Hello! Lorne the Green Cheek Conure

In late December, I brought home my first parrot,a cinnamon Green Cheek Conure. He's supposed to be about a year old, and I got him as a rehome from a Craigslist ad. I don't know a ton about his life before I got him, which is a little sketchy but the vet says he's perfectly healthy. The story I got from the previous owners is that they had to get several from the breeder but they only wanted a couple, so now they're rehoming the extras. As a chicken breeder myself, this sounds pretty strange, but I don't know anything about parrot breeding. They also said he was a DNA sexed female, but they didn't have the paperwork so I chose to re-test him and apparently he's not actually a female.


Lorne is my first parrot, but I have prior bird experience (chickens, pigeons, and birds of prey). However, it's still been quite the learning curve. He's very friendly but has a problem with biting, but we're working on it and it's getting much better.


I'm also a college student and he flew (as in on a plane) back to college with me on Thursday and was really great in his carrier and on the plane! I'm majoring in biology, and I hope to work in bird conservation with a focus on genetics.

Welcome! I will post a link to my "new to parrots" post ---other birds are a bit different from them in many ways, but it's great that you have that experience. The biting is likely due to you pushing him further than he is ready to go--- if they bite, it's because everything else (body language) etc failed. http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/88384-new-bird-owner.html
Here's another that is more behavioral - http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/88156-i-need-advice.html


It can also be amplified by hormones--- so make sure he has no huts or shadowy spaces and that he is petted on the head and neck only. Additionally, 10 hours of sleep is essential for immune health etc.


How often is he out of his cage and does he know how to play with toys?

Welcome aboard to both you and Lorne! Sounds like he's already collected a few frequent flyer miles, I'm glad he coped well with his big adventure Kudos to you Kit for your desire to study bird conservation, there are so many threats to species and habitats nowadays that they need all the advocacy they can get. I wish you every success in your studies!

Congratulations on becoming a parront! Welcome to the forum!
Birds need help with conservation!! Great yiu may join the force, and help with that

A warm welcome to you and Lorne! Thankfully he appears healthy despite uncertain background.

Lorne is still fairly new to you and conures have the reputation of being a bit "beaky." Check this thread discussing bite pressure training to lessen frequency and severity: http://www.parrotforums.com/training/63988-bite-pressure-training.html

We'd appreciate if you'd share general experiences with Lorne as college roommate! Students are often deeply challenged during college years but you seem to have found balance. Kudos for focusing on the biology of bird conservation and genetics!!

Welcome to you both! I am surprised to hear your little GCC has a biting problem! That’s unusual, usually they are quite good at it!

Welcome and be welcomed. Yes please share your experiences, since we get a fair number of pre or first year college students wanting to get a parrot and going to college.