Strange new eating habit? Yawning a lot..

[Ldelt]

Hello! Iv'e had Rico my 10 month old GCC for 5 days now and he's been doing pretty good so far with eating and drinking (I think, this is my first bird). But I've noticed his beak is turning the color of his food on the edges.. Maybe it's just crumbs or something but yesterday he started eating differently. At first he would grab one piece at a time and just keep doing that as he pleased but now he takes a piece, walks over to his water bowl and gets some water with the piece in his beak? He will bite at the piece and then get some more water. Is he softening it? His food is mixed colors, and he ate all of the red ones first then the yellows.. Is this weird? Should I get a different food for him? A few hours ago he started eating the green ones! He's been sleeping a lot during day and night but also yawning a lot, is that bad? Could he really be so tired? Maybe sick? He is getting tons of crumbs and food in his water too I've had to keep changing it out. I was warned when I got him that he hasn't been handled enough(?) so he is afraid when I put my hand in his cage. He will run to his bed or the opposite side of the cage, I've gotten him out a few times with millet spray and he completely changes! He will let me pet him, walk around with him, he's even been outside a bit. I'm hoping that by being really gentle and sweet with him he will warm up to the dreaded hand that invades his home.
Any and all advice will be appreciated!

 

[Ldelt]

A few pictures of Rico
I took some pictures so you can see the color on the lower part of his beak.

 

[Sterling1113]

Rico sure is a cutie.
What kind of food does he have? Pellets? My conures used to eat a multi-colored pellet, and they did the exact same thing. But they would eat all the blues first, then the reds, and so on. "pellet dunking" isn't abnormal. It's messy, but otherwise harmless from what I've experienced.
I did replace their water bowl with a water bottle though, and that helped with the mess. Now they don't eat colored pellets though, made it hard to see if something was wrong with their droppings, or if they happened to eat more yellow pellets that day hehe.

How is he sleeping at night? If my conures were up late, then they sleep/nap through most of the day. I wouldn't think too much of it since he's new and still adjusting.

Just keep talking with him and spending time with him, and if he comes out on his own(or with the enticement of a treat!) then good for him! With enough patience he'll warm right up to you.

 

[Ldelt]

*Whew*
Thank you so much you've really helped calm me down hehe. Just wondering what you feed yours? Great idea with the water bottle i'll have to try that! Is the yellow on his beak normal then from picking?
He sleeps all night! (And seemingly all day!) :20:

 

[Sterling1113]

It's probably just the food, anything colored(foods, toys, etc) are pretty good at staining everything they touch hah.
Mine get Roudybrush pellets and a KayTee rainforest foraging diet. They aren't too keen on fresh food, but they'll take nibbles of whatever I'm eating if it's healthy for them. Usually steamed veggie and the occasional scrambled egg hehe.
I like to assume mine sleep all night, but on nights where I just can't sleep, I'll hear them climbing/rustling around at like 5 AM. But maybe it's just cause they know I'm awake? Who knows hah.

 

[MonicaMc]

But I've noticed his beak is turning the color of his food on the edges..
Looks like his beak is peeling and pieces of food are building up where it's peeled.


At first he would grab one piece at a time and just keep doing that as he pleased but now he takes a piece, walks over to his water bowl and gets some water with the piece in his beak?
This is known as dunking. This is pretty normal! You can try softening the food prior to feeding it and this might help eliminate the dunking. Likewise, you could switch to a water bottle, although I would recommend offering both a bottle and a dish if you go that way. Some birds will go as far as trying to 'dunk' their food in the spout of the bottle, get it clogged up then they're without water and could dehydrate. They could accidentally drain all the water or the food may not allow the water to come through.


His food is mixed colors, and he ate all of the red ones first then the yellows.. Is this weird? Should I get a different food for him?
Ya, that's kind of normal, too... he's choosing his preferences and eating those first. It can be a great way to waste food if he decided he doesn't like one color. I would recommend a dye-free pellet. I've noticed that the dyes can cause runny droppings and rainbow colored poops - which is not a good sign! If your bird has a change in color of droppings, you may not be able to correctly tell the color change if his droppings are already dyed from the food.


He's been sleeping a lot during day and night but also yawning a lot, is that bad? Could he really be so tired? Maybe sick?
When in doubt, take him to an avian vet! It doesn't hurt to go just for your piece of mind! And if he really is sick, he can get treated!


I was warned when I got him that he hasn't been handled enough(?) so he is afraid when I put my hand in his cage. He will run to his bed or the opposite side of the cage, I've gotten him out a few times with millet spray and he completely changes! He will let me pet him, walk around with him, he's even been outside a bit. I'm hoping that by being really gentle and sweet with him he will warm up to the dreaded hand that invades his home.
Keep rewarding him with millet for coming out but don't force him to come out. Don't chase him around the cage and don't push into his stomach or lift his toes to get him to step up. If he was forced out of the cage before then he may have bad memories about coming out of the cage. If you make it a positive experience coming out then it will get easier to get him out of the cage.

 

[BoomBoom]

Also I want to add if you decide to switch to a water bottle, to make sure your bird grasps the concept of using it (to avoid death due to dehydration). Transition slowly. Also provide at least two or more water bottles in the cage in case the first one malfunctions. It's common for the ball mechanism to get stuck so that water doesn't come out.

Lastly, I prefer water bowls for extra stimulation whilst in the cage. Food dunking is pleasurable to them, bathing also provides relief and entertainment. Contamination is a possibility of course but I've always just replaced boomer's water twice (morning and after work) and he's blood, poop, yeast, gram stain exams were all normal. He got real sick once from bacterial infection but not because of water (it was either sick human, bad egg or yucky shower door).

 

[Zolseb]

The yawning may mean he's rearranging his crop.