Is my baby Green Cheek acting normally?

NikkiandPickles

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Sep 8, 2019
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Hi everyone,
I bought home a baby green cheek conure on Saturday ( Iā€™m in Australia so that was 3 days ago). He has been climbing all over his cage and screeching quietly. Eating some and drinking water. He seems to seek out my attention and climbs up to me at the side of the cage. Likes a scratch on the head sometimes.
Today I took the cage into a quiet room and opened the door, he climbed out right away and stepped onto my hand, we spent a bit of time bonding. He ate a few sunflower seeds out of my hand but took quite a long time to crack them open.
This afternoon he has been very quiet, picking at the bottom of the cage and eating but falling asleep while eating on and off. I just came to cover his cage and found him sleeping on the floor underneath the newspaper lining the floor.
Is this normal behaviour or could he be unwell. Iā€™m not completely
Sure on his age (pet shop bird).
Iā€™ve read everything I can find and watched so much YouTube but Iā€™m worried.

Thanks for any advice
Nikki and Pickles:green2:
 

Gemster

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Have you seen an avian certified vet? It could as well be that he is not sleeping enough. How many hours does he sleep?
I am not an expert although i think you should go to a vet specialised in birds just to rule out any illness.
 

LaManuka

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Your baby sounds very friendly and sociable. Does he have a name yet?

There are some excellent avian vets in Brisbane (including the one I go to, but not sure where you are!) and a trip to the vet is good not only for your birdā€™s health but also your peace of mind. They will also be happy to give you advice on how best to care for and socialise your new baby if you have any questions.

Meanwhile welcome aboard the good ship Parrot Forums and we hope to hear more about your new baby and see some pictures soon :)
 
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NikkiandPickles

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Sep 8, 2019
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One baby green cheeked conure
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I havent been to a vet with Pickles yet. On doing more reading on this forum I have found lots of people saying young birds often sleep on the floor at night until they get a bit better at roosting, he does often fall in his cage.
If he is back to his crazy self in the morning I will relax, if heā€™s still quiet Iā€™ll find an AV. Iā€™m on the Gold Coast if anyone knows of one?
Thanks for the advice.
 
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NikkiandPickles

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One baby green cheeked conure
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Sorry, like I mentioned he is from a pet shop and Iā€™m not sure how old he is or how he was weaned, just that he is a baby. His poops seem normal, he managed to do a couple on me today!
 

LaManuka

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Itā€™s always worth having an overall wellness check done fairly early on so once your babyā€™s had some time to settle in you may want to give it some thought. My vet is AWESOME but heā€™s in north Brisbane which may be a bit of a hike for you, but thereā€™s another at Greenslopes on the southside of Brisbane and another in Currumbin (surprise!) Valley. Unfortunately I havenā€™t been to either of them personally but Iā€™ve heard good reports.

Hope it helps!
 

charmedbyekkie

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If you are unsure his age and his health, definitely find an avian vet. If he is a baby as you say, he might still need formula. And they can guide you in evaluating to make sure all three parts of his poop look healthy.

It's normal for birds to take naps during the day, even if they get their necessary 12 hours of sleep every night. But if it's more frequent than an occasional siesta and he's on the bottom of his cage, it's worth visiting a vet just to be safe.
 

Valyndris

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From my experience with baby green cheek conures is that they like to be on the floor (bottom of cage) and even sometimes hang out upside down. Here are some babies, don't remember how old but they were still on formula learning to eat at the time (my mom hand raised birds).
A867yCJ.jpg
 
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NikkiandPickles

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One baby green cheeked conure
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This morning heā€™s acting crazy again, hanging upside down of his toys and screeching for attention. I will look into a vet just to learn more about him but I think he was just happy on the floor. I very relieved, who knew heā€™d get into my heart so fast!!!
 

YSGC

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Pico, gender unknown, is a hand-fed Yellow Sided Green Cheek Conure, born 2015.
Congratulations, it sounds like you're off to a good start with a wonderful companion.
Conures can be such sweethearts - but there's much to learn to guide him into being a good birdie with a human companion.

You might want to stop allowing him access to newspaper.
Later he may start shredding it up as a nesting behavior, which may generate high hormone levels in his blood.
A hormonal bird can become problematic with screaming, biting, and anti-social behavior.
You want to avoid anything that might lead to stimulating a lone bird into breeding behaviors.
Shredding newspaper can be one of those, as can behaviors like hiding in the dark under things like newspaper.

Instead of paper, to keep him away from his poop perhaps consider getting the plastic "egg crate" sheets mentioned in post #13 of this thread. http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/81715-gcc-destroying-pellet-bedding.html

They are made to install in ceilings under 4 foot fluorescent lighting tubes.
Here in the USA they're available at large hardware stores in the lighting department.
I don't know about down under though.
 
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clark_conure

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I'm just simply amused by the post is a green cheek acting normally.....they always are, and always are not! Depends on how you want to look at it.
 

Laurasea

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Aug 2, 2018
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Sounds like a young GCC, congratulations! They are personality plus!! You may go through a nippy phase, s
o go ahead and read up biting now so you have a plan in place! GCC can be love bug then bite and be bossy, then back to cute cuddling.... ;)
Congratulations on finding such a great species of parrot, may you have many many happy years together!!
 

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