Fancy Green Cheek Conure

[Angela.]

About 5 months ago I went to the pet store and bought two parakeets, and I remember seeing a Fancy Green Cheek Conure there, and now 5 months later I realize that is the same bird and I really feel bad for it. My husband and I go there every few weeks to see it and hope it is finally gone but it's still there. We went to go see it today and we realized that we want to buy the bird. Maybe I am wrong, but in my mind if someone was going to buy an expensive bird like that they wouldn't go to a pet store. I really don't see anyone buying him. We have really fell in love with this bird, I have even given it a name already lol. I would like to get it sometime next week. I know nothing about these birds, which is why I am here before we buy it.

What is a good cage size? The sign said the bird can be in an18x18x18, but I don't believe that, that is barely enough room for a parakeet. These are the cages we liked, but are they too small? There really wasn't many choices for big cages in store.
Grreat Choice&#153 Playtop Cage - Cages Re-Direct - Directed Searches - PetSmart
Prevue Pet Slant Roof Cage - Cages Re-Direct - Directed Searches - PetSmart
Prevue Hendryx Clean Life Bird Cage System - Cages Re-Direct - Directed Searches - PetSmart
Prevue Pet Products Parrot Cage - Cages Re-Direct - Directed Searches - PetSmart
Prevue Hendryx Large Black Flight Bird Cage - Outdoor Aviary Cages and Parakeet Flight Cages from petco.com

I know the last one would be perfect, only problem is I would have to order it online, and it would take at least a week to get here. I would love to get the bird as soon as possible, I would hate to get the cage, then have the bird be gone from the store. Unless any of those other cages would work, would it be ok to put the bird in a smaller cage I have for just a week until the new cage gets here? It is a parakeet cage.

What should be on my list to set the cage up? (type of food, toys, etc)

Not really related, but we were wondering, what do pet stores do when an animal doesn't sale after so long? Is there usually a time limit for an animal to be sold? Not sure if anyone knows the answer to that. I am normally against buying animals from pet stores, the only reason I got my parakeets from one is because I couldn't find any local breeders. I would definitely prefer a breeder on a bird that is over $300. It actually looks like they are cheaper from a breeder, but it isn't really about the price or the species of bird, because like I said we really fell in love with this certain bird. If that makes sense.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Rio Mom]

Maybe the pet store would hold the bird until your cage came if you gave a deposit? My green cheek has a marvelous pet supplies chateau xl from petco.com I really like it. You will need a variety of perches and toys. Get some of whatever food they are feeding to start. You can switch a bit later if you want to. Myself, I feed harrisons pellets plus a wide assortment of veggies,fruits,grains,pasta,etc. By the way, the term "fancy" is just a label the pet stores use to cover pineapple green cheek, cinnamon, or yellow sided. Yours is most likely one of those.

 

[wenz2712]

Hello and welcome I am sure the pet store will hold the bird for you, if you put a deposit

 

[roxynoodle]

I'm sure they will hold it for you as well. After 5 months they will probably be happy it's being sold. Get your cage and perches and toys and food ready first; it's so much easier! And enjoy your new adventure into conure land. RioMom already covered the basics.

 

[Customcasket]

This happened to my Sun. He was at a Petsmart for almost 6 months. My boyfriend and I always saw him Eventually we broke down and bought him and I'm so very happy. The Petsmart was nice enough held him for us while we got his cage and everything ready.

 

[IcyWolf]

I assume that this bird is from a petsmart since it is listed as a fancy green cheek conure, that's the term they use for any green cheek that is not the wild color, usually pineapples, occasionally yellow sides. If that is the case, they will not hold the bird for you, at least when I worked there they wouldn't. It's not that they don't want to, but corporate policy doesn't allow for deposits or payments to be made, that is the huge problem with these stores selling larger birds. They ask almost twice as much as a breeder would for a less socialized bird and then they don't even give you the option to make any sort of payments.

As far as what happens to the animals if they are not sold, that depends on the store itself. The petsmart that I worked at, we didn't have a time limit but if we had an animal for a long time and no one seems interested in buying it, we would relocate them to another store in hopes that they might have more luck selling the animal. We did this with a basilisk lizard that we had for about 8 months, it took up our biggest reptile cage and was so aggressive, every time I would try and show him to anyone or clean his cage I would end up getting gnawed on. I tried so hard to find a good home for him but no one wanted him since he was so aggressive. Anyone that knew enough to know how to properly care for him also knew that you could go to a reptile show or breeder and get one for half the price. It's the same problem with birds, anyone that actually does their research before hand is going to quickly find that they can just go to a breeder, pick out whichever baby they want and pay way less.

 

[DaCoSim]

I got a GREAT cage that came with a stand on ebay. They have more like it for around $80-90. It is a great sized cage for a GCC.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PARROT-BIRD-CAGE-DOMED-W-STAND-24x16x53-115DM-WHITE-/400281560147?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d32a3e453


The 2nd one is the one that I got. It only took about a week to get here, and its such a great cage!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PARROT-CAGE-BIRD-CAGES-w-STAND-stands-birds-902-/150773516928?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item231acd4a80



GRRR... I have edited a million times and can't get it to add this link right. It keeps going to some pioneer page with John belushi.

Best of luck!

 

[DaCoSim]

OK, I will put my 2 cents in here. You will probably need a decent sized travel cage anyway, so why don't you go ahead and order any cage that you prefer, and then get your supplies ready, and then go get your bird. You should have no issues housing it in a smaller travel cage if its only for a few days. They have an ok sized cage at petsmart that is around $30 that is a good sized travel cage. IF IT WERE ME, that is what I would do. You can start off with just a few toys and then order the rest of what you will need. I ordered the majority of my food and toys and perches for my big cage at mysafepetstore.com The bountiful harvest in small came very highly recommended, so I got 2 pounds of it. I also got zupreem pellets fruit blend in cockatiel sized to go along with my fresh fruits and veggies. best of luck! I get to bring my baby home in aprox 10 days and am so excited. I hope you are able to get what all you need. Don't discount getting a smaller cheaper cage that you can use the first few days until you can get the real cage in, and then you can turn the smaller cage into the travel cage.

 

[Angela.]

Thanks for the replies.
Yes, it is Petsmart. Going by pictures I have found of other birds I am pretty sure it is a cinnamon green cheek. Still not sure on the cage. I would definitely prefer to order one online since there are more better ones to choose from. I don't really want to rush and get a cage I will regret, that is what happened with my parakeets, the first cage ended up being too small, and within 3 months we spent almost 200 on two cages, seems like a waste when we could have gotten a good one from the beginning especially with what we paid combined. So, I'd like to put more thought into this birds cage.

This is the extra cage I have, not sure of the size, so here is a picture. Does it seem too small for it to be in for a few days? I would probably put 1 perch and maybe 2-3 toys, so it could have enough room as possible. I just don't wanna seem like a bad bird owner making it wait in that cage because I am too impatient to wait an extra week to buy it.

http://i40.tinypic.com/25sxw8x.jpg


DaCoSim - I was able to see the links by copying/pasting into my browser. I really like them, I am definitely considering one of those.

 

[Angela.]

Well, we went today to buy the bird, but it wasn't there! We asked about it and apparently an elderly couple bought it a few hours before we came to the store. Such horrible luck, but I am glad it has a home now.

I know I said I wanted this specific bird only, but these past few days I have enjoyed the idea of getting a conure, all I have been doing is reading information about them, so of course I still want one. I found a breeder and am going to see the birds tomorrow(sun conure) The breeder said he will teach us how to hold them and take care of them. I am really excited. Here are some pictures.
SUN CONURES (HAND RAISED BABIES) | Chicago | eBay Classifieds (Kijiji) | 17675526

I will spend all of tonight reading about them, but are they that different from Green Cheeks? I have read they are a bit louder.

 

[HalfInsane]

They're quite a bit louder and more high energy. Green cheeks are quite quiet and docile, as far as conures go. Not to discredit suns, they're wonderful, but be prepared for noise!

And hopefully the little green cheek found a good home. There's a CAG in the Petland here, who has been there at least 4 months, so I can relate to feeling sorry for the little guy. They're asking $1800 though, and he has severely barbered his feathers, his tail is practically gone. I wish I could take him, but I'm in no way equipped. I've tried convincing the manager to reduce the asking price for him, but they won't.

Oh, and the baby suns are absolutely adorable, by the way.

 

[lexx510]

Yes, sun conures are a lot louder than green cheeks. Many describe their pitch as "ear piercing," lol.

 

[roxynoodle]

My Nanday can be quite loud, but it is not as high pitched as the Suns IMO. However, my Blue Crown could be extremely high pitched, and I didn't really mind. And if she got really bad, my cat would march over there and glare at her as if to say, "If you don't shut up now, I'm going to eat you!". It worked, lol!

 

[Angela.]

When do breeders usually let the birds leave? These birds are 4-5 weeks old, he mentioned something about testing the bird in our hand? Not sure what that meant.

 

[roxynoodle]

My Blue Crown was with the breeder for 3 months. But, she came home completely weaned and didn't regress on me, so I was happy with that.

I think he means maybe seeing which baby likes you the most?

 

[happycat]

I have read that they are a LOT louder. I dont have one but if you dont like really loud noises (from what ive heard) get a GCC, not a sun.
Personality wise people say they are the same.

 

[Angela.]

We were able to bring it home today! I am a little nervous with feeding it, apart of me kind of thinks we should have left it for a bit longer. The breeder did show us how to feed, and had us do it at his house. We have also had 2 feedings at home so far and things seem to be going fine.It is 6 weeks old. Does anyone have any tips for hand feeding? I know about feeding it on the left side, but I am not so sure on how to tell if the crop is full or not

I would like a few clarifications on what he said. Starting next week(7 weeks old) feed it 3 times a day and at 9 weeks to start it on seed, pellets, fruits, etc. Is this correct?

Also, at what age can it go in a cage? and when should it start flying? It is already flapping its wings and going off the ground a little bit.

 

[roxynoodle]

Angela, PM Pedro as she breeds conures if she doesn't find this post first. I'm sure she will be able to answer all your questions and properly guide you. I was always afraid to hand feed and wean a baby myself, and can't help. We have some breeders here, but perhaps not as many as we would like.

 

[Cliffordsmom]

Oh my goodness angela, that is THE CUTEST THING I have ever seen in my life! I want one. I want one right now!

 

[roxynoodle]

Oh my goodness angela, that is THE CUTEST THING I have ever seen in my life! I want one. I want one right now!

I know! It's like a kitten; too cute not to fall head over heels in love with it.