r/QuakerParrot

My son (19m) has a 5-6yo quaker named Alistair. I am posting with my son’s consent because he is neurodivergent and very overwhelmed at the moment. Alistair has been plucking his feathers and we haven’t been able to find a way to help him be less stressed/change the behavior. My son sought advice from the breeder and from other online resources and has diligently tried the suggestions with no success. I hate to see my kid and Alistair so unhappy, and am super grateful for any suggestions you might have.

Hi there! It’s very hot right now in the US and probably much of Europe. At this time last year, my boy Quaker got heatstroke. the AC went out and he was sitting by a window. I forgot to pull the shade and came home to a lethargic bird. He was quiet when I came home which seemed unnatural. I’m usually greeted by yells of joy or demand. my poor boy was resting on the floor of the cage, and he NEVER plays down there. i picked him up and held him with his belly and legs in a tepid bath, and got him cooled down. we sat in front of a fan and in a couple hours he was fine.

if your bird is panting, waving it’s tongue back and forth with beak open, or holding its wings out from body it is TOO HOT. the Bird will act quiet if out of it if it’s feeling really bad. This might be a good time to offer a bowl of water to help your bird cool off. Or mist your bird to start the cooling process without him needing to climb into the bowl.

Quakers are temperate climate birds. if they were outdoors, they’d get somewhere cool and shadowy in the hot part of the day. You need to make sure your indoor bird doesn’t get too hot because heat stress can kill a bird. Being stuck in a cage in a sunny window can be a problem; for example if your AC fails!

if your bird is too hot, get him or her to a cooler environment, mist the bird with water or let it take a bath if it’s well enough, OR hold it in your hands with its belly and legs in coolish bath water. Too-hot birds will get quiet, gasp or pant, hold wings away from body; or be unable to perch and lay on cage floor.

A depressed or disoriented Quaker needs to cool down fast. Heat stroke can kill a tiny bird. Panting isn’t cute or funny, it’s alarming. Keep an eye on your feathered companions during these sweltering days!

My 3 month old baby green Quaker died. The name was sandy. Didn't know the gender yet. Only brought em home on Wednesday last week and he died Tuesday i.e., today. I'm devestated. I knew he kept sneezing and wanted to visit the vet but mom said I was overthinking and that it would be just fine. Kept him in my grandmas room and covered him to let him sleep for the night, i mistook his shivering and shaking the whole day for quaking instead. I'm heartbroken. It's my first ever parrot i bought. Prior to this, just a month ago my uncle passed and he had two crimson bellied conures and we took them in. Had them for two weeks , they flew away. Even then I felt horrible because i wanted to keep them as part of my uncle's legacy and I ruined that too. If only I had atleast kept this Quaker baby warmer, I would have had him alive. I'm so irresponsible I hate myself for this. It was a baby for crying out loud and i feel i neglected it. I can only blame myself because I was taking a shower when the medicine came to give to the bird but by the time I was done it was laying lifeless and stiff on the cage surface, dead. I will never own another pet ever again. I'm so heartbroken just from these 2 fleeting pets i owned and I'm just not cut out for it. I'm not going to take the responsibility on again of being responsible for these cute babies. They deserve better.

My blue Quaker, Dolly, has started sneezing recently and I am not sure what to do. She is eating and acting normally but sneezing a lot. There is no discharge from her nares and nothing has been changed in her room. Any ideas to stop this would be much appreciated.

I just cleaned her cage and washed all her toys and sprayed them with diluted apple cider vinegar. Not sure what else to do for her.

I’m not sure if I should mix pellets with vegetables everyday or only give pellets and then mix it with vegetables only sometimes. Can someone pls explain what they do for feeding? I know they need chop but I have no idea if I should mix the chop with the pellets all the time when I give them food or not.

Yesterday I got my first ever Quaker and my second bird ever Bluey! I was just wonder if it was normal that sometimes he’ll just stand still in one spot and not move for a while/just fall asleep. All the videos I’ve seen of birds they usually move around a lot more, he does move and fly around I’ve just noticed he does that for only a bit then just puffs up and stays still wherever he’s at. I want to make sure he’s ok and hopefully not sick if anyone has experienced their bird doing this an explanation would be very appreciated I tend to worry and freak out easily 🥲