Like humans, a bird is more likely to learn to use words in context than simply by rote memorization. Dr. Irene Pepperberg has demonstrated in her studies involving Alex, the African grey, that the process of learning words can be improved by providing a rival for the attentions of the favorite human. Although quakers are seldom understandable enough to verify who's voice they are speaking in, the presence of a human rival often stimulates the quaker parrot to learn human words. Quakers need access to clean, fresh water for drinking and bathing. Like human children, a quaker parrot might be so interested in anything and everything that it will refuse sleep if it is not provided with a cover or a roost cage in a quiet area away from human activity.
Quaker parrots are especially prone to accidents in the home, including flying away.
Wing feathers must be trimmed at least a couple of times yearly to prevent drowning in the toilet, burning up in the skillet, or crashing into the ceiling fan. Tame quakers that fly away in urban areas are usually easily recovered. Because they are famously territorial, quakers have special behavioral needs. Like humans, if quakers do not learn cooperative habits and limits of acceptable behavior by they time they reach sexual maturity, they may be completely out of control. Most behavior is comprised of a series of habits that are routinely reenacted.