Questions about my Green Cheek Conure

[KittyBabyMan]

Hi! I recently bought a Green Cheek Conure i've named Cherry for the holidays.

It's been almost 24 hours and there are some behaviors I'm curious about in my bird.

1. Why does my bird hang upside down in their cage? Is it ok if they fall while doing so?
2. Is it natural for my bird to squawk at nothing?
3. I saw them pull one feather out this morning. Is this natural behavior if it's just one after almost a day?
4. I placed some seeds, a swing, and a cuttlebone in it's cage. Is it normal for it to ignore these things for a while?
5. How often should I replace food and water in it's bowls?
6. Are there any tips on how to treat my bird in it's cage?
7. It's always sitting in one corner on a perch stick, is this normal?

Thanks for the help!

 

[JBassset]

Hi! I recently bought a Green Cheek Conure i've named Cherry for the holidays.

It's been almost 24 hours and there are some behaviors I'm curious about in my bird.

1. Why does my bird hang upside down in their cage? Is it ok if they fall while doing so?
2. Is it natural for my bird to squawk at nothing?
3. I saw them pull one feather out this morning. Is this natural behavior if it's just one after almost a day?
4. I placed some seeds, a swing, and a cuttlebone in it's cage. Is it normal for it to ignore these things for a while?
5. How often should I replace food and water in it's bowls?
6. Are there any tips on how to treat my bird in it's cage?
7. It's always sitting in one corner on a perch stick, is this normal?

Thanks for the help!

Lots of folks will give you some great advice but I'll start.

Upside down: Normal. They're acrobats. They shouldn't fall too much. How old is Cherry?

Squawks: yup, they talk. Calling their flock. Some are louder than others. They'll also make noise if you spook them.

Feather pulling: depends on the feather mostly. Was it fluffy and downy? If not it's not a great sign. Usually from stress but feathers do fall out sometimes.

Seeds: not a good diet for conures. You'll want to look into pellets from a good brand like Roudybush or Harrisons. Seeds are a treat. Think of them as cheetos for birds.

Ignoring the stuff in the cage: Totally normal. Parrots first reaction to new things seems to be "Yup, that's gonna eat me. Don't touch it." After a while they may or may not decide that this is cool.

How often should you replace food/water: DAILY if not 2x a day. They need clean water and clean food. Bacteria grows on the food they don't eat and it'll make 'em sick.

How to treat the bird: for now, leave it alone. It's stressed out. It just got plucked out of its home, shoved in probably a box, hauled to some new place with new people, a new cage, new toys, different food and nobody told him what the deal is. He's kinda having a bad week.

Rule of thumb is leave the bird be and when you go in to do things like food and water, talk soothingly and move slowly. The bird will come to you when it's ready. Be patient, be gentle and realize it's gonna bite you. They do that. You can help them learn not to do that (it's why I joined this site) but sometimes they do.

Keep reading, keeps researching, keep studying. Once you and Cherry have a good solid trust bond you'll find out that GCC's can be super lovey funny little guys. Till then, they can be kind of standoffish jerks. They're not little puppies that just want loves and snuggles. They take time to decide you're okie dokie and not going to hurt them.

Not moving off it's perch: totally normal for now. Again, he's freaked out. Let him settle in. That corner is what he's decided is the safest space for him. He'll explore when he's ready. And not until then.

Welcome aboard!

 

[KittyBabyMan]

Hi! I recently bought a Green Cheek Conure i've named Cherry for the holidays.

It's been almost 24 hours and there are some behaviors I'm curious about in my bird.

1. Why does my bird hang upside down in their cage? Is it ok if they fall while doing so?
2. Is it natural for my bird to squawk at nothing?
3. I saw them pull one feather out this morning. Is this natural behavior if it's just one after almost a day?
4. I placed some seeds, a swing, and a cuttlebone in it's cage. Is it normal for it to ignore these things for a while?
5. How often should I replace food and water in it's bowls?
6. Are there any tips on how to treat my bird in it's cage?
7. It's always sitting in one corner on a perch stick, is this normal?

Thanks for the help!

Lots of folks will give you some great advice but I'll start.

Upside down: Normal. They're acrobats. They shouldn't fall too much. How old is Cherry?

Squawks: yup, they talk. Calling their flock. Some are louder than others. They'll also make noise if you spook them.

Feather pulling: depends on the feather mostly. Was it fluffy and downy? If not it's not a great sign. Usually from stress but feathers do fall out sometimes.

Seeds: not a good diet for conures. You'll want to look into pellets from a good brand like Roudybush or Harrisons. Seeds are a treat. Think of them as cheetos for birds.

Ignoring the stuff in the cage: Totally normal. Parrots first reaction to new things seems to be "Yup, that's gonna eat me. Don't touch it." After a while they may or may not decide that this is cool.

How often should you replace food/water: DAILY if not 2x a day. They need clean water and clean food. Bacteria grows on the food they don't eat and it'll make 'em sick.

How to treat the bird: for now, leave it alone. It's stressed out. It just got plucked out of its home, shoved in probably a box, hauled to some new place with new people, a new cage, new toys, different food and nobody told him what the deal is. He's kinda having a bad week.

Rule of thumb is leave the bird be and when you go in to do things like food and water, talk soothingly and move slowly. The bird will come to you when it's ready. Be patient, be gentle and realize it's gonna bite you. They do that. You can help them learn not to do that (it's why I joined this site) but sometimes they do.

Keep reading, keeps researching, keep studying. Once you and Cherry have a good solid trust bond you'll find out that GCC's can be super lovey funny little guys. Till then, they can be kind of standoffish jerks. They're not little puppies that just want loves and snuggles. They take time to decide you're okie dokie and not going to hurt them.

Not moving off it's perch: totally normal for now. Again, he's freaked out. Let him settle in. That corner is what he's decided is the safest space for him. He'll explore when he's ready. And not until then.

Welcome aboard!

I have normal, colorful food in Cherry's cage. I placed the seeds in another area, in case it wanted that sort of snack. I know seeds aren't healthy, but more like a creat for them.

Cherry is over a year old now, being born on 3/11/15.

Any suggestions on how often I should be cleaning out their cage?

Thanks for the reply!

 

[JBassset]

As often as it needs it. Couple times a week to daily is what most folks do.

You wouldn't really want to live right over the top of your poo very long would ya?

 

[Loko]

Hi! I recently bought a Green Cheek Conure i've named Cherry for the holidays.

It's been almost 24 hours and there are some behaviors I'm curious about in my bird.

1. Why does my bird hang upside down in their cage? Is it ok if they fall while doing so?
2. Is it natural for my bird to squawk at nothing?
3. I saw them pull one feather out this morning. Is this natural behavior if it's just one after almost a day?
4. I placed some seeds, a swing, and a cuttlebone in it's cage. Is it normal for it to ignore these things for a while?
5. How often should I replace food and water in it's bowls?
6. Are there any tips on how to treat my bird in it's cage?
7. It's always sitting in one corner on a perch stick, is this normal?

Thanks for the help!

Lots of folks will give you some great advice but I'll start.

Upside down: Normal. They're acrobats. They shouldn't fall too much. How old is Cherry?

Squawks: yup, they talk. Calling their flock. Some are louder than others. They'll also make noise if you spook them.

Feather pulling: depends on the feather mostly. Was it fluffy and downy? If not it's not a great sign. Usually from stress but feathers do fall out sometimes.

Seeds: not a good diet for conures. You'll want to look into pellets from a good brand like Roudybush or Harrisons. Seeds are a treat. Think of them as cheetos for birds.

Ignoring the stuff in the cage: Totally normal. Parrots first reaction to new things seems to be "Yup, that's gonna eat me. Don't touch it." After a while they may or may not decide that this is cool.

How often should you replace food/water: DAILY if not 2x a day. They need clean water and clean food. Bacteria grows on the food they don't eat and it'll make 'em sick.

How to treat the bird: for now, leave it alone. It's stressed out. It just got plucked out of its home, shoved in probably a box, hauled to some new place with new people, a new cage, new toys, different food and nobody told him what the deal is. He's kinda having a bad week.

Rule of thumb is leave the bird be and when you go in to do things like food and water, talk soothingly and move slowly. The bird will come to you when it's ready. Be patient, be gentle and realize it's gonna bite you. They do that. You can help them learn not to do that (it's why I joined this site) but sometimes they do.

Keep reading, keeps researching, keep studying. Once you and Cherry have a good solid trust bond you'll find out that GCC's can be super lovey funny little guys. Till then, they can be kind of standoffish jerks. They're not little puppies that just want loves and snuggles. They take time to decide you're okie dokie and not going to hurt them.

Not moving off it's perch: totally normal for now. Again, he's freaked out. Let him settle in. That corner is what he's decided is the safest space for him. He'll explore when he's ready. And not until then.

Welcome aboard!

I have normal, colorful food in Cherry's cage. I placed the seeds in another area, in case it wanted that sort of snack. I know seeds aren't healthy, but more like a creat for them.

Cherry is over a year old now, being born on 3/11/15.

Any suggestions on how often I should be cleaning out their cage?

Thanks for the reply!

Keep in mind, you may want to switch that food to one without coloring. Most people here tend to stay far away from any colored foods - reason being, droppings are an excellent way to tell if something is not right with your bird - the coloring is not dangerous, but alters the droppings making it hard to tell what is normal and what isnt. If youre using the Kaytee brand, they have the same food type without the coloring - I would try that. Then once you switch pay attention to your bird droppings throughout the day (they will change) and then you will know when something is off. With the colors, you may think he has blood in his stool but really just ate more red pellets, or it may seem yellow or another color that xan indicate other issues, etc.
Conures are prone to fatty liver disease, so I would remove the seeds completely and use them for training. This way they will retain their "special". Cage cleaning entirely depends on how messy your bird is and how dirty it gets, as well as what type of cleaning you mean, as far as a simple quick clean/tidy up, just use common sense and keep it clean - sometimes that means more than once a day, sometimes it means every other day, etc. Just keep the bars fresh and the bottom tidy, the bottom usually just pulls out so you can seitch out new paper or whatever in the morning. As far as a full cage cleaning with a hose and soap and water, thats much less often, but again as needed.

 

[KittyBabyMan]

Lots of folks will give you some great advice but I'll start.

Upside down: Normal. They're acrobats. They shouldn't fall too much. How old is Cherry?

Squawks: yup, they talk. Calling their flock. Some are louder than others. They'll also make noise if you spook them.

Feather pulling: depends on the feather mostly. Was it fluffy and downy? If not it's not a great sign. Usually from stress but feathers do fall out sometimes.

Seeds: not a good diet for conures. You'll want to look into pellets from a good brand like Roudybush or Harrisons. Seeds are a treat. Think of them as cheetos for birds.

Ignoring the stuff in the cage: Totally normal. Parrots first reaction to new things seems to be "Yup, that's gonna eat me. Don't touch it." After a while they may or may not decide that this is cool.

How often should you replace food/water: DAILY if not 2x a day. They need clean water and clean food. Bacteria grows on the food they don't eat and it'll make 'em sick.

How to treat the bird: for now, leave it alone. It's stressed out. It just got plucked out of its home, shoved in probably a box, hauled to some new place with new people, a new cage, new toys, different food and nobody told him what the deal is. He's kinda having a bad week.

Rule of thumb is leave the bird be and when you go in to do things like food and water, talk soothingly and move slowly. The bird will come to you when it's ready. Be patient, be gentle and realize it's gonna bite you. They do that. You can help them learn not to do that (it's why I joined this site) but sometimes they do.

Keep reading, keeps researching, keep studying. Once you and Cherry have a good solid trust bond you'll find out that GCC's can be super lovey funny little guys. Till then, they can be kind of standoffish jerks. They're not little puppies that just want loves and snuggles. They take time to decide you're okie dokie and not going to hurt them.

Not moving off it's perch: totally normal for now. Again, he's freaked out. Let him settle in. That corner is what he's decided is the safest space for him. He'll explore when he's ready. And not until then.

Welcome aboard!

I have normal, colorful food in Cherry's cage. I placed the seeds in another area, in case it wanted that sort of snack. I know seeds aren't healthy, but more like a creat for them.

Cherry is over a year old now, being born on 3/11/15.

Any suggestions on how often I should be cleaning out their cage?

Thanks for the reply!

Keep in mind, you may want to switch that food to one without coloring. Most people here tend to stay far away from any colored foods - reason being, droppings are an excellent way to tell if something is not right with your bird - the coloring is not dangerous, but alters the droppings making it hard to tell what is normal and what isnt. If youre using the Kaytee brand, they have the same food type without the coloring - I would try that. Then once you switch pay attention to your bird droppings throughout the day (they will change) and then you will know when something is off. With the colors, you may think he has blood in his stool but really just ate more red pellets, or it may seem yellow or another color that xan indicate other issues, etc.
Conures are prone to fatty liver disease, so I would remove the seeds completely and use them for training. This way they will retain their "special". Cage cleaning entirely depends on how messy your bird is and how dirty it gets, as well as what type of cleaning you mean, as far as a simple quick clean/tidy up, just use common sense and keep it clean - sometimes that means more than once a day, sometimes it means every other day, etc. Just keep the bars fresh and the bottom tidy, the bottom usually just pulls out so you can seitch out new paper or whatever in the morning. As far as a full cage cleaning with a hose and soap and water, thats much less often, but again as needed.

Thanks for the information!
I recently made some progress with Cherry, so I guess I'll start handing the seeds out as treats when they get friendly with my hand .

Can anyone tell me some tips on what to do with Cherry as they're very comfortable with my hands? I want to slowly teach it to step up, but if I try and press against their lower stomach they shy away.