Please advise ASAP!

[Love_Fern]

Hi and congrats!

I knew nothing about GCC when I got mine, she was 5 weeks old. She is the queen of the house. I had heard birds can be loud but Fern is not. I am not sure if this is the norm for GCC but it is for Fern. There are times in day she chirps and does her GCC talking but its never loud or obnoxious.

As we did, you will find your way and ya'll will adapt to each other perfectly as time goes on

 

[Love_Fern]

I meant to mention that you can get a DNA test done. Its not expensive. We all thought Fern was a boy when we got her and temporarily named "it" Basil..we only had her two weeks when we got the results, surprise- Girl, so she became Fern.

 

[veimar]

We probably need to do the DNA test at some point, but right now we don't want to stress Perry taking him out to the vet. He changed so much in these few days - he is very playful and active. I made some foraging toys for him and have to come up with more difficult tasks every day since he is really smart. I thought parrots are possessive, but he is most happy when we both play with him. He repeats some movements after my husband and that is hilarious!
The only thing I'm upset about is that he is not stepping on my finger or hand. I guess it's because the lady in the pet store made him sit on her finger and then put him into the dark box so we could take him home. Maybe he remembered that. Do parrots have good memory?

 

[Love_Fern]

We probably need to do the DNA test at some point, but right now we don't want to stress Perry taking him out to the vet. He changed so much in these few days - he is very playful and active. I made some foraging toys for him and have to come up with more difficult tasks every day since he is really smart. I thought parrots are possessive, but he is most happy when we both play with him. He repeats some movements after my husband and that is hilarious!
The only thing I'm upset about is that he is not stepping on my finger or hand. I guess it's because the lady in the pet store made him sit on her finger and then put him into the dark box so we could take him home. Maybe he remembered that. Do parrots have good memory?

Yes they remember but will forget that "bad" box experience in time since it won't be repeated. How does he come to you? Do you just pick him up? If so, I would not pick him up all the time and soon he will realize that when he wants attention or to be with you he must step on your finger and then you will hold him. He will realize that there is a positive reward to stepping up.

 

[d2page2]

I am so happy for you. My GCC love to sleep in one of those hanging fuzzy triangle tents. Maybe your would like one also. Good luck and hope you have many years of fun and love with your new baby.

 

[veimar]

Oh no, I don't pick him up! He is just in the cage and he likes to fool around with my fingers and to take treats from me, as well as being scratched on his head. But when I try to make him to step on my finger he tries to bite it (very lightly) and gets nervous. He is not really afraid and doesn't back up - it just seems that he is confused and doesn't understand what is he supposed to do.
He is SO MUCH FUN!!! We just laugh watching him getting treats from his toys and just being goofy. He obviously loves to be a center of attention and already knows when we talk about him.

 

[christine]

Congrats on our parrot, your now going to be hooked on parrots like the rest of us!

You mentioned that your bird only eats the sunflower seeds and you were concerned that he wasn't eating the rest. I would caution against trying to force him to finish his bowl by leaving it in there until he eats it all. He might starve himself, parrots have been known to do that. I wouldn't worry to much about nutrient deficiency for now and just make sure he is getting some calories in during this big transition into your house. Eventually your going to want to switch him over to pellets which are way better for him then those seed mixes. The pellets ensure that your bird is getting all the nutrients it needs because it cant pick out just the fatty, high-caloric items like sunflower seeds.

So yeah to summarize, offer fresh bowls of the seed mix you have to him everyday, if he just eats the sunflower seeds than thats okay for now. Offer some fresh veggies also. Once he seems acclimated to his new home then I would try to transition him onto pellets and continue supplementing with fresh veggies.

As far as how long it will take to get him to perch on your hand, you may want to do some research on "taming." There's lots of stuff out there on it. You pretty much have to coax them to accept treats from your hand then use the treat to guide him towards you. My lovebird took probably two months to get to comfortably "step up" onto my finger without food rewards. Now a year later she gives me kisses and dives into my shirt. Its all about trust. Good luck!

 

[Alyse]

So happy he found his forever home with you! I found my CBC and knew I was meant to be her new mommy, even though I wasn't looking for a new fid

 

[veimar]

He is eating very well! It was just the first day he was picky, and now he eats everything out of his bowl. I use the sunflower seeds for treats and for the foraging toys. He also likes the millet branches. I gave his some grapes and apples today. It seems that he is getting used to the situation pretty quickly. And I hope he feels that we love him so much!

 

[WesselG]

Veimar,

Teaching a shy/introverted bird that you're not a predator and that the treat in your hand only shows up when you're around takes a lot of time. I've had birds for years that refuse to take treats from my hand but who will devour the same treat within seconds after it's been dropped in their food-bowl. With some of my other birds it took only a few weeks and those birds will actually insist on a treat from my hand when I'm near the cage. So a lot of it depends on the bird's personality...and your own patience.

What worked for me in the past is to hold a treat with one hand against the bars of the cage as close to the bird as it will tolerate without backing away and "forget" about it. Read a good book or listen to some soft music while you wait...sooner or later curiosity or hunger will win and he'll take the treat.

I hope this helps a bit.

 

[veimar]

Thank you! Perry does take treats from my hand easily, and sometimes I hold them firm and he struggles to get them. This is really funny! I just cannot get him to step up. He would just nip my fingers. However he likes when I scratch his head or belly or pet him on his back. I hope it's just a matter of time. I'm still afraid to pick him up or let him out of the cage.
Today he started chirping and got so excited about that! Then he screeched soooo loud, OMG! It was like a fire alarm. I scolded him for doing this and seemed to understand and took the volume down. He was very excited and bowed his head a lot running back and forth on the perch. What would such behavior mean? Was he scared? Or maybe he got too excited about the bird mirror I put in the cage (he might have thought there was his twin intruder in his cage!) He was biting the mirror so fiercely that I had to take it out just to avoid him choking on it. We also got him a couple of new perches last night.
Do your parrots bow too? It looks so funny, but it seems like he is excited or nervous while doing this. I just want to make sure it's normal.

 

[bostjan]

Congrad's! I think you will be very happy with your new family member.
I've noticed that the females tend to do the bowing motion more than the males. The females also puff up and move their heads slowly back and forth when they want to be intimidating, whereas the males tend to hop up and down. I think that the males are generally more vocal than the females. All of this is just my impression, so I have no scientific evidence.
Perry is probably running around the cage for exercise. GCC's are usually very active birds. I recommend a large cage for this species, because they do love to run around, hop up and down, and play a lot.
I've heard bad things about the mirrors that they put in bird toys, but I can't say for sure if they are bad, because I've never used one.
I really love GCC's. With a little patience, you should be able to teach Perry how to say a couple or a few words, do tricks, and have lots of interaction with him/her. GCC's are much much quieter than Sun Conures, or even most parrots, but they do have a certain active time of day when they will chirp. If you scold the bird for chirping, he/she might think that you are joining in on the ruckus, so be aware of that. Remember than in the wild, these birds will use loud noises to call to each other. The bird might make noise to get attention, which is difficult, because giving the bird attention could reinforce the behaviour, but ignoring him/her will most likely just mean more noise.
Necco used to make a lot of noise when we turned down the lights at night. If we made sure to say good night to him and calmly remind him to be a good bird before turning down the lights, he rarely made a peep over night.

 

[FunnyFarmAK]

welcome to the world of birds. You're off to a great start and this place will answer your questions.
First in response to the shower water temp. birds do lose essential oils and protection which takes time to build back up from warmer water. Just use room temp water and it'll help preserve the oils.As far as food, now may be a good time to get the diet going. Lots of fresh veggies above all, then fruits and then go to a thread on what to feed and not to feed a parrot. Try to give them pellets if you can. Seed mixes have a lot of fat in them. So offer your bird a large variety of foods and see what he goes for and build his diet around the likes he has from the foods you offer.
As far as getting to be good friends, just be patient. Sounds like your bird isn't used to being out of the cage so when you're at work and he's nearby, just open his door and see. He will eventually come out be it sooner or days later. Keep offering treats by hand but if he retreats put it in his dish, and always move slow with new birds. He will get used to his environment at his pace. You're off and rolling

 

[veimar]

How can I get how back to the cage if he gets out? I'm don't want him to panic when I try to catch him.

 

[Kalidasa]

Use a favorite treat as a motivator. Hold it in front of him, then lead him in with it. After shutting the door, praise him and give him another. Shelled pine nuts (from the grocers) are an easy favorite, or some sort of seed.

 

[veimar]

I also wonder about one thing.. The parrots have a very good eyesight and hearing, and not that much of smelling sense. So they are sort of like us. And they can easily determine who is male and who is female. How?! They don't do the DNA test!
Have you ever thought about that?

 

[crimson]

that is how I test some of my birds....believe it or not.
if I am unsure of the sex of the bird, I will put them with a confirmed sexed bird and see how they interact.
It makes perfect sense to me that Halo my male lovebird loves most of my female birds.
same goes for my cockatiels, opposite sexes get along better than same sexes....at least mine do.

 

[veimar]

I have an update - Parry stepped up for the first time today! I gave him a pen instead of my finger and he did great job! He realized right away that he would get a treat for that and got very excited every time I came to the cage with that pen (it's bright blue, an easy color to remember). And he cuddled with my fingers and palms today gently nipping and exploring them. He is such a sweetie - we are both totally in love with him!

 

[jenphilly]

I was just going to post to try using a dowel type perch! Let him step up on that and then take him out of cage, put him on table or arm and let him explore. Awesome you tried the pen!! Great option! And sometimes green cheeks can get a bit cage possessive, so having Parry trained to step up on a perch may save your fingers when he/she goes thru puberty / hormonal phase.

He sounds like he is very happy and loves interacting with you. Heading bobbing and back and forth in reaction to you is kinda like a puppy dancing around all excited. He's coming into his own and learning about his new flock

I am guessing his wings are probably clipped so he may not fly very well. If he flutters off or gets too excited you can offer him the pen or perch to step up on if he won't come to your hand or arm. Absolute last resort is to cover him with a light kitchen towel and hold him firmly around the body to get him back to cage. It won't hurt him. And the towel isn't terrible, first couple times he might be upset with you, but he won't hold a grudge much! Getting him used to the towel will be really helpful in the future for trimming nails and if you do decide to keep wings clipped. But he seems so interested in you, I doubt he'll be flying off, he'll do what my daughters little pineapple green cheek girl does, she follows Victoria from room to room to check out what shes doing.

Congrats on the baby!! And don't worry about buying a bird cause you feel sorry for it. Tho that may be the way it seems to be described, I am sure you've seen lots of pets that you felt sorry for but did not bring home. I am guessing there was some other pull to Parry and he was just meant to be in your family!!

A note about having rats in the same home... rats are meat eaters. Be very careful that Parry never lands on the rats cage. Even the sweetest of rats (we have shared our home with many fancy rats over the last 10 years or so, none now tho)... but, we had an incident when the cockatiel babies first learned to fly and one landed on the rats cage, before we could get there, one of the girls bite the tip of a toe. Poor Rin still doesn't have a normal claw on that toe. Rats are super awesome puppy dog kinda pets, so would never suggest they cannot be in the same home, but just be careful with where Parry explores or throw a cover over the rats cage when he's out. We used that option quite a bit!

Good luck and post more pics!! Love seeing them as they find their inner bird

Congrats again and so happy that Parry has a wonderful family to call his own!!! Rats and all!!

 

[veimar]

Thank you Jen! I'll try to take some more picks - it's kinda difficult to take picks when I'm fooling around with Parry.
I didn't know rats are predators of birds! The baby rats we got from the shelter were used for dog training, and they are very skittish. I'm having hard time getting them to get used to me moving around in the room and not panicking from every move. If something like Perry would land on their cage (it would make a lot of noise too!) they would probably just hide away in horror and shake! But for the future I'll definitely consider your advice. They are held in different rooms anyway and I right now wouldn't even let Parry go to that room.
Thank you for your suggestions about getting him out of the cage! I think he is ready for that because when I open the door he looks out with great curiosity. Is he gonna poo on the carpet? (We just installed new carpets in the whole house) But I don't care - I try to let him out tomorrow. I just close the door and let him explore just one room at a time.