The Quaker's new nest boxes! (but no, definately not for breeding!)

The quakers' old nest boxes were really used up, totally chewed through (Frank's even had a hole in the bottom) so I asked a relative to make them two new ones. As he is a woodworker, they turned out to be very classy nest boxes! Needless to say, the quakers are very pleased. As am I, to have such nice, very safe, nest boxes, that will hopefully last a long time.

Please Note: I would NOT recommend giving a nest box to most parrots, and would never give one to any of my other parrots. Frank and Lola are an unusual case.

I first got one for Lola, after she started eating material from her sleep tents, and developed a blockage. She was rather a nervous bird then, and needed the security of a place to hide, so I decided a nest box was the safest way to go, and gave it a try. Frank quickly took over hers (so I got her a new one), and I was surprised to see what a difference it made for him to have a quiet, dark place to go. Far from getting hormonal, it really calmed him down and made him a much happier bird. Now, he can go in there whenever he is feeling "off", and sit in there nest building and telling the world off (in English, usually) until he is in a better mood. At that point, he commences singing to himself, while weaving everything he can find into the bars around the opening. So, even though having a nest box has made a huge difference in Frank, and is of course loved by Lola, and neither of them have any of the hormonal problems or egg laying associated with nest boxes, this is very rarely the case. My point - be very careful offering dark places for your parrot, many will even get hormonal with a plain sleep tent or dark corner, so nest boxes are usually a very bad idea.

Frank's from the outside

Lola's from the outside

Frank, wondering what I am doing with his cage
(I was taking the pics from the inside right before this)

Frank's from the inside, with the preening and shredding toys
(held out of the way) he must always have to calm himself down

Lola's from the inside,
with the plain wooden and cloth pull toys she prefers

A view of (almost) the whole cage.
Frank is, as usual, right up front in the picture,
and Lola is, as usual, ignoring the camera