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Post by nikkig on Jun 15, 2022 8:51:28 GMT -5
Hi bird friends! In the past I owned a Jenday conure (who passed away prematurely at 20). I decided it was time for a new bird and did about 6 months of extensive research deciding which was the best fit for my family. I wanted something that was a little more quiet than my conure, but who could be a family bird, as well as not take off my daughters' fingers if aggressive (like the size of a macaw). I finally decided on a quaker instead of the Indian ring-neck I had originally thought I wanted. I put a down payment on "Maui", a blue quaker, and got to meet him/her this weekend. It's only about a month old so I won't get to take it home until August. My daughters are so excited and already making bird toys. There's no doubt in my mind that it will be loved and well socialized. I guess my question/concern is the bad reputation of cage aggression quakers have- my research and videos on this topic have me so worried that I'm questioning my choice. I was wondering what owners could tell me about their experience with this: How bad is it? Can it be trained out? I've even read about quakers dive bombing and attacking family members/pets! Also, I'm wondering if there is a correlation between breeder quaker cage aggression vs pet-store bought quaker aggression? I was so lucky with my conure! She was so affectionate, went to everyone, and I could do anything to her. I'm just hoping I made the right decision because we are so excited! Any information/advice you could provide would be most appreciated. Thanks.
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Post by Caseysmom on Jun 15, 2022 14:38:51 GMT -5
Hi and welcome, what an exciting time getting ready for Maui! Our Quaker Casey is 16 years old. Casey for the most part has been amazing about letting us reach in his cage. He is very easy going. He did have a week a couple of summers ago when he was very hormonal and not too friendly. I credit his friendly behaviour to advice we were given on this forum years ago when he was a baby. In the beginning we rotated his toys and perches weekly in his cage to keep him from getting used to the same thing and not start him being cage aggressive. It worked for us and I can reach my hand into his cage with no problem. He knows the word step up and will say it back to you before he does it. Lots of handling and interaction with everyone should help. I will say for the first six months or so he let everyone hold him and gradually he picked his two favourite people and did try to nip others so I guess get everyone interacting every day. But I would say switching up the cage regularly worked for us. Looking forward to hearing more about Maui or answering any other questions
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Post by cnyguy on Jun 15, 2022 19:40:06 GMT -5
The QPs' reputation for cage aggession may be exaggerated. It doesn't apply to all Quakers anyway. My QP Ralph has never been cage aggressive in the 11+ years he's been with me. He is possessive about his food dish, but otherwise doesn't care what I touch or move around inside his cage. I can't say if there's any difference in behavior between QPs who came from a breeder and ones bought in a pet store. I doubt that there would be a big difference. For the record, Ralph is a pet store parrot.
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Post by nikkig on Jun 19, 2022 15:04:14 GMT -5
Thank you for the information. I have heard that moving things around their cage frequently can help, so I will start that right away!
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Post by heatherg on Oct 1, 2022 18:03:43 GMT -5
Quakers can be very very tolerant of kids and this be a good pet for homes with kids. I’ve had three Quakers and only my current bird is cage aggressive. He steps up from his middle perch onto a towel (over my hand) or comes out on his door to step up on my hand. He seems to be getting better about the cage aggression with me (if that’s not wishful thinking). He’s my first Quaker to be funny about his cage.
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