I need help preparing!

way2scary4u

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Mar 19, 2014
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Pineapple conure
Hey guys, I need some help preparing for my new soon to be yellow sided green cheek. I was just wondering what exactly I will been before he/she gets here and what I need to do after he/she gets here.

I also am in a bit of a toss up here. I have an older cage with dimensions of 24"H, 21"L, 16"W that I used to house my parakeets in. I'm thinking this is too small but was told that it was okay for a 6-8 month old green cheek. Is it fine for now or should I just buy a bigger cage now?


I have been doing research and almost everyone says that after bringing the bird home, you should let it adjust to its surroundings. How long do I wait?

Sorry for all the questions. I have been doing much research and just want to get everything perfect.
 

riddick07

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Dec 22, 2011
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Blue & Gold Macaw (Titan) & Yellow Naped Amazon (Kelly)
I brought Monkey home when she was around 6 months old and she was immediately put in her 36X24X22 cage. She settled in really fast. Hanging upside down, exploring her cage, coming out the first day! My other one was not so fast. He wasn't comfortable coming out right away and the big cage freaked him out and he wouldn't eat and drink. So I dragged out my old cockatiel cage and set him up in their for awhile since it was significantly smaller. He settled in right away and after a week or so was able to move into his own 36X24X22 cage for good:)

I think the cage you mentioned is a little small. I would go bigger but my cages are really big compared to the recommended minimum and my own don't use all the space. I actually just moved them into just one of the 36X24X22 levels to live together. Now all the space is used! They seemed to have split the space in half for who gets to go where though they will be seen sharing the same space in the cage too. A minimum for me would be around 26X24X24 but a bigger cage is usually better. Mine just happen to be lazy birds that don't do much but yours might be super active and need a lot of space just for himself.

The bird will usually let you know when they are ready to come on out. If he is settling and comfortable(eating, drinking, playing, curious) on day one then you can open the door and ask if he wants to come out on day one. You might get one that doesn't want to come out right away and makes you wait. Or you could get one that makes you work for it and takes a couple weeks to come out. The bird will let you know when its ready!
 
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way2scary4u

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Mar 19, 2014
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Thank you :), I was leaning towards getting a new cage so thanks. Yeah I'm going in two weeks to pick out my bird. I'm so excited!! Is there any more advice you can give me that will benefit me and the bird?
 

riddick07

Well-known member
Dec 22, 2011
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Parrots
Blue & Gold Macaw (Titan) & Yellow Naped Amazon (Kelly)
I can't wait to see pics:) Do you have any names in mind?

A lot of my guys like baskets. I make up a bunch of different little toys to put in their and then toss food in and give it a shake so the food settles in-between all the different toys. So they spend their time tearing and foraging through toys. Folger my cockatoo has a tendency these days to toss his foot toys looking for food recently:p You can make this more difficult by hiding the food in the toys instead of just around them. As I said my green cheeks are generally too lazy to tear apart toys and want life to be easy. My sun on the other hand rips apart everything. More destructive then the cockatoo at this point!

An Example:

This is my suns cage with two baskets of foot toys and then the hanging basket (which can be used if you have a female looking to lay eggs).

Destruction:)

You want a lot of different perches! Wood, rope, flat space, different widths and lengths. Make sure the cage is setup before your baby comes home! Also, an area where they can hang out but not on you is good too:) Like a boing set up or a playstand or even things set up on the outside of the cage.

An example of all of them in one pic!


Do you have any ideas for diet? Found an avian vet near where you live?
 
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way2scary4u

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Yes I have an avian vet not far from me. I'm just so excited. Well definitely post pictures. I'm thinking to keep a little seed, and pellets in the cage at all times. Then giving fresh foods throughout the day such as peas, carrots, lettuce, kale, strawberries, apple, grapes, an occasional egg, past etc. Is this okay or should I go about it another way? I will definitely have a wide range of perches and toys to play with in the cage. We'll have to see if I get a lazy bum who doesn't want to work for food :D.
 

Kiwibird

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Jul 12, 2012
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1 BFA- Kiwi. Hatch circa 98', forever home with us Dec. 08'
Yes I have an avian vet not far from me. I'm just so excited. Well definitely post pictures. I'm thinking to keep a little seed, and pellets in the cage at all times. Then giving fresh foods throughout the day such as peas, carrots, lettuce, kale, strawberries, apple, grapes, an occasional egg, past etc. Is this okay or should I go about it another way? I will definitely have a wide range of perches and toys to play with in the cage. We'll have to see if I get a lazy bum who doesn't want to work for food :D.

Hi and congrats on your new bird! I think overall, your diet sounds like a very healthy one. You will have to wait and see though what your birds eating habits are, and judge their routine from there. Some of them will just dig in to anything you put in their dish and others are much more picky. The fruit and veg. are the MOST important part of a birds diet, as they are primarily fruit eaters in nature, so they should be eating a reasonable quantity of them every day.

We have to give our amazon his fruit first (when he super hungry in the AM) and let him eat a good portion before we give him his other food (he gets a special cooked mix for parrots) or else he will not eat his fruit at all. He is not so picky with his veg. at night, so he just gets that on top of his food. He gets and hour or so to eat at his am/pm feedings to keep him at a healthy weight (certain birds are prone to obesity in captivity) and prevent food spoilage. He also gets portioned meals, a heaping spoonful of his cooked food (which is more filling than dry food) and about 1/8cup of fruit or veg. Obviously, he does not "clean the plate" but he gets ample variety and theres not major amounts of waste. If you are feeding dry food, about 1/4 cup per feeding is fine (seed or pellet). Their dishes do not need to be filled to the brim with food, and all that does is promote overeating, unhealthy weight gain and waste food. We provide a small amount of seed during the day for him to snack on, but he rarely touches it. Just a personal thing, but I like to feed him fruit in the morning because of the sugar content so he will have energy all day and veg. at night so he doesn't get a sugar rush before bed. My parents birds LOVE fresh produce and will devour it before they touch their seed, so they don't need a special feeding routine. And every bird has preferences with fruit and veg, just like we do. He might not like, say apples, but he goes nuts over bananas, and that's ok. Feed him more banana then. You will just have to wait and see how his eating habits are and what his preferences are:)

As for table food, it is very healthy for birds to get "safe" human food in small quantities. The healthiest birds who live the longest eat off the table regularly. They may primarily eat fruit, but they are omnivores, so small amounts of our food mimics the small amounts of random things they would eat in nature (such as instead of a protien-rich bug they'd eat in nature, they eat a bite of protein rich egg off your breakfast plate). Dairy is one of those things some birds can handle small bites of, and others get an upset tummy from. Parrots obviously aren't mammals and never ingest milk naturally, so many are lactose-intolorent. Though a fair amount (including my boy) enjoy a small cube of cheese or some yogurt every once in a while and suffer no ill effects. Others will get an upset tummy, so be observant if you offer your bird dairy products. Many people actually bring their parrots to the table at mealtimes, as it is a good bonding experience and they thoroughly enjoy all the food. You do have to have a relatively healthy diet though, because if they get used to coming to the table, they will come to expect it and expect you to share. If you eat a lot of processed, fatty, excessively salty or sweets it may be best not to get your bird into that routine and instead offer them bits of appropriate healthy table foods in their dish when you eat them. While an occasional nibble of something that has refined sugar or salt won't kill them, they certainly shouldn't be ingesting those things frequently or in large quantities. Anyways, best of luck!
 
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way2scary4u

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Mar 19, 2014
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Pineapple conure
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Thanks for all the help guys, this really helps. Guess I jut have to wait ad see how my bird acts to things
 
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way2scary4u

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Mar 19, 2014
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Pineapple conure
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I got my bird ImageUploadedByTapatalk1395434133.398034.jpg
She is SOOOOOO CUTE. She is in a smaller cage until my other cage comes. She was unexpected. We went to pick up another bird for my grandparents and this bird loved playing with me. I instantly made my decision that I was going to buy her. Also, she is fine with me giving her head scratches but she isn't ready to come out if the cage yet. I'm going to let her stay there for a little while but I'm keeping the door open so when she decides to come out she can :)
 
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