Quaker Nesting material

[AcuBird]

What do I provide my Quakers for bedding material? They have used some sticks and feathers but never get far along enough to actually make a nest.

 

[Pixiebeak]

My quakers never build, some do some don't.

You can give them popsicle stick too.

Are you trying to breed them?

 

[WillowQ]

You can give thin dowels, chopsticks, shishkebab skewers, straws, etc. some Quakers never build and some only fool around with weaving and don’t make a nest.

My Lucy would start weaving arches in her cage but never made a full nest. She had a bad leg, though, and sometimes didn’t have a lot of energy. Willow has been given weaving materials but he doesn’t weave.

 

[Matto]

Most breeders give quakers a wooden nestbox like other parrots if you want them to breed. They readily accept a nestbox with wood shavings.

 

[AcuBird]

Most breeders give quakers a wooden nestbox like other parrots if you want them to breed. They readily accept a nestbox with wood shavings.

That’s what I started them off with and they promptly chewed 80% of the front away including a little hole in the corner. So they have used feathers to cover the top of the box ?? and have a small miscellaneous pile of dried chicken bones and small twigs in a corner of nest box. They haul stuff up and down but it never becomes a nest.

 

[Matto]

That’s what I started them off with and they promptly chewed 80% of the front away including a little hole in the corner. So they have used feathers to cover the top of the box ?? and have a small miscellaneous pile of dried chicken bones and small twigs in a corner of nest box. They haul stuff up and down but it never becomes a nest.

A few things:
1. That cage is far too small to breed in.
2. That box is too small and flimsy for quakers.
3. The box should be made of 5/8" or 3/4" plywood, the internal dimensions should be at least 8"x8"x12" (but I have heard that 9.5"x9.5"x16" works better). You can get a metal ring to put around the hole in order to prevent chewing, but you should throw some wood in the box for them to chew to make their own nesting material.

 

[Matto]

The cage should be a minimum of 2.5ft long (bigger is better, 4 ft or more is ideal) and 2ftx2ft in depth and height.

 

[Matto]

Might not be a bad idea to call Bob Nelson. He's probably the top quaker breeder in the country, and he's always willing to give advice to novices. Here's his website: Quaker Parakeets.net - Home