Got my little pal, now I have a load of questions.

Pinkstiletto66

New member
Sep 25, 2011
176
0
NYC
So instead of making different threads I will try and put it all together.

1. Its unsexed so I need a nice unisex name.

2. I'd like some great taming tips. For now I'm taking softly by the cage, getting her accustom to the new living space. I gave her a piece of apple. I put it in her cup since she doesn't know me well to take it directly from me. How long did your untamed bird warmed up?

3. I'm thankful for the toy thread, because that helps with one of the question, but what else do I need in my cage. What are the top five/ten must haves besides food and water? I have a comfy perch, a swing, a toy coming today in the mail.

4. What are the top five play things needed for a conure?

5. Should I get a cuttlebone? Is that the best way to get calcium besides pellets?

6. Should I get a perch that is meant to grind their toes nails? Also I remember seeing a perch that was shaped kinda like chewed gum/odd shaped adult toy? Hard to explain, but the purpose of the perch was so the feet wont get accustom to the regular perch shape, and it was better for their feet.

7. Is it once a year that feathers grow from a clipping? My gcc is currently partially clipped. It can glide, it's not completely unflighted. I am going to wait until its a bit more comfortable before I let her out to wander. What do you think?

8. What are your birds favorite treats not made specifically for birds, i.e. vegetable/fruit?

9. How often do you mist? Once a day?

If you can't answer all it's okay. Thanks in advance.
 

everdusk

New member
Oct 27, 2011
111
0
Nova Scotia, Canada
Parrots
Marzipan (Hahns Macaw) & Pip & Monte ('tiels) // In Memory: Countess ('tiel), Primrose (GCC), Pauly, Star, Yoshi & Keitaro (budgies)
Some names I loved when I was looking for a name for Prim were:
Java
Risk
Tawny

I'm also interested in hearing responses to your questions! I heard shreadables and forage toys are really great for Conures to keep them busy, and stainless steel dishes.... Happy huts too! I made my own with a simple pattern with fleece.
 

andrea.faerie

New member
May 16, 2011
751
1
North Carolina
Parrots
My lovely little Black Cap Conure, Lucy (in the sky with diamonds) <3
1. Its unsexed so I need a nice unisex name.
KIWI! haha I have no idea... I'm not good at naming LOL

2. I'd like some great taming tips. For now I'm taking softly by the cage, getting her accustom to the new living space. I gave her a piece of apple. I put it in her cup since she doesn't know me well to take it directly from me. How long did your untamed bird warmed up?
Lucy took no time at all.. she loved me in the store! haha Bleu on the other hand is a challenge. I just talk to him every day, ask him if i can scritch his head (he lets me know yes by extending his neck to my fingers or no by sqwaking and running to the other side of the cage lol). He's getting better and I'e come to realize his cage is HIS space. It took me a bit to get used to that most basic of rules since I can just stick my hand in Lucy's cage no problem... I really have to give him quite a bit of respect for putting up with me haha I just sit on the end of my bed and talk to him or read my text books out loud when i have a reading assignment :) I sing in the shower too so I leave the bathroom door open and he sings from his perch! haha It's so funny. I mimic him a lot too.

3. I'm thankful for the toy thread, because that helps with one of the question, but what else do I need in my cage. What are the top five/ten must haves besides food and water? I have a comfy perch, a swing, a toy coming today in the mail.
TOYS! there's almost no room for this bird in Lu's cage (so my boyfriend says... she's got plenty of room haha) Lucy has 2 rope perches, 2 natural grapewood perches, a perch that came with the cage, an extra bowl for treats/fruits/veggies, 3 bells that i decorated with ribbon and buttons, a ball with a bell inside that hangs from her cage, a rope/wood swing, a little tent in the corner, and 2-3 other hangy-chewy toys that get swapped out for other toys haha.

4. What are the top five play things needed for a conure?
It all depends on your conure! I have a play perch for Lu in the living room, Bleu is just too big for it haha. It has all kinds of toys on it and she plays with almost all of them :) I put a rope/wood toy on one of the "branches" of the perch for her to play with too, she wouldnt touch it in her cage but she LOVES it on her perch in the living room.
Lucy likes bells... LOTS of bells
She's also a fan of PAPER. I got a roll of adding tape paper and just sit the roll on top of her closed cage, then I just pull about 4 inches through the bars and she does the rest!

5. Should I get a cuttlebone? Is that the best way to get calcium besides pellets?
I'm not sure about cuttlebones for conures. Lu doesn't have one and the people at the bird store said she didn't need one if kept on a good diet :)

6. Should I get a perch that is meant to grind their toes nails? Also I remember seeing a perch that was shaped kinda like chewed gum/odd shaped adult toy? Hard to explain, but the purpose of the perch was so the feet wont get accustom to the regular perch shape, and it was better for their feet.
HAHAHA I know EXACTLY what you're talking about XD I laugh so hard whenever I see one LOL anyways! I have a sand perch but neither bird likes it. I just take them to the "birdie spa" every few weeks to get their nails trimmed :)

7. Is it once a year that feathers grow from a clipping? My gcc is currently partially clipped. It can glide, it's not completely unflighted. I am going to wait until its a bit more comfortable before I let her out to wander. What do you think?
The flight feathers will come back with the first molt. Lu is 6 months old and I'm not sure if she's in her molting stage yet. She's had pins ever since I've had her so i'm not sure lol

8. What are your birds favorite treats not made specifically for birds, i.e. vegetable/fruit?
BIRDIE BREAD! I just posted in the recipe's forum about it too haha
Lucy LOVES apples... good gracious she loves apples... both birds are fans of peppers (orange bell, Lu likes jalapeno's and bleu like habenero) They don't sense the heat in the peppers like we do :) lucky ducks (parrots haha). I also give them shaped pasta whenever I make spaghetti with different noodles or shaped mac-n-cheese. They don't have to be cooked either :) I give them raw ones before i cook the noodles and offer them cooked noodles after they're boiled too. Lucy prefers cooked noodles and bleu prefers uncooked.

9. How often do you mist? Once a day?
I don't mist the birds. Bleu gets the bathtub and Lucy gets a shower with me or a frisbee full of water on top of her cage :) Bleu doesn't like water so i'm getting him used to it, he'll shower with me when i'm more confident he won't try to eat my hand if i pick him up haha. Lucy gets a bath whenever she wants, I'll ask her and she responds by getting really excited and dancing if she wants one :)
 

Atwee921

New member
Apr 22, 2011
911
0
Maine, USA
Parrots
Sprite the cinnamon green cheek conure.
1. Sierra :)

2. Just sit next to her and read/watch TV with her cage door open. Let her play out and talk to her softly but dont try to pick her up. Soon she should get more used to you.

3. In my cage I have a wood toy with thin wood pieces for chewing, a awesome toy that almost looks like its handmade (but it is not-its a toy from Parrot Safari Toy Factory. Google them, their toys are awesome!), a leather-ish chew toy and a shred toy. I also have a ladder which he LOVES cuz it kinda helps him get from perch A to perch B xD I also have this natural wood chew toy that he likes.

4. Sprite LOVES toys from here Parrot Safari Toy Factory - Parrot Safari Toy Factory (Parrot Safari Toy Factory. I also got sprite from here) Sprite also loves this toy that just has a bunch of thin wood pieces that he chews up. Another toy he loves to shred is this: Planet Pleasures Parrot Pinata 5 Layer with Tassels Bird Toy at PETCO
Sprite also sleeps in his hut every night. I would get your baby one.

5. Sprite doesnt have a cuttlebone but I think im gonna get him one.

6. Dont get a perch to grind their toenails. I have a cement perch that Sprite likes but DONT get sandpaper. Weird shaped and twisted perches are good. Sprite has a wierd shaped natural wood perch and he loves it.

7. It'll probably take about 5 months for them to grow back but im not sure on this.

8. Sprite likes chewing on carrots and he likes apples. He also LOVES dried apricot and he likes peanuts with the shell half off.

9. Sprite likes to take baths in his water dish but he does get wet everywhere doing that so I give him a little shower in the shower every day/every other day.
Hope I helped :)
 

BirdieNumNum

New member
Oct 19, 2011
192
0
NY/NJ
Parrots
1 Pineapple GCC
2 Cockatiels
2 Budgies
1. Its unsexed so I need a nice unisex name.
Did you decide to get the normal or the pineapple baby? :) I have a list of names suggested by the forum members here, maybe you'll find a name you like! Mine was a definitely girl though. If you want to make a guess, you could try pelvic testing. I don't know how accurate it is but so far I have gotten it right every time!! If you're interested I can send you a PM :) http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/14000-name-ideas-my-pineapple-girl.html

2. I'd like some great taming tips. For now I'm taking softly by the cage, getting her accustom to the new living space. I gave her a piece of apple. I put it in her cup since she doesn't know me well to take it directly from me. How long did your untamed bird warmed up?
I had an untamed GCC a long time ago, before I moved to the east coast. He was very untame but he warmed up quickly! It took him 1-2 weeks. Since you have a baby I would say it might take anywhere from a couple weeks to a month or two? Every bird is different, so you can't really say for sure. My new baby is very tame, but something I did was I pet her a lot and I started giving her head scritches. At first she had no idea what I was trying to do and she was a little nervous - I don't know how you would start this slowly, so I just kind of went straight to it - and now she LOVES head scritches! I can cup my hand over her back and use my index finger and thumb to rub the sides of her head, or I can cup my hand in front of her face and she'll actually press her face into my hand (like a cat!) and I'll give her head scritches. And she closes her eyes, it's so cute and she absolutely loves it now! When you gain your baby's trust I would try this. Some things you have to do slowly, and with a new bird you should never just jump to things, but honestly I didn't know how else to do it. Of course you don't just start smothering your bird, but in the wild I think birds just start preening each other, so that's what I did.

3. I'm thankful for the toy thread, because that helps with one of the question, but what else do I need in my cage. What are the top five/ten must haves besides food and water? I have a comfy perch, a swing, a toy coming today in the mail.
I have a couple toys in Munchy's cage. She loves to chew on stuff, I guess she is in her beaking phase. I would have toys for chewing, destroying, and just playing with. Also have bowls so you can separate your fruits and veggies and pellets. It's good to have lots of toys and perches but don't crowd your bird's cage so he can't even spread his wings!

4. What are the top five play things needed for a conure?
I would say definitely toys for chewing. There aren't really specific "MUST have" toys, but I would experiment with some relatively inexpensive toys from the pet store at first so you can find out what type of toys your bird likes best. Then you can go out and buy fancier ones :D.

5. Should I get a cuttlebone? Is that the best way to get calcium besides pellets?
I have a cuttlebone, and when I held it up to my bird before clipping it to the side of her cage, she took two LARGE bites out of it lol! I haven't seen her chew it since, but I have it in there anyway :).

6. Should I get a perch that is meant to grind their toes nails? Also I remember seeing a perch that was shaped kinda like chewed gum/odd shaped adult toy? Hard to explain, but the purpose of the perch was so the feet wont get accustom to the regular perch shape, and it was better for their feet.
I think that's a good idea. I know there's something called a Pedi Perch, which is most recommended from what I've seen. It's pretty good. Just make sure you don't get the sandpaper covered dowels, those are terrible!

7. Is it once a year that feathers grow from a clipping? My gcc is currently partially clipped. It can glide, it's not completely unflighted. I am going to wait until its a bit more comfortable before I let her out to wander. What do you think?
I think birds molt twice a year? Maybe only once. I'm not sure. They change feathers regularly, but they have big molts at different times of the year. You will probably find the clipped feathers in her cage if she loses them, and when you start seeing unclipped feathers where she was clipped you can just clip them. I would keep her clipped so she doesn't try to take off every time you take her out. Some people say don't clip, but for taming it kind of "forces" them to give you a chance. And that's not always a bad thing! As long as you take small steps and don't scare her I think she will be fine. When you form a stronger bond you can stop clipping and let her wings grow in.

8. What are your birds favorite treats not made specifically for birds, i.e. vegetable/fruit?
Broccoli, bok choy, carrots, apples, pears, nectarine, pasta, rice (brown is best, but sometimes we give white rice), ummm that's all I can think of right now.. usually if my parents are cooking and they have some vegetable, I'll take a small piece and give it to my birds. Of course only after making sure it is safe!

9. How often do you mist? Once a day?
I don't mist my birds. My birds take baths every day in their water dishes lol! That's why I keep several. They even bathe in their water dispenser, which was my attempt to keep their water clean, but of course that didn't work lol! Your bird might try to dunk his head/chest in his water dish. If he doesn't, then I would try misting once a day or maybe once every other day? Not sure, maybe someone else can tell you exactly.

Please post pictures of your new baby!! :D
 

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