6 week ol Quaker Parrot

[tineke]

Although my husband is the bird man in the family with numerous Canaries and Gold Finches we also have two love birds but as a special gift to me ( a dog love who is not allowed a dog) he has bought me a Quaker parrot (now 6 weeks old) at the moment being feed 3 times a day by syringe with liquid formula. It does show interest in a little fruit hand feed and finally chopped mainly grape and banana also has a go at the milllet hanging in the cage.

Still on the floor, step-up very begining. Trying my best would like all the help I can get because I don't feel my husbands nohow of birds ie Canaries is appilicable to Quakers.

[Pajarita]

You are 100% correct: canaries are completely different from quakers. Canaries are passerines, natural seed eaters, territorial, they don't imprint and are instinctual eaters while quakers are psittacines, canope feeders, highly social, they imprint and have to learn what to eat. Now, I don't mean to make you feel bad or anything but 6 weeks old is way too young to be sold so I would have to question how good the breeder is. Keep the baby mostly in the dark as their eyes cannot be exposed to light to develop correctly (all parrots nests in cavities but quakers' nest are kind of like an igloo where the actual nest chamber is around a corner so there is never any direct light shining on the babies). Babies that have their eyes exposed to light end up with faulty vision (a problem resembling presbyopia in humans where both the short and the far distance vision are compromised). As to feeding, continue with the formula but also supplement with soft food from a spoon (quakers are real easy to feed), things like polenta (they ADORE it and, in the wild, they eat A LOT of corn), couscous, brown rice (cook it real soft and mash it up a bit but leave some of the texture). You can cook these things with tomato paste and mix them with mashed sweet potatoes, grated or pureed carrots (try the organic baby food jars from the supermarket).

Aside from that, keep something warm in her 'nest' (you do have her in a nest of some sort, right?), like a water bottle or a small heating pad wrapped up in polar fleece so she has a warm 'body' to cuddle up to.

Basically, think of what an infant might like and try to reproduce it.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[CarlosQuaker]

I was in the exact same position as you! First things first, take your quaker to an avian vet.

My first quaker was sold to me at 6 weeks old. When we took him to our vet it turns out it was starving, as it kept regurgitating its food, and it had some parasites. It was so sick that it would have died within a few days, according to the vet.

In the end I returned the bird, and got a refund.
To me the bird looked fine and healthy. But you never know so just to be sure take your Quaker for a checkup at the vet

Good luck with your new feathered friend!