They are also extremely lousy parents. They have only ever managed to hatch one chick in the nest box and they bit off the tips of all his toes and were working on the wings and eyes when I rescued him from their nest box. Most of the time, if left to their own devices, they will carefully remove the shell from the inner membrane of a baby a few days before it is ready to hatch. In order to successfully raise babies from this pair, the eggs need to be removed from the nest at about day 20 of incubation and hatched in my brooder.
Over the last couple of years, I've gotten a lot better at getting the eggs out of the box before any damage is done and the babies hatch out nice and healthy. I make up my own formula for the first couple of weeks to make sure the babies develop at the same rate as parent fed chicks.
I am very careful about who I sell baby quakers to. They are relatively cheap birds that have a lot of big bird problems. They tend to have a very sun conure like scream to them, which many people find intolerable. For the size of the bird they are also very loud. They can be very needy little birds, and need to have their emotional needs taken into consideration just like any large parrot. They are the best talkers of the smaller birds, and better even than some of the big birds. Many develop large vocabularies and learn to use words in context. I have never had a baby quaker not learn to talk. However, not all of them learn to talk clearly.
A good quaker owner is someone that can tolerate a little bit of noise during times of excitement, such as when you first get home from work, when the TV or radio is loud, when the kids are screaming, or when you are cleaning and making a lot of noise. Please don't expect to get a quaker for your kid, lock it away in their room and not have to listen to it. They are loud. They can also be very territorial around their cage. Most quakers will allow their favorite person to handle them around their cage, but need to me moved away from their cage or to a different room in order to be handled by others. Unfortunately, quakers are also a species known to feather pick. It is imperative that quakers know they are loved, and that they have plenty of toys to keep them occupied while their owners are working. Some quakers also pluck for physical reasons such as allergies or infections. Plucking is not as common in quakers as it is in african greys or cockatoos, but does warrent mentioning.
Hopefully the above soapbox does not discrourage any future good quaker owners from getting one. I kept the first baby hatched by this pair and he is the most wonderful little companion. Baby quakers are the sweetest of all the birds I have raised. They give the most wonderful and gentle little kisses and love to sit and have their head and chin rubbed. They need a nice large cage with plenty of safe toys, and an owner with enough time to devote to them everyday. If properly raised, they can handle family vacations and changes in schedules without major problems. But they are emotional little birds. Before buying a baby quaker form me, please be sure you can handle the occassional screaming fit, mess and sometimes a territorial little nip for the next 30 years. Re-homed quakers don't always bond to their new owners well, setting off a vicious series of new homes and a miserable life if their first home fails. Please be sure you have what it takes before you bring one home. I have sold several to families with older children and all of them have done great. All of those people were willing to accept that sometimes quakers need a little bit of special handling, and the birds have thrived in those conditions.