hoping to bring home a green cheek tomorrow

sigaru

New member
Nov 16, 2010
22
Media
5
0
western massachusetts
Parrots
Freddie Mercury, cinnamon mutation green-cheek conure
hoping to bring home a green cheek tomorrow [HE'S HERE!!]

hiya :] i just joined the site because i've been doing some research and this definitely seems to be a good place to be a member of if i'm going to get a parrot. there is a "fancy" green cheek conure at my local pet store [i believe it is a cinnamon...my opinion is that they use the word "fancy" as a generic for different mutations of the green cheek, so that they don't need to have a different sign/label for each one]. i met him/her yesterday and spent some time with him petting and scratching his head through the bars, and letting him "explore" my finger with his beak [holding my finger while poking me with his tongue]. i thought about it overnight and went back to see him today [i work across the street from the shop] and he was just as sweet, and came over to see me even though he was in the middle of eating. i scratched his head some more and asked the person there if i could take him out. he was a little shy and scared at first, but was soon cuddling in the palm of my hand and enjoying more head scratches. when i went to put him back in the cage he didn't want to get off of my hand at first, and as soon as he did he went right back to the front of the cage where i was, hanging on to the bars. he is such a sweet bird and definitely seems to like me, which i'm especially thrilled about because i know he doesn't like everyone, because the guy there had a few little bite marks on his finger and said that the bird didn't seem to like him much. so i'm pretty certain i will be going back in the morning to bring him home. i've been looking around all over the internet and this site, but any advice would be greatly appreciated. i've had birds before, but not for a while. i know that their diet should be mostly non-dyed pellets along with with some seeds, and also fruits and vegetables. i will be trying to water bottle train him so that his water stays clean, and i know that they like a lot of variety with their toys and like to play A LOT. he will be an only bird and will get lots of play time and attention.

any help is appreciated :]

oh, and he's a little under six months old; his hatch date was may 30th of this year

edit: ALSO...wing clipping? i'd like to keep them clipped so that he does not injure himself flying around. is this something that i might be able to do myself eventually or should it really only be done by a professional? does anyone know if pet shops like petco do this sort of thing? i know they sell birds.. thanks!!

displayimage.php
 
Last edited:

bogo1

New member
Jun 22, 2010
581
Media
2
Albums
1
1
Missouri
Parrots
Sam (GCC)
Gem (CBC)
Merry and Teechka (parakeets)
and non FIDS:
Harvey and Jed (dogs) Jolte and Churney (cats) Twister and Mac (horses) Nikolas and Aleksndr (ducks )
Welcome to the forum. I had a greencheek for 21 years (rescued at age 9) and I have a green cheek now along with a crimson belly. They are absolutely wonderful birds and you will not regret bringing your new friend home. Look for book parrots for dummies...very helpful for novices and experienced alike. Balance out diet, largest cage you can afford but be careful of bar width and then simply enjoy your very special new relationship.
 
OP
sigaru

sigaru

New member
Nov 16, 2010
22
Media
5
0
western massachusetts
Parrots
Freddie Mercury, cinnamon mutation green-cheek conure
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #3
thanks a bunch! yeah, i've read that "Parrots for Dummies" is good, so i'll probably be getting that and a conure-specific book. "balance out diet"? so equal of everything, you mean? and yes, right now there is quite a large cage at the pet store that i can afford at the moment, and will definitely be getting a larger one at some point in the future [as you pointed out, these are not short-term pets!]
 

Iago

Active member
Nov 8, 2010
126
29
Minneapolis, MN
Parrots
Petrie ~ Green Cheek Conure
Iago! ~ Sun Conure - RIP 11/20/2021
That's the same way Iago grew on me! This is an amazing site with a lot of helpful people. Welcome!
 

Von1983

Banned
Banned
Sep 3, 2010
1,219
Media
1
2
Congrats!

Conures are lovely birds!

The diets for parrots aren't as simple as we think IE: Just seed as most pet shops seem to believe.

I believe Barb meant you need to bear in mind that to stay healthy, a bird will need a good quality, well varied diet.

This includes: a good brand of pellet such as Harrisons/Zupreem/Kaytee exact, fresh fruit, fresh veg(the more the better, higher in VitA and VitK the better too!!!), good quality nuts such as hazelnut/brazil/cashew....very few seeds as they are fattening and some like millet have no nutrition at all!

The conure book I swear by is great for beginners and also as reference anytime is The Conure Handbook by Anne C Watkins. Parrots for dummies also.

It will help you so much in parrot proofing your home, learning of dangers such as teflon (PTFE), sulpher dioxide, metal poisoning threats etc etc.

We will all help you as much as we can and look forward to pictures! :D
 
OP
sigaru

sigaru

New member
Nov 16, 2010
22
Media
5
0
western massachusetts
Parrots
Freddie Mercury, cinnamon mutation green-cheek conure
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #6
Congrats!

Conures are lovely birds!

The diets for parrots aren't as simple as we think IE: Just seed as most pet shops seem to believe.

I believe Barb meant you need to bear in mind that to stay healthy, a bird will need a good quality, well varied diet.

This includes: a good brand of pellet such as Harrisons/Zupreem/Kaytee exact, fresh fruit, fresh veg(the more the better, higher in VitA and VitK the better too!!!), good quality nuts such as hazelnut/brazil/cashew....very few seeds as they are fattening and some like millet have no nutrition at all!

The conure book I swear by is great for beginners and also as reference anytime is The Conure Handbook by Anne C Watkins. Parrots for dummies also.

It will help you so much in parrot proofing your home, learning of dangers such as teflon (PTFE), sulpher dioxide, metal poisoning threats etc etc.

We will all help you as much as we can and look forward to pictures! :D

thank you! yeah, i thought the diet was not too many seeds, but i got confused, lol. The Conure Handbook was the one i was planning on getting, i've seen several people on her suggest it. i'd read on another site about metal poisoning [lead poisoning specifically, somone had bought a toy for birds believing it to be bird safe, but it ended up containing pewter and their bird died...it was very sad, and i'm going to try to use the least amount of metal to begin with, hopefully i can find toys that use safe plastic instead]. i will feed him plenty of fruits and veggies as well [and more veggies than fruits i assume, fruits are high in sugar], and was planning to see what the bird place has for zupreem, as i believe they are a very good brand [we feed their pellets to our bunnies and i fed them also to my guinea pig before he passed earlier this year]. but whatever brand i'll make sure that it is not dyed. and i may need to subscribe to bird talk again, lol. i got it for like three years starting around ten years ago when i had a bird, but don't have any issues still around... it was always very helpful though. and i loved looking at the ads for all the neat toys and cages!

so i'm going to go get him now!! will post pics if i can find my camera, but i highly doubt i can [packed up somewhere still..]. if i get any decent ones with my phone perhaps i can try that...or borrow a camera :] thanks everyone!! and if there's anything missing here, feel free to keep the advice coming!!
 

Spiritbird

Banned
Banned
Aug 20, 2009
5,749
Media
10
6
The day your bring home your new bird is so exciting and I am thankful that you are sharing it with us. Looking forward to your pics.
 
OP
sigaru

sigaru

New member
Nov 16, 2010
22
Media
5
0
western massachusetts
Parrots
Freddie Mercury, cinnamon mutation green-cheek conure
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #10
lol, thanks everyone!! he's here, but apparently the batteries are dead on the camera...so i'm charging them and will get some pictures as soon as they're done. he's such a sweetie though! obviously he's a little scared and defensive right now as he was just taken from his "home" and moved around for twenty minutes and is now in a new place, but he was so sweet yesterday and i'm sure he will be back to his old self in a couple of days. :] i do have a question though....he seems to "rub" his beak a lot...i noticed it yesterday when visiting him at the pet store but he had just been eating and i know that they sometimes clean their beaks off that way..i thought that he was just confused and didn't realize his beak was already clean..but he's doing it a lot today, too..and it looks like he's worn away at the cuticle a little on each side...is this something i should really be worried about or is he just a little neurotic? because right now i'm a bit worried about it....if i don't get any responses here i guess i should start a new thread or rename this one or something. i think i'll go rename it anyway
 
Last edited:

Von1983

Banned
Banned
Sep 3, 2010
1,219
Media
1
2
heh, I wouldn't worry, Cal does this all the time too! According to my book it is usually "because it feels nice". lol.

Now she's "velcro", Cal uses my fingers, the side of my nose and my husbands stubbly chin for this lol! She also loves her beak being stroked which a lot of birds hate!
 

Spiritbird

Banned
Banned
Aug 20, 2009
5,749
Media
10
6
Any new bird in your home should see an avain vet for a baseline health exam and grooming. It is especially important should you have any concerns like the one you mentioned. Be sure to give him lots of nice safe toys and he may become more interested in them than his beak.
 

Iago

Active member
Nov 8, 2010
126
29
Minneapolis, MN
Parrots
Petrie ~ Green Cheek Conure
Iago! ~ Sun Conure - RIP 11/20/2021
Iago rubs his beak against his cage quite a bit but I always thought it was just something they did. He tries to do it on a sharper metal piece on on of his stands (which I'm still trying to figure a way to cover it) but I always stop him before he gets too far.

Hopefully other people have an opinion on this because I am by no means an expert, haha. Just brought home my first bird earlier this year and still learning a lot thanks to this site!
 
OP
sigaru

sigaru

New member
Nov 16, 2010
22
Media
5
0
western massachusetts
Parrots
Freddie Mercury, cinnamon mutation green-cheek conure
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #14
thanks everyone. yeah, i just brought him home about two hours ago and will be able to take him to the vet on monday, but i just always get worried with a new pet that i don't have a super amount of experience with. it's usually something normal and something that i figure is normal, but i don't want to assume just in case it isn't. and he has seemed to slow down a little since i got him into his cage with his new toys, he's more distracted by his toys now and is doing it less. :]

oh, and ALSO, i'm sitting here, and he's drinking from his water bottle already!! he did not have one at the pet store, and unless his original breeder had one for him, then he would have never seen on before, but it didn't take him long to catch on! he didn't even bother with the water in the dish! :D i'm so excited.
 
OP
sigaru

sigaru

New member
Nov 16, 2010
22
Media
5
0
western massachusetts
Parrots
Freddie Mercury, cinnamon mutation green-cheek conure
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #15
got a terrible pic on my phone...i will get better ones as soon as the batteries are charged

displayimage.php
 
OP
sigaru

sigaru

New member
Nov 16, 2010
22
Media
5
0
western massachusetts
Parrots
Freddie Mercury, cinnamon mutation green-cheek conure
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #16
i do have another question... as you may or may not be able to see in the picture, his tail feathers are very rough... will these be replaced when he molts or no? thanks
 

Iago

Active member
Nov 8, 2010
126
29
Minneapolis, MN
Parrots
Petrie ~ Green Cheek Conure
Iago! ~ Sun Conure - RIP 11/20/2021
Iago's were rough and a little stubby when I first got him but they eventually grew out smooth and beautiful! Just needs a little time :D
 

cghoosier21

New member
Nov 8, 2010
71
Media
3
0
Indiana
Parrots
Black Capped Conure- Rocky (hatched 5/8/10
I borught home a black capped conure (aka Rocky) last friday and he is the best. He has an awesome personality and is quite and from what ive read the green checked conures and black capped conures are the quitest of the conure family. Rocky's tailfeathers are rough as well and the bird store i got him from said they will grow back out when he molts
 
OP
sigaru

sigaru

New member
Nov 16, 2010
22
Media
5
0
western massachusetts
Parrots
Freddie Mercury, cinnamon mutation green-cheek conure
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #19
I borught home a black capped conure (aka Rocky) last friday and he is the best. He has an awesome personality and is quite and from what ive read the green checked conures and black capped conures are the quitest of the conure family. Rocky's tailfeathers are rough as well and the bird store i got him from said they will grow back out when he molts

yes, i've read that the group of smaller conures [pyrrhura] are quieter than the larger conures [aratinga]. freddie really doesn't make almost any noise at all. once he squeaked loudly to the parakeets downstairs when they were chatting. the only thing he does beside that is a low squawk-y sound, which i believe is actually made with his beak rather than his vocal chords.


he does like to chew a lot though. he especially likes zippers, and the hoodie i was wearing earlier had a metal zipper that i had to keep trying to hide from him but he kept getting it back. right now he's chewing on a plastic one though. and he was preening my ear earlier, too
 
OP
sigaru

sigaru

New member
Nov 16, 2010
22
Media
5
0
western massachusetts
Parrots
Freddie Mercury, cinnamon mutation green-cheek conure
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #20
my goodness is he curious! he just stole the earring right out of my ear! took me half a minute to get it out of his mouth! it's 14k gold, that metal wouldn't be dangerous, right? i mean, he didn't ingest any of it, but he was chewing on it and dented it a little [it's just a small hollow ball stud earring, so i'm sure it was easy enough to dent. he did not want to give it back though!]. and now he's on my head chewing on my headband, with his tail blocking my vision, lol
 

Most Reactions

Latest posts

Top