This is Foggy...

Foggy is a green-cheek conure and he's been our buddy for three months now. He comes from PetCo so we don't know his age for sure, but they said he was hand-fed and had just arrived that week when we got him.

My girlfriend is allergic to just about anything furry, and we live in an apartment, so after some research I persuaded her to try a green cheek. She wasn't sure a bird would be snuggly enough...





He doesn't use many English words, but he understands a lot. He knows "Up up," although he seems to think it's just a general happy greeting when it's time to hang out rather than a specific command to step up... he'll walk back and forth on my shoulder going "UpupUpupUpupUp," when he's happy to be out. He also learned to imitate my girlfriend's car locking chirp--when she was out of town for a few days he would sit and peep sadly at the door at her usual time.

We were able to mostly-potty-train him in a couple of days. When we tell him "Good night" and start turning out the lights he scrambles to get under the branches of his Ho-lee Roller pinata. He lies on his back and kicks the crap out of it during the day, but when it's bed time he loves to snuggle up next to the bell.

We have set up a bird cam to keep an eye on him while we're at work; it's fun to be able to catch him taking a bath in his dish or eating breakfast or gleefully knocking over his ladder.

We switched him from seeds to pellets lately and he took to them really well. He likes greens and apples and all kinds of berries; bananas and carrots haven't been as well received. He won't take any kind of treat from us directly; we have to put it down and then he sneaks up on it. Sunflower seeds are the only exception.

He does bite a little, but he is usually responsive to commands to be gentle, and to be honest I think if I was a little more disciplined he would cut it out... my girlfriend won't handle him when he's bitey and he never even tries with her anymore, but I guess he knows I'm a soft touch! But he is molting lately, and has gradually gotten comfortable letting me help with the pinnies.

Love this post - gorgeous! You guys are doing awesome with him! That birdycam sounds like great fun

I'm watching him nap on his swing right now! It's a great distraction/relaxer during the day.

With the molt, his flight feathers are growing back in (they clipped him at the pet store) so I have to make a decision soon... I've been reading a lot of the backlog here about the topic! Great resource.

Welcome! Looks like your girlfriend found out soon enough how snuggly a conure can be! Foggy is a real cutie

He's adorable! What a cute name too!

Altum said:

I'm watching him nap on his swing right now! It's a great distraction/relaxer during the day.

With the molt, his flight feathers are growing back in (they clipped him at the pet store) so I have to make a decision soon... I've been reading a lot of the backlog here about the topic! Great resource.

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I hear ya. I first got Henry at 8 months, and he was 'like a rock' clipped. He'll wear a harness, but in harness he's not bitey/naughty/in pain, but acts disinterested and is silent. Out of harness, he's chatting up a storm, excited and happy to go to anyone I give him to. He LOVES the car, day trips, visiting school etc......and I so want him to be able to fly.....but.....

argh.

I think I'm going to have him clipped once more, properly though, and keep working on recall and 'happy harness' training.

Foggy is a real cutie and obviously doesn't mind snuggling at all. Adorable photos and story, thanks for sharing.

Skittys_Daddy said:

He's adorable! What a cute name too!

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He's named after Matt Murdoch's partner! We thought calling him Daredevil would be tempting fate...

itchyfeet said:

I hear ya. I first got Henry at 8 months, and he was 'like a rock' clipped. He'll wear a harness, but in harness he's not bitey/naughty/in pain, but acts disinterested and is silent. Out of harness, he's chatting up a storm, excited and happy to go to anyone I give him to. He LOVES the car, day trips, visiting school etc......and I so want him to be able to fly.....but.....

argh.

I think I'm going to have him clipped once more, properly though, and keep working on recall and 'happy harness' training.

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I haven't tried him in a harness yet... he can flutter a bit now, and glide quite a long way, but it's definitely a Buzz Lightyear "falling with style" at the moment.

I KNEW I'd heard that name before, I just couldn't figure it out! Foggy Nelson!

Skittys_Daddy said:

I KNEW I'd heard that name before, I just couldn't figure it out! Foggy Nelson!

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The pet store called him Gaius, which we thought was a little overly dignified for him... but that same day we saw a really sweet cat in the store who was named Atticus, so we wanted to stick with the legal theme... and we'd just finished the Netflix series at the time.

It's a little convoluted but now that it's "his" name it's hard to imagine calling him anything else. And since we haven't had a DNA test done it's good that it's not really gender specific, I guess.

My heart swelled reading your post. You summed up conure ownership and personality perfectly!

Bird cam...OMG! I would NEVER stop watching it if I had one. Not good...I'm a school bus driver...I'd be FIRED! HAHAHA!

But actually... What a great idea! I just adopted a plucked Amazon and a cam set up watching her may come in handy. May have to look into it.

Thanks for your great post. Foggy is adorable!

Toni

The service I'm using, Manything, is free and it just takes home wifi and a spare iPhone camera. You can view the feed from a computer or iPhone and they just added an Android beta. My girlfriend just upgraded her phone right around the time we got him so it worked out perfectly... there are a lot of options out there, though. I know some of my co-workers watch their dogs etc at home.

Foggy is adorable! Looks like your girlfriend has found a cuddly friend for sure
I really would love to have a birdie cam in my bird room to see what all they do when I'm not around. Thank you for the idea!

Altum said:

Skittys_Daddy said:

I KNEW I'd heard that name before, I just couldn't figure it out! Foggy Nelson!

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The pet store called him Gaius, which we thought was a little overly dignified for him... but that same day we saw a really sweet cat in the store who was named Atticus, so we wanted to stick with the legal theme... and we'd just finished the Netflix series at the time.

It's a little convoluted but now that it's "his" name it's hard to imagine calling him anything else. And since we haven't had a DNA test done it's good that it's not really gender specific, I guess.

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true. I bet he's quite a marvel too! haha. I love that Netflix series too. They have another one premiering this fall too!

If I 'HAD' to rename Skittles, I'd name him 'Loki' cause he's such a trickster. But honestly, I can't picture him as anything other than 'Skittles'. Even though that's a very common sun conure name, it just fits him perfectly. He's sweet and colorful and sometimes a little tart.

Aw congrats! He is so so sooo cute! Lilo is the most cuddly pet I have

Lovely story - Foggy is a great name!!

A couple more Foggy pics

I enjoyed reading about Foggy and your ownership experience with him so far. Foggy shares so many of the similar likes as my Jango does ... Jango loves eating almonds (although I try not to feed him too many) and he loves green apples. I tried feeding him bananas, cantaloupe and carrots as well but he doesn't eat em. My wife will let Jango crawl onto and perch on her finger; but is terrified of petting him because he has nipped hard at her a few times. I have a few questions if you don't mind answering; so I can see what kind of routine you guys have for Foggy and also what he exhibits; that way can do a comparison with how Jango is...

1.) What time do you guys put in the cage for the night?
2.) Do you guys cover the cage with any type of sheet or light-shielding object?
3.) What time do you guys take him out of the cage in the mornings?
4.) At the sound of your voices for the first time in the mornings even before taking him out of the cage does he yell out a storm?
5.) How do you discipline him when he does bite you?

DesiConure said:

I enjoyed reading about Foggy and your ownership experience with him so far. Foggy shares so many of the similar likes as my Jango does ... Jango loves eating almonds (although I try not to feed him too many) and he loves green apples. I tried feeding him bananas, cantaloupe and carrots as well but he doesn't eat em. My wife will let Jango crawl onto and perch on her finger; but is terrified of petting him because he has nipped hard at her a few times. I have a few questions if you don't mind answering; so I can see what kind of routine you guys have for Foggy and also what he exhibits; that way can do a comparison with how Jango is...

1.) What time do you guys put in the cage for the night?

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He sleeps when we do. It's a less than the ideal amount of sleeping time for GCCs, but it doesn't seem to bother him--he never tries to go to sleep until we shut out the lights, and even then he has to grumble and situate himself for a little while. He naps a lot during the day, though.... I am watching him napping on the birdcam right now.

We usually go to bed around 10, so he is back in there at the latest. He also spends a fair amount of time in his cage, but hanging out with us--his cage is right in our living room at the end of the couch, so he can get his flock time. But at 10 we tell him good night and leave the room and shut out the lights.

2.) Do you guys cover the cage with any type of sheet or light-shielding object?

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Only if we want to cover him up during the day for some reason; at night it's dark enough with the lights off.

3.) What time do you guys take him out of the cage in the mornings?

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We both work, so he usually doesn't get out first thing in the morning, unless he sneaks out while I'm changing his food and water. If I have extra time in the morning I will play with him on top of the cage, but he doesn't like climbing on my work shirts... they're too slippery, I think. We get up around 7:30.

4.) At the sound of your voices for the first time in the mornings even before taking him out of the cage does he yell out a storm?

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It depends. If he's awake and we're awake in the other room and he hears us, he will definitely let us know that we need to come make the lights come back, please. Most mornings I wake him up when I come out of the bedroom, though. If I take too long getting to his food and water while I put on my shoes or something he will go stand over the bowls and chatter at me.

5.) How do you discipline him when he does bite you?

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Mostly by putting him away, if it's a really bad bite.

The big problem I have is that if he knows I am going to put him away anyway, he bites me really hard because he knows he has nothing to lose. This is especially bad if he slips out in the morning while I'm giving him his food--he knows the worst I will do to him is what I'm trying to do anyway, so he is REALLY uncooperative.

I don't really know the solution to that one.

Altum ... thanks for the response and input. You bring up a great point about the potty training. As for your dilemma with Foggy biting you and the appropriate disciplinary action in turn...yeah it must be tough especially if Foggy doesnt mind going back in the cage. My conure would respond to that disciplinary action very well since he hates being in the cage.

How many hours on average on an average does Foggy spend being handled by you guys?