To Quaker or not to Quaker, that is the question.

[Sylvester]

I was thinking of getting one of these little green terrors and actually put myself on the list to call when the new babies come in.

I think they are adorable with their chunky bodies and round cubby heads. But the ones I have read about seem to come right out of a nightmare. In fact, there is a post on this very site where one of the members talks about the injuries she receives from her new Quaker bud.

Are they all head cases?

Frankly, as much as I love animals, I am not into having a companion that when I walk by it I have to put my arm up to my face for protection.

 

[Mizzely]

Honestly, both of mine have a forever home with me, but if I had to do it again , I'm not sure I'd have adopted Quakers. They are stubborn and aggressive, and you REALLY have to think like them to get anywhere. I get dive bombed a lot, and cage protectiveness is a real thing...

On the other hand, there is something about "taming the beast" and having these intelligent beings decide, "okay, we can be friends for 10 minutes" that makes it worth it.

It's like the independence of a cat, the Napoleon syndrome of a chihuahua, the intelligence of a parrot, and a can opener in one package

 

[TikiMyn]

@Hjarta5

 

[Hjarta5]

I actually found my Quaker on the street -- literally. It was raining that day and as I was walking pass the vestibule of a building, this little blue thing was just standing underneath as if waiting for the bad weather to pass. And while I had initially thought we would turn her over to a local rescue because we never thought about having a bird, her personality really won us over. And it is a BIG PERSONALITY: all sass-powered! In fact, our nickname for Wally is "Battle Bird" because she is always eager to get into the mix and show us who's the alpha. So I agree with everything @Mizzely said above except Wally has never attacked us and I have not experienced any cage aggression (though I do have to make sure she is out of her cage when I change her food/water dishes, but she has no problem when my hands are inside generally). I may not necessarily adopt any Quaker, but I would definitely adopt another Wally

 

[fidsmom]

I have 7 Quakers. I am lucky all of mine are very sweet and loving.Even my pair that live together ,still like to interact with me. None of mine are cage aggressive either,when they are all out for playtime,they like going in each other's cages to explore and check things out.They are quite good at sharing too,as I keep food dishes out on there cages,and they will eat together.

 

[ItsMyLife]

Mine is a nightmare currently. I posted about him not too long ago in the behavior section. He wants out of his cage, but if he’s out, you can’t be near any of his play stands or he comes after you. If you open his cage, he leaps out and attacks your face. He’s not giving warning bites either. Every day has been a challenge so far.
He doesn’t want me to leave the room, but he also doesn’t want me close to him unless he decides it. When he wants to be sweet, he’s really really sweet. But that’s few and far between so far. I’ve had him for 3 weeks and he’s gradullay gotten worse ‍

 

[sunnysmom]

Also, make sure Quakers are legal in your state. We're not allowed to have them in Pennsylvania, and I know there are some other states too.

 

[Hjarta5]

Mine is a nightmare currently. I posted about him not too long ago in the behavior section. He wants out of his cage, but if he’s out, you can’t be near any of his play stands or he comes after you. If you open his cage, he leaps out and attacks your face. He’s not giving warning bites either. Every day has been a challenge so far.
He doesn’t want me to leave the room, but he also doesn’t want me close to him unless he decides it. When he wants to be sweet, he’s really really sweet. But that’s few and far between so far. I’ve had him for 3 weeks and he’s gradullay gotten worse ‍

Not sure if this may be the case, but my Quaker has started showing mating behavior now that spring is nearing; her personality now can be much different than her normal disposition towards me. She is much nippier with me and defensive about her cage (though not rising to the level of coming after me). When I adopted my sennie a few months back, he would try to attack me on a number of occasions -- which was so different than when I had visited him at the rescue prior to bringing him home; I wondered how he had been so much sweeter to me before by easily stepping up and letting me give him scritches on a number of occasions but then all anger when he actually came home with me. Turned out, it happened to be mating season with him and, once that was over, he was no longer such a demon child.

 

[Sylvester]

@Hjarta5

You have ducks? I had one when I was little and he was more fun than a puppy.

 

[Sylvester]

I actually found my Quaker on the street -- literally. It was raining that day and as I was walking pass the vestibule of a building, this little blue thing was just standing underneath as if waiting for the bad weather to pass. And while I had initially thought we would turn her over to a local rescue because we never thought about having a bird, her personality really won us over. And it is a BIG PERSONALITY: all sass-powered! In fact, our nickname for Wally is "Battle Bird" because she is always eager to get into the mix and show us who's the alpha. So I agree with everything @Mizzely said above except Wally has never attacked us and I have not experienced any cage aggression (though I do have to make sure she is out of her cage when I change her food/water dishes, but she has no problem when my hands are inside generally). I may not necessarily adopt any Quaker, but I would definitely adopt another Wally

Wow, you crossed paths for a reason. I've heard that they like to think of themselves as really big birds. Blue ones are really pretty and aren't that common either. I say a completely yellow one the other day. I had no idea they came in a range of colors.

 

[cassiesdad]

It's like the independence of a cat, the Napoleon syndrome of a chihuahua, the intelligence of a parrot, and a can opener in one package

All that really attracts me to them. It's a shame that they're not legal here in PA. I do sneak into pet stores in Ohio to get a Quaker fix, to tell the truth...

 

[Sylvester]

Mine is a nightmare currently. I posted about him not too long ago in the behavior section. He wants out of his cage, but if he’s out, you can’t be near any of his play stands or he comes after you. If you open his cage, he leaps out and attacks your face. He’s not giving warning bites either. Every day has been a challenge so far.
He doesn’t want me to leave the room, but he also doesn’t want me close to him unless he decides it. When he wants to be sweet, he’s really really sweet. But that’s few and far between so far. I’ve had him for 3 weeks and he’s gradullay gotten worse ‍

You are the person I am referring to in my post. LOL! He has to take meds, right? That's a shame that you got him so close to mating season. I am sure he will calm down once it is over.

 

[Mizzely]

Wow, you crossed paths for a reason. I've heard that they like to think of themselves as really big birds. Blue ones are really pretty and aren't that common either. I say a completely yellow one the other day. I had no idea they came in a range of colors.

Oh yeah they come in yellow, blue, light blue, light green, white, and grey The yellow ones freak me out though

Blue are a lot more common than you might think! Many "regular" ones have the recessive trait and will pass it on to their children or their children's children.

 

[Sylvester]

I have 7 Quakers. I am lucky all of mine are very sweet and loving.Even my pair that live together ,still like to interact with me. None of mine are cage aggressive either,when they are all out for playtime,they like going in each other's cages to explore and check things out.They are quite good at sharing too,as I keep food dishes out on there cages,and they will eat together.

It sounds like you won the Quaker lottery, or else speak their language.

 

[Sylvester]

Oh yeah they come in yellow, blue, light blue, light green, white, and grey The yellow ones freak me out though

Blue are a lot more common than you might think! Many "regular" ones have the recessive trait and will pass it on to their children or their children's children.

I couldn't even figure out what the yellow one was. The green female at the pet store was older than dirt and meaner than a rattlesnake. I bet the white ones are beautiful.

 

[Sylvester]

Not sure if this may be the case, but my Quaker has started showing mating behavior now that spring is nearing; her personality now can be much different than her normal disposition towards me. She is much nippier with me and defensive about her cage (though not rising to the level of coming after me). When I adopted my sennie a few months back, he would try to attack me on a number of occasions -- which was so different than when I had visited him at the rescue prior to bringing him home; I wondered how he had been so much sweeter to me before by easily stepping up and letting me give him scritches on a number of occasions but then all anger when he actually came home with me. Turned out, it happened to be mating season with him and, once that was over, he was no longer such a demon child.

Yeah I am not sure if I am ready to be chased around the house.

 

[Mizzely]

I couldn't even figure out what the yellow one was. The green female at the pet store was older than dirt and meaner than a rattlesnake. I bet the white ones are beautiful.

I've never seen the white in person, but yes

Now THAT is rare

My personal favorite are the "ice blue" (aka pallid blue)

And the grey are oddly graceful looking

 

[Sylvester]

I've never seen the white in person, but yes

Now THAT is rare

My personal favorite are the "ice blue" (aka pallid blue)

And the grey are oddly graceful looking

Oh look at those faces, they look so innocent, like they wouldn't hurt a fly. LOL!

 

[Mizzely]

Oh look at those faces, they look so innocent, like they wouldn't hurt a fly. LOL!

They wouldn't! Unless they came into their cage, or stole their food, or told them "no"!

 

[ItsMyLife]

You are the person I am referring to in my post. LOL! He has to take meds, right? That's a shame that you got him so close to mating season. I am sure he will calm down once it is over.

Yes he was getting meds 3x per day for an injury he caused from self mutilating. It healed up nicely, and then I tried to just let him be for a few days and he did it again!

We are at such a road block because he hates not having interaction, and I think it’s a huge part in his mutilation (also his diet plays a part). He doesn’t like leaving his cage, but he doesn’t want you to shut the door. But you can’t leave it open because he will come after you from several feet away. He doesn’t want you to be far away from him and will scream and shake all over if you’re too far, but he will attack if you’re too close. Talk about getting mixed signals!
He soils his water multiple times per day, so changing that is rough. Even though his bowls have doors, he comes out of that little hole.

He wasn’t so bad at first. A scared bird that seemed to be warming up to me. But he literally woke up one day with a vandetta against me and anyone else.
And at the same time, no one can come near me or he gets upset. I’m his chosen person ‍ (Imagine how much worse he is to everyone that’s not me )