Hello, I'm new here. I've owned and bred (strictly as a small time hobbyist) cockatiels for many years.

I have the opportunity to get a Lutino Quaker, 4 months old, handfed. I've never had a Quaker before, but have heard about what wonderful pets they make. As a first time owner, what should I know to get everything off to the best start?

One question I have is what is the best feed for her? Currently, I feed my 'tiels a mixture of Roudybush pellets and Volkmann's seed, plus bits of fruits and veges.

Also, what's the best way to get her to bond with me? Can she bond with me but also get along with my children well enough to be held by them? How do I get her used to going from a quiet household to a noisy one? Her breeder is an older lady with just a husband, and I have four children, two cats (who leave my birds alone), three dogs and about 12 cockatiels.

Thanks for any advice!! I just want to make sure everything goes well and she'll feel at home and will bond with me.

Hah! I love quakers! They're so funny, and playful.

From what I've read, they can have a tendency to be a little noisy. To put it nicely, you wouldn't really need an alarm clock.

Unfortunately, I don't know a lot about the species itself, though it's one I was considering, before I got my cockatiel, only a couple months ago.

The only solid advice I can give you is the advice I would get anyone who's getting a new bird. Just give them time to get used to surroundings, start slow, with getting to know your bird. Don't try to force yourself upon the bird. And just as with every bird, do your research. It's very helpful, when dealing with an unfamiliar species.

Hi, welcome to the group! I'm not sure that there's anyone here who has quaker experience. What I've always heard about them is that they're nippy lol. My experience with them is very limited - I fed some pizza crust to one at a bird club meeting several years ago and we both enjoyed it.

The internet reports that they're one of the "big personality" birds, who are lively and fun but are also noisy and destructive, and can be aggressive to humans and smaller birds. It's probably not a good idea to let the quaker mingle with the cockatiels without close supervision because the tiels could be at risk. She will probably LIKE a noisy household because it's exciting, but in the beginning you should probably find a relatively quiet spot for her so she can get used to it gradually.

The amount of attention you give to the quaker in the beginning should be the amount that you expect to give on an ongoing basis, because if you pay a lot of attention to the bird in the beginning and then cut back it will cause problems. In general it's fairly easy to make friends with a handfed baby by holding some food in your hand for it to eat. Handfed babies associate human hands with food anyway, and may chew on your fingers if you don't provide something else for them to chew on. The usual rules for a new bird apply - it will learn to trust you if you act trustworthy. Do things that the bird likes so it wants to spend time with you, and avoid startling it or doing things that it doesn't like as much as possible.

This looks like a fairly good article on quaker personality: http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-magazin ... ieves.aspx

I haven't looked at this one in detail, but here's an online quaker handbook: http://quakerhandbook.com/

Yeah, take it slow is the way to go.

Welcome to the group.

No expierience here whatsoever.

Can't tell you about the food...

As far as making the bird get along with the family. Again, take it slow. Let the bird settle in before you give it extra attention. Maybe it's a good Idea for you to give the attention with one of your children at a time. I mean, let them help in making a scheduele where they alternate eachother in tending to the bird. That way you can supervise how it goes and help calm everybody down if the bird is nippy .

There's a lot of good tutorials around for getting a new bird used to a new enviroment and humans in general!

Good luck!

No experience here either....
boy.... I'd luv one.... have thought about
it for a while, but not sure if they would fit
in with the birds I have...I only know
what Ive read.... Hope you get one, I'd luv to
follow your experience with a Quaker..
Oh welcome to the forum...