You tell 'em Karen!! Ha! Awesome...I love it!

He had a good laugh at that!

Best to let Maple and Harley come live with us! They might be jealous! hahaha! Sounds so cute!

You will enjoy your little Monk Parakeet friend a great deal, we care for 5 here in our home.
They are great talkers, the best takers out of all our birds.
One of our Quakers just loves to build things, but not all enjoy to do this.
Our birds love pastas, fully cooked meats, (grilled preferably) less fat, some enjoy a pellet diet, others a cockatiel mix.
We offer fresh fruits and veggies, sweet corn seems to be a favorite.
Then one of our kids just loves lima beans.
Another loves pumpkin seeds.
Not a 2 are alike.
Rose Ann comes home from work and will say to one of our Quakers "pickles" (well hi Pickles, how are you) and pickles replies ( I'm Okay, I'm okay), its simply the sweetest thing this man has ever seen.
Some of our Quakers have a vocabulary of about 80 some words.
You can ask them a question, and they will answer you.
They go through (talking spells) sometimes they rant on for about ten minutes, everything they have been taught, then there's an eerie silence , it ends just as quickly as it began, they have these (taking spells) 2-3 times during the day, if you peek in on them, you find them tucked away in there little huts with there little eyes closed "just a talkin away".
Females seem to be more (aggressive) compared to the males.
Both sexes are very protective of there cages.
Some enjoy those cute little snuggle huts, some don't, its all in there up-bringing.
To find out if your new little friend is a builder, offer some plastic straws, maybe some chop sticks and see what happens, you will need to offer something for them to weave into like a waffle ball hung from a string and places some other toys along side the ball so the little one can weave them together.
You will never be more impressed than you will when owning and caring for a Monk Parakeet, better known as the Quaker.
I have posted much information concerning these wonderful little parakeets, as have other members.
These birds are free ranging here in the USA, being a caregiver to a Quaker, I pray you will find time to help the wild Quakers by sending off a e-mail when finding a post where there nests are being torn down, or a mass poisoning, your concern and time will help to stop the horrors done unto these wonderful birds.
I pray you find your relationship with your new friend to be very rewarding.
If ya need help, we are here to help.
Arty
P.S. oh yea, they love to bathe...weekly

Quakers are, by far, my favorite among all the psittaforms, we used to raise one or two babies every summer with my grandma to release them once they were big enough to survive on their own.

They are highly intelligent, great talkers, excellent eaters and bathers and quite independent. Females are dominant as theirs is a matriarchal society but both genders are bitey. That's the way they are and there is nothing you can do about it. They are survivors par excellence and have a great attitude toward life. They are fearless little things that don't think twice about 'taking on' a much larger animal so be careful with your macaws. They are also screamers (they are sui-generis but closely related to conures), their calls are quite loud for their size and can be heard from far away. They are unique in the parrot world because they are the only species that builds and occupies communal nests all year round.

Please, no meat. My country is one of the five in South America where they originate and we've had the nominate species (which is also the most common one in captivity) as pets for hundreds of years and I can assure you that these birds are strictly vegetarian. They are actually considered agricultural pests because they eat the corn and wheat crops but they also love fruits, veggies and greens.

And, yes, they are excellent builders but not all of them would actually build anything.

Thank you everyone. Wonderful advice all around. We cannot wait to get the little guy home now!

I have to take my dog to the vet now...sigh..hopefully nothing serious, I'll post about that later...while I am there I am going to schedule all the well birds for September...since the girls are due for one then anyways.

Thanks again everyone!

Thank you. I will take all that you have said to heart. I am very much looking forward to getting to know this little fellow and to learning everything I can about his kind. He's such a sweet little guy, and so different then my big girls.

Funny enough...although she hasn't seen him in two years now...when I mentioned "Oscar" to Maple she just lit up!!! I think they have very long term memories honestly. Even now when she hears my cousins voice on the phone, or her sons voice...her eyes pin and she gets so excited. I am curious to see how she will react to being reunited with her old roommate....and how he will react as well.

I feel honored and blessed that my cousin has entrusted now her 2 most precious babies to my care. When we were visiting this past weekend she said to me...."It kills me to let him go, but I do not have the time anymore, and nothing would please me more then for him to go to you. I know I made such a wonderful choice for Maple and Oscar could not find a better home then yours!"

I almost cried....because now I understand how she must have felt/does feel about them. My heart breaks at the thought of giving up any of my fids....it must have been very painful for her to let Maple go. And the fact that she has asked me to care for Oscar as well...well....it just gives me a warm fuzzy. There was no way I could say no to that. Because if I (God forbid) was ever in a position that it was in the fids best interest to let them go....I would want the very best for them....and the fact that she thinks that highly of me....well....it's flattering and humbling all at the same time.

I think this time around...I will understand and be a little more aware of her tears then I was last time. Her and her generosity have changed my life forever.

And yes...I thank her for that gift often!

I'm so excited for you and Oscar, and I can't wait to hear all about him.

Your cousin is very lucky - I can't wait for the photos & the stories of birdie reunion.

Has your cousin ever visited Maple?

No. But we took Maple up there once to see her...but I think it was too soon after the move and upset Maple a bit.

I am hoping she might come this summer though.

Thanks so much Sarah...we are very excited too!!

We've spent the morning cleaning the girls room...and planning where we are going to squeeze Oscar in! LOL