Finally ready to get my first bird! Need some help with a potential

[Aaron1259]

After weeks of research and studying I’m finally confident to purchase my first bird, a conure.

There are a few sellers in my area and I have found one at a good price, however the birds seem to have something wrong with their feathers, when I asked he said “yes they do look patchy at the moment because they are slightly older and are busy malting” not quite sure what that means.

They hatched in January.

Here are some pictures: https://imgur.com/a/mdRxjzv

Are there other questions I should be asking? Such as treated for mites etc?

 

[Flboy]

Biggest problem with birds malting are the feathers get caught in the blender!
Having fun with you! It is molting! Being babies, they may be over preening (not pruning) each other!

 

[EllenD]

Well congrats on thinking of getting a Green Cheek...you may want to do a bit more research though, as "weeks" is not enough...there are lots of questions you need to ask yourself, and lots of things you need to prepare BEFORE actually bringing home a baby Green Cheek Conure:

-Did you buy a cage yet? Many, Many Toys? Different Perches? Everything else? What size cage?
-Have you decided what diet you're going to put him on?
-Are you able to give whatever parrot you bring home at the very least 4-5 hours every single day outside of his cage, with direct interaction with you? Do you know where you will locate his main-cage? What will you do when you're not home? Go away on vacation?
-Do you own any other pets? If so, are they a danger to a bird?
-Do you live alone? If not, are your housemates okay with the noise?
-HAVE YOU FOUND A LOCAL CERTIFIED AVIAN VET? Scheduled a Wellness-Exam for when he comes home?

These are just a few questions that you need to answer fully before bringing a bird home. And you must have everything ready for him prior to getting him, and make sure that the cage you buy is large enough for a Green Cheek, as they love to climb, swing, play, etc. The larger the cage the better, and the more toys the better...And having a local Certified Avian Vet is crucial, not an "exotics" vet, but an Avian Specialist, as well as knowing where the closest 24/7 emergency Animal Hospital is as well...Birdy first-aid kit as well...I'm just thinking of everything I can...

The main thing is your time/daily schedule, you must be able to allow a Green Cheek to be outside of his cage for a minimum of 4-5 hours every single day, more is better.

 

[Aaron1259]

Being weeks of spending at least an hour a day researching, I’ve watched almost all of Manda and Rio’s videos on YouTube and found her extremely informative.

-Did you buy a cage yet? Many, Many Toys? Different Perches? Everything else? What size cage? Yes I bought the same cage that Manda has: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com.au/ulk/itm/273020208845

-Have you decided what diet you're going to put him on? Mainly pellets, with little bit of fresh chop and nutriberries as a treat for training

-Are you able to give whatever parrot you bring home at the very least 4-5 hours every single day outside of his cage, with direct interaction with you? Do you know where you will locate his main-cage? What will you do when you're not home? Go away on vacation? I wake up at seven and leave at 730 to go to work, I then get home at about 4 this is when the bird will be out of the cage until maybe 8, giving the bird 11 hours of sleep. Should I let the bird out of the cage in the morning? I’m fine with it sitting with me for breakfast and hanging around while I get ready, however I don’t want it to get too upset when I leave.

There is a near by bird sitter, for when I rarely take a vacation, I do however spend 2-3 nights away for work ever 3 months or so, will being alone be a problem?

Cage is place in the lounge room next to the television (which won’t be used once it’s his/her bedtime)

-Do you own any other pets? If so, are they a danger to a bird? No

-Do you live alone? If not, are your housemates okay with the noise? I live alone

-HAVE YOU FOUND A LOCAL CERTIFIED AVIAN VET? Scheduled a Wellness-Exam for when he comes home? No, I have a local regular vet which I plan to take it into for a checkup, would it be better to travel further for a certified avian vet? Might be over an hour drive.

Everything has already been prepared for the last couple of weeks except for food, Teflon is all gone, air fresheners are gone, lots of toys I can experiment to see what it likes best and to have a rotation.

I will have to look into the bird first aid kit :11:

 

[itzjbean]

It sounds like you are getting well prepared!

The only thing I suggest is parrots really do seem to thrive on fresh fruits and veggies, the chop. The more of that you can give to them, the healthier they will be. Pellets are fine, but parrots generally like variety in their diets, and so offering pellets along with a continuously changing rotation of chop would be great.

 

[GaleriaGila]

I like your style... researching and reaching out.
Welcome to our community!

 

[MonicaMc]

Personally, I'd pass on that person... as Flboy said, it's molting and that's over-preening - probably from parents? Or other birds. If they are over preening themselves, then that's a big red flag!


But things to ask... diet the parents are on and what the chicks are weaned onto, if there are any health guarantees, what is their policy if things don't work out with the bird you buy...