Green Cheek Conure - Need as much info as possible!

Hello!

I had originally posted in the Poi category, as I was looking into the Senegal and Red Bellied Parrot, but after much research and talking to breeders etc, I've decided to get some info on the Conures.

My husband and I was a relatively quiet bird, something cuddly and entertaining! We were told that conures make great pets, so I started looking into them. Suns are absolutely gorgeous, but we live in an attached townhouse, and I don't think the neighbors on either side of us would appreciate the noise. We were told that Green Cheeked conures are quieter, cuddly, and very playful and spunky! They're also adorable!

Would this make a good starter bird? We've never had a bird before, but we are fully prepared to do more research and give any bird we bring home a great life! We're still in the "research" phase, so we wont be bringing anything home just yet. We were hoping that in the meantime, we could get some feedback on GCC owners here! Anything at all you can tell us about their personality, pros and cons etc I'm going to keep searching the web, but it's always nice to here from people who actually own them!

Thanks everyone

I have had a GCC for only 5 months so I'm just a novice but I can tell you that I am very happy with him. He warmed up me to rather quickly and is a breeze to care for.

I think a Green Cheek is a great choice for a bird. First, they do not make nearly as much noise as a Sun Conure, McCaws, or Cockatoos. The only reason my niegbors know I keep a parrot is because they have seen me take it to the vet. Second, they love to cuddle and be scritched by thier human, but are not as needy as a Cockatoo. I manage to work 40 hours a week and still have a social life, and Cracker does not have a problem with that so long as he can be with me when I am home and not sleeping. Third, Green Cheeks are smaller birds so that means spending less money on a cage. Plus, Green Cheeks are very affordable so you can keep your arm and leg. Because Green Cheeks are smaller they are not nearly as destructive as the larger parrots. I have had Cracker for approximately a year and a half and all my furniture is in tact.
With all these advantages to adopting a Green Cheek you should know some of the disadvantages. Green Cheeks do have a reputation for being a bit nippy, and if Cracker is typical of Green Cheeks then I think this reputation is deserved. I had a bad biting problem with Cracker when I first got him, but I have not been bitten by him in over a year. He will still nip at me when I do something to displease him, but he will not bite me. Once you have a parrot for any period of time you will know the difference between a nip and a bite. The second disadvantage to adopting a Green Cheek (I do not consider it a disadvantage but I know it is very important to some people) is that they are not great talkers. All Cracker can say is his name, good bird, and bad bird. He can say these words but it does not sound to clear, and some of my friends insist I am just hearing what I want to hear. I should admit that I have not invested that much time (ok, no time at all) in teaching Cracker how to talk so you might have better luck than me. I think the first two months you have a Green Cheek could be tough going, but after that first two month adjustment period I am convinced you will be happy as a clam with a Green Cheek. Good luck with any parrot you choose!

Im getting my first bird in September/October and Im getting a GCC

I have a 4 year old Green Cheeked Conure. We have had him since he was about 5 or 6 months old.

He is definitely quiet, spunky, and playful. I'd describe him more as very friendly, rather than very cuddly. He likes to be pet and get neck/head scratches at times, but at other times he doesn't want to be bothered and will give you a gentle nip (doesn't hurt) with his beak to let you know. I think this might be because he wan't quite a baby when we got him and we didn't really know how to get him accustomed to being held in a way where he is restrained.

He does love to be with people though. When we take him out of the cage, or just open the cage he will usually find someone to climb on and perch on.

That said, he is not super needy and can entertain himself in his cage full of toys during the day.

He is a good family bird, not overly bonded to one person. He will take to anyone who spends time with him, including the children. He will step up for pretty much anyone, including visitors, as long as they know what they are doing.

He is fully flighted and an excellent flyer, though he will more often move around by hopping and climbing. He has never attacked from the air, like some of the pois you read about in the poicephalus forum. He will usually only fly if he is startled or sometimes to follow a person who is leaving the room and land on their shoulder.

As for the cons, there aren't many major ones. GCC's are not a colorful as Sun Conures or some other birds, but they have subtle beauty that you notice more and more as you look at their details. They are not great talkers (but most conures aren't). Mine says hello and his name. He can be nippy at times, but never draws blood and I can normally tell when the nips are coming and avoid them. He tends to be less nippy when he get more out of the cage time and more handling. They also probably have just slightly less "large bird" personality than a poicephalus or a larger conure, but they are still very interactive.

IMHO, Green Cheek Conures are excellent first birds. They won't scream until your ears bleed. Their beaks are small so even if they do bite it won't send you to the ER. This is important as it makes it much easier for a first time owner to learn to ignore, rather than react to bites.

They don't seem to hold grudges the way some birds do. This is great for first time bird owners as a few mistakes (which first time owners are bound to make) are not likely to permanently damage your relationship with the GCC

They have a lot of upside and relatively little downside. I don't think too many people regret owning them.

All the points already mentioned are SPOT on, so I'll just tell you about our conure.

We got our first Conure, a Yellow Sided Green Cheek and OMG! We are TOTALLY IN LOVE with him. He hatched March 15th or 19th...so he's about 4 1/2 months old now. He was hand fed and handled a lot before we got him and that helped a TON.

Franklin picked us from afar, he got our attention at the pet store by first bobbing his head, then rolling onto his back, then regurgitating up a couple seed pieces and if that wasn't enough, he put his head between his legs and did a summersault...looked back at us with this exhasperated look of "NOWWWW, will you PLEASE take me home??!!"

And we did! We weren't planning on buying a bird that day, but he melted our hearts instantly! That was May 29th and we have done nothing but laugh, love and enjoy this bird.

He's a character, a complete acrobat in his cage, out of the cage, he never flys unless he's startled otherwise he loves to just walk and climb all over everything...he burrows under blankets and cuddles up for a nap, he loves apples, grapes and corn on the cob the best. He's not a squawker at all..infact, he's rather quiet most of the time. Our male 'tiel makes WAY MORE noise! Franklin entertains himself for hours and hours and hours a day, there are days when we are so busy we can't even take him out of his cage until we are going to bed. He's just as happy out of his cage as he is IN his cage.

Our male tiel talks a lot and I mean..A LOT and Franklin is picking up phrases from him...Hello, how are you? What'cha doin? Pretty pretty pretty birdie and him a good boy...and when I say to Franklin "I loooove you" He always finishes that phrase with a "kissing" sound. And he's learning when I said "Can I have a kiss...he runs over to my lips and lightly touches with his beak/tongue and usually makes a kissing sound too!

Conures have very gruff, rough, gravelly voices which makes some of them difficult to understand...but they definitely do learn to talk at least mine is doing great with the help of our Tiel...Chicken Little. They are soo incredibly smart and many love to learn all kinds of tricks.

He's somewhat "beaky" but not bad and he's absolutely never drawn blood on anyone. His "bite" if you want to call it that, is more of a pinch and from the start my husband and I have said to him ...if he's pinching more then just exploratory testing..."Ouch! No Bite" (even though it doesn't hurt) and he very much respects that phrase and quits biting.

He also knows..."beeee niiiice" and will back off with that phrase too!

As far as a family bird...he's the best! He will climb all over anyone offering their body to him He's great with our kids and our neighbor kids and people who've never held a bird before.

His bold but loving personality is what makes him soo special!

For a first bird, I HIGHLY recommend a green cheek, or a yellow sided conure. You definitely get a LOT of "parrot" in a little package. If this is your very first bird ever...my best advice would be to make sure you get a handfed/tame conure to start and make sure you and your family handle him/her before you plunk the money down. Each bird has such an individual personality you'll want to make sure you pick one that is comfortable with you.

I've posted quite a few pictures of Franklin as well as our 'tiels in my profile..just click on my name above and you'll find my photo albums.

Good luck with what ever bird you choose and definitely keep us posted!

Take care,

Toni

WOW! Fantastic advice everyone! We've decided on a Green Cheek conure, and have found a breeder who is currently hand feeding two little guy normal colored green cheeks, as well as several pineapple green cheeks! We've chosen the normal coloration 3 more weeks approximately of hand feeding and we can go pick our little one up!

I do however have a quick cage question. What are the cage requirements for a green cheek? All the cages I like that are large enough have a bar spacing of 5/8". Is this too big for our little green cheek?

5/8" is fine for a GCC. I'd recommend a fairly large cage, as they are very active and excellent climbers and will enjoy the extra space. Mine is in a cage about 32"H x 25"L x 22" D. A bit smaller is fine, but he covers every inch of his cage with his climbing.

Best of luck with your new GCC. I think you will really enjoy her/him.

Hi John, thanks for the help! We're currently struggling with what type of cage to buy, but I believe we have narrowed it down to the following two :

BIRDCAGES4LESS.com: Lahaina Lanai™ Playtop

BIRDCAGES4LESS.com: Tiki Treehouse™

I like the first one personally, because of the play top, and the horizontal bars on the sides, which I thought would be good for climbing. I also like that it comes with stainless steel dishes. The second one I like because of the size and price. It also has 1/2" bar spacing, which I really liked. However, it comes with plastic dishes. Which I'm not a fan of. What do you guys think? Oh, and the second one has free shipping, which everyone loves!

If I were choosing, I would definitely go with the first one. The playtop and stainless steel bowls, and the seed catcher are big advantages. Also, I don't think the second one has swing out doors for the food dishes.

Your absolutely right John, I definitely prefer the stainless steel dishes and seed catcher! Thank you!

The breeder told us some people have a separate "sleep cage" for their birds. Any of you guys do that? And if so, what size should a sleep cage be for a green cheek? We're thinking about getting on so we can keep him in the bedroom with us at night, away from the kitties! Since his cage will be in the living room, I would much prefer him to be safe in our bedroom!

Only 2 more weeks until we get to bring him home Pictures will definitely be posted!

Aloha071687 said:

Hi John, thanks for the help! We're currently struggling with what type of cage to buy, but I believe we have narrowed it down to the following two :

BIRDCAGES4LESS.com: Lahaina Lanai™ Playtop

BIRDCAGES4LESS.com: Tiki Treehouse™

I like the first one personally, because of the play top, and the horizontal bars on the sides, which I thought would be good for climbing. I also like that it comes with stainless steel dishes. The second one I like because of the size and price. It also has 1/2" bar spacing, which I really liked. However, it comes with plastic dishes. Which I'm not a fan of. What do you guys think? Oh, and the second one has free shipping, which everyone loves!

Click to expand...

I like having stainless steel bowls and guards also. This is the cage I have for my GCC Marvelous Pet Supplies Chateau X-Large Bird Cage at PETCO

I really like it, and River loves the space to play.

Ok, I have more questions! I'm torn between two breeders. The first one is Marianne Waldon of Heaven's Little Darlings Aviary ; Home Page

And the second is Susan Newman of Windsong Aviary and Miniature Poodles ; Home - Windsong Aviary & Miniature Poodles

The first one has two males, and the second has 4 females. The first one is only 3.5 hours away, while the other is 7.5 hours. We would be driving to pick up our baby, so I want to make the right decision.

My first question is about different sexes. I had originally thought of getting a male, but the one breeder told me they tend to be more aggressive. However, the other woman told me this isn't necessarily true. I've also heard terrible things with females and egg binding problems, but that they are sweeter in personality.

I have to hurry up and make up my mind, as we're starting to make plans to drive down to the second one (susan) this saturday. She's 7.5 hours away from us, so I really have to be positive I'm making the right decision. Male or female??! I seem to notice that most people have males, any reason for this? Also, what will happen when she reaches sexual maturity? I'll be the main caregiver, as I'm home most often, while my fiance, Branson, works long hours and won't have much to do with her. Do you think when she reaches sexual maturity, she will change her affections from me to him?

Has anyone had any problems with their green cheeks and egg binding? I'm so worried it's going to happen, and being a first time bird owner, I wouldn't have a clue what to do!

Sorry for the rant everyone! Hope you can help

When I got River, he hadn't been DNA'd yet, but the breeder was pretty sure he was a male based on his pelvic bone shape. I was hoping for a male just to not have to worry about the egg binding thing. I don't know if there's a difference in personality for males/females, but my little boy is a sweetie!

Our Conure picked us and we were told he's probably male...I tend to believe it based on his actions...he just acts like a boy. He's bold, active, acrobatic...absolutely hysterical!

We also have a male tiel and a female tiel kept in seperate cages. Our male tiel talks and talks and whistles and is a GREAT bird. Our female tiel is somewhat boring compared to our males. She's quiet and reserved in her behavior. I'm GUESSING...not at all positive...but merely guessing in my theory - that female conures may be somewhat more reserved then male conures...just because male birds in general tend to have "courting" dances and songs that tend to make them more entertaining then females.

In my experience also..male birds tend to be more interested in learning to talk (human words) ...our male tiel is learning quite an extensive vocabulary and our 4 1/2 month old conure is also picking up the vocabulary from our tiel, more than us, because he listens to our tiel all day long! LOL

Although sometimes difficult to understand, because conures have a very rough, gruff, gravelly voice..our conure says pretty pretty bird, what'cha doin and him a good boy and he makes the kissing sound as well.

Yes, our Franklin has had his moments of being a bitey but t...but his bites don't really hurt that bad, they aren't unbearable and we've been teaching him the words..>"No bite" and "be Nice" and he's really picking up on that and if exploratory nibbling becomes too rough, we'll say either be nice or no bite and he'll stop and look at us.

Either way...good luck and we all can't wait to see pictures of your new addition!

Toni

I have a GCC and he is usually a very quiet bird (until he decides to immitate the screeming lovebird we used to have) He loves to chill on my shoulder, but doesn't cuddle much. He was surprisingly easy to train, and listening to him talk is hillarious! I would definitely suggest a GCC!

"They also probably have just slightly less "large bird" personality than a poicephalus or a larger conure, but they are still very interactive."

what does this mean when someone says they have a large bird personality or a less of a large bird personality"

If you can, get a cage with horizontal bars, it makes it easier for them to climb about in. My cage came with plastic food bowls, but I switched them out for stainless steel coop cups.

This is my cage [ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005QKBZBM/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00]Aviary Cage Bird Parrot Mesh Breeding Cage (75.5x56.5x99cm): Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies[/ame]

It's huge and very good value for money. He loves playing with all his toys in there.

Aloha071687 said:

Ok, I have more questions! I'm torn between two breeders. The first one is Marianne Waldon of Heaven's Little Darlings Aviary ; Home Page

And the second is Susan Newman of Windsong Aviary and Miniature Poodles ; Home - Windsong Aviary & Miniature Poodles

The first one has two males, and the second has 4 females. The first one is only 3.5 hours away, while the other is 7.5 hours. We would be driving to pick up our baby, so I want to make the right decision.

My first question is about different sexes. I had originally thought of getting a male, but the one breeder told me they tend to be more aggressive. However, the other woman told me this isn't necessarily true. I've also heard terrible things with females and egg binding problems, but that they are sweeter in personality.

I have to hurry up and make up my mind, as we're starting to make plans to drive down to the second one (susan) this saturday. She's 7.5 hours away from us, so I really have to be positive I'm making the right decision. Male or female??! I seem to notice that most people have males, any reason for this? Also, what will happen when she reaches sexual maturity? I'll be the main caregiver, as I'm home most often, while my fiance, Branson, works long hours and won't have much to do with her. Do you think when she reaches sexual maturity, she will change her affections from me to him?

Has anyone had any problems with their green cheeks and egg binding? I'm so worried it's going to happen, and being a first time bird owner, I wouldn't have a clue what to do!

Sorry for the rant everyone! Hope you can help

Click to expand...

I like the second cage you posted. More spacious and a flat top to put a playgym on. You can add your own stainless steel food cups.

As far as male vs female, it all depend on how they were raised IMO. They can both learn to talk (different from the Cockatiel which is true that male tend to be more vocal than female, not so in GCC). They can both be cuddly or bossy etc.... Each has their own personality.

I would be more picky with the breeder. I would choose that first, then decide which baby to get. Based on the 2 websites, I would pick the second one, Windsong. I don't know any of them though so my choice is not based from experience.

Rio Mom said:

Aloha071687 said:

Hi John, thanks for the help! We're currently struggling with what type of cage to buy, but I believe we have narrowed it down to the following two :

BIRDCAGES4LESS.com: Lahaina Lanai™ Playtop

BIRDCAGES4LESS.com: Tiki Treehouse™

I like the first one personally, because of the play top, and the horizontal bars on the sides, which I thought would be good for climbing. I also like that it comes with stainless steel dishes. The second one I like because of the size and price. It also has 1/2" bar spacing, which I really liked. However, it comes with plastic dishes. Which I'm not a fan of. What do you guys think? Oh, and the second one has free shipping, which everyone loves!

Click to expand...

I like having stainless steel bowls and guards also. This is the cage I have for my GCC Marvelous Pet Supplies Chateau X-Large Bird Cage at PETCO

I really like it, and River loves the space to play.

Click to expand...

I also really LOVE that cage!