New Green Cheek Conure

[jane19]

Wolf>>

I don't feed them kidney, lima, or navy beans because I don't like them myself. I give them soy, adzuki, mung beans mainly, sometimes chickpeas when we make indian dishes, the rest are the usual microgreen seeds, alfalfa, mustard, broccoli and the sort. The horrible toxin that has been talking about on the internet has been used to inject in to baby parrot's skin to test for immune response. Guess a small amount won't kill them provided that their immune system is working well. If my birds get sick by eating something nasty, I trust their ability to learn not to next time. There is only so much I can control.

It's good that you remind people on the forum that some uncooked beans are not good for you and your birds.

[Wolf]

Most things that are toxic are such that the bird can handle a small amount of them, but that is where the problem begins. Which of these toxins will pass harmlessly in small amounts and which ones will sit there in the bird until it reaches a level of toxicity that it begins to cause problems for the bird or reaches fatal levels ? I really don't know, so I simply advise that these items are on the toxic list and leave it to the bird owner to make the right choices for themselves and hopefully for their bird.

[lee ireland]

from what i understand about younger birds is they need to explore everything with their beaks and tongue in order to feel and experience textures ect, just like a baby exploring through the mouth..

my new green cheek is the same, very nippy, doesnt seem to bite but more nips and nibbles, my advice is to move away after the bite, nip or nibble has taken place, if you move during the bird will either be scared of the fingers and hand or the problem will only get worse because then the bird thinks it can rule you, also from what iv seen, read and experienced so far is these birds like to demand nip in order to get what they want,

simple just move after the action has happened then go about your day completely ignoring it either until the next session or next day depending on how hard it was, birds arent stupid and seem to be testing us during the early stages so even without having to create another negative action just walking away with no more attention places an understanding that iv just bit too hard so i dont get any fuss,

from my experience so far birds remember the last negative or positive action that taken place from the last session so if you leave in a positive setting such as the bird was taking food out of the hand nicely you will expect to be moving forward, if the bird bites you and you punish it negatively then it remembers what you done the last time it interacted with you

always look for signs that the bird is focused in the session, any slight sign the focus has stopped or any signs of discomfort you need to simply finish or wait for another positive outcome of that session and this can be anything, because then everytime you leave its left with a positive outlook, as the bird has lots of time to think im pretty sure that positive action will be something that is thought about ( this tactic has done wonders for me so far )

from what iv experienced with my bird is when trying to do the step up using a stick is working the best because if you scare the bird with the stick its afraid of the stick and stays the same with your hand, if you use your hand and scare or annoy it with your hand it will be loosing trust with it setting you back further

iv found this to be true with my bird anyway, i use the stick and if it runs off it just stays scared of the stick but yet lets my hand come close, iv also had to grab my bird twice when its been out however i used a towel covering my hands and yep my bird was still taking treats from my hand after that, i place this down to the fact my hand wasnt actually touching it but rather was the towel, also now my bird is 100% scared of towels lol, it had to be done though but i will break this fear after iv tamed my bird

im no where experienced at all iv shared only what iv experienced with my own green cheek that iv had nearly 3 weeks

lee

[Pajarita]

Please do more in depth research on soybeans. Although most studies out there point to positive dietary outcome, in reality, 99% of them were paid by the soybean producers so, personally, I don't put a whole lot of trust in them. Soy is poisonous in its natural state and nature never meant for it to be eaten (no bird ever eats soybeans in the wild), this added to the goitropic and estrogenic side effects and the fact that there is virtually no soy that is not GMO make them VERY iffy in my mind. I don't feed soy products to any of my animals and, if you look at the best and most expensive pet foods, you will find that none of them have soy... quite telling, no?

[jane19]

Please do more in depth research on soybeans. Although most studies out there point to positive dietary outcome, in reality, 99% of them were paid by the soybean producers so, personally, I don't put a whole lot of trust in them. Soy is poisonous in its natural state and nature never meant for it to be eaten (no bird ever eats soybeans in the wild), this added to the goitropic and estrogenic side effects and the fact that there is virtually no soy that is not GMO make them VERY iffy in my mind. I don't feed soy products to any of my animals and, if you look at the best and most expensive pet foods, you will find that none of them have soy... quite telling, no?

Soybean sprouts are fine, just not the raw beans. In case anyone wants to know mung bean sprouts are not okay raw, at least for humans. As for the soy content, I don't buy pet food so I don't notice those things. I only know that almost all livestocks in commercial settings are fed lots of processed soy and corn.

[Wolf]

If you will just do the research you will find that some bids are having allergic reactions to soy and soy products which is why I don't chance it with my birds.