New yellowsided green cheek conure

Hey all

I got him on my birthday, 3 days ago. I’m just looking for a bit of advice. I’ll give you all the info on him that I can.

I got him from a reputable breeder a couple hours away. He’s 8 weeks old. Was hand-fed but the breeder said he doesn’t bond with them so the new owners are first to bond. He doesn’t keep any of them in cages.

His advice was to put no toys or anything in his cage for the first week. He said to put the perches on the bottom of the cage for the first while to get him used to his environment and prevent him from falling while asleep. He said to put only his perch(es) and 3 dishes. (One for water, one for seeds, one for apples). He said that food/water is key (obviously) and that without distractions it would make it easier to bond with him.

After the first two days, I had him on a stand-alone perch outside his cage. I can hold food and he will eat it from me. He has no issues with stepping up onto my fingers, but only for maybe 5 seconds before he goes back to his perch. (His wings are clipped but he makes it there just fine).

I’m trying to get him to be comfortable with staying on my hand for longer periods of time. Is it just a matter of time? Should I keep having him step up on my fingers every so often, or just leave him be? He is quite content to sit on his perch, he only tried to go back in his cage the first day.

He’s never bit me, when I put my hand in the cage in the morning to bring him to his perch he will walk away from me, but will step up onto my fingers to bring him out.

Should I be doing that, or should I just leave the door open and let him come out on his own? (The only time I keep his cage door shut is when I’m asleep or am out of the house).

Any thoughts, advice, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all!

P.S. I can’t think of a name for him!

Hello and welcome! And happy birthday!



I don't agree with the advice you have been given one bit. Toys would be fine(and very appreciated I'm sure). Perches higher up than the bottom of the cage would also be fine. I would try to broaden the diet from seeds and apples, which are loaded with sugar.



If he isn't stressed by stepping up and being with you, don't stop it. Spend as much time with him as you can. You can't bond with an animal you don't spend time with. Don't chase him around and stress him out, but that is not what you are describing. Walking away is different from a fear response, but just make sure it doesn't come to that. If the bird seems frightened, stop immediately. Unsure is another matter entirely. Make sure to talk to your new friend lots so he gets to know your voice, and also feels calmer. Birds are prey animals, and silence is a sign of a nearby predator. I assume your little one came from a place with many chattering birds. Silence is scary for a bird.



By hand fed but not bonded with, does he mean he just fed them and left them alone as babies? :/




The "step up game" is a fabulous place to start. Is "his perch" just a plain jane boring perch with nothing to do? Please give him some toys! You wouldn't bring home a new puppy and withhold toys until you and the pup bond. I think you were not given good advice at all to be perfectly honest. But that's alright. 3 days isn't such a long time to be bored.



Falling while asleep seems a very weird thing to me. Clumsy falling and being a baby during the day, yeah. But falling while asleep? Hmm. But I'm not familiar with conures in particular, so maybe this is a conure specific trait, IDK. Plenty of conure folks on here, I'm sure one can come by and comment on that soon enough.


He is SO CUTE! Again, welcome to the parrot forums!

Falling while asleep? I am curious how this "reputable" breeder thinks this cute little fella slept previously and never had any problems...definitely agree with getting this guy on a veggie chop/pellet diet as soon as possible, and toys are absolutely necessary for them, helps prevent a lot of mental and social problems like self mutilation when you have to do other things...glad you found such an awesome bird, and I hope you'll share the journey with us as it unfolds

Sorry to post again, but the toy thing bothers me more the more I think about it. When I sell a bird, I literally give the new owner a hand made toy and a spray millet for free just as a way of helping the bird to feel more comfortable in their new home. The toy is a shredder type that I just make a whole bunch of and I keep one at all times in the "baby cage" so it is a toy they are familiar with. And we play with our babies all the time, daily. They each have a "baby name" and the fact that we love our babies and spend time with them does not make it hard for the new owner to bond. We stay in touch with our babies new homes, and have never heard about undue rehoming stress or difficulty in bonding with the new owners. :/



I just really do not like what you were told by this breeder at all. :/

bug_n_flock said:

I don't agree with the advice you have been given one bit. Toys would be fine(and very appreciated I'm sure). Perches higher up than the bottom of the cage would also be fine. I would try to broaden the diet from seeds and apples, which are loaded with sugar.

By hand fed but not bonded with, does he mean he just fed them and left them alone as babies? :/

Please give him some toys! You wouldn't bring home a new puppy and withhold toys until you and the pup bond. I think you were not given good advice at all to be perfectly honest. But that's alright. 3 days isn't such a long time to be bored.

Falling while asleep seems a very weird thing to me.

Click to expand...

I did have many toys which I did remove from the cage when I brought him home. I actually wanted to put them in for him. I guess the breeders reasoning for that was the birds focus would have to be on me and not toys? Didn’t make a lot of sense but I’ll definitely be putting them back in there.

From what I gather, he did hand feed them so to be used to humans but said he didn’t bond with them so new owners would be the first to bond with them. Who knows, that’s why I came here!

I have several kinds of perches. Rope, wood (not dowels), sand covered. Right now (before I do the cage right he has a few wooden dowels, the rope and sand perch on the bottom level. I’ll give them a shot putting them higher with the rest of his goodies I had purchased for him. I’d rather not use the standard dowels that come with the cage.

18WheelsOfSteel said:

Falling while asleep? I am curious how this "reputable" breeder thinks this cute little fella slept previously and never had any problems...definitely agree with getting this guy on a veggie chop/pellet diet as soon as possible, and toys are absolutely necessary for them, helps prevent a lot of mental and social problems like self mutilation when you have to do other things...glad you found such an awesome bird, and I hope you'll share the journey with us as it unfolds

Click to expand...

I agree with you, hence coming to you guys so I’m not just going by his advice. I will indeed be putting higher perches of different types back into his cage. I did buy conure pellets but he doesn’t seem to be a huge fan of them. I chop up a bit of greens to put in with his apples and am heading to Petsmart shortly to get some nutraberries.

May I ask what veggies you recommend? Dark greens, dandelion leaves, etc?

bug_n_flock said:

Sorry to post again, but the toy thing bothers me more the more I think about it. When I sell a bird, I literally give the new owner a hand made toy and a spray millet for free just as a way of helping the bird to feel more comfortable in their new home. The toy is a shredder type that I just make a whole bunch of and I keep one at all times in the "baby cage" so it is a toy they are familiar with. And we play with our babies all the time, daily. They each have a "baby name" and the fact that we love our babies and spend time with them does not make it hard for the new owner to bond. We stay in touch with our babies new homes, and have never heard about undue rehoming stress or difficulty in bonding with the new owners. :/



I just really do not like what you were told by this breeder at all. :/

Click to expand...

Please don’t be sorry to post again! That’s why I came to you guys as opposed to just taking his word for it. I will be putting all the toys, ladders, perches, fun things back this afternoon for sure. Thanks so much!

My baby bird did require lower perches for a few weeks. Breeder bird babies are often kept in big tubs and such, so they need to learn to climb a e perch. And babies are clumsy. But heck yeah go e toys, expose to all kinds of foods. If you are going to harness train do it now much much easier with babies.
I also feel you need to let feathers grow out and for him to learn to fly,. Very important. I will go get some link to article you should read.
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/stress-reduction-for-parrot-companions/
Excerpt: Learning to fly well is the most complicated and important task a parrot can learn. Flighted parrots are healthier, more active, more coordinated, and have much better vision. Flying promotes higher intelligence, self-confidence, self-esteem and ultimately makes a more social long-term companion.
Importance of fledging!!!!
https://www.windycityparrot.com/blog/2010/04/13/flight-important-parrots/#ixzz62HloSvKV

What a mighty adorable GCC! Makes me think of when Callum was just a little baby bird.

When I brought Callum home, he was about ten weeks old. He had toys and high-up perches right away in his cage. Heck, he was super spoiled with toys right away. Despite what that breeder said or thought, Callum ended up bonding to me perfectly, even with tons of toys. I should preface though, Callum ended up bonding to me immediately. The first day he was cuddled up and napping against my cheek. Three years later, he still sits on my shoulder, resting against my neck, but now he grooms my hair.

Even when Callum was an adorably silly baby, I left his cage door open and he could come and go as he pleased. Almost always, he would seek me out. He'd follow me on the floor or climb up me to sit on me, lol. He was a determined little baby.

Babies are extremely clumsy, especially when clipped, but Callum learned how to grab things with his beak and climb around as a baby. He still has these habits even with his flight feathers back. Still, be careful. Babies are adorably goofy and foolish sometimes, but they shouldn't fall when sleeping. Callum never did for me, at least.

I don't know if the breeder directly told you just to feed your new GCC just seeds and apples, and if they did, I seriously worry about that advice. Apples are FULL of sugar and seeds (fr a seed-only diet) don't often have the correct nutrients for GCC. I use Zupreem pellets and Callum loves them. Get the size your bird is most comfortable with.

Callum is not a fan of fruits and vegetables unless he sees me eating them. Onions and avocados are forbidden food for our feathered babies, but something like corn, peas, green beans, collard greens, cauliflower, etc. etc. (This link has some fantastic information )

When it comes to stepping up, Callum understands that stepping up often allows him to get kisses or to be transported from one area to another. This can be from his cage or stand to my shoulder, or from his cage to somewhere else. Make stepping up fun. Usually if you hover near a surface, the bird automatically assumes he or she should step down. Or, at least, this is what Callum does. As others have said, so long as your new baby is not scared and seems comfortable, feel free to continue trying.

Always give rewards for behaviors you like. For Callum, his rewards can be kisses or food.

As for a name, think of your favorite name from a book, TV show, movie, etc. Callum's named after a werewolf named such from a book series I read a long time ago I fell in love with the name Callum, so my little baby got named that. Funny enough, that character named Callum was far more elegant than my Callum.

Or food. Birds named after food is a little favorite of mine, lol.

You may want to DNA test your bird so that you know the gender.
Then, you can maybe come up with a name faster.
Congratulations on becoming a parront

I have nothing to add beyond everyone else's advice, but just wanted to say hi and welcome! Your baby is beautiful!! I can't wait to hear what name you decide on. ❤