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Post by cnyguy on Jan 15, 2015 21:13:16 GMT -5
I don't believe Ralph is a quaker. He is far too well mannered and nice to be a quaker. Not always.  He certainly looks and sounds like a Quaker, and he says that he's a "funny Quaker." Maybe he's just determined to avoid the usual stereotypes that are applied to QPs-- a "rugged individualist" parrot.  |
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Post by biteybird on Jan 15, 2015 21:55:57 GMT -5
Maybe he's a genetic mutation...  |
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Post by siobhan on Jan 17, 2015 11:58:54 GMT -5
LOL. Ralph is still behaving like a Quaker if he's insisting on doing things his way, even if his way is to behave better than most Quakers do.
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Post by beekersmom on Feb 11, 2015 23:32:38 GMT -5
I'm sorry to say that you are probably past the "honeymoon" phase and will soon be entering the equivalent of children's "terrible twos". Beeker is soon to be 22, and I've had him since he was about 5 weeks old. Everything was wonderful until just after he was a year old. By 2 yrs, I thought I had made a terrible mistake. As he has gotten older, he has calmed back down... and I've learned more of what irritates him. I've also learned that starting around the end of January until late Spring/early Summer (we are in the midwest USA), he gets much more anxious about everything, and more unpredictable (can you say hormones?). There is also a shorter bout of that in the beginning of Fall (I believe that is the molting for Winter). Anyway, just be careful about letting Bonnie near your face. I have pictures I can share that aren't pretty. Bitten fingers hurt but ears/noses/lips are REALLY bad! I don't want to make him sound like a horror, I love him and he's my baby. And I hope to be able to share some good stories about him too! |
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Post by biteybird on Feb 12, 2015 4:32:33 GMT -5
I think she's already in the terrible 2's phase. I can still stare her out until she drops her gaze with guilt at her behaviour. But I suspect this won't be the case for much longer. I have the upper hand at this point, part of which entails displaying no fear of THE BEAK.
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Post by Jan and Shah on Feb 12, 2015 15:52:00 GMT -5
Hate to tell you this Biteybird, but Shah has never grown out of the terrible 2's. One day he is happy and fine and the next day he can be aggressive and go for the attack - until I go and speak to the cockatiels. Then he is all sweetness and light and saying "step up" so I foolishly get him out of his cage and get beak bashed for my efforts (I am not allowed to speak to the cockatiels).
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Post by aaron on Feb 12, 2015 18:01:11 GMT -5
Cupcake is almost 4, and while she's definitely gone through plenty of hormonal and weird phases, we've managed to handle the transitions fairly well. I'm hoping that we can maintain this trend. I'm thinking we might have gotten lucky with her, as she seems to be unusually agreeable. I think maybe it is also because she has three different solid bonds with people and doesn't really hyperfocus on any of us, so there are virtually no displays of jealousy.
Really hoping we don't just have some really long honeymoon phase going on here. It really doesn't seem like it because she has definitely displayed many classic characteristics of the terrible 2's... she has just responded pretty well to our attempts to mitigate them. *fingers crossed*
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Post by biteybird on Feb 13, 2015 0:46:01 GMT -5
It sounds like Ralph and Cupcake should get together.  They could spawn an entire generation of well-mannered quakers. |
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Post by aaron on Feb 13, 2015 10:52:30 GMT -5
LOL right? They do seem to both be unusually well mannered. I wonder how much of it is a genetic thing that would actually present itself in babies.
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Post by cnyguy on Feb 13, 2015 23:08:14 GMT -5
LOL right? They do seem to both be unusually well mannered. I wonder how much of it is a genetic thing that would actually present itself in babies. There must be a genetic component. I refuse to believe that environmental influences have anything to do with Ralph's generally good disposition and conduct.  |
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Post by aaron on Feb 13, 2015 23:40:14 GMT -5
LOL right? They do seem to both be unusually well mannered. I wonder how much of it is a genetic thing that would actually present itself in babies. There must be a genetic component. I refuse to believe that environmental influences have anything to do with Ralph's generally good disposition and conduct. Yeah, you are probably right. I've generally given Cupcake's environment most of the credit for why she behaves so well, but there's probably more to it than that. I know it has to play some part though, because when we didn't have things figured out as well her behavior was definitely worse... and the better we get at keeping her stimulated as part of our daily routines, the better her behavior gets, but she's always been a pretty good girl. Even when she's been hormonal she has been relatively easy to deal with, and we've had virtually no cage aggression at all at any point. We're lucky guys to have these well behaved quakers! |
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Post by cnyguy on Feb 14, 2015 20:55:19 GMT -5
If Ralph is a gentleman, I doubt that he could have learned that from me...  Though it is true that he lives in a relatively calm environment and is handled gently, so that could be a factor. But I honestly do think that genetics are involved, at least to some degree, in determining a parrot's personality. |
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Post by aaron on Feb 15, 2015 2:02:43 GMT -5
If Ralph is a gentleman, I doubt that he could have learned that from me... Though it is true that he lives in a relatively calm environment and is handled gently, so that could be a factor. But I honestly do think that genetics are involved, at least to some degree, in determining a parrot's personality. Yeah, I think it is safe to say that both genetics and environment are factors, if we are looking at it logically. |
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Post by biteybird on Feb 15, 2015 4:12:23 GMT -5
As if to remind my husband and I of the vast behavioural differences between 'Her Rudeness' (as I call her), Ralph and Cupcake, Bonnie spent this afternoon progressing from one transgression to the next. Her favourite pursuits today were: *removing all the pens from their holder and dropping them one by one on the floor from the top of the wall ledge (narrowly missing my head) *sitting on the kitchen rail (where the pots hang) munching a wedge of apple, then casually TOSSING it on the floor - you, guessed it, she didn't bother picking it up * the Coup de Grace - stealing an entire chicken wing from my husband's plate in the 1 second his back was turned, which she carried across the room and dropped on the floor. All of this was interspersed with screeching, nipping (the 'OW' game), saying 'good girl' and making robot/goblin noises and pooping on my laptop and clean clothes. Some things never change...
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Post by easttex on Feb 15, 2015 5:30:09 GMT -5
It sounds like Bonnie is having a ball! What's the problem? |
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He certainly looks and sounds like a Quaker, and he says that he's a "funny Quaker." Maybe he's just determined to avoid the usual stereotypes that are applied to QPs-- a "rugged individualist" parrot. 
They could spawn an entire generation of well-mannered quakers.
Though it is true that he lives in a relatively calm environment and is handled gently, so that could be a factor. But I honestly do think that genetics are involved, at least to some degree, in determining a parrot's personality. 