Females vs. Males?

[pineapplemango]

Hello all!

I'm looking into buying my first ever Green Cheeked Conure (and my first ever bird of any kind, actually!). After looking at lots of different ones, I found a male Pineapple GC for sale through a breeder, and decided he was the one for me. Well, once I went to the breeder to pick him up, the breeder discovered that he was actually a she! He had misread the leg band numbers before, but once he looked up the correct number, he saw that its DNA testing showed female.

Now, because I've never owned any bird in my life, I really wasn't sure what to think. In all of my research before choosing a bird, I had read about egg binding and had also been told by one bird shop owner that males are nicer in general, so I had decided on getting a male. Now, I'm not sure what to think. The breeder does not currently have any others for sale, and any I have seen at Petco or Petsmart have not been DNA tested.

I figured the best way to make an informed decision would be to get the opinions of other GC owners. Have you noticed a difference in personality in males vs. females? If you own a female, does she get aggressive or cage territorial if or when she lays eggs? The breeder told me that most likely she will think I'm her mate and will want to share the eggs with me. And finally, how common is egg binding really?

Thanks for any help you can provide!

[Carbon]

Originally Posted by pineapplemango

The breeder told me that most likely she will think I'm her mate and will want to share the eggs with me.

I like mine scrambled, thanks!

[Emmilyy]

Hmm.. i dont really know the answer to your question.. I have a GCC, but Cookie is not DNA tested.. (even though i refer to her as a she) i think i would get the little girl if i were you..

[MLaCross]

There is not much of a difference in personality, not enough to worry about in my opinion. As long as you don't encourage nesting behavior, the chances are your female wont even lay eggs. The only real difference is your female will need more calcium which is simple to give. There are cuttle bones, which you can often find flavored. There are also calcium rich foods which they should be fed anyway. I wouldn't think being a female would be a reason to be discouraged if you like this bird!

[LovelySydney]

I dont think there is a difference at all as far as personality in the different sexes. I dont know whether Neko is a boy a girl (especially after he tried to mate with my bf's head) but he is the sweetest little bird ever. I think it just depends on the time you spend with the bird and how much attention they are getting. If you were getting a lovebird I would say "get the male!" LOL but with GCC's, either sex I think is wonderful.

[Renae]

I've been around both males and females, I don't see any difference in them at all.

[perchingbird]

Egg binding isn't THAT common. Egg-laying isn't THAT common either, and egg binding is far less likely than egg laying. :D

The problem with egg binding is that the signs are subtle, so many people may not notice them. Provided you know your birds' behavior and learn the signs of egg binding you'll be fine. It's.. like heart attacks. People have them all the time but don't go to the doctor because they didn't recognize the signs!

I'm on my third female bird, and haven't had an egg-binding yet. And the two tiels laid eggs!

[CRToon83]

As they have said... not much difference. I got a female green cheek, I was wanting a male, I was worried about the same you were. Without any nesting material or a mate to stimulate them, egg laying is rare. If you feed a good quality pellet and have a cuttle bone in the cage, it's doubtful you'll ever have to worry about binding. As far as egg laying, if it happens, you just leave them in the cage, and after a couple of days the female will lose interest when she realizes they're infertile. The most common case of egg binding is when the eggs are removed right away, so instinctively the bird will lay more to replace them. This will deplete the calcium and could cause an egg bound bird. I say go for her.

[pineapplemango]

Thanks for all the input! You definitely helped put my mind at ease a bit if I do get the female! :)

I have also been thinking about a couple of things since leaving the breeder's... For anyone who has ever bought from a breeder, is it common for their birds to be housed outside? I didn't get to go in the backyard myself, but he told me that all of the birds stayed outside, and I could see a few in cages through the window. It's Southern California, so obviously it doesn't snow or anything like that. Also, the breeder does not test for any illnesses such as chlamydia. He says he usually sells wholesale so I guess the pet stores or dealers that buy from him usually take care of any health check ups. Should I be concerned about a bird that's been outside that's never had a check up? She looked healthy as far as I could tell.

Sorry to ask more questions, it's just hard to get straight answers from anyone else I've spoken to, and I can't find any of this type of info in Conure books! Thanks again everyone!

[Dusty73085]

I know the breeder you are talking about. In Long Beach, right?