Baby green cheek

hi, we just picked up a baby Green Cheek on Saturday. He's young and we're still feeding him formula, 3x daily, once at 630am and again at 4pm and 10pm. This is my first Green Cheek so I have a few questions.

1. Cleanup - formula feeding can get messy and he ends up wearing some of it. I've been giving him a wipe down with a warm water papertowel but not sure that it's getting all the formula off. Should I bathe him? If so are there any tricks? will he flip out?

2. His cage - the pet shop gave us a small plastic tank like cage for him since he's young. It has a built in heating pad. I feel bad leaving him in there because it's so small. I'd like to put him in his future cage now, but not sure if it's a good idea.

3. Mood - we've only had him for a few days so i'm sure he's still confused. Sometimes he loves being taken out of his cage/tank thing and climbs all over us and hangs out. Other times though he seems really annoyed at being bothered and fusses if we try to take him out. Again, I feel bad that his current home is so small so i tried to have him out a lot, and since he's been feed formula sometimes he has to come out to eat. Is this normal for a baby? Not sure if I should just let him be and not bring him out for a week or two.

Companion parrots will usually bathe, given to opportunity...many try to do it in their water dish if not provided other opportunities.....but washing him/her down with a cloth/paper towel is alright for now.....some young birds will bathe before the fledge & some take longer to figure out they can do more with water than just drink it.....

How are you feeding formula? Just be careful that it is warm enough, but not hot enough to burn tongue and/or crop.....

Your best bet on a cage will be online.....don't know where you might be in the city, but 33rd and Bird is not there any more, so don't have any suggestions in the city.....

Don't know what your budget is or how much space you have, but the unofficial rule of thumb from most bird owners is to get the largest cage you can afford...so that you can add toys, swings, pedicure perches, etc...and to give to bird exercise room, but for a single green cheek, something in the 30"x30"x24" might work to start.....

Congrats on your new bird & welcome to the forum.....

Isn't this your first bird? I'm curious to know why you chose a unweaned baby... Weaning a bird is a very specific thing. Are you going to weigh him daily, make sure you don't over fill the crop that it's draining correctly, and how to wean properly? A bird that takes to long to wean can have major health issues. Are you prepared for vet bills if something goes wrong? Were I live it's illegal to buy a unweaned baby from a pet store or bird show/mart.

I'm not trying to scare you, I just want to make sure you are prepared and know what your getting into.

It wasn't presented to me as an issue. The shop owner made it seem very normal to buy a bird this age and provided a demo on how to feed him. That being said perhaps they were more concerned with making the sale then what was best for the bird. But at the same time I think my home is probably a better environment than the pet shop and the procedures I'm following are what the pet shop owner would have done regardless.

rjl410 said:

It wasn't presented to me as an issue. The shop owner made it seem very normal to buy a bird this age and provided a demo on how to feed him. That being said perhaps they were more concerned with making the sale then what was best for the bird. But at the same time I think my home is probably a better environment than the pet shop and the procedures I'm following are what the pet shop owner would have done regardless.

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Unfortunately any shop that sells a unweaned baby is more concerned with the sale than the birds well fare. It is irresponsible and and so many people do so after being told it's easy.

I hope it turns out ok for you and your conure, please don't hesitate to ask any questions. There are a lot of experienced hand feeders here who can give you advice.

How old is your Green Cheek? It is easier for us to give you pointers as far as cage/tank/weaning etc if we know the age. Also you could put up pictures of the cage he is in now and pics of him too.....

5-6 weeks old, he's in a small reptile like cage, plastic roof and clear plastic walls with heating pad.

I would have him in a small weaning cage with very low perches and toys so that he can practice perching. He should also have a bit of food like millet, soaked pellets, soft veggies that he can start beaking on. IN ADDITION to the formula still.

PS: Unless you live in a really cold climate, your bird doesn't need a heating pad any longer.....He is fully feathered.

Also, he is darn CUTE!!!

He looks like 6 weeks old....

If you havn't already please buy a gram scale, you must moniter your birds weight daily, even several times a day. His way you will notice if your bird is loosing weight, something that is surprisingly hard to do with small birds.

I still weigh Rosie and keep track of her weight, and I will do so with Kenji once be is more comfertible with me.