hello all! considering getting a cinnamon green cheeked conure and i need your advice

[taylor_]

i have never had a pet bird, is it unwise to start with a gcc? i've done plenty of research but it seems as if everyone who has one, has had other types of birds before. HELP i'd greatly appreciate your input!

thanks!

 

[Akraya]

Hi there! My parents always had cockatiels when I grew up but they were poorly looked after looking back on it so when I got my conure I guess you could say it was my first pet bird. I did a lot of research just like you but it didn't prepare me for their mood swings!
I love my conures a lot, they're so quirky and cuddly (most of the time) just know that you have to make time to work with them everyday, play with them, training and they can bite hard.
I don't regret a thing but I think it's good to know but the ups and downs, I've only had my two for a year so I'm still fairly new, just stay on here, pick up ideas from other people and that way you'll always be improving their quality of life and love you in return - cheesy I know. Good luck bird hunting!

 

[taylor_]

thanks for your input! it's so nice to see someone else who is a newbie like myself! i'm also sort of looking for a list of things that i need to start out with. obviously a cage, perch, seed and water cups, and LOTS OF TOYS anything else i'm missing? maybe it's something you didn't realize you needed until you got your babies?

 

[bumblebec]

Green cheeks, in my opinion, would make an excellent "first bird"! While some people start off with birds like finches, lovebirds or cockatiels and work they way up, so to speak, some people go from little-to-no bird experience to owning a macaw! Some people will argue there is no such thing as "first bird", I would kinda agree I guess, but I do think that small birds like budgies, cockatiels and green cheeks are a great entry level bird. You won’t find chunks of doorframes chewed off or get sent to ER with something like a green cheek.

Now, as for green cheeks as pets in general, I think they're GREAT! They're cute, cuddly, playful, friendly, smart, pretty and easy going. They can shriek and be loud like any other bird, but are one of the quieter species of conures. They could be comparable to a cockatiel in size and loudness. They are very smart and easy to train, if you're into that sort of thing! They can be taught to wear a harness or flight suit as well as tricks, some can even talk or mimic sounds like laughter and whistles. As with most conures, they're very cheeky, silly and snuggly. If you get a hand raised baby, it will more then likely enjoy running through your shirt, hanging upside down off your shoulder and being held on it's back. Most also looove happy huts! (which I think is adorable!) I would struggle to find anything bad to say about conures, I think they're really awesome birds. Green cheeks are especially great because they offer the awesome personality the bigger conures have while being a little bit quieter. Keep in mind they are not mutes, they can still scream when they want too! It is not the "ear piecing screech" you'll get with some of the other conures, though. I have found that conures can become quite nippy sometimes, depending on their personality, mood, training etc. Not enough to draw blood, but they can sometimes get grumpy. Not everyone’s, mine aren't for example, but some people have mentioned this.

If you are interested in green cheeks, you should check out other pyrrhura conure species like the pearly, crimson bellied and black capped conures. They are almost identical in size, personality and attitude but offer some very different colours and patterns.

 

[bumblebec]

...maybe it's something you didn't realize you needed until you got your babies?

Don't go crazy with toys until you HAVE your birdy! This is something I did, I spent almost $300 on toys only to find Lola liked about 2 of them! haha. You should buy one of each type (shreddable toy, chipping/wooden toy, plastic toy, leather toy etc) and see which type your bird actually likes. I have a whole closet of toys that my girls actually have little to no interest in! Lola likes wooden and shreddable toys, where as Mimi likes paper and plastic beads/soft plastic.

While most birds LOOOVE toys, sometimes they only like certain types!

 

[cdog]

Cage-min:25"Lx20"Dx32"H
Pellets not seeds
Plenty of toys and perches
At least 3 hours of out of cage time daily, preferably more
You need an UVA/UVB bulb on at least 6 hours a day
No happy huts
Water changed twice daily
No avacado, onions, mushrooms, apple seeds, apple core
No teflon(non stick) pans or space heaters
Only use oil space heaters
Don't yell at your bird, smack the cage, tell him he's a bad bird or anything like that
You need to clean the whole cage once a week and clean the bottom daily
Don't use corn cob bedding

Hope this helps

 

[cdog]

Cage-min:25"Lx20"Dx32"H
Pellets not seeds
Plenty of toys and perches
At least 3 hours of out of cage time daily, preferably more
You need an UVA/UVB bulb on at least 6 hours a day
No happy huts
Water changed twice daily
No avacado, onions, mushrooms, apple seeds, apple core
No teflon(non stick) pans or space heaters
Only use oil space heaters
Don't yell at your bird, smack the cage, tell him he's a bad bird or anything like that
You need to clean the whole cage once a week and clean the bottom daily
Don't use corn cob bedding
stainless steel dishes are the best because they don't scratch or chip, green cheeks can chew apart standard plastic ones.
Bar spacing- no smaller than 1/2" and no bigger than 5/8"
Hope this helps

 

[Parrotmamma]

I think a GCC makes an awesome first bird.....I love mine.... she is such a clown and has the sweetest personality . She can be nippy but not to bad . you just learn to read their body language and you will know when a nip is coming. They love to be with you so be prepared to set a few hours aside a day to spend time with them. I'm home all day so mine is super spoiled : ) I have a happy hut for her and she loves it . I feed her a mixture of pellets , seeds and fresh fruits and veggies.
Good luck to you : )

 

[wenz2712]

Welcome to the forum
A Green Cheek Conure is a great choice for a first Bird

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Green cheeks are awesome little birds, Just know that many people rehome their conures when they are around 3 years of age because they start going through sexual maturity and act like moody teenagers. It's a must to train your birds, such as trick training and touch training to give them mental stimulation. Also if your ever in the situation where you have a moody angry bird you can often ask them to do a behavior like wave and it changes their mind set.

You won't regret having a Green cheek

 

[dishgal1]

Green cheeks are awesome...........just be prepared to spend a lot of time with it. They want all the attention you have to give. They want to be WITH YOU ALL THE TIME. Mine is so spoiled and only sleeps in his cage or for timeouts when he gets too nippy. Be prepared for "nippy".....they love to bite on you. One minute they are sweet and the next they are crazy with nipping. They get over stimulated easily, hence timeout to calm down for a few minutes.

 

[thermodynamic]

GCCs are indeed wonderful birds, mood swings and all!

I've three - a cinnamon, a normal, and a pineapple.

And a blue crown...

They're all great fun, but the posts above say it all best:

...maybe it's something you didn't realize you needed until you got your babies?

Don't go crazy with toys until you HAVE your birdy! This is something I did, I spent almost $300 on toys only to find Lola liked about 2 of them! haha. You should buy one of each type (shreddable toy, chipping/wooden toy, plastic toy, leather toy etc) and see which type your bird actually likes. I have a whole closet of toys that my girls actually have little to no interest in! Lola likes wooden and shreddable toys, where as Mimi likes paper and plastic beads/soft plastic.

While most birds LOOOVE toys, sometimes they only like certain types!

That's a truism. Rosie loves metal toys and rope perches. She will take bells apart, so those I avoid...

Scooter likes wooden brick toys she can grind her beak on. She likes the occasional bell toy as well. She also likes the rubber ball toy with the bell inside that hangs from the cage top.

Rusty likes leather strand toys, and will somersault for papaya treats (it's an easy trick for them to learn)...

Tybbi the blue crown - I only got him recently and he's a full adult, but he uses anything as a backscratcher. From the bamboo windchime toy to the bell toy, he'll hang backwards on the bell toy or grab the chime and scratch his back. It's amazingly nuts what he can do, but I suspect he was never given backscratches by a person. Rusty and Scooter certainly tolerate those, and Rosie - my other adoption - was abused, so she loathes contact.

Cage-min:25"Lx20"Dx32"H
Pellets not seeds
Plenty of toys and perches
At least 3 hours of out of cage time daily, preferably more
You need an UVA/UVB bulb on at least 6 hours a day
No happy huts
Water changed twice daily
No avacado, onions, mushrooms, apple seeds, apple core
No teflon(non stick) pans or space heaters
Only use oil space heaters
Don't yell at your bird, smack the cage, tell him he's a bad bird or anything like that
You need to clean the whole cage once a week and clean the bottom daily
Don't use corn cob bedding

Hope this helps

I'll second that as well.

Actually, ceramic heaters are okay. Most quartz and teflon-based heaters are a no-no. This also means a laser printer is a no-no because the fuser element within it uses teflon.

But I have a happy hut for Rusty and Scooter, and have never had a problem. Yet. The outer texture is like feathers, but it's made out of an oil-based fabric (poly____). 100% cotton is better, but talons getting caught can be an issue as well. I ought to remove it... but another brand uses a matte fabric for the exterior and is all cotton ( as I recall). Rosie likes hers and the BCC (Tybbi) doesn't care for it due to its color (bright yellow).

I've used corn cob bedding, but based on that response I might switch to walnut or aspen.

 

[dishgal1]

Also be sure to get a happy hut, green cheeks love those to sleep in.
Lots of fresh food veggies fruit.

 

[Bobioden]

Cage-min:25"Lx20"Dx32"H
Pellets not seeds
Plenty of toys and perches
At least 3 hours of out of cage time daily, preferably more
You need an UVA/UVB bulb on at least 6 hours a day
No happy huts
Water changed twice daily
No avacado, onions, mushrooms, apple seeds, apple core
No teflon(non stick) pans or space heaters
Only use oil space heaters
Don't yell at your bird, smack the cage, tell him he's a bad bird or anything like that
You need to clean the whole cage once a week and clean the bottom daily
Don't use corn cob bedding

Hope this helps

Excellent list, but completely disagree about the Happy Hut. Maxx loves both of his and can not see him without them. I have NEVER seen a loose thread in either of his and I check them on a regular basis. He never picks at it, just uses it to nap and sleep at night.

 

[Grenage]

We have a happy hut, which we check for loose threads; it doesn't look like he ever uses it as a pecking target, just sleeping. I suspect he's more likely to harm himself on one of his toys, or outside his cage in some manner. Either way, caution is always good.

 

[cdog]

I'm sure people have never seen loose threads before their birds started doing it too, there is always a first time. What if your bird does it when your gone, you wouldnt be able to do anything about it, I'm not saying anything bad would happen just what if.

 

[Parrotmamma]

Mine only sleeps in hers ...she is not in her cage in the day time and does not chew at it at all. Just depends on the bird and the situation . You can try one and if your birds chews and pics at it take it out.

 

[Grenage]

I do appreciate that, I just think it's the the category of a million things that could happen in a worst-case scenario. To be honest, I don't think I'd be checking for loose threads if I hadn't seen your warnings in a previous thread.

Hopefully I don't come off as an arrogant punk, I apologise if I do.

 

[cdog]

I don't think you sound arrogant at all, I'm just parronoid about the safety of my babies so I just wouldnt chance it. Plus my boys like to kill there toys so I don't know if they would do that to their tent too.
If you want to get a tent you should get one of these...ScooterZ Tropical Snugglie XS, Sm, Med, Lg, XL - HUTS/TENTS by MY SAFE BIRD STORE... I gave in and got one for my boys because it is a lot safer than the normal fleece tent, it is very hard to pull apart.

 

[lexx510]

I've seen numerous threads about members losing their birds due to a happy hut. I'm completely with cdog on this one. Happy Huts also encourage nesting behavior. So if you have a sole female parrot, there's risk of egg binding issues as well as other emotional problems related to hormones.