GC Conures & Kids

rocktopus

New member
Jul 30, 2014
2
0
Vancouver, BC
Parrots
GCC (pending!)
Hi there,

I'm in the process of "doing my research" on green cheeks--although I've never owned a bird before, I've certainly had pets in my care, and I know myself to be a thorough and responsible person capable of lots of love and attention.

My husband and I are just waiting until we find a condo to buy and get all moved in (on track for early Nov) before we go ahead, I've contacted the two main Pyrrhura breeders in my area.

I've searched the forums extensively but haven't found a thread dealing with my question.

Spouse and I have not decided whether or not to have children--we were baby crazy until the very moment where I was done school and COULD have a baby, and then we balked. We've always said we'd get a pet when we owned a place, though. I feel like this is typical for young(ish) couples--get a pet first, then have a child a few years later. In less responsible people, this can lead to total neglect of the pet who was there first. I don't visualize that being the major issue with us, but is it not true that birds are in many ways more sensitive to changes and/or being "usurped" by the introduction of human babies than, say, a dog or cat. I guess it varies by individual animal a great deal, but do any of you have stories about having a child after you have a bird?

I understand green cheeks are decent family birds if trained well and loved properly, but I'm a little concerned. I don't want the poor thing to go mad with jealousy, and I'm especially worried about a new addition happening during the bird's sexual adolescence, when I know they become extra challenging.

I think we're about 50% on having a child in that we're both happy for the path to go either way, so it's not even a sure thing. I just want to hear if other people have successfully managed.

Thank you!
 
Bravo! THANK YOU for not getting your pet and then "suddenly" needing to rehome it when you magically conceive a child. Can you tell that is a pet peeve of mine? So anyway, good for you. GCCs are one of the better species for you in this case, with your specific concern. They are less likely to mate bond with one of you (though you have to do your part to train, socialize, and avoid sexual behaviors), and are typically pretty low-maintenance emotionally speaking, compared to many larger species. Be sure to socialize your bird with small children on a regular basis, and expose him to babies, so your is not the first, second, or even third one he see. As far as sexual maturity goes, they reach that at about 1 year of age. Unless you plan to get pregnant right away, you should miss that window. Also, as you will be doing your best to prevent a mate bond, it should not be much of an issue. Please do read up on how NOT to stimulate them sexually though, because a lot of the things may surprise you.

Personally, I do not plan to get rid of any of my flock members when a new human arrives in our flock/pack/family :) I do not have kids yet,but with the proper socialization and training there is no reason why your new bird can't accept a new human, especially a GCC.
 
I had three of my 5 birds when my daughter was born. (Cocktiel, Budgie and Dove -- they didn't really notice except they got slightly less out of cage time for a while)

She's three now and we have a GCC and they are getting used to each other -- well, the GCC Phlox is in love with my daughter and she's not sure how she feels about that yet.

They are pretty easy going birds and small enough that they are quite easy to control, and even if one did get in a bad state, they are unlikely to do anything serious. As a general rule, if properly socialized, they shouldn't have any serious jealous hysteria. GCCs are pretty flexible from my experience.

A GCC (or a cockatiel) is probably a very good choice for both a first bird and a kid friendly bird.
 
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Aww, thanks for assuaging my worries, folks! I really appreciate it. I loathe the idea that small pets are "disposable"--my mom definitely felt that way about both the guinea pigs I had as a young child and the rats I had as a young adult and she made me rehome both. Weirdly enough, when I talked to her this weekend about our GCC plans, she was really supportive. Apparently she had had a cockatiel as a pet in her first marriage and that she really loved him. The bird, not the husband, hahaha!

I've been getting a lot of encouragement from all sides and it makes me so happy. Can't wait to be a weird bird lady and spam you all with pictures!
 
YES! We can't wait to see them!!
 

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