Species Information

MikeyTN

New member
Feb 1, 2011
13,296
17
Antioch, TN
Parrots
"Willie"&"Lola"B&G Macaw,
"Dixie"LSC2, and "Nico" Scarlet Macaw.
Yea, that post above is pretty old....most of us have updated information, I do anyways, since I used to own a Quaker whom I raised as a chick and handfed him myself....They're wonderful birds to have around!!!
 

GaleriaGila

Well-known member
Parrot of the Month 🏆
May 14, 2016
15,045
8,742
Cleveland area
Parrots
The Rickeybird, 38-year-old Patagonian Conure
Oh, by the way, I was chatting with the good folks at My Safe Bird Store (they're in Jersey) and the lady asked what kind of bird I had. I told her not, expecting her to know the species, but she did, and then told me that Patagonians and Quakers are illegal in that state. She presumed that was because wild populations of Patagonians was feared. Patagonians are of course from cold arid Patagonia, and authorities figure they could actually handle Jersey weather. Quakers are subtropical, but they have apparently established a feral population in Jersey already.
 

Owlet

Well-known member
Oct 27, 2016
2,750
1,886
Colorado
Parrots
Lincoln (Eclectus), Apollo (Cockatiel), Aster (GCC)
This thread was started 12 years ago so I'm not entirely surprised the links dont work x'D
 

Laurasea

Well-known member
Aug 2, 2018
12,593
10,702
USA
Parrots
Full house
Here is a link that should work. https://www.beautyofbirds.com/quakerinfo.html the bottom it talks about them as pets. They can have a tendency to be loud and vocal often . Not so loud your neighbors will hear, but loud enough conversation and tv can be hard to hear. That is true if my Neptune at least, he spends hours talking, squawking, chirping, or doing the " roll" or " riff" terms for going through their complete list of sounds they can make. They are also very social, so if you leave them in a cage all day they are very prone to feather picking and self mutilation, especially mutilation of their feet, they are so prone to this it is even called Quaker Mutilation Syndrome. I believe that is because they are so smart and social, but relatively cheap to buy, and smaller in size, so people get them without knowing what they are getting into.
They are smart , social, and vocal birds on average. They are prone to sever territorial behavior of their cages. Thought I would update our Quaker sticky , as I am a quaker lover for life!!! These birds are often rehomed because of their feather picking, because of cage agresion and because they can be very vocal for a large part of the day, loudly talking, chirping squawking while they eat, while they fly, while they are playing with their toys. While I'm sure this is not true for all Quakers it certainly true for mine. Both the baby I got abd the rescue I got are pretty much as Velcro as the GCCs , but get bored easier and want you to be doing stuff with them. Anyway I know we have a lot of Quaker owners in here that can add their impressions of the breed. And you can follow the link.
 
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Laurasea

Well-known member
Aug 2, 2018
12,593
10,702
USA
Parrots
Full house
Ok, I really want to to stress some stuff, since these smart social parrots end up getting rehomed so much, or end up in a garage or outside. Because they are prone to plucking and screaming.

Quaker parrots evolved to live in huge communal colonies. The only species of parrot to build a community nest larger than n automobile, with seperate 3 chamber apartments for each pair .

Why is that info important? Because it shapes the whole quaker outlook.

They make noise because they are highly communications oriented, their brains developed that way. Because constant communications in their very large natural flock structure, living on top of each other surrounded on all sides by neighbors , communications are pretty important. Its not the decimal level but the duration of vocalization that can drive you batty. Breeding season in adults ~2 yr Olds can become extra vocal and extremely protective of their cage or home base.

Another important thing is their highly social nature. As they evolved for large complex flocks, that breed and raise young in large apart community nest with hundreds. Unlike green cheek conures who average flock size is 10 members, and us usually an extended family group. So quakers are highly socially driven. Personally im starting to think they shouldn't be the sole parrot in a household.
They are going to want a lot of attention ( always exceptions) more attention than my 2 GCC required. More preening by you of their feathers, and general hands on time.

They are also an active species. Like to be busy, lots if chewing, and manipulation of objects. As one would expect from a builder.

And plenty of smarts to go along with being so communicative , so social, and an engineer.

A quaker is not a species you can leave all day alone in a cage and go off go work. For all the above characteristics. You might get away with that while they are babies up until sexual maturity. But they are prone to self destruct and behavior problems like cockatoos if their needs aren't met. Screaming, plucking, and self mutilation .

They are so prone to its called Quaker Mutilation Syndrome.
http://petcaretips.net/self-mutilat...ate themselves mainly on,any area of the body.

Do they make great pets, I think so. But only if your lifestyle, and idea of a parrot integrated into your life match. I love their social, vocal, busy nature.

Below from bird watching site
" CALLS
Monk Parakeets are very noisy animals with a vocabulary that consists of at least eleven types of calls. Their most characteristic sound is a chatter of short notes that they give while perched or at their nest. Birds in flight make a loud squawking, with many calling at once. Monk Parakeets kept in captivity can learn to mimic human speech."
 
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