"Sunny" is 6 months old. There are many people in my household and he only bites two people. My husband and my sister. We can't figure out why he just bites them and I would love to get the bird to be nice to them so they can enjoy him too.

When Quaker Parrots don’t master cooperative behavior as well as limitations associated with suitable conduct by the time they attain sexual maturity, they are often totally unmanageable. As a matter of fact, Quaker Parrots may actually discover cooperative behavior optimally soon after weaning. Or else it’s extremely simple for them to acquire territorial and hostile actions throughout the developmental time period occasionally known as the “terrible twos” (this generally hits Quakers from about 12-18 months, however is visible sooner).

We cannot deal with bad conduct in Quakers with punishment. We have to assist the bird to create productive habits to guarantee it’s happy lifestyle.

Just about all habits are composed of a number of habits which are regularly reenacted. Co-operation may be habitual. Biting and going after could be habitual. A companion Quaker parrot that understands to repeatedly interact personally will be less probable to express hostility towards people or to try and control people within the surroundings. To be able to produce excellent habits and also to generate a routine of cooperation in the bird’s conduct, we practice a few active exercises — step-ups and the towel game — most times in neutral territory.

STEP UPS

To be able to assume the parrot to respond dependably in the cage or some other established area, the quaker should first be patterned using typical and varied step-up exercise to cooperate in neutral territory. A bird that won’t cooperate in neutral territory will most likely typically refuse to cooperate in their own territory. In the bird’s first days in your home, daily step up exercise includes:

* stepping the bird upward from a new fixed perch to a hand

* stepping the parrot up from hand to hand

* stepping the bird on and off hand-held perches

Afterwords once the parrot is producing it’s regular Quaker tendency to guard the parrot cage or whenever it’s feeling feisty for any additional reason, the behavior of co-operation is usually preserved, without having fear of nipping, by managing the bird with handheld perches. Hand held perches might be from time to time required or necessary for some people in the bird’s established territory, as a typical Quaker Parrot may act like a total brat towards most people in the cage and a perfect little bird away from it.

The decision on what type of parrot to have is sometimes very confusing, there are large and small and noisy and quite, Talking Parrots are very popular. It will depend on how much time and energy you want to invest in your relationship with it. Large parrots like macaws, cockatoos and amazons require a great amount of time and work. If you’re working 8 hours a day and don’t have a lot of time to give to a pet, the smaller birds will be one of the best that you can have. The best pet bird for a busy person will be a lower maintenance pet birds.

Parrots with good talking abilities include African Grey, Amazon and even some of the smaller varieties like Quaker Parrots. Most parrot species can mimic sounds they hear, like whistles and doorbells. The sound we hear as talking is essentially mimicry and some birds are better than others. Individual birds will also tend to prefer to mimic certain gender or individual. The best age to start training your bird is as early as possible or about between 4-6 months old. Start with a simple word like “Hello” and make sure to pronounce words slowly and clearly and repetition is vastly essential. Always keep lessons short, about 10-15 minutes and give play and rest point after.

Most parrots are very extroverted and vocal birds. When you bring home a young parrot you become part of the bird’s flock. If you study how birds in a flock intermingle in the wild and learn how they behave, you can try to communicate with your bird. Getting a parrot to do something you want is a good accomplishment, and if it does so then reward the bird. Any actions or behavior a parrot does that you dislike ignore, remember the best response is no response. Don’t reinforce negative behavior by overreacting or the parrot will realize how to get your attention. Teach the bird the suitable way to get what it wants. If they cannot communicate properly with you, it is very likely their response will be screaming, biting, or withdrawal.

If a young bird is purchased it must be nurtured and comforted as a first step in parrot training, this is easy but can be a problem if not done properly. Start out spending small amounts of time with your new bird, don’t spend more time when the bird is new than when the newness wears off or this will cause behavioral problems. Caring for your pet is essential before training can begin. Providing the proper diet for your parrot has changed greatly over the years. Early on in the pet trade parrots were fed solely a seed diet. It is now known that seeds diets are inadequate and need to be supplemented. Use seeds sparingly if at all and replace with a manufactured diet and fresh fruits and vegetables.Variety is very important in keeping a parrot healthy. Exploration outside of the cage should be encouraged with supervision to satisfy their normal curiosity. The bird learns to not be afraid of new things and learns important skills by being exposed to a variety of new things. Exploring should only include those areas of the home that you choose and are safe and use parrot training to introduce new things into its surroundings to help prevent boredom.

I just got a male and female quaker, and would like to breed them. I have experience breeding budgies. The nest box I got seems big enough to hold the parrot, but the hole doesn't seem big enough. The diameter of the hole is 2.5 inches. Any other breeding tips are useful. Thanks.

I have found that the best way to train my Quaker parrot is to follow basic parrot training practices. Most parrots can be taught to talk in

Quaker Parrot

similar ways, including quakers.

• A good time to start is as soon as possible, young birds learn fast. First cuddle the bird and let them get to know you. Be very gentle at all times and speak to them in a calming voice. Do this for a few days or up to a few weeks just so they trust you and listen. Once they get to know you, then they will feel comfortable with you trying to teach them to talk.

• Parrots learn by repetition so be patient and just repeat the same words everyday.  Start with a simple word or words, like Good Morning, Hello,  or whatever the birds name is the bird will say exactly that.

• I have found videos a very useful way to learn how to train parrots, and these are the best:



• Speak clearly and calmly so the bird can understand and his response will be clearer when he responds

• Once the bird has mastered the first 2 words or word, then you can teach them another set of words.