New Green Cheek Owner! Help!

[Alyx]

Truly adorable

[Stellas Mom]

Actually, I think he's cuter than the average GCC!!!

All things went well last night. Once hubby came home, Stella was all his. The difference was, I didn't fight it this time and all went well!

I caught the signs! I went near them and Stella got all puffy... but this time, I knew that backing off was my best bet... mostly because I like my fingers with all the skin on them! LOL

You're right about the books, I got one and it was very informative about
the right foods, nuts etc. but other than that, I learned so much more on here!... Big thanks to you too!

Hubby already has 2 "bird shirts" .... we didn't realize what this guy can do to white cotton tshirts! Now we know!

We're off to a pet store today to get him some goodies..... he has lots of toys but I want to get him some new fun! and maybe another swing that I can hang outside his cage somewhere and that I can also hold for him so we can play!. I also hear that we should get him one of those beak pokers LOL.. not sure what they are called but its something that they can rub their beak on. We also have 2 budgies (not sure if I've mentioned that) I get them coddle bones for their beaks and I want to get the Parrot version for Stella.
So Stella shopping we shall go!

Have a great day!
M

[Stellas Mom]

OK.... I just witnessed something VERY strange! LOL....

I put Stella on his poop perch (I picked one out of many in his cage designated for that) anyhoo, He did his thing! HOWEVER, he began to rub himself on the rope and hung with his tale against the rope.... (how to explain this) almost like 1/2 upside own.... I believe he was doing his private boy business... but i'm not sure..... Is this what I saw? if so, wow, he should be more private! OR what else could it be? This is a new one for me!

[NotEnoughTime]

Hi "Stella's Mom" - I replied to your thread in the Conure section but didn't realize you had one here as well....

If your "guy" is a "guy" then your should probably get used to it... But you can do things to dissuade him (if he is not too far gone). Toys and activities are the best - IMO "a tired bird is a good bird" and if he is toooo tired then that means his "activities" will be reduced. I believe in flight as a good activity - so (if he is reasonably flighted) teach him to come to your forefinger with a treat. 20 minutes or so a day will make him too tired to think of anything else... At least at first!!

As for potty training - quite a bit of the training involves training "us" knowning as to when the bird needs to go. Once both of us are trained (the bird and you) then mistakes are few and far between... But it is a two-way street...

Good luck!

[Alyx]

Sounds like things are coming together!! I'm not sure you'll find an alternative to the cuddle bone for parrots, or at least not that I'm aware of. Pogo doesn't use it often thankfully, it makes a horrible noise like nails on a chalkboard. Potty training, like NotEnoughTime said, is definatley a two way street, and shy of walking around with a blanket over your shoulder I can offer little advice. Sometimes I think she does it out of spite! And as for your other issue, that is a behaviour I have never witnessed with Pogo, but then again I have no clue what her sex is. Although I think, for no other reason than well, it's just my opinion, Pogo is a girl. The action I have been discouraging is when she put's her tail up and pushes her tushie towards me and starts making odd chirping noises, maybe I'm reading it wrong:P

Keep the stories coming!!

[NotEnoughTime]

I missed the cuttle bone in the above comments...

For both my Budgerigar (budgie) and Cockatiel cuttle bones were well-used... But cuttle bones were simply decorations in my cage for both my Parrotlet and my Green Cheek. I have removed them from the cage as a result.

Calcium is provided by way of Yogurt and calcium rich veggies (broccoli, kale, bok choy). I provide natural wood branches (usually grapevine - cleaned - but with bark still on them) for chewing and beak cleaning (ensure no molds are growing on branches - birds are very suceptible to molds from what I've read). I also have one food bowl that is "rough" or unglazed on the outside that my Green Cheek uses on occasion to rub her beak on.

My Green Cheek is pretty good at finding places to clean/trim her beak - so diet has concerned me more...

[Alyx]

Glad to hear that about the cuttle bone NotEnoughTime, I suddenly had that feeling, a feeling I get often reading about other bird parents, that I had some how failed Pogo again. The cuttle bone really is nothing more than decoration for Pogo, and now I'm going to toss it!! I always thought it was rather unsightly anyway. Now as for cleaning her beak, well, how do you keep strawberry off there beak? LOL

[NotEnoughTime]

Hmmm - strawberries are apparently high in pesticide - so she only gets them "in season" (from our garden).

Anything that sticks to her beak I usually just scratch off with a fingernail if she can't do it herself (she does a very good job though). If I help with her "beak cleaning" she seems to enjoy the process - closing her eyes and pushing her head forward for a full "head scratch." Sometimes I just give her a "beak rub" with my fingernail and she just seems to love it...

[Alyx]

Good note on the pesticide, ours are also from the garden but frozen fresh to be enjoyed all winter!

[Stellas Mom]

Sorry for not responding the posts over the weekend. So far its been a crazy week and this is first time I've been able to play online!...SO, firstly, I want to say THANK YOU! to everyone that replied to my post. I really appreciate any and all advise, comments or suggestions about GCC's....

I went to a Pet Store (we're in Toronto, Ontario... Canada) and I saw so many fun things! I didn't end up getting the cuttle bones. Before going to the pet store, I read a couple posts and decided to check if Stella even likes them and I remembered I just got my budgies a new one so I took it from them.. LOL. Stella didn't get interested at all. Needless to say, the budgies got their bone back!.. and I saved some money thanks to you guys!
I did however buy him a cuttle like stick that supposto have pineapple bits etc., but is also rough like a cuddle bone.... well its official a new perch and thats it!..

I also saw something strange! A leash for a bird... WOW, are you kidding me. Which brought up my next question to you guys! Firstly, I'm not sure how I feel about the bird leash but I'd like to know, do any of you take your birds on outtings? My office is a 10 minute drive and it got me thinking that maybe I should be taking Stella out for a few hours... am I doing the wrong thing not having him out?.... Is it safe to take him out for a bit? Is it even a good idea? OK, sorry, thats actually way more then one question! If you do take him out, is it with a leash? I didn't get to see how it would work, I just saw the boxes that said bird leashes. For some reason I'm thinking its just not right to leash a bird.... Any input would be greatly appreciated! I just want to do the right things in the best interest of Stella.

Quick update on Stella. He's great! So much fun! Hardly any poop mistakes! The only complaint I have is that when my fiancee comes over, Stella doesn't know who I am... I'm sucking it up and living with it! (thanks Alyx for straightening that out for me!)

ALSO, I never realized that theres messages to this post somewhere else on this system. I didn't know! So if you wrote a post reply to me not here, I don't know how to find it in another forum! Still Newbie!

have a great night! I can't wait to hear your views on taking them outside the home..

Hugz
Marilyn