Hey all!
I've been prowling the forums for a few months since I was interested in buying a green cheek conure and wanting to soak up all the information possible before buying one. You guys are fantastic and all the questions and answers have been really informative.
So I'm finally making a post to say hello and ask some questions that are probably silly but yeah! So this is my little baby, Starburst. ^.^
The lady we bought her from said she was an extra red yellow sided green cheek and she was hatched November 16th, 2013.
We brought her home on January 16, 2014.
When we first got her, she was all cuddles and naps 24/7 for a few days. She would want out of her cage, play with our fingers, do flips, etc. Then she'd get tired and if we cupped our hands, she'd nuzzle in and pass out. Then she'd wake up and be hungry and after eating, we'd be back to playing. Rinse and repeat! Sooo cute!!
My husband works during the week and is off on the weekends. I stay home so I get lots of time with her. The first weekend my husband was home, she wanted to play with all of us but spent a lot of time with him which I thought was great because she'd been my little velcro bird since we got her!
Then the next week started and it was her and I being BFFs again, lol. Then the weekend came and she wanted NOTHING MORE than to play on him like a jungle gym. By now I was a bit sad and surprised since he isn't really into birds but loves her all the same. She would fly to him and roll and play. He always wears a hoodie, (I like it cool in the house and he likes it warm) and she would snuggle into his hood and pass out.
I suggested maybe she was bonding to him and I told him that while I felt silly, I was a bit jealous. He offered to give her back to me every time she flew to him. This seemed to work, after a while she would be content and cuddle up to me. But sometimes when he did it, she seemed to get rougher in her play with me or preening like she was mad.
I jokingly told hubby it was like the saying little girls say, "Don't let mommy brush your hair when she's mad at daddy." Lol, only reversed, I guess?
Now today marks a new week and she wants to be on my shoulders and preens my hair, my ear, tries to get into my mouth but I wont let her, she tries to sample food I'm eating, tries to drink from my cup, chirps, cleans herself on me, rubs her beak on my shoulder.
Only difference this week now seems to be she doesn't want so much hands on play as she wants to sit on my shoulder and look around, clean me or herself. She still takes scritches but she isn't so fanatical about them.
Hubby brought home a new chair for the computer I use so I've been sitting in that one and it's black as the old one was white and she's taken to getting on the top of it and running back and forth. Now sometimes she'll fly off to explore the sofa or run along the back of it to the potted plants and I'll get up and retrieve her. Sometimes she'll fly into the dining room that's next to the living room and investigate the table.
She used to demand you cup her while she napped but now she will squeeze herself between the chair and my back and she'll nap there.
Basically, I have a few questions now:
How long does it take for a green cheek conure to bond to someone?
Would it happen this soon, this young?
Since husband isn't around as much and isn't interested in so much hands on time, should we discourage it?
Should he continue handling her if he doesn't want to be her chosen person?
Is her affection for him just because she sees him less and it's more rare to spend time with him so she wants to spend all the time she can with him while he's here since I'll "always be around?"
Why is she so bent on getting in my mouth? She doesn't do it to him. But she does adore his beard.
Is her newfound desire to explore normal or is it just because she doesn't want to be near me and/or is looking for him? She isn't calling for him, or anyone really except when we put her to bed in the bedroom. (Separate cage, much smaller) and she calls out for a while and then settles down for sleep til the next day.
Other than that, she is an absolutely adorable little girl. She chirps, never screams (yet!) and loves trying new food but you have to be eating it first, lol. I put a bowl of veggies in her cage and she didn't want to touch it but I started eating veggies while she was near me and just /had/ to have some.
We've been trying to train her to poop at a certain location and she's gotten pretty good at it although it's still hit or miss, just with less misses.
So yeah, any help would be great. I've had budgies before but that was it and they were never so involved with humans as this little one so I thought y'all could help me. <3 Thanks in advance ^_^
I've been prowling the forums for a few months since I was interested in buying a green cheek conure and wanting to soak up all the information possible before buying one. You guys are fantastic and all the questions and answers have been really informative.
So I'm finally making a post to say hello and ask some questions that are probably silly but yeah! So this is my little baby, Starburst. ^.^
The lady we bought her from said she was an extra red yellow sided green cheek and she was hatched November 16th, 2013.
We brought her home on January 16, 2014.
When we first got her, she was all cuddles and naps 24/7 for a few days. She would want out of her cage, play with our fingers, do flips, etc. Then she'd get tired and if we cupped our hands, she'd nuzzle in and pass out. Then she'd wake up and be hungry and after eating, we'd be back to playing. Rinse and repeat! Sooo cute!!
My husband works during the week and is off on the weekends. I stay home so I get lots of time with her. The first weekend my husband was home, she wanted to play with all of us but spent a lot of time with him which I thought was great because she'd been my little velcro bird since we got her!
Then the next week started and it was her and I being BFFs again, lol. Then the weekend came and she wanted NOTHING MORE than to play on him like a jungle gym. By now I was a bit sad and surprised since he isn't really into birds but loves her all the same. She would fly to him and roll and play. He always wears a hoodie, (I like it cool in the house and he likes it warm) and she would snuggle into his hood and pass out.
I suggested maybe she was bonding to him and I told him that while I felt silly, I was a bit jealous. He offered to give her back to me every time she flew to him. This seemed to work, after a while she would be content and cuddle up to me. But sometimes when he did it, she seemed to get rougher in her play with me or preening like she was mad.
I jokingly told hubby it was like the saying little girls say, "Don't let mommy brush your hair when she's mad at daddy." Lol, only reversed, I guess?
Now today marks a new week and she wants to be on my shoulders and preens my hair, my ear, tries to get into my mouth but I wont let her, she tries to sample food I'm eating, tries to drink from my cup, chirps, cleans herself on me, rubs her beak on my shoulder.
Only difference this week now seems to be she doesn't want so much hands on play as she wants to sit on my shoulder and look around, clean me or herself. She still takes scritches but she isn't so fanatical about them.
Hubby brought home a new chair for the computer I use so I've been sitting in that one and it's black as the old one was white and she's taken to getting on the top of it and running back and forth. Now sometimes she'll fly off to explore the sofa or run along the back of it to the potted plants and I'll get up and retrieve her. Sometimes she'll fly into the dining room that's next to the living room and investigate the table.
She used to demand you cup her while she napped but now she will squeeze herself between the chair and my back and she'll nap there.
Basically, I have a few questions now:
How long does it take for a green cheek conure to bond to someone?
Would it happen this soon, this young?
Since husband isn't around as much and isn't interested in so much hands on time, should we discourage it?
Should he continue handling her if he doesn't want to be her chosen person?
Is her affection for him just because she sees him less and it's more rare to spend time with him so she wants to spend all the time she can with him while he's here since I'll "always be around?"
Why is she so bent on getting in my mouth? She doesn't do it to him. But she does adore his beard.
Is her newfound desire to explore normal or is it just because she doesn't want to be near me and/or is looking for him? She isn't calling for him, or anyone really except when we put her to bed in the bedroom. (Separate cage, much smaller) and she calls out for a while and then settles down for sleep til the next day.
Other than that, she is an absolutely adorable little girl. She chirps, never screams (yet!) and loves trying new food but you have to be eating it first, lol. I put a bowl of veggies in her cage and she didn't want to touch it but I started eating veggies while she was near me and just /had/ to have some.
We've been trying to train her to poop at a certain location and she's gotten pretty good at it although it's still hit or miss, just with less misses.
So yeah, any help would be great. I've had budgies before but that was it and they were never so involved with humans as this little one so I thought y'all could help me. <3 Thanks in advance ^_^
