Hi from a new soon to be owner

With a rescue you can see the final character of the bird. I had never thought about rescues/rehomes before I got Kobe the Pionus. Now I have three rescue and rehome Amazons. The Amazons are much easier than Kobe who I had from a baby. Getting a baby doesn't promise a smooth journey.
 
I love the Quaker but they do not normally get on with other species and can even attack and been known to kill other species of birds. they can become cage and even area protective. if you want a Quaker then its best to only keep them with other Quakers.
 
Quakers are bigger than the tiny Green Cheek Conures. Quakers are 90 - 120gms whilst GCC are around 70 - 90gms. My US friend adores her Quakers - they are perfect for her. If she had her parrot life over, she would stick with Quakers only. She has a large flock of different parrots. She finds her Quakers loving, outgoing, sometimes fiesty, I believe they speak English (she has said in the past Quakers can be good talkers). Unfortunately her male picked a fight with one of her Amazons and had his top beak ripped off recently. She now has her Quakers in a room separate from the rest of her bigger flock. Some tend to build their HUGE nests (out of sticks or similar) which can be a problem.

Remember that every parrot is an individual, not only with inborn traits, but shaped by life experiences right from hatching. It is easier than you think to inadvertently reinforce unwanted behaviour.... and likewise it is easy to reinforce behaviours you want to see more of.
 
Hi Scott, the trouble with allowing a parrot to build a nest is that they can become territorial/protective about the nest site, which is natural. I say 'can become' because it is not a problem with some birds, yet with others, it can make life very difficult when they try to drive you away with aggressive behaviour. It can also keep hormones running high, because they are in constant nesting mode, which is hard on the body. As I said, with some parrots there is no problem with having a nest site - you can monitor the behaviour.

Because Quakers build such huge nests, if it happens to be inside the cage, it is going to make cage cleaning impossible... which could become a health hazzard. I don't think my friend's Quakers have ever built nests - I will indeed ask her opinion.

Here is a video of Sparky building is home which @DizzyBlue posted a while back here:

 
My friend gave me a short reply - she might expand later but here it is:

With just 2 Quakers, I’m FAR from an expert. I’ve been so busy since they arrived as I was retiring, so I’ve done less research than I did on my earlier bebes. But my guess is that it’s the female who’s more likely to get aggressive. Sage seems to love weaving his chains w/o any more aggression happening. Tunia gets feisty. Bit me just an hr ago in fact. Newspapers get her overly excited. I would give both more weaving material if I thought they’d use it, but neither seems as interested as some Quakers.

Plus I found a brief description of her male Quaker, Sage. It's a paragraph out of his story:

I’ve lived with about 200 parrots of about 15 genera since 1994, but this was my first Quaker experience. I don’t tell the flock, but if a Quaker had been my first, I might have gotten no others. He's adorable -- interactive, funny, and pure pleasure even when chewing holes in my collars. He's such a lover boy that I would love to grow old with him asking “How are you?”, telling me he loves me, and insisting he’s my “perfect sweetheart.”. His reactions often reveal that he is very aware of what I’m doing and what I want him to do, often without any vocal hints from me. I can easily imagine his saying the same of me … “Sometimes I’m sure she understands just what I want her to do. And she does it!”
 
Be your self, Ask questions on what they expect from you and your home, they are there not only to check on you and your home but to make sure every thing is safe for there birds whilst in there care. they should check what you cook with, the rooms the birds will live or go into, they will look for things like mould or dampness, they should also tell you what things can be dangerous for birds. some things you may not even realise. they may even advise on changes. its no good trying to make your place look better than normal just because they are coming and most of all do not use any form of spray or candle or chemical to try to make your place smell nice.
 
Do not worry, if they are not happy they will advice you on any changes you will need to do. there interest should only be for there birds they are wishing to be looked after. your role is to care for there birds, its not always easy and you will be responsible for a bird that is not yours. Knowing that one day they can move the bird on is also hard especially if you have formed a bond and get close. they should provide a history of the birds character likes and dislikes, sex and age and if any medication or special diet is needed for each bird they decide to home with you. Do not believe in some of the soft stories of come from a bad home, most birds get given to the charities come from loving homes that for one reason or another the circumstances have changed. people who do not care for there birds hardly ever seek rehoming through charities apart from some cases that the RSPCA get involved with. the biggest problem can be with a parrot that loved its old owner and misses them and the bond they had. they may resent you and blame you for not being there last owner,
 
Best to go meet the bird first I would say.
P.s. cannot for the life of me think what a WBC is ??
 
Lo, thanks. I do know that one just forgot it....
As my little slogan states I know a lot of things I just can't remember them !:nut:
 
Well i am sorry they had rejected your offer to care for one of there birds, when i visit a patential carer i like to work with them to make them understand the importance of the safety of the birds. yes i do look at chemicles they use and advice changes to there lifestyle. i may visit more than once to check that they had followed my advice, Vaping in the home would concern me and i will expect them to stop the practice inside there home. I would tell them that they need to stop for over one month before i would concider them looking after a bird. i have visited on more than three occations one with out announcment of my visit. yes they should look around your home and advice any changes and if they have concerns they should visit again to see how you have improved things. My duty is for the birds but also to assist the people that look after them. i will always be here to advice you the best i can
 
What is a first bird, the first bird you will look after. it dose not matter if it is a budgie or a Macaw, you will learn the birds ways and how to care for it and should get support if you require it. we are always here to help as well. learning the body language of different species and getting to know any bird that you look after is a must before committing yourself to adopting one that you will be happy with.
 
That's great news, well we are all here to support you and your new arrival, Having Five grey's and none from a young age I am sure that gaining the birds trust should not take too long
 
Anything in our cleaners that would be an issue ?

List of ingredients
Ingredients Baking soda, biodegradable and non-toxic surfactant blend, potassium hydrate, non-toxic and biodegradable solvent, fragrance oil blend, preservative (less than 0.1%), colour, purified water.

Parrots have extremely sensitive respiratory systems - with each intake of breath they take in much more air for their size than mammals because they have air sacs as well as lungs. Therefore they are much more sensitive to toxins in perfumes etc. So in the list of ingredients above I would immediately be wary of the "fragrance oil blend" as this will be synthetic. Just as something like Fabreeze, plug ins, scented sprays, wall paint, or fragranced candles would be toxic too.
 
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