First night home

[RinaDoc]

Well birdie is come. Waiting for the call that they found the papers on it. First night wasn't bad, dogs were going bonkers and he was freaking out a little. When u leaithe room he does little chrips. Gave him some apples, mangos and bananas this morning for breakfast. He loves them all especially the mango. But he shakes his head flinging it everywhere. So I got fruit at the bottom of his cage which wouldn't be bad, but he's in a temporary cage right now due to his permanent one's delivery being pushed back, and there's no tray I realized to get it. So I was wondering if I would be better off putting the fruit in a food processor to mash it all together or if it will still happen regardless.

 

[noodles123]

I wouldn't process it...unless you just lightly mince it so that the food is in small chunks (not a smoothie texture).

My bird likes to hold onto larger pieces, as she won't eat the skins of apples ate (this makes her less motivated to attempt to eat finely minced fruit).

No matter what, you will have a mess...If you haven't yet, put some mats around the cage, as they tend to get wild at times with the tossing. Can you take him out of his cage while you clean that one----do you have a 2nd travel cage or something?

 

[Laurasea]

Congratulations;!!;; They flock call when you leave the room, you can use a phrase or whistle to let them know you are still around if out of sight. Start offering lots if veggies! Lots more veggies than fruit. Welcome to the mess!!! In nature parrots play a vital role in dispersing the bounty from above to all the creature below I think they get joy flinging food as far as possible dang wish your cage had made it. But so glad this beauty is home with you!!! Did you pick a name??

 

[RinaDoc]

I do have one that I brought it home in. And I'm not complaining about the mess really, just wanted to know if there was an easiyeay in the mean time until I get the actual cage. I didn't pick a name yet. Petco will be calling me today saying they got the paperwork and the gender of the bird. It was only there for maybe a couple of weeks, and thoucioy would hop on the finger at the store it's a little different here right now. Lol. But if it's a boy its either, Neeko, Kanoa( Ka-no-ah) or Paulie. And if it's a girl it's either Kaida, Skyla, or Turq.

 

[Laurasea]

When I brought my first GCC Burt the Bird 17 years ago(passed a few months ago). Name was because I thought she was a boy lol. She was parents raised, I sat next to the cage reading a book out loud to her, after a couple of hours if this she fluttered right out of the cage to me and we lived happily ever after!!! I love a the names, and can't wait to see pictures and hear if your journey!!!

 

[RinaDoc]

What parts of the broccoli can the bird eat? And does it have to be cooked it can it be raw.

 

[Laurasea]

Mine like raw they eat all but the leaves ( I think you don't give leaves) they can eat cooked to. On the cooked side tgeyije cooked sweet potatoes and cooked squash better than raw, at keast mine do. But mineije raw peppers best if all seeds to, bell pepper, hot red chili peppers, they love raw peas, I just that out the frozen kind. Don't give canned of anything. Romaine lettuce, a little scambled egg is always loved, as us cooked quinoa and cooked rice and oatmeal. Since you got your buddy young they usually try stuff easier, so use these next few months to give them every thing from the safe food list. It's so nice you have the long weekend together!

 

[noodles123]

I have read that too much broccoli can mess with calcium absorption---you might look into this because I believe it applies to most (if not all) cruciferous vegetables. https://www.petcha.com/what-do-you-know-about-parrot-nutrition/

 

[EllenD]

Congrats! My Green Cheek is the love of my life, they are truly called "Velcro-Birds" for a reason...

I don't believe that you'll know his gender from the Petco paperwork, as they do not ever do DNA testing (many, many Petco Green Cheeks and Sun Conures come through the Avian Rescue I work for, and I've seen many copies of their "paperwork", it's basically their hatch-certificate with their hatch-date, the vendor's information, etc. But they do not do DNA-testing, so if the Petco employee told you that, they were very wrong...But, no big deal, you can order a DNA test-kit online for between $20-$30 where you pluck a few fresh chest feathers and send them in, and in a week or two they send you the results, or you can take them to an Avian Vet and have it done; you should find a Certified Avian Vet or Avian Specialist Vet asap anyway, as they should have a complete wellness-exam within the first month you have them, so you could have them do the DNA test at that time)...

What is his regular, daily staple diet? I'm assuming he came from Petco on a seed-mix, but maybe you got lucky and they weaned him onto pellets, I have seen that a few times, it just depends on the Petco...One thing I want to make sure that you know is that he should be getting lots and lots of fresh veggies every single day, they are great for him and he can eat pretty much any fresh veggies EXCEPT for onions, as they are toxic to birds (as are Avocados)...However, you do not want to feed him Fruit every day or in large quantities. The reason that "he loved" all the fruit is because it's extremely sweet due to all of the sugar it's loaded with. And even though it's natural sugar, it's still sugar, and it gets turned into fat and stored in their livers just the same that the fat from sunflower seeds and nuts do. So he should not be fed fresh fruit more than 3-4 days a week at most, and that should be in very small portions. The number one reason that pet/captive birds die young is due to Fatty Liver Disease, and this often gets blamed solely on fatty seed-mixes that contain sunflower seeds, peanuts and other nuts, millet, corn, etc. And yes, these are very bad for them; however, people don't ever think about Fatty Liver Disease being contributed to by feeding their birds fresh fruit every day...it's essentially no different than feeding them candy everyday. So please try to limit the fresh fruit to being occasional, and instead start trying out lots of different fresh veggies, which they also love. And he does need to be eating a seed-mix, but a very healthy, varied seed-mix that contains no sunflower seeds at all, no corn, no peanuts, but rather a lot of different types of seeds, grains, and legumes, along with dried veggies and other pulses. Seeds keep bird's GI Tracts healthy, as they are designed to eat seeds and grains, and they also keep them psychologically healthy and happy, as they are great for foraging activities. But a healthy, varied, sunflower seed, corn, and peanut free seed-mix should be a daily supplement to a health, fortified pellet diet, and there are quite a few pellet brands that are great, but again, stick to "Natural" pellets and not the "fruit-flavored" pellets, as again, the fruit-flavored pellets are full of sugar, just like fresh fruit is. So any of the Natural Pellets are wonderful, including Harrisons, Tops, Roudybush, Zupreem, Tropican, etc.

 

[RinaDoc]

Congrats! My Green Cheek is the love of my life, they are truly called "Velcro-Birds" for a reason...

I don't believe that you'll know his gender from the Petco paperwork, as they do not ever do DNA testing (many, many Petco Green Cheeks and Sun Conures come through the Avian Rescue I work for, and I've seen many copies of their "paperwork", it's basically their hatch-certificate with their hatch-date, the vendor's information, etc. But they do not do DNA-testing, so if the Petco employee told you that, they were very wrong...But, no big deal, you can order a DNA test-kit online for between $20-$30 where you pluck a few fresh chest feathers and send them in, and in a week or two they send you the results, or you can take them to an Avian Vet and have it done; you should find a Certified Avian Vet or Avian Specialist Vet asap anyway, as they should have a complete wellness-exam within the first month you have them, so you could have them do the DNA test at that time)...

What is his regular, daily staple diet? I'm assuming he came from Petco on a seed-mix, but maybe you got lucky and they weaned him onto pellets, I have seen that a few times, it just depends on the Petco...One thing I want to make sure that you know is that he should be getting lots and lots of fresh veggies every single day, they are great for him and he can eat pretty much any fresh veggies EXCEPT for onions, as they are toxic to birds (as are Avocados)...However, you do not want to feed him Fruit every day or in large quantities. The reason that "he loved" all the fruit is because it's extremely sweet due to all of the sugar it's loaded with. And even though it's natural sugar, it's still sugar, and it gets turned into fat and stored in their livers just the same that the fat from sunflower seeds and nuts do. So he should not be fed fresh fruit more than 3-4 days a week at most, and that should be in very small portions. The number one reason that pet/captive birds die young is due to Fatty Liver Disease, and this often gets blamed solely on fatty seed-mixes that contain sunflower seeds, peanuts and other nuts, millet, corn, etc. And yes, these are very bad for them; however, people don't ever think about Fatty Liver Disease being contributed to by feeding their birds fresh fruit every day...it's essentially no different than feeding them candy everyday. So please try to limit the fresh fruit to being occasional, and instead start trying out lots of different fresh veggies, which they also love. And he does need to be eating a seed-mix, but a very healthy, varied seed-mix that contains no sunflower seeds at all, no corn, no peanuts, but rather a lot of different types of seeds, grains, and legumes, along with dried veggies and other pulses. Seeds keep bird's GI Tracts healthy, as they are designed to eat seeds and grains, and they also keep them psychologically healthy and happy, as they are great for foraging activities. But a healthy, varied, sunflower seed, corn, and peanut free seed-mix should be a daily supplement to a health, fortified pellet diet, and there are quite a few pellet brands that are great, but again, stick to "Natural" pellets and not the "fruit-flavored" pellets, as again, the fruit-flavored pellets are full of sugar, just like fresh fruit is. So any of the Natural Pellets are wonderful, including Harrisons, Tops, Roudybush, Zupreem, Tropican, etc.

I bought a small bag of Roudybush mini daily maintenance mini pellets. Our Petco was feeding them some colorful pellets

 

[noodles123]

I wonder if they were feeding Zupreem Fruit Blend---seems popular (even though it is FAR from perfect, it is what I feed my picky bird).

 

[RinaDoc]

I wonder if they were feeding Zupreem Fruit Blend---seems popular (even though it is FAR from perfect, it is what I feed my picky bird).

I'm thinking it was.

 

[bingbing]

It is my understanding that GCC's do not digest the skins of apple. Also the seeds of apples are toxic too them.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Good advice above. Diet is sooooooooooooooo important. I'm glad you're addressing it right away.

I'll put in my usual dos centavos for Harrison's.
Harrison's Bird Foods

I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff, like fruits and vegetables! My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.

 

[RinaDoc]

It is my understanding that GCC's do not digest the skins of apple. Also the seeds of apples are toxic too them.

No skins or seeds were feed to it.

 

[ChristaNL]

great start
I love all the advice, and fruit-flinging is a hobby in common with a lot of other birds (I sometimes suspect they keep scores ).