New baby green cheek

[meganh333]

Hi everyone, my name is megan and i am new to this forum.

Last thursday after months of research i brought home a ten week old yellow sided green cheek. so far things have been going ok, but i need a little advice from all you experts. I wouldnt consider Alejandro to be really timid, but he is afraid of my hands. if i open up his cage he will jump out onto me, be he always goes straight for the shoulder. reading so much about gcc being nippy, i am always scared that if he is on my shoulder he will bite my ear or reach over and bite my face. I know that birds feel dominant if they are on their persons shoulder or head, so do you have any advice and keeping him off my shoulder?
if i go to pick him up with my hand, he bites me. at times it is clear he is just trying to balance himself or just "taste testing" but othertimes i know he is actually biting me. he hasnt broken the skin yet, but i almost wish he would just so i would know what level of pain to expect. if i try to pet him on the head with my hand he freaks out. does anyone have any ways of getting gcs used to hands?
so far i have only had him out of his cage for about one hour a day, which i realise is not enough, but when he is out it is a constant struggle of trying to keep him off my shoulder, which isnt easy when he doesnt like my hands. so far i know we are bonding somewhat, because he calls to me when i leave the room and he gets excited when i come home from work. he doesnt do this for anyone else in the house
i know its still really early and i do want to take things slow, but any suggestions you have would be nice
i realise it is still very early

 

[meganh333]

i meant green cheek conure btw

 

[antoinette]

Hi Megan and Alejandro, you are most welcome to join our wonderful forum.
Alejadro, must first "find his feet" so to speak. Everything is new and strange to him. He must first gain your trust, which could take a long time, be patient with him.
When talking him out the cage, try use a stick, for him to step onto. If he rushes to your shoulder, try get the stick there "quickly". If he is on your shoulder, get him to step onto the stick, let him know you are not happy with the shoulder part. Tell him firmly no no, and back into the cage for "time out" Keep repeating this, and hopefully he will realize that "time out" is not fun at all.

 

[erik7181]

In my opinion, green cheeks are the most out going and fun. I'll be honest and this is just me, I don't stop pepsi my Gc from going on my sholder and after a while you'll find he'll spend more time crawling around and exploreing then on your sholder. but i know alot of members don't condone this because going on your sholder should be earned. but to me earning his trust is the important thing.

 

[Bobby34231]

Hello Megan and Alejandro, and welcome to the forum, might you be a Lady Gaga fan?.....lol

 

[Ariana0902]

Hello and welcome to the forum! I have been wanting a GCC for quite some time now, and can't wait till I get mine. I am rather jealous you have one!

The new surroundings may be stange to him, so let him get used to everything. Let him gain trust with you. I hope everything goes well! I would love to see pics of him!

 

[GreenCheek]

Congrats on your new green cheek! My gc Cody is also a yellow sided, and I think they are the most beautiful mutation (although, maybe I'm a bit biased )! I will tell you, don't worry too much about the bites. Cody has bitten me A LOT in the time I have had him, and has only broken about 3 times. And only once was it really bad, and it was actually within the first 20 minutes I knew him, lol. The breeder had me help with getting a blood sample from his nail, and I had like, NO bird experience, let his head go, and first he laid into me, and then her. It was pretty deep, but nothing that needed stitches or anything. But you know, not even that hurt that much! I think it's just the shock of it more than anything. No matter how much I get bitten by him, it's never enough to make me afraid of him. So, don't worry too much about that.

As for getting him on your hands, maybe you could do target training? Winged Wisdom Pet Bird Magazine - Targeting- Tool of a Clicker Trainer for Pet Birds That can be very helpful. After he has it down, just guide him up on your finger.

And as far as the shoulder goes, I don't let Cody up there, nor would I let any other bird. As much as you may love them, I don't believe you can 100% trust a bird (or any other animal for that matter). I heard of a story of a woman that had an amazon for 25 years. They were the closest of friends, and she always let her amazon up on her shoulder for all of those 25 years. But one day, he decided to lay into her face, and she ended up losing a huge piece of the side of her face and an eye. And this is after 25 years with the bird and having no problem! So, I'm gonna say break that habit, but some people still love to have their birds on their shoulders, so it's up to you. Just not safe IMO.

Good luck on your green cheek! Can't wait to see pictures!

 

[meganh333]

thanks to every for all the replies, and yeah i am a big lady gaga fan.

i know alejandro is happy here, because he has been beak grinding. yesterday when i was trying to get him off my shoulder, i sort of had him pressed between my hand and my upper chest, and he instantly quieted down so i stayed that way, and he started beak grinding! it lasted for maybe ten minutes when he all of a sudden decided that he didnt like that anymore. haha silly bird. and he has done it when he is just sitting in his cage.
when i am wearing a long sleeve shirt or hoodie and holding him i will let the sleeves come down over most of my fingers to pick him up, will this slow down him getting used to my hands?
so far for diet i am giving him pellets (which he took to right away even though he was previously eating seed) and lots of fresh fruit, but not many veggies yet. which veggies do your birds like the most? i think they are supposed to have veggies rich in vitamin a? which veggies are those?
again thank you so much for any info you can give me