Interested in purchasing a Quaker parrot

Thanks for responding!! Do you have any issues with yours escaping out of the cage? I have two dogs and that makes me worry! Also, do you cover the cage at night? I'm thinking that might be a sign for bedtime and the bird won't be loud at night? Do you have the wings clipped?

Welcome! Before you make your final decision about getting a QP, do lots of research. Take some time to read through posts here on the Forum, and visit the companion site Quakerparrots.com There's lots of information in both places that will be helpful to you. Reading a good book about QPs can help too; one I recommend is Mattie Sue Athan's Guide to the Quaker Parrot.

Every parrot is an individual and will have different characteristics. I happen to have a Quaker who is rather quiet and is not cage territorial, but he is protective of his food dish. QPs in general are noted for being escape artists. Ralph is good at undoing nuts and bolts and has actually removed the access doors on his cage by his food and water dishes by loosening the bolts that hold them in place. Parrots have individual preferences about cage covers too, so you may have to experiment to find out what your Quaker likes once you have the parrot. The back and a little of each side of Ralph's cage are covered at all times. At night, the sides get covered almost completely, and just the top third of the cage front is covered. He wouldn't have it any other way. My African Grey parrot Scooter won't tolerate any kind of cage cover. Both parrots can't stand total darkness so there are two night lights in nearby rooms to cast a little light toward them without being too bright so as to keep them awake at night.

Feel free to ask questions-- there are lots of friendly people here on the Forum who can offer advice and suggestions.

Idk about the heater but in terms of cages, the bigger the better because of how prone they are to feather plucking. I heard some good things about Scarlett's bird cages. Didn't look into it yet but I plan on it!

(The cutest is when they dance with you!)

Welcome aboard!

Cnyguy has given you good advice, and is certainly correct in that they are all individuals! For example, our QP Cupcake is not an escape artist at all, although when I take her cage outside, I use extra clips on all of the doors, just in case. She is also not territorial or protective at all, unless we try to MOVE something in her cage-- that will lead to a bite, in many cases. Otherwise, she is really not a biter, except in very rare circumstances. At night, she goes into a separate sleep cage that is covered (mostly-- some space is left to allow airflow) and placed in a dark room with the door closed for 10-12 hours a day. Getting that uninterrupted darkness is important and recommended if at all possible.

I would be careful about putting the cage too close to a heater, as these little guys do overheat quite easily (for example, when you bathe them, you want cool water, not warm/hot water), and constant exposure to dry heat could also be detrimental to feathers.

One thing you definitely should know (and you may already know this since you've had cockatiels) before you get a QP, or any parrot for that matter, is that they change substantially when they hit sexual maturity (1-2 yrs), and it's important to know how to properly respond to and handle the new behaviors that you will encounter and not inadvertently encourage bad behaviors. This can be challenging, but it's generally not bad when you are ready for it... Learning as much as possible about hormonal behavior is a very good thing for people that are new to parrots.

There's lots of good information on this forum-- I would read and absorb as much as you can. No need to be nervous, but let that motivate you to continue educating yourself. Simply the fact that you are taking the time to learn before making a decision leads me to believe you will be a good bird owner.

And of course, feel free to ask any questions you might have. We are more than happy to help!

You're welcome! Most Quakers, I would say, go through a phase of having one person they favor the most, potentially to the point of defending them against the others in the home. They can be worked with to resolve these issues, and can ultimately love all members of the househould. Our QP, Cupcake, is extremely affectionate with a number of people. She has a different relationship with each person. That said, she went through nearly a year of defensive behavior toward my wife when she first hit maturity. With effort and time, it changed, slowly. Now they are very close.  Your bird will go through phases, and your approach will have to change with them...  At can feel like it's taking forever, but you get there eventually.

All of that said, it really helps if your whole family is on board. It can be much more challenging to resolve behavior if you cannot ensure consistency in how people in the home interact with the bird.