I need a parrot mentor!

[smyers32]

I just picked up 2 quakers from someone desperate to get rid of them. They are supposedly a breeding pair, supposedly about 1.5 years old and supposedly hatched some babies this past spring.... I don't know much at all about parrots, but that doesn't sound right to me. Can they have babies that young?
I also really need some advice on how to get them hand tame. The male is very protective of the female, and neither one has been handled much, if at all from what I can tell. They were happy to take treats from my hand thru the bars, so I don't think they are fearful, just not very socialized maybe? Obviously they need to settle into their new environment and get used to me first, but then how should I proceed from there? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
One thing I need to work on is getting them a bigger cage, the one they came in is on the small side for one bird, but way too small for them both. Should I separate them at some point or will that make them crazy? They do seem to be bonded to each other.

 

[ladybirdb12]

My love is parrots
Your first question is no they are the perfect age to breed. The question you need to ask yourselve is can you handfeed the babys? Can you find the babys the long term owners or a forever home?
Quaker parrots I do not know about, I have never had one.
Can you ask the past owner if they are friendly?
for information you can go to Bird channel.com
they have a lot of infor on parrots.

As for keeping them apart I wouldn't they are bonded.
Getting a bigger cage,that would be great, and give them lots of toys, parrots need toys they are very smart and get bored very easy.What you have is I am guessing here but two year old for life.which means that's how smart they are.Grey's are as smart as a 5 year old kid.

It takes time for them to get used to change, doing what your doing is great giving them treats, you can sit near them and talk to them don't rush it.it my be that they never got handled if that's the case talk with an avian behaviorlist (not spelled right) .or except them as is, sometimes you can open the door of the cage and see if they go on top of the cage, to get them back inside put treats in there food dishs,or turn down the lights sometimes that works.
PLEASE BEFORE YOU DO THIS CLIP THE WINGS!!!!
LET A VET SHOW YOU OR SOMEONE THAT KNOWS HOW TO CLIP PARROT WINGS, THAT BEAK CAN TEAR YOU UP AND YOU CAN HURT THEM.
you might have a pair that never been handle with a human, but you can get one that will forever be your best friend.
Talk with a vet near you not just one but many ask about an avain breeders that is good.talk with people that have birds ask if they know of a good breeders, get the infor you need like if I breed my quakers can the breeders show you how to handfeed the baby or can they feed the baby and you keep one of the baby? A good breeders will spend time with the babys NOT JUST FEED IT THEN PUT IN THE BOX INTILL THE NEXT FEEDING.you need to have someone that shows the baby that human is part of the flock, I spend many hours with babys teaching them to play,to be loved, scratched and train them to step up to the NO BITE LOL. Doing this I know that the bird is going to have the best future, the bird will not be in a cage for the rest of their very long life because they bite and hate humans.
I have people ask me to hand feed their babys, I do, no cost, no chargeing them because my payment is seeing a baby turn into the best friend that a human can have. And the baby having a wonderful life with their new flock member which is a human.

MOTTO TO HAVING A PARROT, THEY ARE NOT A PET, THEY ARE YOUR BEST FREIND AND THEY OWN YOU!!!!!!! LOL YOU WILL FIND OUT THAT YOU DONT OWN THEM, THEY GOTCHA YOU
I hope this helps if you need any more infor just ask.

 

[C&Rman]

ladybirdb12 said it perfectly. Parrots are very smart animals and they need time, love, and care. They are great companions! I have two Double Yellow Headed Amazons and my male (Kahuna) is such a sweetheart yet such a smart A. Literally I swear he mocks me and allot of the time he laughs at me. But Jasper who is my female amazon is quite grumpy. She bites me everytime I ask her to step up. In the mornings she is excited to get out of her cage so she is an absoulute angel. I once heard a bird will bite its owners hand till death do its part. I find that very true.

Ladybirdb12 said "you dont own a parrot a parrot owns you." I find that very true, they know how to work their ways they are quite the conartists You shouldn't seperate them if they are a bonded pair. I just wouldn't give them a nest box. Chances are they wont breed if they don't have a nest box. But work on getting them a bigger cage. That will help them feel more comfortable. Christmas is around the corner and I have a very large parrot cage on my list

But I wish you the best with your quakers. Remember it takes allot of time, and patience for both you and your birds. Don't push their boundaries but dont let them push yours either. Just let them know you are good. Make sure they know you are the one feeding them and watering them. Leave them treats in their cage so they know you are good. You want to make sure everytime your with your birds it is a positive action. Let them know you are only good. Don't give them a reason to think of you as a negitive action.

I have had my amazons for almost 4-5 months. Kahuna has pretty much completly warmed up to me as Jasper is still cautious of me and is not completly trust with me as she was with her previous owner for 10 years. But they are show birds so they are trained to be nice to everyone.

Good luck!

 

[smyers32]

Thank you both very much!! Good info. They seem to be doing well. They love coming out to sit on top of the cage, they just stay there for hours. Getting them back in is a bit of a challenge still, they don't want to be messed with and I'm trying not to push their boundaries, but I hate for them to stay in the cage all day, it's just too small for them and they obviously love being out, so I think it's worth the brief trauma that ensues when trying to get them back in. They fly down and eventually they do step up on my hand and ride politely back to the cage. I think they have been handled some, but not recently and probably not very much. It's hard to not be able to handle them more and I'm afraid that since they're a bonded pair that they will never be very cuddly or eager for human attention since they have eachother. Oh well, they're still cute.

Another question: If I were to give them a nest box and they hatched babies, would I have to hand feed the babies or couldn't the mom just feed them?

 

[C&Rman]

If they did hatch some eggs you would most likely have to hand feed them. If you let the mother do it they would be skittish and you would have a hard time trying to find the babies a new home. Hand feeding baby parrots should not be taken lightly. They are very sensative to tempature and you could easily kill them by giving them too hot of food or too cold. Youtube WONT help you at all in this case. You will have to be shown in person how to hand feed parrots. I myslef would not even try giving them a nest box they are in a new home with new people as if thats not stressing them out enough you give them a nest box and they might become very stressed.

I would just take it day by day and just let them get used to their new home.

 

[smyers32]

Oh yeah! I have NO desire to raise babies, probably ever but certainly not for many years to come. I was just curious about the 'what if', I have a very wandering mind and always ask questions about things I have no desire to experience first hand....just to know the answer, ya know?

 

[ladybirdb12]

Wow, you are doing great!!!!!! LOL yup they are going to own you!!!
Here some hints that might work to get them back into the cage
1see if they like peanut butter grab a butter knife with peanut butter on it see if they like it mind you not a lot just a little bit, if they do like it then show them that you rubbed some on their food dish inside the cage see if they will go inside for that treat.that's how I get my grey inside his cage without him getting mad at me.Millit is also a great way to get them inside the cage show them that you got millet and you are putting it inside the dish or cage lol that works good to.

2 if the above don't work, then you can turn out the light they cant see very good, use a towel to cover the bird up then pick it up and put in cage, but move slow as you do this it can really stress them sometimes.

As for them stepping up on your hand with out getting bit they have been handled I would say a lot.
you are the new flock, they need time to know you,to understand you.here's some hints that can be helpful.
When you are eating, breakfast, make them some scramble eggs no butter but cook the egg shell with it, give them a plate outside their cage maybe on top, so they can eat with you.same goes with lunch, dinner.you see you are telling them, yes am a flock member and we eat at the same time.(MIND YOU KEEP FOOD AT ALL TIMES IN THEIR DISH.)
My birds love rice oh, they go crazy its a party.
Another crazy party time is popcorn!!!!!!!! No butter or salt but they love it.
100% whole wheat bread, they can eat almost any thing except a few things.
believe or not they love meat, giving them chicken give them the bone they love the bone marrows.(I think I spelled it right), lol just keep it away from your dog if you have one.
As for the question on breeding,
Study, study and study read not just one site on the net but many, if you can get a book that only talks about Quakers.
I am very pointed in saying pull the babys, 12 days to 3 weeks old the latest.now I am talking about cockateils, or lovebirds, but I think its the same for a Quaker.
breeding and raising the babys are a whole new world.
All I can say is get with a breeder and let them show you how to, its harder then it looks.
Also, find out if you will have forever homes.
You are going to have a great time watching your buddy's and learning from them.