brought home the new yellow sided baby

[loriwoo]

HI!
My name is Lori and just todayI brought home a 14 week yellow sided conure.
She is ADORABLE and seems quite tame and loving, but I have never had a YOUNG bird before and am looking for tips for getting her to talk, (some people say they do, some say they don't)
what words are easiest to start with?
Her name is C.C., is that going to be easy for her to say?

what kind of treats to offer,
what kinds of climbing toys or swings she needs,,
I have all the foraging toys down, my Quaker is a plucker so I have all that stuff, but no real just TOYS...
I am aware of the dangers of candles, etc., but would like specific ideas on training for little C.C, and gosh, she seems SO LITTLE, how much playing can I actually do with her?
also,,
tips on the first week of her new home,,cage size, trick (!?! they do tricks?!)etc.

Thank you so MUCH!
Lori and C.C.

[Emmilyy]

Hey! Congrats on your Green Cheek Conure!

Green Cheeks are alot of fun. They're playful, sweet, and entertaining! I dont think you will regret CC! they CAN talk, but don't expect it. If I were you i would expect her NOT to talk, and then if she ends up talking, you can be pleasantly surprised! :) My girl doesn't talk, but i know Jag's C-GCC can say a buncha things!

one downside to GCC's is that they are usually nippy. You can deal with this, though. I personally haven't had to deal with it, but i'm sure you will find lots of things by doing search that will help you, if you need to.

Hmmm.. toys.. well, you're going to have to try all different kinds until you find out what she likes best. try some shredding toys, chewing ones, ones with bells.. anything! oh, and lots of GCC's really like foot toys! they're a hit with my girl! And of course foraging ones, but you said you already have those taken care of.

Make sure you have 4-5 different perches in the cage.. different sizes and textures.. a few natural wood ones would be great. She'll need these to excercise her feet... and you asked about cage siize.. does this mean she doesn't have one yet? the general rule is, the bigger the better. Get the biggest one you can find (the HQ flight is great -check out this one, too Bird Aviaries & Flight Cages: Economical Clean Life Flight Cages) just make sure the bar spacing is no bigger than half an inch so she can't get her head stuck. Conures are active little buggers, and will use every inch of their cage.

Food.. well, what do you feed your Quaker? From what i know, their diet needs aren't very different.. just remember that fresh foods should make up the bulk of the diet.

have fun with her!

[Jag]

Congrats on your new GCC! Yes, Rayne has broken the 'norm' and says quite a few things for a GCC. Today she started saying "Stop". Hmm... She just started talking. I did nothing. Unless you count talking to her all the time. She said 'Step up' first after I'd had her for two weeks. She was five months old. Don't expect her to talk at all.

Emily has it on the toys... I go with smaller toys (tiel size) mainly because they have small beaks. I get a lot of shredder type things. I also use a lot of rope perches and a boing in her cage because she loves to bounce. Rayne is a little hyper. She looks like Tigger going through her cage! I also use a sleep cage because the first cage I got when I got her wasn't big enough, and I like having her in my room to sleep.

I use Roudybush mini pellets, a small amount of seed mix, and a dehydrated fruit/veggie/nut/etc. mix. Then they get fresh foods too. One of her perches is a calcium one. She likes to chew on it as well as play on it. They need a decent amount of out of cage time. We have to rotate because we have birds that I don't trust out together. I'd not let your Quaker out with your GCC. GCC's tend to believe they are big birds and will go right up to and possibly challange a bigger bird. Quakers tend to be a little on the boisterous side... and I think they could hurt a GCC rather quickly.

Do you have the GCC in quarantine? If not, that would be the first place to start. You don't want sick birds on your hands. Yes, you can play with her... some GCC's really like to play rough (after they're comfortable of course!). She may seem small, but she won't act it... and this is likely to be the size she's going to stay except for filling out some!

[loriwoo]

Thank you so much!
Currently, she is in a 20X22 inch cage while she is in quarantine, but I have to say, quarantine is HARD,, and I think I goofed up already.
I say this because although i wash my hands and the birds are not sharing toys or surface, I did not change my shirt from playing with one then the other.
It has happened several times before I realized it.
BUT on the other hand, my QP has been an only bird since I have had him, a year and a half, and I don't' expect CC has anything contagious since the breeder was so clean and the birds all healthy, so I am hoping it will be OK that I did not change my shirt. SHould I in the future? That will be hard...

I have a larger cage for CC, but will wait til she is more used to me reaching in to get her before I put her in it. That said, next week is the bird fair, and I sure would like to have a powder coated cage with an apron on it to catch debris,,,,so I will look for something like that. I will check out the link on the cage suggested thank you for that!
Thanks for all of your help! I am lucky, she definitely does NOT nip,, she is really sweet and the breeder said this particular one did not nip.
Hopefully she won't start!
Lori

[SisterBlue]

All I will say is that they will choose which words to repeat, and it won't always be the ones that you want them to, LOL! That said, 4 of our birds say "what are you doing?" and "gimme a kiss" - the G2, the Hahns, the Sun, and one of the 'tiels - because we say those things to them all the time.

Just talk to her lots and one day soon she might surprise you!

-SB

[LovelySydney]

Congrats on your new bird! Lots of great information here for you to consider, keep us posted.

[loriwoo]

1/2 inch bar spacing, thanks so much, good to know,, she does have a little head so wouldn't want her to get hurt.

And so a bit of grape and corn and pumpkin seeds are OK for treats right?

OK, questions,, turning her over in my hand,,I can do this if I cup her back and then just turn her over, is this what the "trick" means when it says to teach your bird to lay on it's back?

If I take the little support away that my fingers give to sort of cradle her there, what will she do? Should I continue to cradle her and then just flip my hand back over carefully to right her?

Is this a good way to keep her tame? Or does she not like being turned over? She lays still and the breeder did it and showed me. It is the main reason I bought her! So should I keep doing this to keep her tame, and what do I progress to from there as far as doing the "trick" of laying on her back?

That is the only question I am going to ask for now, but there are MORE you can be sure of that!
Lori

[Emmilyy]

Some birds are comfortable with being on their backs in your hand, and some aren't.. I think its a trust thing. I wouldn't force her to lay on your back like that, but if she wants to, thats great! you could try laying her like that for a few seconds, and then bring her up and kiss her and praise her, and give her treats! (if she likes that kind of interaction..)..

Good luck!

[moose3]

i think the easiest word to teach
at first is ''hellow'' thats the first
my B@G learned.anyway
Congratz to your new bird!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jag]

The best way to keep your young friend 'tame' is to interact with her and handle her every day! There's not one specific thing that you need to do to accomplish that. Rayne lays on her back to play... she rough houses often. I've had her for 10 months.. and I can do just about anything with her. Of course this is subject to her mood, if she's molting, etc. Congrats on your baby!