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Quaker nest building and feeding

Michelle_M

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1/2/21
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Real Name
Michelle Maree
Hello, my name is Michelle. My partner and I recently purchased two Quakers (male and female). We have owned birds before but not for many years and we were children when our respective families owned birds so we did not have a great deal of involvement in the care of them. We have both done a lot of research and now have loads of knowledge about how to care for them etc. However, I have a few general questions that I was unable to definitively answer through Google searches:
  1. Do you have any tips on how to get them to eat their fruits and veggies? I have given them different things over the past week (i.e. since we brought them home). They will not touch the fruit/veg if it is in a bowl in its own, and they will not take it out of my hand. I have been chopping things up finely and putting them on top of their pellets with a few pellets sprinkled on top (as suggested in an article I found on google). If you have any additional tips (or could affirm whether this method has worked for you) that would be much appreciated.
  2. I am aware that Quakers love to build their own intricate nests, and I have seen loads of pictures and posts on here about materials they like to use. However, for those of you who have Quakers building their own nests, could you please drop a comment and let me know what age your Quakers started building? My two are about 12 weeks old.
  3. Any other tips you have about caring for our Quakers and giving them an enriched life would be much appreciated. There are loads of tips on google, but I would love to hear from people who have actually owned Quakers!
Please make a note which number question you are responding to for ease of reference.

Thanking you in advance!
 

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Mizzely

Lil Monsters Bird Toys
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Some links for you:




My quakers have never done any nest building. One was age unknown, one is currently 9.

It can take a long time to convert them to different foods. 6 months to get my baby quaker to eat pellets as an example.

Jingo loves to forage more than anything; Bobber just liked to chew!
 

fidsmom

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Out of my 7 Quakers, 2 weave on top and the sides of their cages.. They use parts from their toys, my Flock eats Roudybush crumbles pellets, they love some fruits, and veggies, they Love Quinoa to, they gobble that up
 

cnyguy

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Welcome! :)

1. The best advice is to be persistent. Parrots usually don't accept unfamiliar foods right away, so you have to keep offering them, over and over. And you have to resign yourself to wasting a lot of food. It sometimes helps to eat some of the same foods while your parrot is watching, and make a fuss over how good the food is. Parrots typically want to share foods their human companions like.

2. My QP Ralph isn't interested in actually building a nest, but he has thin wooden dowels cut to about nine inch lengths that he likes to arrange and rearrange. Ralph was 6 months old when he came to live with me, and it was only a few weeks later when he started building.

3. Read a good book about Quaker parrots, like Mattie Sue Athan's Guide to the Quaker Parrot. And ask any questions you have here on the Avenue. There's usually someone around who can answer questions and offer suggestions.
 
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