Questions about baby conures

[dinorap1]

I just adopted my first [green cheeked] conure yesterday! Its name is Guac (guacamole), and I already love him so much! I got lots of questions though, so if you know the answer to any of my questions, please help me out!

1. Guac seems to be grooming himself a lot... is that normal? He's not plucking his feathers out, though.
2. What are the most useful tricks to teach him at a young age? (He's about 6 weeks old)
3. When, if ever, should I get his wings clipped? The breeder I got him from said I should clip his wings once he starts to fly, since babies are clumsy and may hurt themselves by flying into walls. Guac is already starting to fly, and has flown off of my hand twice now.
4. When can I stop giving him formula, and how can I tell if he needs it? I felt his crop recently, and it felt bony, so I gave him a bit of formula, but he keeps refusing it.
5. I'm not sure if Guac is any good at eating adult food yet... it takes him awhile to eat seeds and I think most of the time he's just dropping it. How can I tell if he's actually eating enough?

I'll prolly come up with more questions later. Thanks for reading! I appreciate it!

 

[Flboy]

1. Guac seems to be grooming himself a lot... is that normal? He's not plucking his feathers out, though.
Normal

2. What are the most useful tricks to teach him at a young age? (He's about 6 weeks old)
Step up, also train to step up on sticks, poles. Understand what is too hard when beaking. Clicker training!! Google it.

3. When, if ever, should I get his wings clipped? The breeder I got him from said I should clip his wings once he starts to fly, since babies are clumsy and may hurt themselves by flying into walls. Guac is already starting to fly, and has flown off of my hand twice now.
Controversial! Mine fly

4. When can I stop giving him formula, and how can I tell if he needs it? I felt his crop recently, and it felt bony, so I gave him a bit of formula, but he keeps refusing it.
Sorry, no idea.

5. I'm not sure if Guac is any good at eating adult food yet... it takes him awhile to eat seeds and I think most of the time he's just dropping it. How can I tell if he's actually eating enough?
You need a scale to track his weight. Seeds are not a good idea, get him onto a quality pellet food. Veggies, fruit, etc. wealth of information in this forum on what is called chop. Oh, on seeds, I do give JoJo some, but sprouted!

 

[Chunky]

My baby is 11 weeks old and has only just stopped formula a few days ago. It was him that decided he didnt want it. Your bird is way, way too young to consider reducing his feeds. How many times a day are you feeding him and roughly how much is he taking? As already said, you need to weigh him daily on digital scales to make sure he is growing ok.

 

[weco]

Welcome to the forums & congrats on your new feathered friend.....

1. Guac seems to be grooming himself a lot... is that normal? He's not plucking his feathers out, though. As has already been mentioned, yes, it's normal.....think teenage girl with a comb or brush, standing in front of a mirror.....actually, all birds do it...if you look close at Guac's feathers, the barbs interlock & his/her preening is his/her realigning those feather barbs, so that they are ready for quick escape if ever needed.....

2. What are the most useful tricks to teach him at a young age? (He's about 6 weeks old) Although Step Up has been mentioned, many birds are not taught to Step Down and if Guac were to ever get loose, he probably would not know how to fly down to you from a roof top or high tree perch,,,,,if you watch birds, they follow other birds and/or fly from branch to branch, unless they are normally ground feeders that have been taught to fly down for food...

3. When, if ever, should I get his wings clipped? The breeder I got him from said I should clip his wings once he starts to fly, since babies are clumsy and may hurt themselves by flying into walls. Guac is already starting to fly, and has flown off of my hand twice now.

As has been mentioned, clipping is a controversial topic with many bird owners but it is a decision you need to make, yourself, based on the best information you have at your disposal as well as what is the best safety for your bird in your home/surroundings, but a bird should always be allowed to fledge (learn to fly) before being clipped the first time.....

4. When can I stop giving him formula, and how can I tell if he needs it? You always want to allow a bird to wean itself...when it's ready, it will wean itself by refusing formula, though sometimes a young bird may come back later & beg for food...

I felt his crop recently, and it felt bony, so I gave him a bit of formula, but he keeps refusing it.

5. I'm not sure if Guac is any good at eating adult food yet... it takes him awhile to eat seeds and I think most of the time he's just dropping it. How can I tell if he's actually eating enough? Unlike most animals, birds don't chew their food, though parrots will shell their seeds, so that's usually see them dropping when eating.....

I'll prolly come up with more questions later. Yep, even our Super Moderators find themselves needing to ask a question every now & then.....

 

[JerseyWendy]

..... Yep, even our Super Moderators find themselves needing to ask a question every now & then.....

Oh boy.... someone's been quite naughty lately.