I have another thread where I've been asking how to hand-tame my 6-month old Green-cheek conure Mishka, but I figured she could use an introduction thread all her own.

Things I've learned so far since getting her Wednesday afternoon:
- she has no idea what to do with real fruits and veggies
- hand shy but not face shy
- love to explore and isn't at all isolated to her cage (3 escape attempts in as many days prove that!). This is good as I want to travel with her
- loves preening frayed rope but is still trying to figure out the wood toys

And, just because I finally figured out how to use Photobucket on an (broken; piecing these together took a while) iPhone, I can has PICS!!

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Now with Freedom Pics!!

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Like I mentioned she's not hand tame yet, which made getting her back in her cage after the escape attempts rather interesting (her first she hid beneath a towel and I wrapped her up; second time I took the top off her cage and she climbed back in). She's my little baby already, interested in my attention if not necessarily interested in my touching her, so as before any ideas are welcome.

What a cutie, and great pics!!!

We got our GCC about 3 months ago from a breeder. He was very tame, but hadn't learned to "step-up" yet (the breeder was working w/them, so it wasn't completely new to him).

She taught us how to "train" him to "step-up" and after a week we were able to use this to get him out of his cage, or off of the play gym.

I really think it is important to teach him the "step-up" and "step-down" tricks so that he will understand what you want him to do.

Did you buy any parrot books? We got 3 conure books, and then the "Parrots for Dummies" book. <--- great read -- lots of helpful info!

Like I said, I am fairly new to conure owning, and to this forum, but so far I have read a TON of great info. I am sure someone more experienced will come along with some great advice!

There seems to be a problem with how she is escaping ...
The doors open lol

What a cutie pie
it's amazing just how fast they work there way into your heart

good luck on years to come

Most everything you want your bird to do you must teach. Sometimes teaching by example is good. I am specifically addressing the playing with toys and eating fruits and vegies. Have her with you at your meal time and let her watch you eat the food you want her to eat. That way your are teaching her and letting her know it is safe to eat. That is what happens in the wild with a bird mom and baby.

gleek!: I sometimes wish I'd gotten mine from a breeder, just so I could play with her immediately!! But she definitely already has my heart; wants to be near me, even if she doesn't want to be touched.

Phoenix Rising: LOL! Yeah, my bad right? She's really interested in the outside world, although I got a bit nervous a few times the first time she got out (for me, she pulled an escape attempt on the Dude day 1) and circumnavigated my unbirdproofed apartment.

Thanks for the tips!! She couldn't have had what I ate for dinner today (except maybe the eggs but they were cooked in bacon fat) but I'll definitely try that soon! Wish she'd take things out of my hands (I wish a lot LOL) but I'm content with baby steps. It's only been 4 days after all - the fact she likes me has my heart happy.

She also likes my singing. Or maybe hates it - I don't know, but it gets her squwaking along!

Well while she won't eat the fresh fruit I'm happy to report she seems to enjoy some of the dried fruit I've added to her fresh fruit bowl. Perhaps it's the bite-sized pieces, but she's generally pretty careful not to drop them when she's eating.

I'm thinking about ways to introduce her to bathing. Her tail feathers look a little tatty at the ends (possibly due to living with other conure? Or do they just get like that?) and I'm certain she needs it. I'm hanging out with her now and she's busy preening; I'm trying to decide whether I should buy a spritzer bottle or set a container of water on the bottom of her cage? I'd rather her perches, ropes etc not get too wet, but should I just go get a chea spray bottle and see how she reacts?

It's so much fun to watch her, even if I can't physically play with her. She enjoys sticking her sunflower seeds into the water dish, probably to soften things up a tad.

ETA: I'm on my way to get her a water spritzer of her own. Shouldn't be more than a couple bucks and I can always use it elsewhere if she hates it.

A question though: what toys can I get her for the bottom of her cage? She enjoys walking down there, and I'd like to keep it interesting...

Was she in a cage or aviary ? Did they have a dish or largish water bowl they would have been able to bath in ?
If yes to the 2nd I would go for that option if not misting is a great way to intoduce her to it
put a towel down on floor and sit quiet far back from the cage so the mist only just teachs cage
this gets them used to the look of thr mist the sound of thr spray bottle being pumped and can intrege them to come closer to see what's going on or lick the water off the bars
make sure the water is warm
whatever her reaction the 1st time don't move closer
2nd time if she liked it last time move a little closer
if she didn't just stay at the same distance until she is comfy with it and then move forward
do it everyday for as long as it takes for you to be able to get close and give her a good bath
continue this for 3 days straight and then cut down to 1 or 2 a week

You can also try misting her while she is bathing in the food bowl and see how she takes it

Good luck

Actually, I ended up not getting the misting bottle. I watched her sink her chest into her water bowl and realized she already had a bathing preference, so I got a glass baking dish, put maybe an inch of water in it, and let her have at. It was real cute to watch her get all bedraggled and fluffy.

Any idea when the next molt is supposed to happen? Is there a certain time of year?

Awww... a beautiful birdy! One thing, though. How long is the frayed rope? They can strangle themselves on it if it is too long. A breeder I know online has lost 2 or 3 budgies that way before it was rectified.

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My Fids!

Budgies~

Marigold
Skye
Thimble
Lexi
Chubba Chubs
Zeus
Betty
Dude
Fang
Elly
Chloe
Zoe
Nixon
Phil
Cam
Annabell

Cockatiels~

Buzza
Jasper

Awesome that's great news ! I didn't catch how old she was sorry but it'd generally around the 1yr mark from dob and every year following
some have a small molt during the middle of year but I think that's generaly bigger species