HeatherG
Well-known member
- Apr 25, 2020
- 3,893
- 6,966
My Quaker Willow has a perching basket that I used a lot when he’s out of his cage with me. The handle is wrapped in twine and the basket is lined with papers. He stands on the handle while I carry the basket or it is set on my lap or a table. There are little toys hung from the handle and a ball in the basket.
Lately I notice Willow has been climbing down from the handle into the actual basket. He will forage and peck up dropped avicake. But he has also started to pick up dried poops and crumble them in his beak. So I’ve started to change the paper every use because I don’t want him grooming or kissing me with a poopy beak. Yuck!
My guess is that Willow is treating his basket like a nest. We know Quaker parakeets are the only parrots to use their nest all year, while some other parrots return to the same nest in subsequent seasons. Maybe this is an explanation for why Quakers are so possessive of their cages, too.
What do you think? I’m glad Willow feels safe with his basket but I don’t like the idea of him mouthing his dried poops even if he might do that to clean his nest if he were a wild bird. Maybe he should try beak wash? Just kidding.
Lately I notice Willow has been climbing down from the handle into the actual basket. He will forage and peck up dropped avicake. But he has also started to pick up dried poops and crumble them in his beak. So I’ve started to change the paper every use because I don’t want him grooming or kissing me with a poopy beak. Yuck!
My guess is that Willow is treating his basket like a nest. We know Quaker parakeets are the only parrots to use their nest all year, while some other parrots return to the same nest in subsequent seasons. Maybe this is an explanation for why Quakers are so possessive of their cages, too.
What do you think? I’m glad Willow feels safe with his basket but I don’t like the idea of him mouthing his dried poops even if he might do that to clean his nest if he were a wild bird. Maybe he should try beak wash? Just kidding.