by Pajarita » Tue Feb 21, 2023 10:55 am
Well, no wonder she doesn't trust people! She was traumatized in the pet store! Now, I know a lot of people think that pellets are good for birds but that's because they never did in-depth rresearch on their natural diets (not even avian vets study parrot nutrition). I was born and raised in one of the South American countries where they originated, a baby quaker was my first bird and have been researching and studying parrots natural diets since 1994 and I'll share with you what I learned: parrots natural diets are between 85 and 95% moisture (pellets have a max of 10% - HUGE difference), they eat raw, natural plant material (pellets are processed), their diets are seasonal (less potein during the resting season), soy is toxic in nature (it needs to be cooked so animals and people can eat it), ALL pellets have too much protein. You do the math.
Personally, I would never force a bird to come to me so it can eat. This is called a 'flooding' technique -flooding is any technique where you give the bird no choice but to do it or accept it - in your case, it's 'if you don't come to me, you don't eat'. We used to use flooding many years ago but we no longer do because it backfires. They never work to actually make the bird like you, quite the contrary, it breeds distrust. Quakers are, in my personal opinion, one of the most intelligent parrots, she knows you are forcing her and she doesn't like it.
What I recommend to people that have trouble bonding with their birds is actually the opposite! Allow the bird to make decisions by itself and give them treats as gifts. You see, to a parrot eating is not only something they do to survive, it's a pleasant social occasion but you are taking the pleasure out of it by making it stressful for her. I would suggest that instead you open the door to the cage and allow her to decide when and if to come out, put out her food sat dawn in her cage, sit down close to them and eat your breakfast with them (so you become part of the flock all eating together) and without asking her for anything, offer her a high value item every now and then and, if she doesn't take it from your fingers, leave it where she can reach it. This is not a bribe or a reward, it is a gift from you to her to show her you want to become her friend. Mind you, if you free-feed protein, the high value item does not work well.
Don't underestimate her intelligence, try to fool her or force her to do anything. Parrots (and quakers in particular) are not only super smart, they actually reach conclusions the same way people do, through what is called 'general intelligence' and 'fluid reasoning' which is the ability to figure things out by utilizing knowledge acquired from not only different sources but also experience from situations that are similar but not identical so, make no mistake, she knows you are forcing her to come to you to eat.
As to the tiel... well, you do know that cockatiels are not companion but aviary parrots, right? The distinction is very important because even if a tiel is hand-fed (and they rarely are), it can never bond with a human the way a companion parrot does. They can learn to trust and love you but. once they reach sexual maturrity, they need to live with, at least, a mate -if not a flock- to be happy.
Oh, one more thing, I hope your birds are not clipped because depriving them of flight does not only stress them out something terrible (the ONLY predator and danger avoidance mechanism is taken from them, leaving them vulnerable and defenseless) but also does things to their brains (not my opinion, a scientific fact).
I hope this helps you and, please, do not hesitate to ask as many questions as you want. I ADORE quakers, they are one of my favorite species of parrots.