I wanted to say welcome to the forum from a fellow green cheek conure owner! I have a male, named Bowie, who is just over a year old. I got him when he was 8 weeks old and had just finished weaning, from his breeder who hand-raised him from 2 weeks old. He is a Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure, and he is definitely a Velcro Bird! I love him dearly, and though you've already gotten great advice and everyone has already said exactly what I would have said, I'd like to point out the most important things you need to do to not only make your little guy happy, but to actually incorporate him into your family so that you and your girlfriend are very happy as well! I'm so sorry that you got bad information prior to choosing a bird and bringing him home (though I'm not surprised unless it was from this forum, which I highly doubt, lol), but honestly I don't know of any pet bird that 2 hours a day of interaction with it's people is nearly enough to keep them happy, except maybe a bird that is only to hear and look at and not to touch or interact with at all, like a Finch or Canary or something like that. That being said, I'm so glad that you joined this forum to work out any issues you're having with your new baby, and to get a much better understanding of what your green cheek needs and wants. This forum is just absolutely full of wonderful, knowledgeable people that have years and years of pet bird experience, and most importantly will be totally honest with you all the time. I would think of finding out that you got false information about the needs of your bird as a completely positive new chance! You and your girlfriend will be sooooooo much happier with your green cheek if you actually make him an official part of your family, and have a much closer, much more intimately bonded relationship with your new baby if you start thinking of him as just that: your new baby. To be completely honest with you, having a green cheek conure in your family is very much like having a baby or child. They aren't called "Velcro Birds" for nothing! I'll be quick with these points of what you said in your original post, as like I said they've already been well covered by members. These are just what I feel are the major, most important things that you/your girlfriend need to either change or start doing in order to not only keep your green cheek happy, healthy, occupied, and stimulated (they are very intelligent, loving birds and get bored and lonely very easily), but also to form a strong bond and a love that is reciprocated between you:
#1...Please do not keep him and his cage off in a spare bedroom where he can't be seen, and more importantly he can't see or hear you, and isn't an active part of your family and your home and daily routine. Please move your green cheek and his cage to the main room of your house immediately, whether that be your living room, den, TV room, etc., whatever room of your house that you and your girlfriend spend the most time and where the most action is. Yes he might start screaming when you first move him into your living room, but this will very quickly end and soon, probably in less than a week, both you and your bird will be so much happier you moved him!!! At first he will see you guys all the time and want to come out of his cage, and he'll wonder why he isn't out of his cage if you're at home (I'll get to this in a minute), but what will happen very quickly is he will be used to just being in your presence, which is exactly what he needs and wants. He'll be able to see and hear you all the time, he'll be able to watch the things you guys do and he'll always know where you are. He'll feel like he's a part of your family, and like you are including him in everything. Right now you have him off in a spare room, and he knows when you're home but not only can he not see you, but he feels like you're leaving him out of your lives, and he certainly does not feel like he is a part of your family. If you keep him where he is now he will no doubt develop behavioral problems and you will not form a close bond with him at all. This will surely become apparent when he hits puberty. The other thing that will happen is that he will see new people whenever they come to your house, and you'll be constantly socializing him, either by constant interaction with you or with new people. He will not be scared of new people and new people will not be a big deal at all, neither will sounds, sights, etc. You need to talk to him whenever you pass his cage, soon he'll talk back. Just you two constantly walking past him will strengthen your bond to him. In about a week after moving him you'll start to see his screaming for attention will stop, and he'll be able to see you guys sitting on the couch, watching TV, reading, etc. and he will be able to entertain himself by playing with his toys while you're doing your thing. All he wants, and he needs, is to be in your presence, to be a part of your family interaction. Just like you would do with a baby or a child.
#2...I'm sure by now you've been informed that 2 hours a day of interaction with your green cheek is not nearly enough, and not spending time with him when you're home just because it will be more than 2 hours a day is not good at all. I don't know why anyone with bird experience would tell you this, but it doesn't matter, again think of this as your chance to learn what he wants and needs, and how to make him a primary member of your family. If you haven't already fallen in love with him I assure you that you will, very quickly in fact, and I also will guarantee you that he already loves you dearly. The way that you and your girlfriend need to think from now on is "If one of us is home, our bird is out of his cage". This doesn't necessarily mean that you have to be constantly interacting directly with him, though I would interact and play with him as much as you can. It's not at all about putting a time minimum on his out of cage time or the time you are actually supposed to be spending with him. That's totally backwards to the way you need to be thinking. Always talk to him when you walk past him. Always let him be with you, in the same room as you if you're at home doing something. Make him some T-stands out of PVC pipe or make a place for him to perch on in each room of your house. So if you're in your living room watching TV let him out on top of his cage or onto his play stand or perch. Put a toy for him to climb on or chew on his perches or play stands. You'll watch TV and he'll play on his perch, or better yet, he'll sit on your shoulder and sleep anytime you're watching TV...but if for some reason you don't want him on your shoulder while you're watching TV then at least let him out of his cage to play by himself and to be a part of the action. He may even go into his cage on his own to play, but just having the option will make him feel he's not missing out on anything. If his cage is in the living room and you're going to a different room to surf the net or to play video games on the computer or PlayStation, take him with you!!! Put him on his perch or playstand in whatever room you'll be in. Make sure he has a toy to play with or chew on. Give him some millet to snack on while you're on the computer. You could be on the computer for hours and he'll just be thrilled to be in the same room as his daddy is, doing his own thing too, while the two of you are still spending your day together. When you guys eat your meals, wherever that might be at, i.e. at the table, on the couch in front of the TV, wherever, make sure he's in the room with you, either in/on his cage if you're eating in the living room, or on his very own perch or stand in your kitchen or dining room, eating his own dinner. My birds love to eat meals with me, and they typically have their own little portion on my plate that they get to eat while I eat. You get the idea. Treat him exactly as you would your own child. You wouldn't put your baby or child in a spare bedroom away from you, you'd want him in the room where you are, even if he's entertaining himself while you're doing your thing. You'll not only form a very strong bond with your bird and earn his complete trust, but you'll find that your life will become so much fuller, and you'll start to feel alone and not right if he's not with you!
I have 4 larger birds, a Senegal parrot, a Quaker parrot, a cockatiel, and a yellow-sided green cheek conure! I also have 7 budgies that I bred and hand-raised/hand-fed myself. Each larger bird has their own cage in my living room, and the budgies all live together in a huge flight cage, also in my living room. They are let out of their cages first thing in the morning and we all eat breakfast together, them on their cages or their T-Stands that are beside their cages, and me at the coffee table. They are out until I leave for work, then they all go into their cages while I'm gone, and that is the only time they are locked in their cages, when I'm not home. I come home from work for an hour each day to eat lunch, and I let them out as soon as I walk in. We eat lunch together and then they go back in their cages. Then when I get home I let them all back out of their cages, and they do not go back into their cages until they go to bed. Yes, we do play together, yes I do give them all scritches and talk to them throughout the night, but I'm not always constantly interacting with them directly, they are simply just with me.
Congrats on your new green cheek, I know you'll soon wonder how you lived without him in your lives. Please try your best to make him a member of your family, keep him with you and near you always. He wants nothing more than to be with you and your girlfriend.
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