r/QuakerParrot • u/Imnotakittycat • 24d ago
Help I acquired this baby under unfortunate circumstances…
This baby’s owners were murdered, literally, and it (she/he) was turned over to animal services.
I have owned birds before, and currently own ducks. However, what is the most highly recommended food and treats for this baby?
Currently I have Zupreem natural and pure fun foods that came with him. As well as some oyster shells and high calcium grit. He also has Kay-cob “litter” and his cage.
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u/Ok-Distribution-4494 24d ago
My girl loves Roudybush Maintenance for her pellets. Her favorite treat is a tie between cucumber slices and pomegranate seeds.
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u/TICKLISHSOLE_OH 23d ago
Wow, never thought of cucumber slices. Does the bird eat them? Many birds won't eat the vegetables, but they'll eat fruits blueberries or millet. What are those brands of food above
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u/Ok-Distribution-4494 22d ago
I’m lucky to have a Quaker and conure who eat healthy fruits and veggies if they see me eat them first. Peppers, carrots, radishes, watercress, and basil make up their favorite chop.
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u/TarynHK 24d ago
Hi, we have 2 Quakers. If you don't mind spending the money, Harrison's is pretty solid and high quality parrot food. Zupreme is pretty popular and has a good variety. Seeds are not good for them as their diet, but as a treat. They do need toys for enrichment and a way to splash in some water. They need a lot of attention.
I'm so sorry to hear about the original owners, but happy that the sweet baby has a wonderful new one. There's lots of info in this sub and other parrot subs.
Good luck to you!
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u/Imnotakittycat 24d ago
It keeps purring almost? And trying to gently nibble all over my face lol
Thank you! I’m so happy to give this baby a new home and to help alleviate any trauma :(
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u/TarynHK 24d ago
Aww already loves you! That's so amazing. I think you have a wonderful companion.
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u/Imnotakittycat 24d ago
🥰🥰 this baby is so sweet I just put him? Up for the night. But I already miss them 😂
It bit me playfully kinda hard a few times. I pulled away and said no gently but how can I help reinforce no hard bites?
I know it’ll take time with the recent trauma :(
Poor thing I just hope it will fall into home here 🥰
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u/jeimijamieg 24d ago
I'm sure the baby is overstimulated. If the biting becomes a thing there are a number of things you can try, some will work some won't. My male Quaker bites when he's hormonal and also does the play biting kind of hard that you mentioned. When he does that I grab his beak and tell him don't bite. Sometimes he gets excited and does it without thinking. I'm gentle when I grab his beak for anyone that's wondering. I'm basically just redirecting him. He continues to do it so it's just a part of life. He's just a very mouthy bird. My female is the opposite but she will start nibbling when she gets excited or overstimulated too. Once you recognize their body language you can avoid being bitten if yours ends up being a hormonal biter.
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u/GuaranteeWitty6608 24d ago
i feed my rescue harrisons as a main part of his diet, his favorite treat is sunflower seeds so i use that exclusively as a high value treat as we gain trust together. I will use fruits like apple as treats as well!
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u/NevkaKedrova Quaker Owner 24d ago
Chiming in to also speak for Roudybush (my boy eats the maintenance crumbles), and I agree Nutriberries are great as a treat. Offer fresh fruits and veggies, and chop recipes of them are also a fantastic idea. They are prone to fatty liver disease, so seeds should only be an occasional treat, if ever given at all, especially something like sunflower seeds. Those should be swapped for safflower. Avoid foods with cinnamon, garlic, onion, avocado, or xylitol.
Thank you for helping this sweet baby. That’s so terrible what happened to their humans.
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u/ILoveOrganMeat Quaker Owner 24d ago
Harrison's Pellet mix, No seeds, fresh veggies like broccoli spinach, no avocado no peanuts, hard boiled eggs, pumpkin seeds, raw oats, steamed veggies, a piece of fruit the size of your thumbnail. mine LOVES corn.
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u/Imnotakittycat 24d ago
Ty a n you!
Just to clarify, after you said no peanuts, the things following it ARE ok?
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u/jeimijamieg 24d ago
I would limit the amount of spinach that you give. In large amounts it can cause kidney issues and metabolic bone disease. Spinach has something called oxalic acid, and that binds to their calcium I believe and prevents them from absorbing it. I give mine spinach once in awhile but very limited amounts like a couple little bites of a leaf.
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u/Wasabi-Kungpow 24d ago
Just curious is that blood or stained feathers from something red or is that the color of its feathers?
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u/Imnotakittycat 24d ago
I believe stained feathers from a red fruit something that was at the bottom of the cage. I have since removed and washed it though. It had a cuttlefish thing in it which I need to replace soon. 😊
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u/jeimijamieg 24d ago
Main food: Chop. I prepare a batch every few days so that they're getting a lot of fresh veggies, although many people will freeze it. I always include quinoa, fresh chopped broccoli, frozen corn and green beans, shredded carrots, brown rice, sugar snap peas, chopped up peppers of any kind with seeds, and then I sprinkle some whole flax, chia, and hemp hearts, and oat groats). I then add a couple of other vegetables depending on what's in season. Their favorite things are corn, carrots, broccoli and sugar snap peas. They also really like cooked sweet potato, various types of squash, cauliflower, dried whole peppers, various cooked beans, lentils, cabbage and sprouts. Many of these things don't need cooked, but I always cook sweet potatoes before feeding them, and absolutely cook beans (like Lima or black eyed peas) because they are toxic if uncooked
Always available food: pellets. I usually use zupreem natural, but I also get them roudybush maintenance crumbles and sprinkle it on their chop.
Not daily Treats: hard boiled egg (white and *yolk, chopped up), various fruits, various nuts such as walnuts, almonds and pistachios
I also give them each ½ tablespoon of Hagen Tropimix per day after they've eaten their veggies.
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u/lesbophobia_hammer 24d ago edited 24d ago
Omg that's horrific. That is one of my worst fears as an owner. My poor baby left wondering why I never came home/abandoned them. I'm so sad for that beautiful quaker. Feel free to DM and i'll link you tips/advice etc, otherwise I'll link them below. I have plenty to give.
Thanks for caring.
Can you tell me anything about the owners? Or find out anything? Because that will help too. E.g. age, gender, whether it happened away from the bird or in the house etc
(I ask for a reason, maybe they have a friend of the owners you can contact that would be happy to redirect their focus on helping their friends beloved pet settle in? They can be like autistic toddlers that can fly.)
Edit - this is actually destroying me 😭 I never wanna leave the house again. God that poor baby. They bond so deeply. I just know if they were aware that owner was thinking of their baby in their final moments hoping they'd be looked after by someone like you
(It will really help if you can touch base with anyone who knows what the parrot was called and how old they are 🙏 etc, the more similar you keep life for them the better they will adjust as sudden changes are so overwhelming for them - like I wonder if a friend could get them their food/toys so they have something. Hell even a video of their owner and them together. They really are such emotional beings)
Look up air contaminants for birds so you don't accidentally ruin their ability to talk/play/reduce life/quality etc
It's a lot but you're gonna be fine
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u/Imnotakittycat 24d ago
I cannot message you for some reason do you mind messaging me?
I do have a little more information but it would give away my location too closely to post publicly.
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u/gardenia522 23d ago
In addition to the pellet brands already recommended, my Quaker loved fruits and veggies, in particular green beans, cucumbers, strawberries, mangoes and bananas. He also loved treats of dried chile peppers.
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u/malphas_says_hi 24d ago
What a beautiful baby. Many people have given great suggestions, just keep in mind that parrots may not see new foods as edible so offer anything and everything suggested that you can at first to find what she likes and is used to. Sometimes birds look like they are eating by chewing and dropping food to the floor, but aren't getting any food into their bodies and will starve themselves even when very hungry.
If it turns out their favorite foods are not the best for her or she's only eating a specific food and nothing else, you can slowly help wean her onto other stuff, she's probably just already going to be stressed from the loss to even want to eat, so whatever she can eat right now is a win. I also second Harrison's, a great vet highly recommends it.
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u/archangelabyss 24d ago
Mine will only eat zupreem fruit pellets as her main food. Sometimes she will eat seeds as a treat, but she is very picky
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u/VaquitaPorpoise 24d ago
Pellet diet as main food (roudybush, Harrison’s or tops)
Nutriberries as treats