Quaker parrots (aka monk parakeets)?

Question

my family just got a quaker parrot. i have been reserching these fascinating birds but my reserch has come up short. all i learned is that they cant be sexed by sight only by surgical or dna testing. if there is anyone who can give me more information about these intresting creatures please do!

Answer 1

i have had my quaker for about 2 years now. i dont know anything about his life before he came to live with me as he came from a friend of a friend that was moving to PA. he is very entertaining he hangs upside down in his cage and he loves to play with his toys. he has picked up quite a few phrases, some are innappropriate, and some are just funny, but ofcourse the inappropriate ones he can say plain as day. he does great on a seed diet, but we add alot of fresh veges to his bowl he enjoys those as well. mine is very cage aggressive when he molts and only mildly cage agressive when he isnt molting. cage agression is a common problem with quakers. they thrive on lots of human contact and affection.

Answer 2

You're right about the dna test...quakers aren't sexually diamorphic. We have 3 quakers...they are awesome little birds. They are a south american parakeet, closley related to conures. They are extremelly social little birds. They are the only parrot species that builds their own nest. They are communal nesters. Quaker parrots in the wild eat grains, fruit, berries, nuts, seeds and sometimes insects. I think that birds do best when they have a diet close to what they would find in the wild (minus the insects). We feed our quakers a diet of sunseed vita parrot, mixed with goldenfeast schmiddt's original. Goldenfeast is a human grade food with no additives. We give them their fresh food in the morning and once in the evening at dinner time.

Quakers have wonderful personalities. They are extrmely smart birds. They bond well with their owners, adapt well to routine, and usually don't like change. They are very strong-willed, stubborn and opinionated little birds. If a quaker thinks he can get one over on you, he will. Make sure he knows that you are the boss, not him. Quakers love trying to assert dominance over their owners. Training your quaker right from the beginning that you are top bird in the house will help lessen their moody and attitudy behaviors- quakers can catch an attitude one second and be little snuggly angels the next. I have one quaker that will bite me and then say "I'm sorry" and will run over to give me a kiss...this is typical quaker behavior.

I'm not sure what information your are looking for about quakers. Here are some different sites that may help:

www.quakerville.com

www.quakerparrots.com

www.quakercorner.com

www.birdsnways.com (should have articles on quakers)

www.brooklynparrots.com (wild quakers of new york)

www.edgewaterparrots.com (wild quakers of new jersey)

Answer 3

Congatulations! They are indeed wonderful birds. They have tons of them nesting in the New Orleans area and you can find them by their distinctive cries.

When I had mine I used a couple of websites that may help you. I am listing them here. Good luck!

http://www.monkparakeet.com/index1.htm

http://theaviary.com/qpage/faq.html

http://www.quakerparrots.com/