Questions for all the GCC owners

[lwis]

Hi there.
I have been volunteering at a place that rehomes parrots for a while now and have the opportunity to get a Green Cheek Conure. Truth be told, I have more experience with the larger birds like macaws and greys, and I don't know a ton about GCC. I have met a few and have done some research on them, but all the information seems to be all over the board. I have met a couple who are quite nippy and nervous and seem to be poorly scialized. I have also met some that are quite sweet and not nippy at all. The one guy who I am thinking of taking home is still quite young, 5 month old maybe and he is not nippy and seems to be quite even tempered. Is this because he is still a baby, or would some of his personality be set? I have spoken to a few people who have these birds and they are delighted with them and can't say enough good things. I know every individual bird is different, but I just am afraid to get a bird that seems nice and then becomes a monster. This is not to say that I will not make an effort to work with a bird through his "teens", I have heard a few "horror stories" that make me a little nervous about getting this bird, or any bird for that matter. I would figure that if a bird is raised well from a baby and seems well socialized at 5 months, and is trick trained and continued to be socialized (wow, run-on sentence. sorry) it would have a pretty good chance of turning out to be a very nice adult bird. Like children, I would guess. Is that a fair statement? I don't know, I have done a ton of research on every type of parrot and have been spending 2 days a week at the bird store spending time with the birds, but now that I actually have the opportunity to take a little guy home and have gotten the okay from my housemates, I am quite nervous. Any advice would be much appreciated.
I wrote this in a rush this morning and have to go to work now, so this probably won't be the last post I make on this topic.
Thanks everyone!

[liz]

"Like children".

Kudos for volunteering.

[pennyandrocky]

i love my he is very sweet it took a week to get him to say i love you and only a few days to potty train. Everyone that comes to my house is ready for him to land on their shoulder or head and give them kisses. he taught me a song he likes to whistle so whenever he does it and i do it back he flies to me. i hope this helps with your desision.

[lwis]

Thanks. pennyandrocky, your little guy sounds like a wonderful little friend. What you've described does tilt the scales a bit in favour of taking a little GCC home.

Wow, I believe this message is also going to be a rather long one. sorry! But I appreciate those of you who take the time to read it and give me some advice.

I would like to ask everyone their opinion on my potential set up for the hypothetical GCC. Here is the situation -
Currently my boyfriend and I are living at his parents house while we are finishing college and university (about one more year to go for both of us) after that, we plan to get our own place. There are seven people in our household, an eight year old, a fourteen year old and five adults. We also have a cat. My plan, if I were to get this bird, would be to house him in a cage in our room during the day so the cats cannot bother him while we aren't there. If the cat seems to be okay with the bird and the bird okay with the cat, we could maybe put his cage in our living room. When we are home, we would let him out and spend time with him directly like playing/cuddling and training for a couple hours a day, and while we are studying or watching a movie or something, let him play on a play stand or a play area near us so we can supervise him.
I would like to socialize him with many people and familiarize him with many situations, including travelling, as I intend on maybe taking him with us when we go to visit my family once or twice a year. Also, the thought has crossed my mind that what if down the road we no longer have several hours to spend with him directly everyday (I know so many people give up their birds due to this reason, I don't think it is fair, and it also makes me sad), and I would be open to the idea of getting him a companion of his own kind if it ever came to that, but I hope it wouldn't. I just want to cover all my bases.
As far as sleeping goes, I was maybe thinking a covered sleep cage out of our room, as we sometimes stay up a little later to watch a movie or show before bed. I would like him to sleep in his cage in our room, but I don't want to keep him awake with noise. We never have the TV very loud because we don't want to keep anyone else awake, so I am wondering if the sound of athe tv on a very low volume in the evening would be okay sometimes, or do they need complete silence?

So, in a nut shell, I would essentially like to know:
1. if the housing would be sufficient
2. if the amount of time I have to offer him would be enough (some days we would have more time, but about an one and a half to two hours minimum would be directly spent handling him, not including out of cage independent play).
3. if the cat would be a huge problem (I know of many people who have cats and birds and it seems to work)
Any additional advice would be welcomed! I am just really nervous/excited and I want to make sure would be able to give the little guy everything he needs +.



Thank you!

[pennyandrocky]

the housing sounds fine if the bird is covered tv wont bother it,i have a dog and a cat and have never had a problem my birds are flighted though pennys former companion was not and was torn apart by 2 dogs at my aunts house thats how i got him they blamed him for chasing the other out of the cage, i am not sure how much time they need i am a stay at home mom but i got him as a companion for my and when he died he was on me 12hrs a day until we adopted mya now he prefers to spend most of the day with mya

[felix11]

I have two green cheeks who were brought up differently. One was raised entirely by me, and she will never nip. She is adorable, very quiet but also a little anxious (she will fly away if I try to grab her). The other (who is ridiculously cuddly, affectionate and much calmer than the other) picked up a few bad habits (in just a few months) from my boyfriends mother when she was a baby, and she will nip me when I stop petting her, and make an earsplitting 'peep' when she wants to come out of her cage. Very annoying.

Basically, even though these young two birds have had almost the same lives (give or take a few months), they have very different personalities (due to a mixture of genetics and very early life experiences). If your Green Cheek is only 5 months old and doesn't seem to have any behavioral problems then he sounds like he will be a very sweet companion. Get him!
If a bad habit appeared after you adopted him it would be caused by his POST-adoption situation, not a pre-set character flaw.

Also, your situation sounds totally fine in every respect. I love that you would consider getting him a companion (of the same species, I hope!) if you find yourself with less spare time.

[lwis]

Thank you very much for the advice. I feel much more reassured, and a little bit more confident in getting him. Still nervous, but more on the side of excited.
His wings are currently clipped, which I intend to grow out. I don't think it makes sense to clip a birds wings either, it is just unnatural. I know some people do it with what seems to be the best intentions, but I think if you are going to have a bird you have to deal with the fact that he can fly and might fly away if you aren't careful.
Anyway, that was my mini rant on that topic. Now, in saying that, I have heard it may take 6 months to a year for the wings to grow back fully, so I would keep a much stricter eye on him when he is out and the cat is around. Also, do you think, since he is young, he will be able to fly properly when they grow back? He currently tries to fly to something if he wants it, but he lands on the ground or I catch him before he hits. That must be so frustrating for him. I know with some older birds, if their wings were clipped for some time and are grown back, they either have too weak of muscles to properly fly or they haven't learned how. Do you think he will get the hang of it with a little bit of time?
Oh I really appreciate everyone's help! I am going to visit him today and am bringing my boyfriend to meet him on friday (I want to make sure they get along, and I also want my boyfriend to be a little excited before I bring the little guy home).
Still nervous, but so much more excited now!
I will keep you posted.

Thanks again

Leah

[dohcsvt]

We have a wonderful little GCC. We got him from a bigbox pet store at about 5 months old. Sadly he was neglected there (atleast in the attention department). He is a ball, very smart, cuddly, and cute. He says "I love you" and "mommy". He will sit with us for hours watching tv and eating popcorn. He is happy in his cage and out of his cage. However, he is nippy. Not all the time, but he has his moments. He is relatively quiet and almost never screams (unless my starts scream then the GCC will play monkey see monkey do). My wife works days and I work until 10:30 pm, so she uncovers him at about 6 am, and I cover him at about midnight. He is ok with this and it does not bother him. I love my sun conure, but the GCC just has a better personality, he loves to be with us and greatly enjoys interaction. If I had it to do again, I would definitely get another GCC.

[lwis]

So I have decided to get him!
I took my boyfriend to see him and, as I had expected, he pretty much fell in love with him. It was actually pretty funny. He(the bird) is coming home with us on Friday! Sooo soon! I am super excited, but still nervous! I hope he will be happy with his life here.
I will probably post something soon on the introduction page, and obviously will be asking many questions in near future. Any pointers and tips on these little guys is always welcomed. Thanks again everyone, for the input!
Eeek! Two days!

[dohcsvt]

Congratulations!! Iam sure that you willNOT regret this decision. Just make sure to give him all the love, attention, toys, and popsicles (our GCC L-O-V-E-S popsicles) that he needs. Keep us updated!