It happened!

[Ramble]

I'm the proud parront of a 14-year-old GCC!

(I'm tech-challenged, but put a couple of pics in an album on my member page.)

I went to visit with the family earlier today, fully expecting them to want a few days to think about my adopting their bird (as we had talked about earlier.) After spending two hours with them and letting the tiny tyke run all over me, they said they felt comfortable that I would be the right choice for their bird.

:::squeeeeee::::

Sorry. Couldn't help it. And I must admit, I expected it to be upset, cranky, and a bit of a flesh-eater with the move, but after a couple of minutes of coaxing to get her out of the travel cage, she (he?) has been a little ball of snuggles and curiousity! They don't know if it's male or female. Her son was calling it Suzanne, and she was just calling it Ms. Bird and a few other things. I'll see what it wants to be called once it settles in.

So, now hit me with the advice, pointers, and all things senior conure! She seems to have a touch of arthritis in her feet. There are three dowel perches, all pretty large, and one natural branch perch. I think switching some of those out would be good. Her cage is also much taller than long, so perhaps a new cage is in the near future?

The previous owner also said that Ms. Bird is a seed addict - which actually helped getting her out of the transport carrier. I just put a few seeds on the counter and she trotted right out! She did like a few greens that I offered, so I'll be adding some tasty chop to her mix.

I'm going to give her a day or two to adjust and then get her off to the avian vet for a "senior wellness" checkup. Might as well see if there's anything that needs attention besides the arthritis and feather-picking!

:::squeee:::
Dee

 

[Laurasea]

Congratulations!!!! Happy day!!! I hope you add lots of perches of different types abd removel the dowels!!! Those dowels are what lead to feet problems they should be banned! You need at least one very wide perch that almost makes their feet flat to perch on, this helps them relax the feet once in awhile. Most perches aren't wide enough, my birds prefer the widest perches as their favorite, but I also offer tiny ones like twigs, variety is best for long term foot health. So important as they age.
Anyway yeah!!!!!!!

 

[Jen5200]

Welcome and WOOT! Congratulations on your new addition . My conures mostly came to me as adults and it’s lovely to skip the puberty stage. She’s pretty cute! I’m with Laura...get a variety of perches and ditch the dowels. Mine all have rope (except one that chews them), wood, textured, flat, different sizes. Wider cage is definitely a better option - mine love having flight cages, highly recommend upgrading at some point (lots of good options out there).

You are going to be a great parront - glad you are on the vet check soon! I’d get DNA done while you are there as well, it can be helpful to know the male/female thing in case of egg issues in future.

Another thought - there can be a bit of a honeymoon phase when they are in a new environment and feeling insecure. Be prepared that when he/she gets more settled and feels more at home, you may experience some nipping and may need to work on setting behavior boundaries. Not to scare you - it’s easy enough to work on....but didn’t want you to be surprised if behaviours start popping up suddenly in a few weeks.

 

[wrench13]

Welcome and congrats! You will get excelent advice frm the folks here; and read, read , read. You cant have too much information.

 

[Ramble]

Thanks, Laurasea! I'm lucky to have a couple of dedicated bird supply stores near me, so I'm sure they will have a nice variety of perches to make little bird's feet more comfy! I'll ask about some wide ones while I'm there.

Hey Jen! Thanks for the info! I'm actually surprised the little one didn't start out nippy! But I'm willing to work through it (or around it, if that turns out to be the case.) My roomie has a pineapple conure that delighted in taking small chunks of Ramble flesh for quite a while...lol. We've finally worked it out. She is much more social when her mom is away, and when her mom is back, I'm mostly hands off. It makes for a happy bird!

Thanks, Wrench13! I'm pretty excited to add this little one to the family! I've already been reading quite a bit on the forums, and am happy to have found such an informative site with such helpful folk!

Dee

 

[Flboy]

Welcome to you both!

 

[GaleriaGila]

Hello and welcome!
You're my newest hero! I can't wait to follow the happy adventure of this wonderful rescue.

 

[Ramble]

Hello and welcome!
You're my newest hero! I can't wait to follow the happy adventure of this wonderful rescue.

Aw, shucks!

 

[BeatriceC]

Welcome and congrats!

 

[Ramble]

I figured out how to post a pic...yay!

 

[Ramble]

Someone likes to chew...

Methinks a bit of training is in order. Or some chain maille.

 

[Jen5200]

Welcome to the club . I just had to order a new batch of “parrot shirts” from Amazon so I could throw out the holey ones lol. If you figure out how to train not to chew, please share....I have 4 conures and they love to eat my clothes!

 

[Ramble]

Just a quick update - little bird has been named Bertie! Oddly, it was Siri that named her. My roommate was using Siri to send me a message and Siri translated birdie bird to Bertie Bird. It fits nicely! Bertie has settled in to the household routine and is both curious and bossy. She lets me know when she wants out, wants a cuddle, or just wants to talk. Her biting has pretty much subsided, except for the occasional cranky nibble when I'm ignoring her. Pics soon! (and another exciting update coming in the cockatiel thread)

 

[Ellie777Australia]

So glad that you are both doing well. And 'Bertie' is a pretty good choice LOL.

 

[Squeekmouse]

Bertie is a great name! Works out whether Bertie is a he or a she.

Bertie is just adorable, congratulations!

I echo the same advice as the others, regarding perches. You mentioned the cage is taller than wide, can you share how big it is?

I recommend a mobile playgym and a portable perch. Conure's can be potty-trained (MOSTLY) or at the very least YOU can be trained to provide Bertie a perch to poop from every 10-15 minutes. Be sure to provide plenty of toys and things for Bertie to destroy. Pen caps, plastic bottle caps, plastic straws, chopsticks are all free and nearly always well loved by conures, so you don't have to spend an arm and a leg for store bought toys. Of course, if/when you do buy toys, check out Curious Nests (banner ads at the top and side) which are toys made by one of our own ParrotForums Parronts. They are very reasonably priced, gorgeous, and based on my own GCC, I'd bet Bertie would love to destroy them.

I also HIGHLY recommend transitioning Bertie off of seeds and onto pellets. I'm a fan of Harrison's personally. Provide plenty of veggies as well, it's not hard to provide a variety. Here's a few links that might help:

http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...afe-fresh-foods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...ng-chop-first-time-some-questions-advice.html

https://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/using-our-foods/small-bird-conversion/

 

[Ramble]

Hey Squeekmouse! Thanks for all the advice! I did trade out Bertie's cage a while back. It was only 21" wide but about 36" tall (not counting the base.) and the wooden perches were huge. Her new cage is about 26" wide and 32" tall, with a roof that opens. She loves sitting up there! I got some branch perches and a lot of rope perches as well, though she is destroying the rope with abandon. I may have to switch her to something a little more hardy and get her extra shreddable toys... I put perches on the outside too, so she can enjoy the 'veranda.'

She really doesn't like pellets, but after a few food experiments, I got her on a better blend of food with the Higgins mix. She also gets a tasty chopped veggie and fruit mix in the morning (carrots and bell pepper are winners!). Happy bird!

 

[Squeekmouse]

Hey Squeekmouse! Thanks for all the advice! I did trade out Bertie's cage a while back. It was only 21" wide but about 36" tall (not counting the base.) and the wooden perches were huge. Her new cage is about 26" wide and 32" tall, with a roof that opens. She loves sitting up there! I got some branch perches and a lot of rope perches as well, though she is destroying the rope with abandon. I may have to switch her to something a little more hardy and get her extra shreddable toys... I put perches on the outside too, so she can enjoy the 'veranda.'

She really doesn't like pellets, but after a few food experiments, I got her on a better blend of food with the Higgins mix. She also gets a tasty chopped veggie and fruit mix in the morning (carrots and bell pepper are winners!). Happy bird!

Nice!!! Bertie sounds like she won the Parront jackpot!

 

[MydearConure]

Welcome and congratulations to you both! She is a beautiful green cheek, and at her age, she is mellow and sweet. She seems healthy. You are going to be a good parrot owner.

 

[Laurasea]

Bertie Bird!!!!! My first was Burt the Bird
Love the pictures! Looks she is going through the molt, we are here too. Offer shallow dishes of water to bathe , splashing with your hand in the water really stimulates them to bathe. Or you can try buying a water bottle , that's never had chemical in it, and spray up so the mist falls down on the bird.
Also many birds can loose condition during molt, so offer some extra protein, high quality nuts, boiled or scrambled egg,cooked lintels. Work on getting veggies into the bird, eating in front of them, trying to get them to steal from you, offer cooked, raw, chopped, or whole. Oh I see is eating veggies yeah!

 

[Ramble]

Bertie Bird!!!!! My first was Burt the Bird
Love the pictures! Looks she is going through the molt, we are here too. Offer shallow dishes of water to bathe , splashing with your hand in the water really stimulates them to bathe. Or you can try buying a water bottle , that's never had chemical in it, and spray up so the mist falls down on the bird.

Bertie loves baths! She can cover the entire kitchen in water and every time she gets a fresh cup of water in her cage, the splashing begins again!

I do mix in tasty, quality nuts in her food and give her some chopped fruits and veggies. (these forums are full o' great information!) She's very pushy when she doesn't get her veggies on time!

I actually adopted her because she's an aggressive feather picker. The previous owners though it might be because they couldn't spend enough time with her. The first person moved out of state after having her from a young bird. His mom took Bertie, but with schedule changes, couldn't give her much attention. Bertie started plucking all her feathers about a year ago and has quite the bald spot now. Luckily, the plucking has slowed quite a bit and she's grown some new feathers, but the chest stays woefully feather-free...but her over-sized personality totally overshadows her lack of plumage.