Green Cheek Conure questions

[christie]

Thanks for the responses!

I don't have a problem with the Senegal being bigger (and bigger beak), I have "baby sat" them before and I'm not afraid of their beak (but I am cautious, same as I would be of any beak).

When comparing the two, this is what I'm thinking about.....

Green Cheek Conure:

Pros:
1. I most likely will not have to purchase a new cage immediately. The cage I currently have is a flight cage about 2'Dx3'Lx3' H that worked pretty well for my parrotlet. I will probably change it later because it's a pain to clean, but should work for now.

2. They are smaller, which will probably make my apartment complex happier.

3. I'm a little nutty, I like a bird with attitude.......

Cons:
1. I'm worried about the "conure" part. As in noise level. (although I'm starting to believe from what all of you are telling me as long as I keep the training up and consistency I shouldn't have a screaming issue)


Senegal:
Pros:
1. Possibly better vocabulary (which is not a requirement, but is a nice bonus).

2. Possibly quieter than a GCC?? Which honestly is my biggest concern. I know all birds are noisy, there is no getting around that, but if I have one that screams loud and long and neighbors complain, there could be problems. I'm just trying to avoid it. I had no problems what so ever with my parrotlet. He made some noise, but not enough for the neighbors to even know he existed.

3. They are fun! I've really enjoyed baby sitting the ones I have.

Cons:
1. I will have to purchase a new cage (or two) right away.



So, I'm not really finding too many things I consider "cons" for either bird.


Oh, one other question about the Green Cheek. Can they be harnessed trained? Has anyone done that? This actually is something I really want to happen so I can take them outside more.

And how much more trainable (as in tricks and such) is the Senegal vs the GCC? I really like the concept of training being part of "play" time. I wish I knew more about it 15 years ago when I first got my parrotlet.

[Andromeda]

GCCs are quiet by conure standards. Mine only has 1 call that I would consider a "conure scream" and yes, it's very loud. He only does it when he's upset or scared. Sometimes he'll only do it for a few seconds but sometimes he'll carry on for minutes at a time. If he's doing it because he's unhappy (for example, he hates being in his cage) I ignore it and he stops eventually. If he's doing it because he's scared I talk to him softly and reassure him and he stops.

What's hilarious is that when we first adopted him if he started his "conure scream" because he was scared I'd tell him, "It's okay. It's okay." My husband would tell him, "Shhh. Shhh." Well, now when he sees something scary his routine is this: "It's okay. It's okay. Shhh. It's... K... It's... K... Shhh. Shhh. It's okay. Shhh." *CONURE SCREAM*

I lived in apartment for a year with my GCC and no one ever complained about the noise. I live in a townhouse now and no one has ever complained here, either. Conures are not good apartment birds because of their noise level but GCCs are the exception.

Yes, my Poi is quieter than my conure. None of his natural calls are nearly as loud as the "conure scream" from my GCC.

Both my GCC and my Poi talk. My GCC has a rough-sounding voice but you can still understand what he's saying. He says about 10 words and phrases. My Poi, on the other hand, has an extremely clear voice. He has a much larger vocabulary; he knows maybe 30 words and phrases. He also imitates several of my GCCs natural calls so well that visitors can't tell the calls apart (I can).

You can harness train a GCC. If you look around online you can find some videos of GCCs wearing a flight harness.

As far as tricks I'd bet that a GCC and a Senegal have equal training potential. I just started clicker training with my birds for the very first time last week. Six days ago my GCC had never heard a clicker, and I had never tried to train him, and now he will target a stick and turn in a circle when given the verbal cue "circle"! My Poi isn't picking things up as fast but that's because he's not as tame as my GCC. He's getting there, though; he'll target a stick and turn in a circle when I give him a hand signal; I'm working to get him to do it on a verbal cue, too.

[christie]

Andromeda, thank you! That's actually what I wanted to hear.

I find it funny how this "bird search" has been developing for me. I was originally going to just get another parrotlet, but in another color (Mu was a Pacific Green), but when I started looking at them I just couldn't do that. It felt too much like I was "replacing" him. So I ditched that idea.

I considered the budgie /lovebird /cockatiel route as well. But, well, I know they can be great birds, but many years ago (ha! another life time it feels like) I worked with many of those and I just did not care for them.

Then I thought of the Quaker - I did love those birds, in that life time in the past, but I also know how loud they can be. So I nixed that idea too.

Then I went to the Caique, and truthfully I would LOVE to have one, or even two since I know they actually do well in pairs as well and still bond well with their human. I loved their high energy and playfulness. And I liked hearing they can be pretty strong willed birds..... Funny how I actually LIKE that in a bird! But with my work schedule, even taking them with me when I can, I was worried I wouldn't be able to provide a Caique with what IT needed in a companion. Actually, I would still consider them if I could get two so they could entertain each other a bit, but there is no way two is in my budget.

Then I went to the pionus, but after doing more research I decided they were too laid back for me.

Finally comes the Senegal. I have worked/played with them before (but it has been a few years) and really enjoyed them. They are fun, intelligent, feisty and are more active than a pionus, but not as active as a caique. So I thought I had finally found my bird!

Ha! Now I meet this little Green Cheek and I think he's adorable! He is also fun, intelligent, feisty and more active than the pionus, but smaller! And ok, I'm on a budget, so being able to keep the same cages I had before helps a lot too! So now I think I have myself convinced that the Green Cheek is the way to go! lol, now I just need to find a breeder! I'm hoping there will be some at the bird show in April.

Thank you everyone that has replied to this thread!

[marie83]

To be honest I cant imagine many parrots that are quieter than my green cheek on the whole. Normally he just chunters and mumbles away to himself. He does have his moments but they are rare and seem pretty 'quiet' compared with other birds standards. I had a peach fronted conure and he was way louder.

Considering a quaker myself, I posted about it a few days ago and I think the 2 replies I've had say they are quieter than the green cheek but I find that hard to believe a parrot could be quieter than Ollie tbh.

Already ruled out caiques for myself as the noise they make is a bit too shrill for me.

Also considering a sennie for me but we will see, I've got at least another few months before I'm in a position to take another bird on though.

Good luck whatever you decide. Keep us updated

[christie]

By the way, do GCC use their feet like other parrots? Mostly I want to know if I'm going to have to make sure I have locking doors on the cage......

[marie83]

They do to eat, Ollie doesn't use his feet much for toys and stuff, I've never seen him trying to escape and he never has. If your worried at all its always better to be over cautious.

Speaking of toys, the one time Ollie gets really aggressive is when we try to give him foot toys out of his cage, he isn't really that bothered about them but you would think he was behaving like a possessive dog. I found no way to deal with the behaviour that worked so the only toys he has out of his cage now are ones that we hide treats in as these don't seem to make him want to attack us. Not sure if this is a greek cheeked thing or just an Ollie thing.

[Aloysius]

[quote="marie83"]To be honest I cant imagine many parrots that are quieter than my green cheek on the whole....Considering a quaker myself, I posted about it a few days ago and I think the 2 replies I've had say they are quieter than the green cheek but I find that hard to believe a parrot could be quieter than Ollie tbh.

I own a Quaker and I can totally believe that they are louder than GCCs. Actually, if I hadn't heard Macaws and Amazons before, I could easily believe that Quakers were the loudest bird that has ever populated the Earth. Okay, perhaps a bit of exaggeration there, but mine still does scream almost every time I leave the room. I am considering eventually getting either a Jardine's parrot or a cape parrot so when I go to college Shiloh will have another bird in the room with her.

[Aloysius]

To be honest I cant imagine many parrots that are quieter than my green cheek on the whole. Normally he just chunters and mumbles away to himself. He does have his moments but they are rare and seem pretty 'quiet' compared with other birds standards. I had a peach fronted conure and he was way louder.

Considering a quaker myself, I posted about it a few days ago and I think the 2 replies I've had say they are quieter than the green cheek but I find that hard to believe a parrot could be quieter than Ollie tbh.
)

I own a Quaker and I can totally believe that they are louder than GCCs. Actually, if I hadn't heard Macaws and Amazons before, I could easily believe that Quakers were the loudest bird that has ever populated the Earth. Okay, perhaps a bit of exaggeration there, but she still does scream almost every time I leave the room. I don't mind the screaming though, as long as it doesn't go on for hours. She will usually sop if I just ignore her. Plus, I'm training her so that if she's quiet, she'll know I will let her out. I usually get her out 4-6 hours a day. I am considering eventually getting either a Jardine's parrot or a cape parrot so when I go to college Shiloh will have another bird in the room with her.