Help! new quaker parrot

Question

I was at the pet store and some lady gave me a quaker parrot.... it seems to be young because it has the little soft feather poking out.... how can I tell how old it is? also it has been bobbing its head a lot it looks like he is nodding yes really fast is this normal? also parakeets have a cere but how do I s*x this parrot? and it keeps trying to nibble in my mouth and it will only drink water out of my mouth.... why is this? also anything else I should know?

Answer 1

The lady at the pet store should have never given you this baby.  It's clearly an unweaned baby and you need to take it back.  By the time baby parrots wean they should be fully feathered and will generally turn away from hand feeding formula and not beg for food anymore.

If you don't have experience handfeeding then take the baby back until it's weaned or get someone to show you how to hand feed.

Answer 2

You need to go back to the pet store and buy some KAYTEE HAND FEEDING FORMULA and LEARN how to hand feed it, it is begging for food when it bobs it's head up and down like that. No telling how old it is but it sounds young enough to be hand fed. If you don't feed it this way, it will die because it will starve to death. It sound 3 to 4 weeks old to me.

Answer 3

DO NOT feed your quaker out of your mouth.  It's a quick way to make this little guy sick.

Regardless, he is begging for food when his head is bobbing.  It's possible this baby was not completely weaned.  I would be calling the pet store at the very least.  He may need to be handfed a little more.  You can do the handfeeding yourself but you will need to return to the store for hand feeding formula.

Quakers can not be sexed by looking at them.  They require either a DNA test (preferred) taken by your vet or surgical sexing.