newbie

[minky]

Hi all I am awaiting my new baby quaker, should be in just over a week. The cage is all set up but just wanted to know if anyone has any must dOs or donts that I should know..thanku

[Pajarita]

Welcome! Yes, there are must dos and must don'ts.

Must do:
1. Be prepared with soft foods, syringes, handfeeding formula and scale.
2. Choose the location and position of the cage carefully.
3. Fit it with the proper perches.
4. Put a good full spectrum light in the room where she will be kept.
5. Make sure you have plenty of time to spend with her the first few days she is home.
6. Birdproof the house.

Don'ts:
1. Target training from day one.
2. Leaving her alone for hours and hours.
3. Using flooding techniques.
4. Using a bottle instead of a bowl for water.

Can't think of anything else right now but, if you ask questions, we will answer.

3.

[minky]

Thanku..I'm sure I will be bothering you all loads

[Harpmaker]

Welcome to the forum, minky!

When I got my parrot I got rid of all my non-stick cookware and replaced it with stainless steel. Most non-stick coatings can kill a bird when overheated. If you are certain they will never be overheated they may be safe, but you are taking a chance. Other products to avoid are Febreze and candles with metal in the wicks. If you check around the web there are horror stories about birds dying from being exposed to these things.

Good luck!

[Pajarita]

Yes, Harpmaker is correct. Getting rid of everything that has a non-stick surface (and it's not only pans, it's toaster ovens, regular toasters, self-cleaning ovens, etc) is part of bird-proofing the house. But there is one more thing which is absolutely necessary with quakers that I forgot to mention: they NEED to be kept at a strict solar schedule. You can get away with not doing it with a tropical bird (if we are talking about a non-hormonal species, like the macaws, for example and if you are super duper careful about diet) but you can't do it with birds from temperate climates like quakers.