New GCC owner

[KennyLe]

Hey guys, My name is Kenny, I'm 21 years old and I reside in Arlington, Texas(DFW) and I'm new to the forums.

So I recently got a yellow sided green cheek conure (or so i think) that I've decided well my girlfriend to name Apple due to the fact that its previous owner got evicted from the apartment complex and nobody would take the bird. I use to own a couple of cockatiels and lovebirds when i was younger but other than they I have no experience with conures. I was seeking some answers for some of the questions I was having.

1. I don't know his/her age. Apple does however have a blue band on her left leg that has i believe her breeders initials and a number.

2.I can't tell the difference between yellow sided and pineapple. I read on here before that pineapples have lighter beaks and lighter heads. So her beak is a light tan color but her head is grey'ish

3.She is currently molting right now and I don't know how long this process will last and most of apple's maroon colored tail feathers are either damaged or gone. She only has about 2-3 left. Will they grow back?

4.Apple seems to be horrified of me. Ive had her for a about 2 weeks now and I've tried to just sit there and interact with her but whenever anyone including me comes near the cage she just goes chaotic. I tried getting her out once and after that she just stayed on my shoulder with no nibbling whatsoever. What can I do to tame her?


I'm pretty sure I have alot more questions but I'll save that for my next post. Thanks alot for taking the time to read my introduction and my silly questions.

On a side note. I'll try to upload pictures of Apple as soon as I can.

 

[roxynoodle]

Hi Kenny, welcome to the forum!

Read the thread here called New Owner for good suggestions on how to start interacting with your new feather baby.

 

[kitt]

Hi there, congratulations on the new family member and welcome to the forum.

 

[Mamanda]

Hello! Welcome & Congrats on your new baby!

I have a yellow-sided GCC. If you look at my photos, you can see what a GCC looks like. A tan beak and grayish head sounds like maybe Cinnamon GCC? Maybe Pineapple, would need to see photos. From what I know, a YSGCC will have a dark beak, like my Keen does.

As for taming - be very patient and essentially let your Apple come to you. Don't try to remove her from the cage. Place the cage in an area where Apple will have lots of interaction watching you and where you can talk to her. Talk to her, sing to her, make sounds, mimic her little noises, offer very special treats (through the cage if opening the cage upsets her).

My GCC was petrified of me when I first brought her home ... that was about 6 weeks ago and now she can't wait to come out and hang out with me. It just takes time, moving at their speed. And, oddly enough, someone recommended to me to IGNORE my GCC and let her "want" me. IT TOTALLY WORKED. I would open the cage and ignore her ... pretty soon she was coming up to me wanting to interact.

As for age, I have no suggestions or thoughts other than from what I know, there is really no way to know.

And ... LOAD some pics!! We LOVE seeing pictures!

 

[roxynoodle]

As for age, the only thing I've noticed is that baby conures don't have as prominent of a bare eye ring. And I have noticed that my Nanday, who is now almost 12 has the most prominent eye ring she has ever had.

 

[KennyLe]

@roxynoodle thank you for the comment on the other thread and also the answer to my age question

@kitt thank you =]

@mamanda yeah I will try to post up pictures as soon as I can. The breeder told me the gcc was yellow sided and when i went to the house to pick it up the other 4 gcc that were there all had dark beaks unlike the one i have, but they came from the same clutch.
with the taming yeah i made the mistake of trying to force her out the cage so i don't know if that'll affect her alot now. but ive tried offering treats etc. but she just goes to the other side as far away from me as possible. i do however notice that whenever i have music playing she will sing along to it.

 

[everdusk]

It is very likely you have a cinnamon or Pinapple. My pinapple had 3 YS brothers and a normal. My Pineapple is definitely pineapple but she does have a darker head than most, I've been thinking it's a youth thing, I know colors will brighten up as she matures.

 

[Mamanda]

with the taming yeah i made the mistake of trying to force her out the cage so i don't know if that'll affect her alot now. but ive tried offering treats etc. but she just goes to the other side as far away from me as possible. i do however notice that whenever i have music playing she will sing along to it.

I did the same thing, based on very bad advice given by a "breeder". Not to worry.. no permanent damage done.

 

[KennyLe]

http://imageshack.us

here are some pictures of my other gcc =D . way more tame than apple is. and he actually likes hanging out with me. his name is meeko. i think he is molting too? his red tail feathers seem to being wrapped around some sort of skin? and he goes and picks i out

 

[roxynoodle]

Yes, those are feather sheaths. They protect the new feathers as they are coming in. The birds then pick that off to release the new feather. They do have some trouble doing their own heads and necks. In the wild they do this for each other, or once they are mated, their mate does. If your bird will let you, you can try to help. My Nanday uses a key ring on a chain to do hers herself. It was once a toy but she has used it for grooming her face and neck for years now so I leave it there.

 

[Keinanna]

welcome and congrats on your new baby

 

[Keinanna]

hmm it might be possible to find out the age by tracking the band info