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Post by aaron on Sept 19, 2016 18:45:54 GMT -5
In all the years we've had Cupcake, we've never seen her do the Quaker "quake" that they typically do as babies... until the past week. It's not like she does it a lot, but we've caught her doing it for a second or two, probably five times. This doesn't sound like much, but considering that we've never seen it before, it's quite noteworthy! Only happens when she is trying to get food from us in some way or another.  I don't really see this as an issue, but I thought it was interesting. If anyone is aware of this being indicative of a problem, let me know. I'm not really worried about it though. It's pretty cute though  |
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Post by cnyguy on Sept 19, 2016 19:58:58 GMT -5
It sounds like Cupcake may be showing a little baby Quaker begging behavior, which sometimes happens with mature QPs. Persistent or prolonged quaking can be a sign of illness, but occasional quaking usually isn't considered significant.
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Post by aaron on Sept 19, 2016 21:45:20 GMT -5
Yeah, it's definitely very occasional, and very brief. More cute than anything else I think |
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Post by easttex on Sept 20, 2016 2:56:46 GMT -5
A second child/chickhood for Cupcake?
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Post by biteybird on Sept 20, 2016 5:36:29 GMT -5
Is it bobbing the head up and down accompanied by some wing flapping? If so, Bonnie does this, especially when seeing something she doesn't know (particularly above her eye level). It really is cute! |
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Post by aaron on Sept 20, 2016 9:48:02 GMT -5
Is it bobbing the head up and down accompanied by some wing flapping? If so, Bonnie does this, especially when seeing something she doesn't know (particularly above her eye level). It really is cute! No wing flapping, just the stereotypical quake that you usually see in babies. She only does it for a second. That does sound cute though |
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Post by aaron on Sept 20, 2016 9:51:06 GMT -5
She has also been going through a bit of an anxious/nippy phase... Ever since we brought her back from my parents' house after our last vacation, and then had a couple days where we didn't get her to bed until very late, but still had to get up quite early... Getting like 8 hours of sleep or less... I guess her hormones kicked in, although she wasn't attempting to regurgitate or really looking for nests, so it isn't what I consider to be typical hormones. We have gotten her back on 10-12 hours a night for several weeks now and she has improved substantially, but still regresses to the anxious/nippy phases around 7pm, which was not typical for her before the vacation. But she is molting, so that might be a bit of a stressor.
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Post by beccilouise on Sept 20, 2016 11:05:30 GMT -5
Maya still head bobs, both when she wants to attack something and when she wants to eat it...and also when she sees me clean my teeth or spots the birdie in the mirror. Also if I shake anything (like a bottle), she head bobs too...I have no idea why, she seems to see it as a way of joining in! It's cute when they do it though |
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Post by Jan and Shah on Sept 20, 2016 14:16:37 GMT -5
I agree with Gary - if you can associate the quaking with a trigger, then no problem at all. Constant quaking for no apparent reason is a veterinary issue.
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Post by cnyguy on Sept 20, 2016 20:07:56 GMT -5
regresses to the anxious/nippy phases around 7pm, which was not typical for her before the vacation. But she is molting, so that might be a bit of a stressor. Scooter the CAG is doing the same thing, and she's just begun a molt too. I've had to tread cautiously these last few evenings to avoid getting chomped. Ralph hasn't quaked since I've had him, but he does bob his head often-- to tell me he likes something, agrees with something I've said, or wants something.  |
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Post by aaron on Sept 20, 2016 22:29:40 GMT -5
regresses to the anxious/nippy phases around 7pm, which was not typical for her before the vacation. But she is molting, so that might be a bit of a stressor. Scooter the CAG is doing the same thing, and she's just begun a molt too. I've had to tread cautiously these last few evenings to avoid getting chomped. Ralph hasn't quaked since I've had him, but he does bob his head often-- to tell me he likes something, agrees with something I've said, or wants something. Eek, getting chomped by a CAG is a scary prospect. Luckily, even when Cupcake is nippy, she's not really biting at all. She hasn't truly bitten one of us in quite a long time. But she nips, a lot, seemingly uncontrollably. She seems agitated, and one can't help but feel unsettled if her beak is nearby, even though she's not actually biting, you don't want to get nipped like that... not that it hurts but it doesn't feel like she's in control of herself.. I'd rather just steer clear of that beak. I think part of it is that she really needs a shower, but seems to dislike being showered so much that I've taken to just spraying her. She's used to being fully drenched once a week, and especially while molting, I'm sure she's not liking how she feels without that deep clean... but she made it clear that she didn't want the showers... so I'm honoring her wishes I haven't seen her do the quake since I posted this, so we'll see if it continues. She's such a silly chicken. |
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Post by cnyguy on Sept 21, 2016 19:55:10 GMT -5
Scooter is lightning quick and her bites are nasty, like having a sharp needle driven into the flesh.  Her evening grumpy spells don't last very long, fortunately, and I'm happy to see that she's molting. Her feathers are scruffy and it doesn't look like she's had a big molt in a long time. Ralph can bite hard enough if he puts his mind to it. He seldom bites except playfully. Now and then I'll get chomped for handling his food dish, which apparently I'm not supposed to touch. |
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Post by aaron on Sept 21, 2016 23:44:22 GMT -5
Wow, that doesn't sound fun. I don't think I could manage a large bird... not at this point in my life at least. Ralph sounds mostly like Cupcake, although she isn't really protective of anything, unless we actually try to rearrange the perches in her cage, at which point we might get a warning bite or two that hurt a bit, but this isn't something we do often. We are lucky to have a non-bitey Quaker.
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Post by julianna on Sept 24, 2016 15:36:04 GMT -5
Wow... I just realized that even though we are in way different parts of the world.... most of our Quakers are molting. I always thought it would be just a certain type of season that would set them off.
Strange but true.... lol
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Post by cnyguy on Sept 24, 2016 20:25:21 GMT -5
Ralph has long, drawn-out molts lasting several months. I think that's because the temperature is fairly consistent in our apartment all year. With heat all winter and air conditioning during the summer, it stays around 68 (F) year round, so it matters less what season it is.
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Her evening grumpy spells don't last very long, fortunately, and I'm happy to see that she's molting. Her feathers are scruffy and it doesn't look like she's had a big molt in a long time. Ralph can bite hard enough if he puts his mind to it. He seldom bites except playfully. Now and then I'll get chomped for handling his food dish, which apparently I'm not supposed to touch. 