...afe-fresh-foods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html

Archer may need a bit longer than your GCC to get used to his new home, but I'm confident in time he'll be your new best snuggle buddy.

As for wing clipping, it's a highly controversial topic around here. IMO it's a VERY personal decision, so if I were you I'd do what feels right for you. From my own experience I can tell you that I've had my birds both clipped and unclipped, and they were fine both ways. They are all currently flighted, and I will see how that goes.

 

[mrgoogls]

to get him from seeds to pellets, just switch over slowly. have like 90%seeds and 10% pellets(just make sure he eats some of the pellets and not JUST the seeds) then just slowly turn into like 90%pellets to 10% seeds, speed depends on how he takes to pellets. that's what I did with cooper. and I just keep veggies in his cage on the skewer everyday and he eats them as he pleases(which is a lot sometimes)

I agree with wendy with the wing clipping. it is very very personal and depends how you feel. cooper is clipped. I would LOOOOOOVE to have him flighted, but in my house it is safer to keep him clipped with 2 cats and 2 dogs, and my house isn't 100% bird proof(he is safe currently because he is clipped and cant get to any unsafe places.) when I move out and have no threats to him I plan to let the flight feathers grow.

 

[MikeyTN]

You can start giving him pellets now or you can wait until he is fully weaned before trying to convert to pellets. Same with fruits and veggies! When I wean Cracker the Quaker, I weaned him onto seeds to begin with. He would only eat the fruits and veggies that I'm eating, so as long as he sees me eating it, he eats it too....

I kept him clipped cause he was an escape artist as I don't want him escaping while people go in and out of the house. He have the tendency of flying everywhere, but like it's been mentioned already, it is a personal choice. If you are going to clip, please do so after he masters his flight skills before doing so.

 

[mrgoogls]

You can start giving him pellets now or you can wait until he is fully weaned before trying to convert to pellets. Same with fruits and veggies! When I wean Cracker the Quaker, I weaned him onto seeds to begin with. He would only eat the fruits and veggies that I'm eating, so as long as he sees me eating it, he eats it too....

I kept him clipped cause he was an escape artist as I don't want him escaping while people go in and out of the house. He have the tendency of flying everywhere, but like it's been mentioned already, it is a personal choice. If you are going to clip, please do so after he masters his flight skills before doing so.

I agree. forgot to mention let him fly a few times before you clip