GCC Caresheet?

[Carley]

I am looking to get my first bird and I like the green cheeked conures but I can't find too many good care sheets on them.

I was wondering ...

How much do I feed a day and what of exactly?

and how big of a cage?


I would really love it if I could get a complete to buy list too if anyone knew of any online.
Thanks.

 

[cdog]

I just leave a bowl of food out all day. Pellets are better than seeds and you just have to try different brands and flavors to see which pellets your bird likes. Give fresh fruits and veggies everyday but no onions, avocados, or apple seeds. They also need eggs, rice, pasta, beans, and sprouts.
A minimum cage size is 24×24×24.

 

[lexx510]

I just leave a bowl of food out all day. Pellets are better than seeds and you just have to try different brands and flavors to see which pellets your bird likes. Give fresh fruits and veggies everyday but no onions, avocados, or apple seeds. They also need eggs, rice, pasta, beans, and sprouts.
A minimum cage size is 24×24×24.

I just wanted to add that minimum doesn't = happy.

 

[Carley]

http://elite-pets.com/A36.asp

Would this cage be suitable?
I'm a little confused with the bar thickness thing.


Also, thank you about the food.
How much veggies and other stuff would I give a day, or do you guys use them as daily treats?

 

[nikket3000]

I am getting my baby crimson belly on wednesday and my breeder sent me this link in an email, she also breeds green cheeks. This might help you!
Arizona parrot breeder, arizona bird breeder.
She has many great articles on her page too if you look around. It might help you with the cage and toys and so forth.
I have been using variations of her mash recipe with my amazon with great success. I make up a big batch and keep it in the freezer for him. He gets it twice a day with other cut up fruit and veggies i have in the fridge. In his cage I keep zupreem natural pellets, nutriberries and dried fruits and nuts. I plan on doing the same with my conure.
Best of luck to you!!!

 

[cdog]

To lexx, I consider that minimum as a sleep cage not as a day cage. My day cage is 30×22×40.
To Carley no that cage isn't deep enough it needs to be at least 21 deep.

 

[Echo]

Look at this cage by A&E. Very similar to the one you were looking at. I own it for my Conures and recommend it to all my customers.

http://www.wayfair.com/AandE-Cage-Co.-Powder-Coated-Wrought-Iron-Cage-13221-AEC1048.html

 

[Pedro]

http://elite-pets.com/A36.asp

Would this cage be suitable?
I'm a little confused with the bar thickness thing.


Also, thank you about the food.
How much veggies and other stuff would I give a day, or do you guys use them as daily treats?

That cage your looking at would be ideal. I use them as a weaning cage for my eclectus & 2 eccies babies have a heap of room. So there will be more than ample room for a GCC.

http://www.petco.com/assets/caresheets/bird/green-cheek-conure.pdf

Hope the above link helps.

 

[Kokihi]

I feed my little GCC Zupreem natural food, and he loves it. It's a natural pellet food, and it's much MUCH better than a seed diet, because they won't get all the nutrients they need from a purely seed based diet. I'd also suggest feeding fresh fruits and veggies like spinach, broccoli, carrots (Tori adores carrots) etc. I have a list of what's good to give them somewhere. be sure to check if what you're planning on giving them isn't toxic before you feed it. For example, avacados, I believe, are toxic to the little guys. Obviously, make sure your bird always has fresh water.

Make sure you give your little birdy as much out of cage time as possible, and train him/her while s/he is out. My GCC seems to have ADHD and only can pay attention for about 10 minutes at a time before he gets bored or distracted.

Start socializing with your bird as soon as possible. I offered treats thru the cage bars until he would consistently come and take them from me, then I opened the cage door and offered them directly to him from my hand. I also used target training as a type of socialization because he has decided "touch the stick" is his favorite game. (Basically you just take a stick, I use a clean disposable chop stick, and stick it thru the bars of your bird's cage. when they touch it, click, or say good bird, or w/e you want to be the queue that the bird knows means they are getting a treat. Then give your bird a small treat for having done well, let them eat it, then repeat somewhere else in the cage.) It's a nifty trick for getting your bird to go where you want them to if they aren't quite comfortable with stepping up, or with you carrying them.

An important thing to know before you get your bird, is that you want to not accidentally train them to scream for your attention. If your bird starts chirping loudly at you, or screaming, leave the room, wait for him/her to calm down, then come back. Sometimes they do scream for other reasons. Like, for example, Tori decided to be particularly fat one day, and ate ALL of his breakfast in one go. He usually has a mid-day snack left over, but not this time, so he started screaming at me to give him more food.

As for the cage, usually bigger is better, but make sure you get one that will last a long time. GCCs can live for...what...40 years? You want a cage with about the same life span. Having a small travel cage for vet visits is a good idea, and a smaller sleep cage is another option too.