| Re: baby quaker question - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| Alex Clayton |
"mike" <MMAHAN@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:DV8_a.175$aS2.166@newssvr31.news.prodigy.com...
> hi,
>
> i have a new baby quaker parrot. it is 2 days new in our home and it is
> still doing the "head bobbing" thing so it is quite young but it is
cracking
> seed.
>
> we noticed it is scratching around the eyes and beak rather frequently but
> not for more than a few seconds at a time.
>
> is this normal or should we be worrying about mites?
>
> he handles seed fine but the pellets not so well. tries to ingest the
> pellets but drops most of them.
>
> it is my understanding that a steady seed diet is not good. any
suggestions?
> what fruits and vegetables do you folks recommend?
>
> also any tips on care for young quakers or links to good sites will be
> appreciated.
>
> thanks,
>
> mikem
>
>
Has the bird got pin feathers? New feathers trying to come in, look like
little white slivers? The scratching is common when they molt and the new
feathers are coming in.
You should Take your bird to an Avian Vet for a check up. This way you can
make sure things are off to a good start, and in the future if a problem
comes up you have a Doctor, who has your birds records. Waiting until there
is a problem, then trying to find an Avian Vet can be a pain in the butt.
As for food you can TRY a good pellet diet, along with seed. If the bird
will eat them fine, if it does not, don't worry about it. Apples, oranges,
grapes, Kiwi, just about anything but Avocado is fine. Try a little of
whatever you want. If it is not eaten after a few hours toss it.
If you go to Google, type in rec.pets.birds and Quakers you can find posts
going back for years. They are great pets.
--
"Things get better with age, I'm approaching magnificent"!
--
To see our Birds
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/bc/al...+Photos&.view=t
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| sw |
"mike" <MMAHAN@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:DV8_a.175$aS2.166@newssvr31.news.prodigy.com...
> hi,
>
> i have a new baby quaker parrot. it is 2 days new in our home and it is
> still doing the "head bobbing" thing so it is quite young but it is
cracking
> seed.
>
> we noticed it is scratching around the eyes and beak rather frequently but
> not for more than a few seconds at a time.
>
> is this normal or should we be worrying about mites?
>
> he handles seed fine but the pellets not so well. tries to ingest the
> pellets but drops most of them.
>
> it is my understanding that a steady seed diet is not good. any
suggestions?
> what fruits and vegetables do you folks recommend?
>
> also any tips on care for young quakers or links to good sites will be
> appreciated.
>
> thanks,
>
> mikem
>
>
Hey, Mike. If your quaker is anything like mine, you will love him. Ole
loves all kinds of vegetables and fruits. I buy a frozen mixed veggie mix
and he gets that every day, plus fresh fruits and things from the garden (we
do organic, so no problems with chemicals/pesticides, etc.). They are often
scared of things at first, so persistence is the key. That includes food as
well as toys. If yours sees you eating something, chances are he will think
it's "okay", or will at least try it. Ole also loves peanuts--only one a
day because of the fat content. I feed seed with about 20% pellets and Ole
pretty much sticks with seeds.
When they have those new feathers coming in, they must be really tchy. Ole
loves to have me "preen" him, gently rubbing those stiff, shaft-like things
that are on the new feathers coming in between my fingers. Ole now says
more than a dozen words and phrases and his hatch date was April 9, 2003.
Be careful what you say! You may hear it repeated. Quakers are great
birds. Good luck with yours and please keep us posted on how he is doing.
It would be a good idea to take yours to an avian vet for a well-check.
That gives you a starting point and it's a good idea to have a relationship
with an avian vet before an emergency happens. Enjoy your Quaker! sw
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| Loren Coe |
In article <vjjj6pkiilvf4c@corp.supernews.com>, sw wrote:
>
> "mike" <MMAHAN@prodigy.net> wrote in message
> news:DV8_a.175$aS2.166@newssvr31.news.prodigy.com...
>> hi,
>>
>> i have a new baby quaker parrot. it is 2 days new in our home and it is
>> still doing the "head bobbing" thing so it is quite young but it is
> cracking
>> seed.
>>
>> we noticed it is scratching around the eyes and beak rather frequently but
>> not for more than a few seconds at a time.
>>
>> is this normal or should we be worrying about mites?
>>
>> he handles seed fine but the pellets not so well. tries to ingest the
>> pellets but drops most of them.
mine shunned most of the pellets, they almost all ended up in the bottom
tray. your bird isn't dropping them, he is culling them, not to be
mistaken for sloppy eating habits. when he finds something he likes,
it never gets "dropped".
>> it is my understanding that a steady seed diet is not good. any
> suggestions?
>> what fruits and vegetables do you folks recommend?
[....]>> >> thanks, >> >> mikem
[....]
> day because of the fat content. I feed seed with about 20% pellets and Ole
> pretty much sticks with seeds.
i think the "pellet" diet recommendations come from the "feed suppliers".
great concept, w/vitamins added, but wishfull thinking, imho. my two
'tiels will eat some pellet food but only if it is sparingly offered
in its own dish and the seed bowls are not kept full all the time.
at some point they "discover" the pellets and they eventually do
include them in the diet (sorta the weiner of the seed family).
prior to my success, they would shun mixed pellets and/or a full
bowl of pellets. they still "drop" most of the extruded food
that comes w/seed, but that is a different brand than the pellet
food i have. ymmv, of course.
> When they have those new feathers coming in, they must be really tchy. Ole
> loves to have me "preen" him, gently rubbing those stiff, shaft-like things
> that are on the new feathers coming in between my fingers. Ole now says
> more than a dozen words and phrases and his hatch date was April 9, 2003.
> Be careful what you say! You may hear it repeated. Quakers are great
my male(?), Lucky, was a teen when purchased, fully fledged, about 10-12
mos and had no vocabulary. within another 10mos he could repeat only
a couple of words on demand, "what(?)", and 'Hello'. but he ran a 'tape'
several times a day which grew longer each week. there were many sounds
on that tape, including words. my take on his learning/behaviour is that
the bird's "vocabulary" grows as he learns to spin that "tape" mentally
and stop on the desired sound to repeat. then that word, repeated often
enough, becomes easy for him. --Loren
> birds. Good luck with yours and please keep us posted on how he is doing.
> It would be a good idea to take yours to an avian vet for a well-check.
> That gives you a starting point and it's a good idea to have a relationship
> with an avian vet before an emergency happens. Enjoy your Quaker! sw
>
>
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| mike |
i thank you folks for the tips and advice. what cool little birds these be.
mikem
"mike" <MMAHAN@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:DV8_a.175$aS2.166@newssvr31.news.prodigy.com...
> hi,
>
> i have a new baby quaker parrot. it is 2 days new in our home and it is
> still doing the "head bobbing" thing so it is quite young but it is
cracking
> seed.
>
> we noticed it is scratching around the eyes and beak rather frequently but
> not for more than a few seconds at a time.
>
> is this normal or should we be worrying about mites?
>
> he handles seed fine but the pellets not so well. tries to ingest the
> pellets but drops most of them.
>
> it is my understanding that a steady seed diet is not good. any
suggestions?
> what fruits and vegetables do you folks recommend?
>
> also any tips on care for young quakers or links to good sites will be
> appreciated.
>
> thanks,
>
> mikem
>
>
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