Hi, guys! It’ll be several months before a private breeder in my area will start to breed GCC. I’m getting everything needed ahead of time, so everything will be ready for him by the time he gets here. I got him a variety of toys, Pak-O-Bird carrier, and a 22 inch deep by 32 inch long cage for him. All I need now are perches. In any case, I have a question about bird cage placement. At the moment, the only option I have is to place about half of the cage in front of a window, the other against a wall. I have a blackout curtain that will prevent him from being forced to look outside. I also normally keep the bag of the cage cover on the cage, so the back of the cage will be blocked from the window by the blackout curtain and his cage cover. My question is if this seems like an okay place for him. My biggest concern is drafts, but my windows are pretty sealed and the thick blackout curtain and bird cage cover will help keep any unlikely drafts from reaching him. Does anyone else have suggestions, or does the current placement seem okay?

Also, since it will be a baby when I get him, do you guys recommend me placing toys and perches lower than what I normally would in a more grown GCC’s cage? This will be the first bird I get that isn’t grown, so any advice will be helpful. Thank you guys!

Hi There!

SO first off, make sure, really sure, that your baby has been weaned ( off feeding formula) for at least 2 weeks before you accept delivery and bring him home. Should be on solid foods ( pellets, veggie and a SMALL portion of safe seed). So easy to mess up and even kill babies by incorrect feeding of formula (method, temperature, consistency)

You cage placement seems OK, the drafts from windows is the man concern, as you noted. On a windy day, test for drafts with a lighted candle ( a safe one) and see if the flame is being pushed in one direction or another. Steady flame = no drafts.

You'll eventually, with a young parrot, have to come to terms with puberty, which can be triggered by dark hidey spots in his environment, so you may want to remove the cover completely during the day. Mating season triggers also include this, but puberty comes first.

With chicks, not a bad idea to keep perch height low until their perching ability becomes stronger. Perches should be natural, safe branches, not the smooth wooden dowels that come with most cages. You'll want diameters to vary and be appropriate for the bird size and even a bit over that. If you go to the Amazon sub-forum on here, and read the "I Love Amazons" stikie at the top, there is much information that is essential to the care of all types of parrots, not just 'zons, including a section on perches).

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Where you live (general area) is important, plus what the window looks out on and it's construction. Example: I live in Western Michigan, USA and our home is on a corner lot. The busier of the two roads sits along the South side of our home with the low volume road along our West side. Our Amazons day cage sits in the Southeastern corner of our home with large window openings on both the East and South side of the home. The busy road is only busy during 'rush hour' and then its traffic level is light. Understanding that 'rush hour' is more like 20 minutes...

Our home is a recent build that includes all the current technology to limit drafting and the windows are dual pane glass. And, we are just South of the forth-fifth parallel, so Winter is real here.

If you own your home, contact your heating or electric Utility and have a home audit completed. That will let you know what can be done to reduce heat loss (drafting) during the Winter at reduced costs or no costs to you. They may also provide recommendation on reducing water usage that can reduce the cost of heating water.

So, depending on what is happening outside your Parrot's window and the drafting at that window will help greatly in defining what you need to add. The vast majority of Parrots love being in the sunlight, but have a way to step out of it if they choose.

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Thank you for the replies. I’ll definitely test my window for drafts. I’ll also see when I can get someone to check out our windows. We had someone from PG&E a couple of years ago check them out, but things can change within that time. I live in the Central Valley in California, so it generally isn’t too cold most of the time. I don’t think traffic should be an issue with the window as we live in the back of a private community. The only traffic we get are from people living here.

As for the perches, I’ll make sure to keep them lower to the ground until he is better at perching. I plan to go with natural wood branches for perches. I’ll definitely check out the sub forum though. I rather find out if I need to change my plans for perches now rather than later.

I’ll also contact the seller to be assured that the GCC will be weaned for 2 weeks or more before I take him home. The last thing I want is to take home my GCC too early. Thank you again!

Make sure you buy a weaned baby-- hand feeding is dangerous and not helpful as far as bonding is concerned long-term. Breeders sometimes say "oh, they bond to you if you feed them!!!" - what they don't say is that it could be deadly (hand-feeding) and that birds often change preferences and push away at puberty----they do this to their parents in the wild in many cases.

Make sure you have perches like dragon-wood, java or manzanita...safe branches with natural variation (don't just pluck a branch from your garden-- there's a lot more to it in terms of safety)

I'd place the cage with one part against a wall (unless it's a dark wall, because that will zap the light and cause moodiness/hormones/other issues long-term (if it's too shadowy).

No drafts, no teflon/ptfe/pfoa/pfcs in the house being heated AT ALL (serious on this one), no candles, no scents, no burning food, no smoking, no air frying (teflon and other risk), no diffusing or standard cleaners.

Make sure your bird has a room where he/she can move in and out of sun if it gets too hot of cold--- you don't want them baking by mistake.


*This next part is hard to ask and I am sorry to do so, but did you ever figure out what happened with Princess? There are some illnesses that can hang around a home for over a year in air ducts, carpets, couches etc..but I am also concerned about the gasping you mentioned, as that could be respiratory and in that case, there could be something in your home that is harmful, so I'm hoping you were able to isolate the cause and again, I am very sorry for bringing it up. I know she came from a neglected situation and that you gave her SO much love , and toys and space, and a better chance at life!!! I respect that and I love that you care about birds and research etc.-- this comment is not a jab- it's a scientific one.



I just hope you get to the bottom of the cause so that you know how to prepare (cleaning etc) for another.