Potential GCC owner looking for advice

[JNewton]

Hi all,

I am considering getting a green cheek conure, and wanted to ask for some advice from the knowledge collective here. Basically, I like the idea of owning a bird, but am wanting to make sure I would have the time and long term ability to do so through life’s changes, given the lifespan of these little guys.

I’m a 24 year old guy, graduated college, and currently living with my parents while I work on flight training full-time. Our family has always had animals, indoor and outdoor. The house is shared with a rabbit, a cat, a parakeet, a cockatiel, and sometimes two dogs. Outside are a bunch of chickens, two cats, and 11 horses. Which isn’t really relevant except for the indoor birds and to demonstrate that I’m familiar with working with the quirks of different critters. For example, my horse was pretty flighty and nervous when purchased, and I’ve slowly helped her a pretty good trail horse. A horse isn’t a bird of course, but she’s taught me the “it’s never the animal’s” fault mantra already. I feel and hope I’d have the patience and ability to ask questions and work through any of the biting or other issues I’ve seen raised here. I would be looking at getting a baby from a breeder.

I’m looking at in the coming year heading out on my own, hopefully with a job as a flight instructor, and being naturally pretty gregarious myself I’d been thinking it’d be wonderful to have some sort of little critter buddy to take with me and keep me company in the next phase of life, living by myself, etc. It would be wonderful to come home from work to some sort of animal happy to see me rather than an empty apartment or whatever. I’m just thinking I’d want it to be fair to the bird too.

I have asthma, and any sort of dog or cat is really out of the picture as an indoor animal if I want to keep my flying medical certificate. My family is wonderful with helping me on this. The indoor “hairy” critters have their own room, and the dogs get bathed weekly, and sometimes get to come inside and hang out at mealtimes. That’s about the limit of what I can do with mammals. I’ve never noticed any trouble with the birds however. My sister’s cockatiel loves me and is hanging out on my shoulder at the moment.

So, I thought of getting a budgie or cockatiel myself, but wasn’t sure if it would bond with the already resident member of its own species and thus have a difficult time moving off with me when the time comes. The more I read about conjures the more appealing they seem in their own right as well.

My other misgiving is that for the next several years I see no real difficulties with giving the bird the time and attention it would need, but can see a bit of a potential sticking point as hopefully I move into an airline job which could have me away for multiple days at a time. Thus, I could foresee a period when the bird would be alone for an unacceptable amount of time. I’d like to start a family someday, so hopefully it wouldn’t be forever, but I don’t think looking for a wife just to take care of my bird while I’m gone is quite the solution, lol. I suppose if there were such a period the bird could move back to the old home place, where I’m sure my parents would give it the care it needed. Basically, how resilient are these birds, in general? I mean, I would make sure it was never in any way neglected, but can foresee it perhaps needing to be “juggled” a bit, if that makes sense. Any input is much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Laurasea]

Welcome to the forum. Great introduction. Once we get past this pandemic sounds like you have a great future.

Unfortunately parrots don't do great being left behind. They bond closely to you, and for them its unnatural and stressful to be away from their flock ( you). Most don't easily accept a temporary family.

Baby birds that have been well handled by their breeder will be friendly with everyone. And you could work hard to socialize them with lots of postive reinforcement and training........maybe they could do better then with that sort if life style. But most once they become adults pick one person, and only tolerate other people in short burst. My GCC will step up from me to other people and take treats. But I have to close by.

They are as smart as or more so than primates, and highly social. They aren't independent by nature.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Well, unlike the way I did things, you are doing everything right! Reaching out, researching, really CARING. I'm glad you're here.
I don't have any quick solutions, of coure, but I'm glad you found us. I'm glad you'll be a parront someday. I wish you well as you take on this journey. I have had my bird from college through retirement, and although I've made many mistakes and taken many wrong turns, it has been a really enriching adventure.
Welcome.

 

[noodles123]

Welcome!!! Please read this post for deal (I know it is a lot, but it's serious that you know it all). Also, birds can cause allergies-- especially cockatiels, african greys and cockatoos...but others as well..

Here is my copy-and paste for potential/new owners:

One really important thing when keeping a pet bird in the house is that you cannot use scented products or chemicals/fumes in your home (even things that smell nice to us(---things like smoke, perfumes, air freshener, standard cleaners, vaping, burning food, incense, cigarettes, glue, paint, window sealing kits, polishes, aerosol sprays etc can harm your bird's sensitive respiratory system (which is not the same as mammals'). Using products that heat or are heated which contain Teflon/PTFE/PFCs = very very dangerous. These products off-gas and can kill a bird in under 5 minutes. Teflon/PTFE/PFOA/PFCs are most commonly found in the kitchen (pots, pans, cookie sheets, drip trays, air fryers, popcorn poppers, baking mats, crock pots, toasters, toaster ovens, popcorn poppers, waffle irons, electric skillets etc. They can also be found in space-heaters, curling irons, blow-dryers, straighteners, heat lamps, heat guns, irons, ironing board covers etc. These fumes have killed birds through closed doors and on separate floors of a home, so you should replace your cookware with stainless steel, cast iron or ceramic. You may be thinking-- well, I have used them before and my bird is fine, but they kill very inconsistently and it depends on what you are cooking, the age of the pot/pan, the specific bird etc. There was a member who lost many of her birds from a pan she had literally used for years...then one day, her husband cooked an egg (without burning or overheating) and many of them died, while the rest showed signs of respiratory distress.

You will need an avian-safe cleaner to use within your home (both on the bird cage, but also, around the house). Again, chemical cleaners cannot be used in the home unless avian safe. F10 SC (the yellow/clear concentrate) is a great, avian-safe disinfectant. Other (less effective) options include products such as "poop-off", white vinegar + water, grapefruit seed extract + water, baking soda etc. Peroxide is also fairly safe for disinfecting places like your bathroom, but you do not want your bird to come into contact with it.

Some foods are toxic to them--avocado, coffee (even decaf), caffeine, rhubarb, alcohol, onions/garlic/leeks/chives, mushrooms etc. Salt is also very bad for them, as is most human food. They love it, but it's not healthy.

They should not just eat seed--you will want to feed lots of washed fresh vegetables. Fruit is fine in moderation, but too much can lead to obesity and behavioral issues due to sugar. I feed my bird a mix of high-quality seed (no sunflowers, no peanuts) and pellets (in addition to fruit/veg). ECCLECTUS PARROTS SHOULD NOT EAT PELLETS. Fruit pits are toxic, as are apple seeds. Corn cob and certain nut shells (if swallowed in big pieces) can cause blockages, so you should be very cautious if you give your bird nuts in the shell. Peanuts can harbor aspergillosis, and should be avoided altogether (even they you often see them marketed towards parrots).

It is important to make sure that your bird's toys and cage are made of safe metals. Stainless steel is safest. They can get metal poisoning from playing with or mouthing objects made of unsafe metals.

They need a set amount of sleep each night (at least 10 hours) and the largest cage you can manage with lots of different perches. You want to avoid the totally smooth/round ones as they can lead to a condition called bumblefoot. Never place a cage near drafts and never allow cool air to blow on a bird. They are sensitive to drafts and any temperature shift greater than 10 degrees can cause a shock to their system.

They need lots of safe toys and safe wood to chew. Not all wood is safe, so don't just assume you can give them any kind you want. Pressure blasted or chemically treated wood (e.g., lumber and many other types of wood from the hardware contains toxic chemicals or are cut from trees that are naturally toxic.

They hide illness and so you have to watch them to make sure they are eating normally and pooping normally etc. You should try to find an avian vet (certified avian) if at all possible and take your bird AT LEAST 1 x yearly for an exam. An avian vet is NOT the same as an exotics vet who sees birds--- so if a certified avian vet is available within a few hours of where you live, you will want to set up care.

All parrots can easily confuse the relationship with their human for a sexual one. You don't want this to happen, even though it seems sweet at first. Stick to petting on the head and neck only (the rest is sexual) and do not allow your bird to play in shadowy places, like boxes or under furniture, as these spaces are similar nesting sites and are hormonal triggers. NO SNUGGLE HUTS/TENTS!

Food and water should be replaced daily--- wash the containers daily. Never leave wet food out for more than a few hours (as it can lead to bacterial growth). Never try to medicate a bird via drinking water and never add vitamins to water. Vitamins can be over-dosed easily and harm a bird. Plus, when you add things to water, it makes it impossible to know how much they have gotten and it also encourages bacterial growth. Sometimes it can prevent them from drinking adequately if they don't like the flavor of whatever it is you added. Citrus and fruits high in vitamin C should be given in extreme moderation because they can cause "Iron Storage Disease" (for a cockatoo, 1 small tangerine slice 1-2 times a week was okay, according to my vet).

These birds have the intelligence of 3-4-year-old human, but they are wild animals (not domesticated like dogs). This means that they see the world (and humans) in a very unique way and so you must learn about their behavior in order to prevent problems (screaming, plucking etc). They need lots of time out of their cage daily and a lot of interaction (at least a few hours). At the same time, you don't want to spend TOO much time with a bird of they will become overly dependent and not know what to do with themselves when you go to work etc.

Finally, baby birds are ALWAYS sweet compared to adult birds. When your bird hits puberty, expect that it will exhibit some annoying and problematic behaviors (much like a teen). A through knowledge of behavior and setting expectations at an early age will make your life easier when that time comes, but do prepare yourself and expect that things will not always be so smooth-sailing. Think about a baby human compared to a teen...

I am sure there is more...but that is a basic overview of caring for birds.

Here is an excerpt from another post (which you may want to reference when shopping/ calling about Teflon:
The most insidious is the Teflon/ptfe/pfoa/pfcs because you have to call the company to verify that anything that heats or is intended to be heated does not contain these substances ("PTFE free" doesn't mean PFC free and so there are a lot of marketing gimmicks out there to make people buy what seems like healthier cook-ware, even though it still contains a version of the same chemicals). Also-- these chemicals can be woven into fabric, mixed into metal during the moulding process, applied as a powder, applied as a clear-coat, or mixed with a colored coating. You cannot assume that you will be able to identify them visually, so, when you call, you must provide all abbreviations and full names + spellings of each chemical compound (and then they usually give you "the run around" for a week or so IF they ever answer your questions at all---because sometimes it's a "trade secret"). It's all very sketchy and DuPont (manufacturer of Teflon) claims that off-gassing only occurs at really high temperatures, but there have been numerous documented/scientific and anecdotal reports of birds passing away at temperatures in the 300 F range (and again, it kills through closed doors and on different floors).
FYI- Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
A perfluorinated compound (PFC)
Teflon (a common brand-name of non-stick cookware containing these chemicals)

10- 12 hours nightly for sleep, so if you get up at 6 and make a bunch of noise, you will wake the bird up (even if they are still covered). If they wake up at 6, bed should be between 6-8. You want to keep it around the same time if possible (because that's how it is in nature).


OH-- something I didn't mention in my last post-- stainless steel is really one of the only safe metals for them. Research the heck out of your cage and make sure that if it uses a powder-coating it is truly non-toxic. Birds can get metal poisoning from playing with sketchy toys (many made in China do not adhere to best practices) and just mouthing things like money, bolts, locks etc can cause toxic impacts...A man I know allowed his bird to play with un-used toothbrushes and (unbeknownst to him) there were small copper bits that held the bristles in place-- this nearly killed his bird even though the bird didn't actually swallow the pieces. Copper, zinc, nickel, some iron, lead etc are all toxic. Chicken wire and most screens= bad news.

 

[Apollo4]

I'm a fairly new owner but our bird even if we just spend the day outside our gcc will freak out pretty seriously. And I've had cockatiels and budgies before a gcc is a whole different ball game as far as needy-ness. I'd wait till you were a little more stable on your time. Or choose a different kind of bird.

 

[wrench13]

Young man, you've been thoughtful and thorough in your considerations. Now please take the next step. You know deep down that adding a parrot into your life may be OK for a few years, bt with the advent of new job, new apartment, new friends and added responsibilities, a parrot is going to get less and less of your time and attention, and that is the wrong thing to choose. Bring into that mix the addition of a SO and perhaps children, and the equation becomes even more lopsided.

 

[JNewton]

Hello again, never fear, I haven't disliked the advice and disappeared forever.
Thank you all for the warm welcome. BTW, if a moderator sees this and feels it would be better in a non-species-specific forum, feel free to move it.

In response to wrench123, I do see what you are saying, but I'm not sure I totally feel that. What you're saying would seem to imply that only single people with no kids (or empty-nesters) should ever get any sort of parrot, which seems perhaps a little unrealistic to me. But then again, I'm just a potential newbie (not even a real newbie) so what do I really know? I somewhat feel that if I could use my "alone" time to really bond with, socialize, and generally mold the bird to be a mannerly member of a family it could actually be a great relationship even with kids, etc. But then again, I know animal nature couldn't give a hoot about what I "feel." Again, I'm not trying to make this another "wishful thinker argues with frustrated people who actually know better," thread, so if that's becoming the case just give me some tough love. I would emphasize my mind is NOT made up in any way.

On the note of time constraints with starting a career, the airline lifestyle with being gone for multiple days with no one to care for the bird is something that might happen at some point, not necessarily a given, and I'd honestly, bird aside, prefer that I could find a flying job (they're out there) that did not require such a schedule. I don't know, I'm just torn with making a decision based on a projected circumstance that might or might not happen, especially given none of us really know what the future holds. I could have a stable job and then get furloughed and need to work whatever hours "they" will give me at something completely unrelated, ya know?

I know from reading here and other forums that people have made bird relationships that involve travel work, as long as someone was around to take care of them, including the adorable story of using a rack of golf balls to show a macaw (was it a macaw?) how many days till their person got back. Did I read that here or elsewhere?

noodles123, thanks for all the info. We already follow most of it at home, definitely avoiding all "non-stick" cookware for sure. Allergy-wise, I've never noticed any trouble with the birds (cockatiel included), and my lungs are usually pretty quick to scope out any issues. I wasn't aware that 'tiels could be a special case, so thank you for bringing that to my attention.

I see Apollo4 mentioned perhaps a different bird would be a better choice. I have noticed that all species lovers seem to be pretty adamant that their babies are "real parrots too!" (Except for maybe the macaws and cockatoos. They seem pretty serenely secure in their status as monster super-birds.) Thus, I'd kind of figured I either have time for any, or none. I suppose this is not necessarily the case. My little sister's parakeet, Percy, for example, is pretty cage-loving, not really hand-tamed, but we make sure he is in the center of the action in his big cage in the living room, and he truly seems happy, bobbing and chirping, banging his toys and running around all day. This is not really what I would want for a bird of my own, prefering that it could really hang out with it's people, but perhaps demonstrates there are different levels of interaction a certain species can have and still be content. Any thoughts along these lines?

Thank you all!

 

[Laurasea]

well. I've had two GCC females that were very e y closely bonded to each other, and still closely bonded to me. So many of us have more than one parrot, and I think that can be good for them and us.... even tho they were extremely close there were times I had to cage separately, but they usually shared a cage. Its an idea to think about, there are many parrots rehomed as freinds, not a male female that might try and form a breeding pair. Or you could get siblings ...
Anyway..many might disagree, but I think parrots do better with freinds...even two thst aren't buddy buddy seem to enjoy and benefit from having another bird around. When I use to take on medical rescue parrots thst had been alone for their whole life, they very much seemed to comforted and copy my birds. Even tho they were never allowed near each other ( medical fosters) . Like if my burds took a bath tge foster would take a bath, if mine napped the foster would nap .

Certainly life has no guarantee
If yiu get a young weaned bird, its tge best time to harness train, so hsve a harness on hand and read up before getting the bird if that's something you want to do. As it's pretty darn hard to harness train adults

 

[Laurasea]

This is such a great comprehensive article, I've added it to a couple of threads already. In it Pamela Clark talks about having more than one parrot and the benefits.

https://blogpamelaclarkonline.com/tag/parrots-and-flight/

From above link
" Others’ Feathers
You should never get a second parrot because of the assumption that it will make the first happier. But, if you want to get a second parrot, my heart will be happy at the news. Having always lived with multiple parrots, I see how each bird gains just from having other feathered creatures in the home.


Photo courtesy of Mandy Andrea
This is true even if the two parrots never interact physically. No other companion animal moves the way a bird moves. No other animal vocalizes like a bird does. No other animal reacts like a bird does. Just having another set of feathers in the house is enriching on multiple levels for a companion parrot."

 

[JNewton]

Thank you, that article makes a lot of sense, and I can see some of it coming through in my own limited experience with our birds. They are both in the same area of the house, and generally seem to crank up their vocalisation at the same time and generally enjoy each other’s company, despite the species difference. Honestly that kind of seems like common sense to me, but I suppose we all know that’s a uncommon commodity. I’m still turning the matter over in my mind, trying to foresee obstacles and think about whether they could be overcome in a bird-friendly manner.

If I were to look at a parakeet or ‘tiel, any thoughts on the likelihood of the bird forming a bond with the already-present member of its own kind and then being lonely if it has to move away? Also, if it appeared that at some point in the future any bird might benefit from a friend, thoughts and concerns about introducing them, possibility they might just not get along, etc.? I suppose the goal would be just offering companionship, potentially knowing they might need to be kept separately, not necessarily counting on them being best friends.

 

[JNewton]

Also, just thinking out loud here, if some temporary circumstance left me unable to give the bird the time it needed, it would be coming back home with my family, people it would have grown up with, be seeing off and on, and hopefully already have a cordial relationship with. My parents are on board with this idea, although I’m not sure they are aware exactly the time commitment that would be necessary, so I would have to talk this through with them. Would this factor change the calculus at all?

 

[JNewton]

Well, after sleeping on it and thinking it over some more I think I’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that now is not the time to add a feathered friend to my life. Could I make it work? Probably. However, I kept thinking through things I’d already thought of doing, things I’d like to do, and concluded that at some point or another I’d probably wish I hadn’t brought a needy 3 year old into my life (before I have a needy three year old.) I suppose now is kind of the time to have the freedom to get a wild hair and drive across the country on a whim, and tell the story of it to kids (and parrot?) in later years, if that makes sense, and to have the flexibility to make job decisions with long-term happiness in mind, not immediate parrot needs. Anyway, that’s a little long-winded way of saying thanks for helping me work this out and think out loud, and I hope someday I’ll be back on here with my “Look at my adorable new parrot!” thread, just not right now. Thanks, and upcoming Merry Christmas to you and all your birds.