Green Cheek Conure

I had a male green cheeked conure, but had to give him up(It was either him or my Lory). I was just wondering if anyone has experience with males once they hit maturity, and talk about the biting problem. Does this dissipate after a year or two, or are they just a very entertaining pain in the butt for the rest of their life? This was the only bird I had that would actually call within about a minute of the alarm clock going off. Has anyone else experienced this?

Aizen has yet to hit the puberty months, so I can't comment. I get the impression that he's approaching it (hang on, I'm commenting!), but we've had some changes here (I now live alone), so that may just be it.

Regarding the alarm; he tends to make no noise until he hears me move around. Not much noise, mind you.

Hormones will flare in either gender of parrot & you cannot predict the seriousness of one season's levels before hand, however, a GC only lasts a month or two & usually goes back to being their old funny selves.....until their next mating season, normally in six months.....

The best thing to do is keep a journal on each of your birds, health notes, records of what you are feeding & when you change foods, when moulting begins & if the case may be, when eggs are laid. Keeping the journal will warn you when the next breeding season is forthcoming so you can stop body petting/stroking & go to head scritches only; it can help you determine if a bird develops any allergies to foods or other things, when dealing with plucking or other issues; keeping a regular listing of a bird's weights can alert you to potential illnesses.

Now, for a bird that's that good at time keeping, you may not be able to find another, but knowing when the next hormonal rush is about to begin can save help you stave off the biting...even if you need to clip wings or provide more cage time.....

weco said:

Hormones will flare in either gender of parrot & you cannot predict the seriousness of one season's levels before hand, however, a GC only lasts a month or two & usually goes back to being their old funny selves.....until their next mating season, normally in six months.....

The best thing to do is keep a journal on each of your birds, health notes, records of what you are feeding & when you change foods, when moulting begins & if the case may be, when eggs are laid. Keeping the journal will warn you when the next breeding season is forthcoming so you can stop body petting/stroking & go to head scritches only; it can help you determine if a bird develops any allergies to foods or other things, when dealing with plucking or other issues; keeping a regular listing of a bird's weights can alert you to potential illnesses.

Now, for a bird that's that good at time keeping, you may not be able to find another, but knowing when the next hormonal rush is about to begin can save help you stave off the biting...even if you need to clip wings or provide more cage time.....

Click to expand...

I didn't know green cheeks bred twice a year. I just assumed it was once a year. That explains his temperament. I have a 7 year old female Bodin's Amazon that acts like a green cheek without the biting and shrill call. Only been bitten 3 times mildly by the amazon because I ignored her warnings.

In the wild, most conures nest in the spring, when the weather & food are optimum, but with companion birds, where most live indoors, with plentiful food & usually optimal conditions and stimulation, many birds will become hormonal twice a year.....then there are breeders who will set their breeders up to produce three clutches per year.

Almost all companion parrots will communicate with you via body language.....the problem is usually us...we simply don't bother to learn their body language, though it may be easier to read larger birds than the smaller ones.....

I was offered a normal two year old green cheek conure because she (sex unkonwn) bites. When I went over to handle the bird and interact with her, she did completely fine! The only time she bit me was when I held her on her back (something she is *NOT* comfortable with) to get a good look at her feet and to move her band back up her leg, since she had one of her toes stuck in the ring.

I also handled a green cheek conure at a pet store. This bird was also known for being nippy and hard to handle by the employees. I didn't handle her nearly as long as the other, but I had no problems interacting with her, either.



Truth is, conures are nippy birds. The pyrrhura conures especially are known for being nippy. If you don't know how to read a birds body language, or how to interact with them, you are bound to get a lot of nips and bites!


Having said that, I do have a mitred conure. He is a temperamental brat! But he's *my* brat! Picking up a shiny object, turning on water, picking him up when he's not ready, even petting him for "too long" (even if it's only been a couple of seconds) or when he's not in the mood will all result in a nip from him. The better I read his behavior, the less likely it is that I'll get a nip from him.

Cricket does bite a lot, I just try not to acknowledge and play into it.

Shame you had to give him up, sexual maturity can be a toughie with parrots. X