New Conure Mommy here!

[PeekABoo_Too]

Well my oldest son and I went to pick out our GCC today. It was tough because two of the babies just loved us to pieces, but we finally settled on one (for now). My heart ached so bad when we had to put the other one away because she was so mellow and sweet - she wouldn't climb off my hand to go back in her cage so I had to put her in her cage and then as soon as I closed the door she jumped right onto the door and stayed there calling to me!!! But the one we chose seemed spunkier somehow while still playful and affectionate and my son just adored her so she's coming home with us on Friday! I am so nervous and excited, I've already read the Conure Handbook cover to cover, and the Guide To Your Happy Healthy Pet Conure, so what other books should I pick up to read between now and Friday? Anything I should know going in that I might not have read in the books? Stuff that you wouldn't know until you actually LIVED with a GCC?? My experience with parrots thus far is limited to cockatiels so feel free to drop the science on me, lol. Can't wait to join you all here and get some pics up!

[Sweet FX]

Congrats. Sounds iike a great choice. I can not wait to see the pics and hear his/her name.

[tonia1961]

Congrats on your baby-to-be!! I have a Jenday....and he/she is a sweet bird....although loud. I hope you have lots of fun with your new baby and please share the details when you can!! By the way.......I've chosen a cockatiel as my new baby that will be coming home in the next week or so. He/she is a cinnamon pearl pied.......and just beautiful!!! Any cockatiel wisdom you have to share with me would be appreciated too!! :D

[Valo's Moirana]

another GCC-slave.... congrats

hmm... what that you should know that you can't find in books *thinking* well, you'll find it in books, but i'll point it out nevertheless - they can be nippy. so be prepared for that. it's a matter of being consistent and keeping them entertained. they love to play.... i got valo towel trained really well by just playing with him in towels.... they love bathing and snuggeling - and you ALWAYS have to watch them when they're out of the cage as they constantly try to get themselves into troubles...

that's all i can think of right now keep us posted

[PeekABoo_Too]

Well we brought our new baby home Friday evening and compared to our 'tiel, man is s/he active! lol

We named her E.J. after my friend Eric Joseph Lappegard who died in late July from complications after rolling his car July 7th. He was one of the dearest, sweetest people I have ever had the honor of calling friend, a passionate animal-rights advocate and a tried-and-true vegan - more so than many, I believe.

Gavin (my 6 year old) and I had been running through names for days, and especially in the car on our way to go get our baby. We couldn't manage to agree on anything and then I thought of Eric and missing him and suddenly E.J. popped in my head. I blurted it out expecting Gavin to shoot it down but to my surprise he LOVED it. So E.J. it is.

E.J. is such a fun little bird - we call her 'she' though we have no idea what her gender is. 'She' is smaller than our cockatiel! Noise-wise, she is really quiet. She mostly sounds like a really loud cricket when she's just chatting with us, but when we leave the room she screeches for us. Nothing ear-splitting, just sounds about like a parakeet on steroids, lol. I almost wish she were a little louder, do they get more vocal as they become accustomed to their new surroundins? I hope so.

She is quite the acrobat which makes her incredibly entertaining! She is constantly performing these dazzling feats for her new audience who can't help but 'oooh' and 'aaahhh' over her. We all know that we must start as we mean to go on, but it is hard to refrain from watching her constantly, yk? She really seems to like her new home so far, she even plays with all her toys which is something our 'tiel won't do (Peek has two toys she will actually play with, the rest just sit and wait for her to notice them). E.J. doesn't seem to know what to do with her Happy Hut, however. She will sit on top of it, or nestle beside it, but not go IN it at all. But she has never had one before so I guess she needs to figure it out.

I just cannot get over her activity level! I love it!

Hopefully I will get a computer one of these days here and be able to put up some pics for you all...

[Valo's Moirana]

first of all - i'm glad you're happy with her... they are fun loving, entertaining, adorable, sweet, cuddly, active, wonderful, amazing little birds (no, i'm not partial )

among the conures, the GCCs are the most quiet - which means, that a tiel will definitely out-perform their noise level. as they get more comfortable in their environment, you might realize a little increase in noise level, but they're simply put not very loud (especially compared to other conures - God bless ms. bella girl )

sometimes it takes a while for them to figure out what that hut is really for.... LOL. valo snuggled next to it for a while before actually going in it... the fact that she's on/next to it, is great - even if she never goes it, just leaning against it might be comfort enough for her at night.

sounds like, EJ is settling in just wonderfully... congrats (love the name, btw)

edit: oh yes - we do need some pics

[CrazyforCockatiels]

Congrats on E.J.! Can't wait to see photos. What a lovely tribute to your friend.