Do I have the right environment and free time to care for a GCC properly?

[FruityMcZest]

Hello everyone! First time poster here, and apologies in advance if you get bombarded with threads of this type on a daily basis.

I am seriously considering a GCC as my first attempt at caring for a bird, and for several months now have been absorbing as much information as possible before making a firm decision to take on the responsibility (P.S thanks to everyone who regularly contributes on the board here, I have learnt so much from lurking ).

I am happy that I can attend to the dietary and hygiene needs of the potential feathered new arrival. I am financially comfortable, so I can afford to take him//her regularly to an avian specialist vet, as well as buying myriad brightly colored and shiny playthings for him//her to shred .

The only thing that I am concerned about is how much time I could spend with the bird. I'm aware that conures are very active birds, and rate quite highly on the scale for mental stimulation in the "Which parrot is for me ?" stickied thread. I do not want to buy a bird which I cannot provide sufficient companionship to maintain his//her happiness (No matter how tempting ^^).

I work from 8 - 4, Monday to Friday. I get up around 6:30am ish, and leave for work roughly an hour lately, and return home around 4:30pm ish. I run for an hour to an hour and a half most evenings, so I would have to also take into account that time away from the bird.

Do you guys, who live and operate schedules around caring for Conures everyday, think I would have sufficent time to properly take care of one ?

For those of you with rigid work structures, how do you fit time with your bird around your schedule, and can you still maintain a happy relationship with a Conure ?

Thanks in advance for all replys//help, and also once again for arming me with the knowledge to make an informed decision about whether or not bird ownership is right for me!

 

[wenz2712]

Welcome to the forum

Alot of Members that have Birds work full time! As long as you make sure he has plenty of toys in his Cage to keep him amused while you are at Work, he should be fine! Once you come Home, then he can come out for a few Hours with you

He should adapt ok and will get used to your routine!

 

[Grenage]

I work full-time, as does my wife, and our GCC is quite content. You have to factor in an extra half-hour for cleaning/food each day, but as long as you can spend a good amount of time with it, I doubt it will be a problem.

I think anything less than a couple of hours outside the cage would be heavily dependant on the bird, but not ideal.

 

[AFP520]

I wake up every morning around 630. I will take Lucy out of her cage to do her morning deed (THE BIG ONE!) and change her water. I am out the door by 7. I get off of work at 5PM. Normally I go home for lunch so I can spend about 45 minutes with her, but there are times when I'm too busy and can't. She is just fine when I get home and super excited to see me. My girlfriend is off on Mondays and most Fridays, and we both have weekends off.

The toys are a huge need to keep birds amused. I would suggest the kind that require fiddling to get into treats.

 

[dishgal1]

I think you would have to be sure you give him or her quality one on one time when you are home. Are you planning to get a baby or a rehomed bird.
When I added my Sun conure I looked for one that was accustomed to spending a lot of time in his cage. My Green cheek requires a bountiful amount of time because I raised him that way. I knew it would never work out if I got a second bird that required so much time.
My Sun is almost 2 yrs old and quite a little gentleman. He loves his cage and is content with about 3 hours out of cage daily whereas my GCC is out all day. That 3 hours is broken into multiple outings of about 45 minutes at a time.
If you choose a weaned baby they definitely are much more dependent on you at first. So it might be wiser to get one at least a few months old that is more than weaned at least. Forrest was about 8 weeks old when I got him and he was like velcro. He was so insecure and I spoiled him rotten. Hope this helps.

 

[FruityMcZest]

Thank you for all your replys, it's encouraging to know that it can work well around rigid work schedules I think I can give him//her a good 4 - 5 hours out of cage time a day, depending on the sleeping habits the bird develops.

Are you planning to get a baby or a rehomed bird.
If you choose a weaned baby they definitely are much more dependent on you at first. So it might be wiser to get one at least a few months old that is more than weaned at least.

I was hoping to get a baby, but you raise a good point. I would still like one relatively young, what is the minimum age would you suggest looking for, assuming that it will be on its own for 7 hours or so a day ? I understand every bird is different, and some might be happier on thier own for periods of time than others, just looking for a ballpark figure so I know what to look for.

On that note, could anyone point me in the direction of reputable breeders in the south of the UK where I could begin my search ?

Apologies for the torrent of questions, and thanks once again in advance for any help you can offer =]

 

[DebsFlock]

The bird will also need about 10 hours of continuous dark time for sleep, so you'll need to figure that into your schedule as well! When things are very busy, our birds get about 20 minutes out in the morning and an hour in the evening, but most days it is at least twice that.

Our GCC is the most needy of the three birds -- the Cape can amuse himself better, and the cockatiel would be happy to be being petted all day long, but at the same time he is relatively passive about it. Scooter wants to be on the go all the time and preferably the center of attention.

What characteristics have drawn you to a GCC? They are a manageable size, they are fairly quiet (for conures) and they are "a big bird in a small package" but they aren't the easiest first birds, and I can say that with some confidence as Scooter was my first. Since Blanco landed on our doorstep (literally) I've developed more an appreciation for cockatiels. They aren't the intellectual or energy dynamos that a GCC is, but they are quite pleasant to have around if you don't mind feeling like Pigpen when they shake sitting on your shoulder.

 

[dishgal1]

The bird will also need about 10 hours of continuous dark time for sleep, so you'll need to figure that into your schedule as well! When things are very busy, our birds get about 20 minutes out in the morning and an hour in the evening, but most days it is at least twice that.

Our GCC is the most needy of the three birds -- the Cape can amuse himself better, and the cockatiel would be happy to be being petted all day long, but at the same time he is relatively passive about it. Scooter wants to be on the go all the time and preferably the center of attention.

What characteristics have drawn you to a GCC? They are a manageable size, they are fairly quiet (for conures) and they are "a big bird in a small package" but they aren't the easiest first birds, and I can say that with some confidence as Scooter was my first. Since Blanco landed on our doorstep (literally) I've developed more an appreciation for cockatiels. They aren't the intellectual or energy dynamos that a GCC is, but they are quite pleasant to have around if you don't mind feeling like Pigpen when they shake sitting on your shoulder.

You are absolutely right. GCC's are very needy. They crave your attention and mine at least tends to just sit in the cage and not play when I have to be gone.
Cockatiels are a lot less needy I do believe. I think they can take it or leave it when it comes to interacting.
As far as age when I got Forrest at 8 weeks old as soon as he heard me in the morning he went crazy, had to be with me on my shoulder all morning. I actually had to get my grandchildren to come over and babysit if I had chores to do outside. He was very needy. It was a full time job as if I had a new baby in the house. That continued until he was at least 4 or 5 months old. So that might be a good age range if you go with a GCC.

 

[FruityMcZest]

What characteristics have drawn you to a GCC? They are a manageable size, they are fairly quiet (for conures) and they are "a big bird in a small package" but they aren't the easiest first birds, and I can say that with some confidence as Scooter was my first.

Almost precisely for the reasons you listed! As a first time bird owner I would not want anything too large, but the intelligence and companionship offered from a parrot when cared for properly are what made me interested in choosing one as a pet.

The fact that a GCC needs lots of interaction and time spent on it was an attraction in itself, they just seemed to fit the bill perfectly .

Do breeders hold onto birds as long as 4 or 5 months ? What do I miss by purchasing a bird of this age ? Is it easier to bond with a GCC if you have it from a very young age ?

 

[AFP520]

I did not take lucy home until she was just about 4 months old. She was handfed and mostly weaned before we brought her home. We only had to feed her formula a couple times before she went right on a mixed food diet.

What was really good about the first time experience for me (and future purchase of birds) was the bird picks you. Though you have the MAJOR urge to bring them home the same day, you shouldn't. Some if not most breeders have a layaway program where you can buy one you like, and pay it off in 30 days (we did 2 weeks) but this allows you to go back a couple of times to spend some time with the bird. It helps get them accustomed to you.

So are you missing anything about the age, I'd say no. But it would probably always be better earlier than later, because the bird can and will develop habits as it gets older. Some behaviors can be difficult to change

 

[Mudkips]

Something I've noticed that you may (or may not) need to consider:

Where I live, the daylight hours in the winter are so short that sometimes I leave for work before the sun rises, and when I get home it's already dark outside.
That translates to a bird that's always alone whenever he's awake, and by the time I get home he just want's to sleep.

If I did that 5 days a week for months at a time, I would have one very unhappy Birdy. Thankfully this isn't the case, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

 

[dishgal1]

What characteristics have drawn you to a GCC? They are a manageable size, they are fairly quiet (for conures) and they are "a big bird in a small package" but they aren't the easiest first birds, and I can say that with some confidence as Scooter was my first.

Almost precisely for the reasons you listed! As a first time bird owner I would not want anything too large, but the intelligence and companionship offered from a parrot when cared for properly are what made me interested in choosing one as a pet.

The fact that a GCC needs lots of interaction and time spent on it was an attraction in itself, they just seemed to fit the bill perfectly .

Do breeders hold onto birds as long as 4 or 5 months ? What do I miss by purchasing a bird of this age ? Is it easier to bond with a GCC if you have it from a very young age ?

When you get one just weaned they are very dependent. You end up giving them too much attention, and with you being away at work it would be very hard on the bird, whereas a 4 month old bird would be more settled and not expect as much from you. I would say you wouldn't miss anything really. I worried about Forrest if I had to leave him for 30 minutes because he would literally go bonkers in the cage and hang on the cage wall and literally turn his body inside out with his feet on the bars and his back against the wall. It was actually pretty frightening. Still don't understand how he did that. He was just very insecure being away from the other babies I guess. Maybe he was just an exception but I would not want another GCC that young really since my experience with Forrest.

 

[DebsFlock]

Where I live, the daylight hours in the winter are so short that sometimes I leave for work before the sun rises, and when I get home it's already dark outside.
That translates to a bird that's always alone whenever he's awake, and by the time I get home he just want's to sleep..

I don't think this needs to be the case if you provide artificial lighting on a consistent schedule. We have good shutters in our bird room and it does not get early morning sun. As a result, our birds have a shifted schedule where they arise later than the sunrise and stay up until well past dark. I've even heard of people on night shift schedule successfully keeping parrots, but you do need to think about what is going to influence their normal rhythms.

 

[FruityMcZest]

I don't think this needs to be the case if you provide artificial lighting on a consistent schedule.

Are you referring to some kind of specialist lighting or just standard lighting around the house ? I probably should factor this into the startup costs, as the nights do draw in awfully quickly here in the UK.

Thank you Mudkip for pointing out something I had not considered. This forum is a godsend !

 

[wulfie]

you'd need a full-spectrum light, so your fid gets his/her uva/uvb

 

[FruityMcZest]

A quick question on cages, do you think this would be suitable for a GCC;

Victoria Parrot Play Top Cage | Sky Pet Products

I know that some of the smaller birds can be made uncomfortable by cages too large for them, and similarly I dont want to end up with something that would not be large enough for one fully grown.

Thank you all for being so patient with me, I really appreciate the help being offered =]

 

[wenz2712]

That Cage would be ideal for a GCC

 

[dishgal1]

One of my cages is similar to that one. 24 X 24 inches. I wouldn't go 18 X 18.....I actually got the 18" first and took it back for the 24".....It has plenty of room for toys and climbing perches. Especially since you will be gone a lot. If the bird is out most of the time a smaller cage is fine. I found the 18" to be a little cramped. My Gcc actually has a Conure castle by A&E cage. Really doesn't need that large because he never stays in cage. The Sun uses the 24"....of course they both spend a lot of time out. But personally with added toys I WOuld definitely go with at least 24".....I know the cage is tall but they always stay in upper half so width is very important.

 

[Grenage]

Mine is about 0.95 x 0.7 x 1.65, and he seems very happy with it; lots of room to fly from spot to spot, and a varied surface to clamber across.