New bird--too quiet?

[zombienekhebet]

Hi,

Background: I just bought a baby (born march) parent-raised green cheek. I had a green cheek female a few years ago, and so I was expecting a similar experience regarding noise and behavior.

The first thing I did was take the bird to get wings clipped, and was told he/she is a bit skinny. I've been feeding seed, romaine, and bits of other fruits and berries daily to combat that. I've made sure to not stare at the bird, put her in a quiet area of the house, and talk to her when I'm in the room. I have not attempted to touch the bird since I bought her this past weekend, and in general am attempting to let her(him?) acclimate.

However:

The bird is quiet. I've never heard a good conure screech out of it. I've heard a few of the lower bird noises when I was driving her home, but not much since. She is definitely eating the heck out of everything I put in the cage, water is fresh, she is pooping. Why is she so quiet? She's active when I bring the cage down to clean it out and refresh everything, and she seems alert. Is this normal? Or should I rush the bird down to the exotic vet?

 

[LaurenB]

Hello and congratulations on your new baby!

If the only concerning thing you are experiencing is that s/he is "too quiet", I don't think you have anything to be concerned about.

Your new baby's whole life was just turned upside down. He is in an unfamiliar place, and is all alone with no flock members. He is being quiet, because in nature, being in a quiet place and all alone means you're in danger. There could be predators lurking. Your baby is staying quiet so as not to attract attention of any predators.

I would leave the radio on in your bird's room, so at least there is noise in your absence. In the forest... quiet=danger. I would also talk to and spend as much time with your bird as possible, you want to earn his trust and help him learn that you are his new "flock"!

Also, it's worth mentioning that while GCC's are by no means "silent", they are one of the quietest!

 

[Kalel]

A quiet conure???? WOOOHOO! You just hit the jackpot! LOL In all seriousness though, I agree with LaurenB. He or she is probably still a bit stressed from the new environment. My budgie (RIP) once clung to the cage and literally did not move a muscle for almost an entire day! Over 14 hrs at least, then I went to bed and when I woke up he had moved. I was so concerned because he did not eat, drink, nothing! At least yours is eating and acting alert so I wouldn't be too worried

 

[Doublete]

My gcc is quiet. He chirps and that's about it.

I would say work on the diet though. Go to the food section here on the forum and look at the chop recipes. My gcc likes quinoa, pasta, cannellini beans, green beans, broccoli, and the like in his.

 

[Juno]

Hi there! I recently got a new conure baby as well and I found the same thing for the first couple of days. I was really confused after hearing how loud conures should be, she hardly made a sound.

After a couple of days she would make little chirps every now and then, and now she'll make some louder noises if we're somewhere new and interesting (or if she hears birds in the pet store).

My best guess is once your baby gets used to you, she'll get a little louder
I personally like birds that make a lot of noise but I guess for a lot of people a quiet bird is a good thing!
Good luck with your new baby!!

 

[Xraysrrad]

I have had my crimson bellied conure for a little less than 4 weeks. I too, had heard to be ready for a lot of loud screeching and was worried that Bodhi was so quiet.

Bodhi only calls out to me now when I leave the room. He stays in the living room and someone is usually there pretty much most of the day. If for some reason all four of us end up out of his sight, he calls out.

Otherwise, he chuckles quite often (LOVE that sound) and lightly chirps when he is in a cuddling mood.

Best I can come up with is that each bird has his/her own personality. A few of us are just plain lucky with regards to noise!

 

[jiannotto9492]

I've had my Jenday for 4 days now and he's been extremely quiet as well. He makes some quiet chirps if he's uncomfortable with how I'm petting him but that's all.

 

[gracebowen]

I've never owned a conure but when my fids were New they were very quiet too. My newest parakeet is still pretty quiet. I think she misses her old mom.

 

[Shae26]

Maybe she wants to be with you more? You said she's more active when you bring the cage down to clean it etc, i'm assuming the bird comes down with the cage? If that's the case, perhaps consider moving the bird into a higher traffic area.

My green cheek Bandit was quiet for a day or so when I got him, but he was in the living room with us so he got used to us very quickly and it wasn't long at all before he was eager to be out of his cage and sitting with someone, exploring and sharing food. They're very social birds and i've found that mine is happiest when he's with us.

I don't think the quietness is anything to be worried about as long as she's eating and pooping okay, but she may be a little lonely. Do you have any other birds in the room with her?

 

[zombienekhebet]

No, no other birds in there with her. I have her in a small cage in my room, with plans to move her to the bigger, more secure (from the cats) as soon as I can get her to step up. I'm worried that if I put her in a bigger cage, she'll never tame down!

So, bright side, the bird is ok, and seems to want my attention desperately. Down side, she is still afraid of my hand.

 

[Shae26]

Find a fruit that she really, really likes and use that to teach her that hands are okay. Bandit goes crazy for apple and that was his weakness when he was learning to step up. He'll do just about anything for a piece of apple or a drop of apple juice, and it made it really easy to teach him that if he wanted some, he had to venture out of his comfort zone and step up on to my hand. Once he learned that I wasn't going to hurt him, stepping up is all he wanted to do lol.

Having the bird in a bigger cage will often do the opposite to what you might think. In my experience with several different species of birds (cockatiels, conures, lorikeets, cockatoos) i've found that birds with more room and freedom to move around and play in their cage tend to be less high strung and weird when it's people-time. And during the training process, if she feels like she has more places to go and hide when she's uncomfortable, she'll be less inclined to start biting as a defense mechanism when hands are approaching her in her cage.

Finding her favourite food and giving her plenty of time to accept new things is pretty much what it's all about, especially when everything is so new. Patience and bribery are key

 

[SoCalWendy]

Haha give it a good 30 days then come back and tell us how its going... really in all seriousness, she is just getting used to her new surroundings, sights, and sounds. taking it all in... after a while you will see her personality start to erupt.

I remember when we first got Rio (sense) man was she sooooo quite. Then one day early in the morning, we woke up to a noisy bird, happy being a bird. My husband and I looked at each other and laughed.

 

[SoCalWendy]

No, no other birds in there with her. I have her in a small cage in my room, with plans to move her to the bigger, more secure (from the cats) as soon as I can get her to step up. I'm worried that if I put her in a bigger cage, she'll never tame down!

So, bright side, the bird is ok, and seems to want my attention desperately. Down side, she is still afraid of my hand.

Everyday, take her in to the bathroom, cage and all, and work with her in there. Figure out what food she likes the most, first thing in the morning (she will be hungry).... just sit with her, quietly, move slowly and just offer her the food. If you find a food she really goes gaga over, then withhold it from her other food and use it exclusively for training only. never grab her, or force her to do anything at this stage, always let her approach you, and if she backs away, respect her space. over time she will learn to trust you and you will both be happier you didn't rush the relationship.

 

[Birdman666]

I've had my Jenday for 4 days now and he's been extremely quiet as well. He makes some quiet chirps if he's uncomfortable with how I'm petting him but that's all.

THAT will generally pass.... Jendays tend to be on the louder side.

Mine was pretty loud.

 

[Birdman666]

Yeah. This is the settling in period. This bird is probably somewhat disoriented at the moment. Once you establish a routine, the bird will usually perk right up.

I had a sun conure, though, that was only loud a couple of times a day. (When I got up, feeding times, when I got home from work.

 

[zombienekhebet]

Ok, so to update, the food s/he seems to love the most is apple. I have been holding it into her cage daily before I lay it down, and she cocks her head at it and seems to consider coming down. I will do as suggested and withhold apple from her normal food from now on, and use for training.

The bathroom idea is a good one. I can do that.

For the record, the bird is still quiet. She screeches occasionally in the morning (not often) when she hears birds outside, and will let one rip if my toddler starts screaming, no matter what room he is in LOL. Beyond that, when she is asking for food or attention she kind of paces quickly back and forth and goes... "meep *walk walk walk* Meep! *walk walk walk*"

I'm terrible at English-izing bird noises, but she is still pretty quiet. I don't have a problem with that .

 

[Kyoto]

My GCC is very quiet too, unless I talk excitedly and get her worked up. Then she can be loud she's actually learns a few words from me talking to her.

 

[LoveMyConlan]

My Green Cheek was silent for the first week he was home. After he got comfy and into the swing of my home.... Yeah... Not so quiet lol. He whispers to himself a lot and loudly voices his opinion and dislike of things.. Like me getting dressed or leaving or his jealousy when I'm giving my rats attention instead of him. Haha.