Need GCC Help - PetSmart Related

[kiwiS]

My kiwi was from petsmart and I'm thankful everyday I took her home with me. ^.^

 

[JellyBean]

I got my little green-cheek from Petmania ( chain of pet stores ) and I have to say he was in perfect health - and now every time I go back to the store the guys there want updates on how Jellybean is getting on! Hope you get the bird - just great to hear she will go to a brilliant home... lucky birdy!!!

 

[talkconure2me]

Both of my birds came from pet stores unfortunately. I saw it how your girlfriend saw it.. Saving them. I got Maddie first, everyday I would go to the pet supplies plusand rub her head through through cage, she was so sweet. My boyfriend and I fell in love with her and we couldn't stop thinking about her for weeks. So we decided to get her. I paid $350 for her. A huge rip off but she had no dollar sign to us. Not even a week later we were at pets smart and we saw deigo, my jenday. He was so funny, doing tricks rolling over on his back, trying to sell us, telling us to get me out of here! He was almost $700 dollars, again not the best deal, but he had no price tag.. He had been hand fed and tested for disease too, same with Maddie. I had all there papers, they were healthy and happy to be home with me.

Here's my HUGE GUILTY DILEMMA : everyday I walk back into these pet stores and I see the birds that got replaced from me buying my birds.. And it makes me want to cry. The bird at pet supplies plus.. His feathers, they are shredded to the core, he is soooo unhappy in there, he hates it. And he's there all because of me. Maggie did okay in the cage, she seemed content. This green cheek they have now is not. I have asked managers many times to please check up on this bird, they said they didn't even notice the feathers missing! Then where we got Diego.. The birds are doing the same tricks to get out of the cage.

I am so happy with my birds, they are VERY loving AMAZING birds... But I can't seem to forget about the birds I helped supply the petstore with.

I hate the petstore. Never will I ever buy another animal from them again.

Good luck

 

[napsack]

Both of my birds came from pet stores unfortunately. I saw it how your girlfriend saw it.. Saving them. I got Maddie first, everyday I would go to the pet supplies plusand rub her head through through cage, she was so sweet. My boyfriend and I fell in love with her and we couldn't stop thinking about her for weeks. So we decided to get her. I paid $350 for her. A huge rip off but she had no dollar sign to us. Not even a week later we were at pets smart and we saw deigo, my jenday. He was so funny, doing tricks rolling over on his back, trying to sell us, telling us to get me out of here! He was almost $700 dollars, again not the best deal, but he had no price tag.. He had been hand fed and tested for disease too, same with Maddie. I had all there papers, they were healthy and happy to be home with me.

Here's my HUGE GUILTY DILEMMA : everyday I walk back into these pet stores and I see the birds that got replaced from me buying my birds.. And it makes me want to cry. The bird at pet supplies plus.. His feathers, they are shredded to the core, he is soooo unhappy in there, he hates it. And he's there all because of me. Maggie did okay in the cage, she seemed content. This green cheek they have now is not. I have asked managers many times to please check up on this bird, they said they didn't even notice the feathers missing! Then where we got Diego.. The birds are doing the same tricks to get out of the cage.

I am so happy with my birds, they are VERY loving AMAZING birds... But I can't seem to forget about the birds I helped supply the petstore with.

I hate the petstore. Never will I ever buy another animal from them again.

Good luck

I understand completely, and can't help but respect/admire your feelings. But just like human adoption, u cannot save everyone, be happy about the bird you did save. Just like you said you bought 2 and saved them both and gave them happy homes. There is no way in knowing what is going on with the present bird in that cage. Maybe they were not raised right. You cannot dwell in that, please find peace in the birds you helped, not the ones u didn't, you will tear yourself to pieces. Once again, I am an animal person, and always will be. I can't do anything but appreciate you for knowing how you are form this simple post. If you bought every single bird from every pet store you could not afford to treat them all well. Take comfort in the peace you have provided! I hope this post helps. And also you never know, that bird you saw, might get bought by a great owner like yourself! And don't forget, huge chain pet stores, could afford to get another green cheek to sell regardless if you bought your bird or not, they have millions of dollars! If 100 green cheeks died in their possession (I pray this would never happen) they could EASILY afford to keep replacing them.

God bless you.

 

[napsack]

So did you guys get the baby?

YES!

So, the cliche is long story short, let me do, long story medium haha.

So we went to the store once again, I wanted to see her once again in person just so I could feel the situation out; even though I thought she was awesome to begin with.

I was never a fan of cinnamon conures. Not that I didn't think they were pretty, it's just that I had a turquoise and thought that is all I would ever want because they are so pretty to me. Not meaning that other conures aren't. I think every single one of them are absolutely beautiful, regardless of mutation!

But thinking that cinnamons weren't as pretty as a turquoise... Boy was I WRONG!!! I have seen every color mutation of GCC's in person, normal, yellow-sided, pineapple, turquoise, but I had never seen a cinnamon in person, but pictures ABSOLUTELY DO NOT do them justice. She is absolutely gorgeous!!!!! Maybe even more so than the turquoise, but I won't say that because they are now both my babies and I love them both 110%! Her pail head, diluted olive greenish feathers, lightly colored canary yellow belly, and light, sky blue flight feathers. She is an absolute thing of beauty!!!!!! And ontop of that, she is the definition of SWEET!

When I got my turquoise, at first he was very aggressive. Not in a bad way, he was just very nippy. He thought he was playing and didn't realize he kind of hurt when he bit. He now knows the difference between a hard nip and a sweet one and never ever hurts me now! He just wants to play and is very kind hearted. Haven't had a painful nip once since he has figured out the difference. He is now my angel and my best friend. But regardless, he is an absolute alpha male no questions about it. It is his personality and it is obvious, which I have no problems with, thats nature, and I respect it. But he likes nothing more than to cuddle with me and is attached to my hip 24/7, way more than my girlfriend. He is an attention monster! He is super athletic, runs around and jumps around further than I even thought possible. If there were a GCC olympics I would put him in it lol.

Not the case with her, we have been playing with her all day and she hasn't even come close to attempting to nip. I can't overly express how sweet she is, me and my girlfriend are actually a bit in shock. Maybe it is in fact because, her herself, is in culture shock, which is to be expected. But now that she has had a little time to adapt, she seems quite happy.

What made me ultimately realize how comfortable she was, was when I put her in her new cage and she ran around EVERYWHERE, chirped happily, played with every single one of her brand new toys and tore her millet spray to pieces! She seems truly happy and it just makes my heart smile!

So we decided to introduce the two of them. My turquoise, being the alpha male he is, out of no where bit her. I immediately put him in his cage, and gave the new baby girl tons of praise for not retaliating. He learned quick, mean bird goes in the cage, nice bird gets play time. I put their cages side by side for about 6 hours to get to know each other.

I took them out and they met face to face once again and he figured it out. Bad bird goes into the cage. He ran up to her, kissed and preened her and she did the same back. I can't explain how happy this made me. For the next 3 hours they played and kissed and preened and just got along!

To finally end the story, I bought her today (Thursday) and have already scheduled a vet appointment tomorrow with the most respected exotic bird veterinarian in the south (Dr. Rich for whoever is curious) I am realllllly hoping and PRAYING he says everything is fine because she is the epitome of a sweet conure.

ALSO! I forgot to mention, when I asked the people at the pet store about her, I got two very ODD answers that I thought y'all might find interesting:

1. I have never seen anything but a normal green cheek conure in a chain pet store. I was so surpassed to see them having a cinnamon, which they had no idea was even a cinnamon, they thought she was just a normal green cheek. Is this normal for PetSmart to have a mutation other than a normal green cheek? Anyway, I then proceeded to debate with my girlfriend and say she was a cinnamon and my girlfriend say she was a pineapple. I of course being stubborn couldn't let it go so I called over an employee (this is the first time we saw her by the way). The employee replied, "Uhhh, no, she's a green cheek." I laughed and pretended to acknowledge him as being right.I won't judge though, not knowing mutations of a species doesn't mean you don't care. I could work at a large pet store and I could not know everything about every single species there but still take care of them to the absolute fullest!!!

2. This is what REALLY got me. When I asked if I could hold her the employee warned me yes, but since we have only had her for less than a week she isn't used to this place and is a little mean and has been aggressive to everyone that has held her... She immediately stepped up to my girlfriend and did nothing but cuddle, kiss and snuggle her. And since I have had her now for about 15 hours she has done nothing but the same. My friend has a green cheek, I have a green cheek. Both were nippy at first, this sweet girl has been nothing but an angel and doesn't even fathom what it means to bite or be mean!!!

Sorry about lying, I made a long story long, but I can't help it! I LOVE this bird! I'm sure you bird fanatics can understand. I am so happy to give her a happy loving home forever and not have to worry about her future! It worked out perfect! She is the sweetest bird and will be in the sweetest home! And of course I spent 50 dollars on more toys when I was there even though I have enough!


BTW, I swear i'll stop after this question!

My turquoise GCC is 6 months old, she is 4 months, and she basically makes him look small. Not in weight, when I hold them both he feels heavier, but just from the eye she looks absolutely gigantic next to him! And it's not just me, my girlfriend's mother upon meeting her immediately said wow why is she bigger than him already? I know GCC's are dimorphic and you can't tell, is this something I should be worried about? Going to the vet tomorrow morning so I guess I'll see.

Thank you all SO SO SO MUCH for your input, it made my journey so much easier and I want you all to know that not just me, but you as well, had a giant part of giving this absolutely sweet little baby a sweet little home!!!

Sorry for being so sappy, I am just so happy to help a creature of God! When I retire I want to breed, raise, adopt, a re-home these creatures!

Going to the vet tomorrow, please everyone pray for this little baby bird! She is so beautiful, and sweet, and loving. If they tell me something is wrong IDK if I will be able to handle it!!!

 

[napsack]

Wow, sorry for the long reply, I just went back and proof read it lol. But I can't help it, i'm just so excited! I said it 100 times but cannot express how sweet she is, it's almost shocking to me!

 

[RavensGryf]

Congratulations! I'm glad everyone is so happy about the decision. Sounds like the right one .

As with humans and every other living creature, you will not only see personality differences, but variable size and weight as well. It doesn't mean one is necessarily healthier than the other, just different individual genetics.

I do agree that the Cinnamon GCC mutation is much prettier in person, and photos don't do them justice. I find that's true with a lot of species, that their colors don't show true in pics.

As far as only seeing the normals in the chain stores, I don't find that to be true. Maybe just particular to the store in your area.

Besides the normal, cinnamon, yellow sided, turquoise and pineapple.... Have you seen the other mutations (typically will only be sold from breeders not stores) - cinnamon turquoise, yellow sided turquoise, pineapple turquoise... Etc.
and how about this: The Feather Tree- Steve Garvin check out this link to The Feather Tree. You might find it interesting . Steve Garvin is an authority on GCC and is the ORIGINAL breeder of the Yellow Sided and many other mutations, including rare and new mutations that he's "inventing". Also, my Griffin came from his aviary.

 

[lilchris_28]

Potentially stupid question... What's this testing and vaccinations you're referring to? I'm considering a GCC but I haven't run across anything about vaccines or testing in my research. Thanks.

 

[RavensGryf]

It's not common, but they have a Polyoma vaccine they give to babies to prevent this deadly virus. Some breeders do it. Probably what it's referring to. I don't know what you read (forgive me but I didn't look back in this thread before typing).
Instead, I'd get the standard blood tests through so avian vet to make sure they don't have Polyoma, PBFD, and Psittacosis. Quarantine from other birds until you're sure they're safe.

 

[MissLarissa]

I bought my green cheek pineapple from Petco and he is very happy and healthy. The lady who worked there had him out everyday and gave him plenty of love. He had his shots and was tested for diseases even. He had a 15 day vet guarantee and came with all of his health papers. I don't see a problem with buying birds from large petstores if you ask questions and find out how the bird was raised.

 

[Dinosrawr]

Congratulations! I've always heard that the cinnamons are sweethearts in comparison to the average green cheek.

To answer your questions... don't be too surprised by weight and size differences. My friend also has GCC's, and she happens to have a male that has a HUGE head and just looks more... big, for lack of a better word, it comparison to my girl Avery. Your cinnamon's parents may have just simply been chosen to breed together because they were larger and people often prefer larger birds.

As for the PetSmart employee knowing nothing, don't be surprised. I've encountered it so many times. Actually, the last time I was at mine they had the sweetest baby Cinammon and the girls were calling it a green cheeked and looked at me like I was mad when I called it by its proper mutation. They also don't always get along properly with the birds... my Avery is from PetLand, and whenever they asked her to come out she'd flip! Hated the staff, snuggled into me nonstop. There's a huge difference in knowledge between the two stores... I don't think PetSmart employees ever get proper info. I mean, they call the mutation green cheeks simply "fancy" (probably why they call EVERY conure a green cheek), whereas PetLand at least recognizes their mutation on the price tag.

Most individuals aren't bird enthusiast... and if you aren't interested in something, you often don't care to learn the right stuff