new to the group with a few questions.

[MargaretB3]

Hi everyone. We just purchased a 14week old Green Cheek Conure. I was just wondering what everyone has in their birds cages. I have seen blankets, toys and stuffed animals. Right now Kai has a couple toys and the regular perches that came with his cage.
Also, can Conures have millet? Or is that a no-no? He is on a pellet diet, I have sunflower treats that we have been using to get him use to us.
I've been letting him come out of his cage on his own, instead of reaching in and grabbing him- which he doesn't like. He is newly weaned and I am trying to take it slow so he can get use to his new family. So I offer him a treat and let him come to me.
I'm open to all suggestions. Hope to have Kai for many years. He is already a snuggle buddy, and this morning curled up under my chin and took a nap.

 

[MargaretB3]

Thanks Kani333. So did you just put a scarf in there for him? I like the platform idea, Is will have to look into making him one

 

[thermodynamic]

Hi everyone. We just purchased a 14week old Green Cheek Conure. I was just wondering what everyone has in their birds cages. I have seen blankets, toys and stuffed animals. Right now Kai has a couple toys and the regular perches that came with his cage.
Also, can Conures have millet? Or is that a no-no? He is on a pellet diet, I have sunflower treats that we have been using to get him use to us.
I've been letting him come out of his cage on his own, instead of reaching in and grabbing him- which he doesn't like. He is newly weaned and I am trying to take it slow so he can get use to his new family. So I offer him a treat and let him come to me.
I'm open to all suggestions. Hope to have Kai for many years. He is already a snuggle buddy, and this morning curled up under my chin and took a nap.

Congrats on the adoption!

I've assorted toys (shreddable toys, bell toys, depending on the bird's preferred mannerisms. Rosie loves bell toys and to somersault on rope perches; Scooter and Tybbi love to shred things.) For a new parrot, see what (s)he finds most attractive and cater to that.

That rocks that you're letting him come out. Always let them make the move when possible. My Rosie was always chased after in the pet store. After 2.5 years, she's finally getting used to me, but she was abused thanks to improper handling...

Millet is great as a treat. But certain pellet brands, with real (and resh) vegetables and fruit, are the best. Always look at ingredients and if any sweetener (sugar, propylene glycol, high fructose corn syrup, etc) is read before any dried vegetable or fruit matter claimed on the packaging, don't buy it. (Harrisons and Zupreem are good in this area... apart from the latter's "fruit blend").

Sunflower seeds make great treats as well, but are high in fat.

Avoid ANY food containing propylene glycol. The same stuff is in some human food (usually "fat free" stuff). It's sweet tasting, is an artificial sweetener, and can also be found in shampoos and antifreeze. If it's good enough to keep a car cold and your hair manageable, do you want to eat it? Or your pets? Too much of it will cause damage to internal organs and I don't think that's a good thing... it's best to avoid the artificial garbage to begin with...

 

[Trina]

Conures love sunflower seeds, the can actually become addicted to them so use them only as treat, don't put them in their food bowl. What can happen is they will eat those always first and toss out the rest of the food. Very high in fat as the above poster mentioned walnuts, pecans and almonds are a healthy source of fat conures need a little fat.

I use dehydrated fruits as treats apples, mango and banana pieces.

Wood toys are very good conures like to chew they will even chew perches if not given wood to chew on. My conure chewed one perch it was unbelievable how he managed to tear it up in a couple days. For this reason I would not put stuffed toys in the cage they will tear it up and the stuffing might not be good. My conure likes rope toys wooden blocks and wooden pieces like Popsicle sticks. The is this Bee toy made of popsicle sticks at mysafebirds he loves this wooden toy. It took him about 2 weeks to completely destroy it. I would say most wooden toys ur conure will take to as whiddling wood is a favorite thing for them.

I let my conure have a happy hut he sleeps at night in it and he seems to enjoy it.

Good luck with your new bird

 

[wenz2712]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Kantia]

Hi everyone. We just purchased a 14week old Green Cheek Conure. I was just wondering what everyone has in their birds cages. I have seen blankets, toys and stuffed animals. Right now Kai has a couple toys and the regular perches that came with his cage.
Also, can Conures have millet? Or is that a no-no? He is on a pellet diet, I have sunflower treats that we have been using to get him use to us.
I've been letting him come out of his cage on his own, instead of reaching in and grabbing him- which he doesn't like. He is newly weaned and I am trying to take it slow so he can get use to his new family. So I offer him a treat and let him come to me.
I'm open to all suggestions. Hope to have Kai for many years. He is already a snuggle buddy, and this morning curled up under my chin and took a nap.

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new companion!

Remember that every bird has a different personality so they'll like different toys. So try to give him a variety and see what he likes best. These toys can include wood, shredded tissue, rope, foraging toys. There's so many you can buy and even make that you'll have a hard time deciding, or at least I do. Haha.
As for perches, I'd suggested having a couple of natural wood ones in there and one stone perch for their claws/beak. You can also use rope as a perch (the ones you can bend but are quite solid).
Just make sure all toys / colours are natural.

My Tich loves sunflower seeds and I use them as a treat when I'm training him. And they can have millet. :]
It's good that you are letting him come out of his cage when he's comfortable, hats off to you! If he doesn't like you grabbing him (who would?) then you can simply sit next to his cage, door open and have your finger there. You're not invading his space and forcing him to come out, but if he wants to, he has the option to come to you, and you can begin the training of stepping up. Treats may also help with this.

He sounds lovely, keep us updated on his adventurers.

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

Congratulations on your new addition. You'll learn so much on this forum and find quite a few photos and stories to make you smile and laugh. Don't forget to share yours too.

I stay away from the sunflower seeds because they are like a magic potion that makes Pritti lose his mind about anything else going on in his world. Treats for training or making friends can be small bits of something juicy or sweet, i.e. bits of apple or mango, raisin or dried fruit (without sulphur). Something that isn't part of the birdy's every day fresh food offerings.

 

[MargaretB3]

Thank you for the responses He is a silly thing. He is doing great and fitting right in. He likes to grab a pellet and then go to his water dish to "dunk" it. Silly bird. Loves the millet, I put a small piece in a holder and he snacks away. He loves Corn! And my pumkin bread, but I can blame him there..lol!

 

[aliray]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new baby. I give mine millet a couple or three times a week ,lots of veg fresh or cooked, fresh or dried fruit, pecans, almonds, raw pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, whole grain pasta, cooked eggs, cooked chicken, beef, shrimp, cooked dried beans, various grains, homemade birdy bread, . That is in addtition to their basic diet. There are tons of good recipies in the forum section of things you can make for your birds. As far as toys I have wooden toys ,a coconut toy a boing with a bell, a swing some smaller parakeet type toys, several different types of perches,that are different widths and different materials. also some rope and wood and bell toys