First time with a Conure

[josiahdham]

Hey all! I will be getting a Green Cheek Conure here in the next couple of days(Torn between 2 of them). I have my cage all setup and a bag of pellets and a bag of seed without sunflower seeds(planning on doing about 10%-15% seed and the rest pellet for feeding). I have also stocked up on a variety of fruits and veggies.

I just want to make sure I have all of this right before I bring my new friend home. I have read that feeding twice a day is preferred and I was planning on doing the seed/pellet mix in the morning and then fruits and veggies at night when I get home from work. Does this sound about right?

I also have a small concern with one of the GCC I was looking at(at Petco eek!). He has only been there a couple of days but I noticed he was closing his eyes a lot and I wasn't sure if it was from stress or if there is potentially a bigger problem. He does seem alert and eyes are clear no gunk or anything like that. Thoughts on the closing of the eyes?


I have owned Cockatiels, canaries and budgies over the years(Cockatiel for 18 years, budgies for 8-10 years and Canary for 6 years) and have wanted a GCC for 7 years and I have decided it was time so I just want to make sure I do this right!

I have also attached a picture of the cage I have. I also have several other toys stored away for when my new little buddy may get bored. Please feel free to give any advice you may have on this setup! I plan to upgrade to a larger cage once my new buddy reaches the 1 year mark. I should also add, I switched out the plastic bowls(came with the cage) for metal.

My vets office is also a 7AM-10PM vets office that specializes in exotic pets and is quite familiar with parrots(in fact my vet of choice brings some of her feathered friends with her to work). So I feel confident that if something goes wrong I have a highly informed vet nearby to help me out.

Sorry for the length! I just really want to make sure I have everything right!

 

[EllenD]

It sounds like you've certainly done your homework, that's good...Your potential diet sounds good, as do the toys, the only comment that I can make to you is that your cage is much too small for a Green Cheek Conure, they need a ton of room to spread their wings, jump around, play, etc. They are extremely energetic birds, and I'm afraid in that cage, which looks to be the right size for a Budgie or maybe a Cockatiel, your Green Cheek will not have nearly enough room. Petco usually sells only one cage that is the right size for a Green Cheek, it's actually called a "Conure Cage", so if you go take a look at the size of that particular cage you'll see how large a cage you will need. They cost around $200 new, but you can find a used on on Craigslist much cheaper, just make sure you completely disinfect it...A good rule on cages is "Buy the largest cage you can afford", but that cage you currently have is totally inappropriate for a Green Cheek, I'm sorry, but that's not going to work...

Everything else you've said sounds like you've done your homework and are very prepared...As far as choosing the bird, you need to interact with both of them one-on-one, see which one you connect with, and you'll just know...As far as the young one that just arrived closing his eyes a lot, as long as he's alert, energetic, eating and drinking, etc. then he's most likely fine, and Petco does have a guarantee on live animal sales where they will take him to their local Avian vet if he appears to be ill within a certain time period.

 

[Flboy]

Hi, I agree with Ellen!
If you can’t return it, it can work as a sleep cage, or as a nice cage to use for giving you buddy fresh air! Important! Reinforce every point of that cage(tyewraps), they are prone to falling apart with a simple bump! Wire cages are also full of trap points for toes and beaks! The plastic food stations are a problem too, difficult to keep clean! Stainless steel is the only way to go!
If you don’t have time to search out Craigslist, check around mom and pop pet shops. Many have a much better selection of cages at better prices!
Check out Chewy also!

If you got that cage from Petco, shame on them if they knew your intentions! I am friends(foes?) with the manager of our Petco. I gave him an ear full over their cage selections!

FYI, seeds are an excellent addition to a great diet! Consider sprouting them, as long as you are very confident on avoiding spoilage! No wiggle room here!

You are in for a great adventure! GCCs are real characters!

 

[josiahdham]

Darn, this one is 24inX24inX36in. I thought I had one juuuust big enough(not ideal but suitable)but alas I will try again. Thank you for the heads up!

 

[EllenD]

Yes, good points made by FlBoy that it could potentially be used as a sleeping cage for him, as that's what I do, their main cages are in my living room area because that's where I am usually at and where the "action" in my house is, but they all have a much smaller sleeping cage in my bedroom that only have a perch, a swing, and a water dish in them...and my Green Cheek's sleeping cage is about that size. But there is no way that you can use that cage for a Green Cheek...

Not only is that cage too small (I'd say you need a cage that is at least 3 times that size at a minimum, larger would be better though), but FlBoy made another great point that I failed to mention, and that is that it's a dinky wire-barred cage...And while Budgies, Cockatiels, Canaries, and Finches, maybe a Parrotlet though I'm not sure on that one, can live in a wire-barred cage, a Green Cheek Conure's beak is far too strong for one and will absolutely rip that cage apart!

They do make some higher-end wire-barred cages that have huge diameter wire bars that will work for a Green Cheek, the one that comes to mind is the Hagen Vision Cage #L12 cage, as the wire bars are thick and reinforced, and the cage is huge. I actually own 2 of the Hagen Vision #L12 cages, one for my Green Cheek Conure, and one for my blue Quaker. Then I also own a Hagen Vision #M02 for my Cockatiel, which is the medium-extra tall size. ******However, for a Green Cheek Conure the ONLY SIZE Hagen Vision cage that will be appropriate is the #L12, as it's the large-extra tall one and has the thicker bars. For my Senegal Parrot I obviously have a huge floor-standing cage made of stainless steel.

I'll go take a photo of my Green Cheek in his Hagen Vision L02 cage so you can see what we're talking about size-wise as far as the requirements. So if you don't have the room for a very large floor-standing cage and wanted to go with a table top cage, this would be the absolute smallest one you could go with. They are awesome cages in that the bottom has a grate, so you can put newspaper or liners in the bottom under the grate, and to clean out the bottom and change the paper with your bird in the cage, all you do is unhook 4 latches and life the cage right off of the bottom and put it on the floor so the bird doesn't fly out. Also, they all have an acrylic portion around the bottom of the cage that surrounds and goes far above the removable but built-in or incorporated food bowls that come with them, so that the birds can't spit seed shells, food, whatever outside of the cage. And this actually does work...

I think you can pick a Hagen Vision L12 on Chewy or Amazon for around $100 or so, much less than I paid 2 years ago for one...****Again, IT MUST BE THE HAGEN VISION MODEL #L12 FOR A GREEN CHEEK!!! Just to verify, they do make a #L02, it's the same size but does NOT have the large bars for a Green Cheek, just the flimsy, thin wire bars that won't work! So ONLY look at/buy the #L12 if you go that way...

Otherwise you'll have to go with a larger floor-standing cage, as FlBoy already mentioned, stainless steel is the way to go.

I'll go take a photo of the my Green Cheek in his Hagen Vision #L12 and post it in a minute so you can see what I'm talking about...

 

[josiahdham]

I'm sorry for linking to another website but would this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0734SYJQG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 work okay? This one is actually $5 less than the one I bought but is yet bigger and heavier duty. My concern with this particular one is it seems like it's more height than anything else.

 

[EllenD]

Okay, here is Bowie in/on his Hagen Vision L02 cage... Today is bird-room cleaning day, so it's actually nice to be able to see the cage on the floor for height reference.... Also, it has 4 different doors, which when opened form 4 perches, or rather "porches", for your bird. Bowie crawled up to the top immediately and found his little, wooden play gym and his swimming pool empty, and was none too pleased, so we fixed that issue for him...

 

[EllenD]

I'm sorry for linking to another website but would this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0734SYJQG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 work okay? This one is actually $5 less than the one I bought but is yet bigger and heavier duty.

Size-wise yes, it's fine, however beware buying generic cages like this one. You'll find these all over Amazon, eBay, etc., and there is a reason they are so cheap, it's because they are cheap! These tend to come with no instructions, none of the pieces fit together correctly, and they fall apart quickly. I'd read all of the reviews carefully and also make sure that it doesn't have any type of coating on it that your bird can chew/eat off, as they often do. Everyone i know who has purchased one of these cheap, no-name cages has had to quickly replace it, or send it right back because the pieces don't fit together correctly at all, or it was missing pieces or was broken upon arrival...

 

[Terry57]

We have 6 conures, and this is the smallest cage we use for any of them. This is our Crimson Bellied conure's cage, and it is a great cage.
https://www.amazon.com/Parakeet-Cockatiel-Lovebird-Removable-Black/dp/B00C332AOG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527360874&sr=8-1&keywords=bird+cage&refinements=p_89%3AMcage

We have been lucky with using Amazon.ca, we have ordered several cages from them, and while the instructions leave something to be desired, the cages have all worked out well for us.
Looking forward to seeing your new baby when he comes home!

 

[Flboy]

I really love the bang for the buck you get with a flight cage! We bought ours at a fair for 100, used it for 4 years and when we lost our baby we sold it for 120!

 

[josiahdham]

Well, after a very interesting week I swooped up this little lady. A mom who was yelling at her young child to "just pick one already" nearly got her but I just couldn't stand to watch that happen.

There is still a lot of moves and edits to be made but here is "Linda"(my friends and boyfriend have already picked on me for the name). She is definitely more drawn to me than she is my boyfriend but she is fitting in quite nicely with the rest of our family(2 dogs, 1 cat and a fish tank).Still loves the boyfriend but she chases after me around the house. In one of the pictures you can catch a glimpse of her play stand.

I do still have a couple of questions

1: What's everyones liner of choice? I have been using newspaper but she LOVES to take baths so it gets quite wet and I'm not sure how safe that is for her.

2:She wants to join me while cooking in the kitchen(Just to where she can see me so she's on the other side of the kitchen away from the stove and what not) but I really don't feel that she's safe in there because of the stove, what's everyones opinion on me rolling her play stand into the kitchen so she can play on it and watch me cook(The distance between her and the stove would be about 12 feet)

3: The grate on the bottom of her cage makes me quite nervous for her feet, any suggestions on what I could put on the bottom to cover up the grate?

 

[GaleriaGila]

The Queen of Paranoia (that would be yours truly) is stopping by.

I worry about your vet bringing her birds in to work... if sick birds come there (as I ges they do) then there is contamination potential... that worries me...

Also... any domed cages... if there are diminishing cage bar spaces, that can be a trap for toes or beaks.

I'm scared of kitchen/cooking odors/particulates/open fires... the Rb is never in the kitchen when cooking is going on.

Queen of Paranoia out! Thanks for humoring me!

 

[josiahdham]

The Queen of Paranoia (that would be yours truly) is stopping by.

I worry about your vet bringing her birds in to work... if sick birds come there (as I ges they do) then there is contamination potential... that worries me...

Also... any domed cages... if there are diminishing cage bar spaces, that can be a trap for toes or beaks.

I'm scared of kitchen/cooking odors/particulates/open fires... the Rb is never in the kitchen when cooking is going on.

Queen of Paranoia out! Thanks for humoring me!

The Dome top has gone back to the store! Her new home is the one in the first post on the second page =]!

And your fears with the kitchen are the same as mine! I just wasn't sure if I was being overly paranoid!

 

[GaleriaGila]

Paranoia rocks!

 

[Inger]

If the new cage has castors in it, you could roll the whole thing to the kitchen-but (Princess of Paranoia here) I would never let my bird be out of her cage when I’m cooking. She can fly. She could land on a hot burner or in a pot of boiling water or some other horrible thing before I know what’s happened. I don’t let her out when I’m baking either, because the burner where the oven vents gets very hot. I *do* let her out when I’m using my instant pot, which stays fairly cool to the touch, but she goes back in when it’s time to release pressure (which results in a lot of steam being released). So for me, even having the play stand 12 feet away is no good because (assuming Linda is flighted) she isn’t guaranteed to stay there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BoomBoom]

I'm jumping straight to page 2 to answer your Qs, sorry if I missed anything important on page 1!

1: Newspaper! I put more layers of paper in areas I know might get wet.If you have foraging stations in the cage, fill it with shredded paper (and a nut or two). When your bird forages, the paper will fall through the grates and act as additional absorbent to the mess below. Change all paper daily and sanitize w/ vinegar. It will be quite safe and clean

2: I'd keep her stand in the living room so she knows that's her area. Is she flighted? I'd start looking into training her to come to you and stay put. This will allow you more control while your cooking in the kitchen short of keeping her in her cage which is a great idea (but something I don't do since I can close off my kitchen if necessary).

3: I'd leave it as it is. Her feet won't fall through the bars, they're pro at navigating them. Better that it's open so the mess will collect at the tray, away from her inquisitive beak.

Congrats on having Linda! She's beautiful.

PS. Paranoia crew checking in: Is kitty nice? She seems very curious in the corner

 

[DoubleTake]

2:She wants to join me while cooking in the kitchen(Just to where she can see me so she's on the other side of the kitchen away from the stove and what not) but I really don't feel that she's safe in there because of the stove, what's everyones opinion on me rolling her play stand into the kitchen so she can play on it and watch me cook(The distance between her and the stove would be about 12 feet)

I didn't see anyone mention this but I'd rather ask then something happen to your new baby. Is your cookware teflon free?

 

[josiahdham]

At the moment she is not flighted but I don't plan on clipping her wings when they grow back out.

BoomBoom: The cat is very intrigued and was a little to close for comfort for the first couple of days until she learned that she's not allowed to eat Linda. Now Duchess(the cat) watches from a distance. My bigger dog Felicity(She weighs about 20 pounds) is very protective and often Linda climbs all over her when Felicity is laying on the floor. I added a photo of Linda and Felicity having one of their bonding moments.

DoubleTake: ALL of my cookware is teflon free. It's either cast iron or stainless steel and I only use wood cook utentsils.