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Post by button2 on Nov 7, 2014 19:05:40 GMT -5
Hello, I currently own 5 birds , 2 cockatiels and 3 quakers.
this past Jan 2014, I went to a local rescue looking to adopt another cockatiel as I love cockatiels. My husband was with me, and this rescue had just saved a WHOLE lot of birds from a hording situation. so while there , there was this cute family of quakers. my husband says, look we have to get them all. I said maybe just the baby, no ,husband said we cant split them up, and on top of that the rescue says they would be so grateful if we took them all . ect
yes im weak.
so there is a mom dad , extremly bonded, and a baby who has to be going on a year now.
ive bit off more than I can chew. ive made none zip zilch progress with the parents. I would like to rehome them to a santuary if I can and if anyone knows of one in the northeast USA. I hate doing this, but I feel awful, this is not where they should be. they are still so afraid of me, they wont play with toys, having them out of the cage is not easy by any means.
The baby Ive made some slight progress with him, he will take treats from my hand that is it. he will fly to my desk and sit with me, but he is SO darn loud. I feel some days he hates me. although he is a character and can be very cute .
If I am to keep him i need help with training, could he still not trust me?
I am developing anxiety issues over these 3. im sure its not good for my health. I do need to come up with some solutions.
these birds came from a hording situation and I believe they had no contact or socialization ever.
Thank you for any help given |
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Post by easttex on Nov 8, 2014 4:31:38 GMT -5
Hi. I don't have direct experience with bonded Quakers, but I would surmise that unless they were handled before bonding to each other, it would be a tough task to tame them, especially as long as they remain together. I'm not suggesting you split them up, by the way. If you don't want to keep them, a sanctuary probably is the best bet, rather than selling them to someone who might decide to use them as breeders. There are a number of places springing up as so-called sanctuaries, but if I were looking for one, I'd start by contacting The Gabriel Foundation. thegabrielfoundation.org They're in Denver, but they are prominent in the field and are known nation-wide in the US. They work with other sanctuaries and might be able to direct you to someone in your region. Regarding the baby, it is possible he still does not have full trust. It takes quite a bit of effort to build a good bond with one of these characters. If all of your past experience is with cockatiels, you need to educate yourself on Quakers. A book specific to the breed is a good place to start. They are quite a bit more complicated than the smaller parrots, and, yes, they can be loud. Check out the "QP Main Site" on the menu above. There is a lot of good general information there and on this forum. If you'll browse around you'll find others dealing with the same situations. And of course you can always bring your questions to the forum. I hope everything works out for all of you.  |
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Post by button2 on Nov 8, 2014 6:06:46 GMT -5
thank you. My biggest fear is that they would end up in what they came from.
if we keep them they need something bigger than a cage since they dont want to come out . a avairy maybe? I could probably build a corner one in our bird room. my fear about that is the noise. that is on the side of our house that has neighbors. is there a way to sound proof rooms? how does everyone deal with the noise? I live in Massachusetts a outdoor one is out of the question as much as I would love that.
im not making any quick desicions.
after I posted this last night I just went and sat with them and I felt awful for even thinking of it. I just want them to have more.
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Post by easttex on Nov 8, 2014 7:21:53 GMT -5
I can well imagine that three all at once could be a little overwhelming at times. An aviary would be a lovely thing to provide the pair. If you do keep them, you'll want to watch out for nesting activity. I doubt that you would want to wind up with four or five more. They are naturally noisy, but unless there is an issue, such as learned behavior or health or comfort, they do it primarily to maintain contact with their flock. Some of it is eliminated when you keep them in the hub of your activity during the day. If they start screaming for no apparent reason, you may have to grin and bear it for a while. It often gets better, eventually, just by ignoring it. They don't keep it up at night, at least. I found with mine that partially covering the cage, still allowing him to see what's going on, will help sometimes. It's tempting to cover it completely, but I wouldn't do that except at night and in dire emergency. Just about everyone on a parrot forum has had to deal with a noise issue, and I'm sure there will be other suggestions for you. |
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Post by button2 on Nov 8, 2014 9:44:53 GMT -5
thank you for your help. I do have some more questions if you dont mind me picking your brain some more . The baby is louder and noisyer than the parents. Our vet guessed them to be a older couple , she obviously cant pinpoint real age but for all we know they could be 10 yrs old. we recently seperated the baby from the parents a few months ago. ive let them out together but now one of the parents is aggressive with the baby so I have not let them out together in some time. when we first seperated them, the baby would squak (not really scream but not a quiet tweet either) all day, we left their cages next to each other. he still does this occasionally, could it be he still misses his parents? they show no interest in him at all anymore. Ive also noticed he is more noisy at certain times of the day. I try really hard to not react. wearing headphones helps with that about covering them , sometimes I do have to cover them, can I ask why you dont fully cover yours? usually if I have to cover them I cover the cages but leave it open so they can see into each others cages. should I not do this? I never really covered my birds, I dont cover my cockatiels as one of them has really bad frights. about the noise LOL the majority of the day is fine, its when one bird starts, then the other 2 , then the cockatiels join in , I wonder if my neighbors are wondering what the heck is over here ..... when do quakers normally go through breeding season? I know to keep my cockatiels from breeding I have to watch for certain things and not give them nesting materials. is it the same for quakers? yes I definatly dont want more .... |
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Post by easttex on Nov 8, 2014 12:44:55 GMT -5
Ten would not be very old for a Quaker. They can live for 30 years or more. I would definitely keep the baby away from the parents, as you are doing. My thought is that if you want him to bond to you, it might be best if he can't see them, at least for a while, but I'm guessing on that, and I hope someone with relevant experience can be of more help to you. Covering completely during the day is not a terrible thing, but it doesn't really address the problem. It buys a little temporary relief, but doesn't change the behavior. Parrots are really responsive to training, if you can find something that really motivates them. Too many get rehomed for behavior problems that could have been nipped in the bud. But, I will say that covering is a better response than yelling back, or swatting the cage, or worse. And sometimes a little temporary relief is what you need.
Breeding season for a parrot can be hard to pinpoint. They're tropical to begin with, and they're kept in controlled conditions indoors. Give them lots of daylight hours and plentiful food, especially soft stuff, and they might decide any time is the right time. Best to make sure they get at least 12 hours of dark and quiet every night. |
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