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Green Cheek Conure gone sour, need help!

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Re: Green Cheek Conure gone sour, need help!

Postby Pajarita » Wed Aug 03, 2016 2:37 pm

Are you referring to this:

Quote
It is very deserved.

"GCC's are like cockatoos." That's a new one.
Unquote

And this doesn't really say anything of any value except give your personal opinion as a statement of fact. Now, your opinion could very well be a well-informed one but although you had a GCC in the past, I don't know where it is now, if you had only the one, how long you've had it, its gender or what your husbandry was, in detail (I did notice that you fed it pellets and that you caressed its back on a video you provided but that's about all I could tell). You then mention getting a baby sun conure but now you have a Sunday on your profile so...

And yes, GCCs are VERY much like cockatoos in that they need hours and hours and hours of one-on-one - they are both very needy species and, as such, very hard to keep happy in captivity. They just manifest their unhappiness in different ways... When cockatoos are unhappy, they pluck, scream like maniacs and even self-mutilate (I have two right now but had a total of five altogether) while, when GCCs are unhappy, they become aggressive and some of them also become screamers (two of the four I took in were biters and screamers, the other two were just biters).
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Re: Green Cheek Conure gone sour, need help!

Postby Cage Cleaner » Wed Aug 03, 2016 5:21 pm

Ok
Last edited by Cage Cleaner on Wed Mar 21, 2018 1:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Green Cheek Conure gone sour, need help!

Postby seagoatdeb » Wed Aug 03, 2016 5:37 pm

Pajarita wrote:Well, I've had four altogether - all of them came to me as adults and all of them were given up because of their aggression so I am not saying that they cannot be aggressive, they certainly can! Sheesh, Boca, a male that had been either severely neglected or perhaps even abused, was a HOLY TERROR! But in all four cases, the aggression disappeared in a matter of weeks -and that tells me that they are inherently sweet-natured.

What I am saying is that when they love and trust you, are content with their life and not overly hormonal, they are the sweetest little things! Super affectionate, easy going and wanting nothing else but to be cuddling with you all the time, never biting or even nipping. The problem is that the right GCC husbandry is hard to accomplish for anybody with a normal lifestyle or who doesn't do enough research about their diet and that's why they have gotten this 'nippy' reputation. But I don't think it's fair to label a species aggressive when the animal is merely reacting out of unhappiness and/or physical discomfort.


i cant agree with the cockaoo comparison, but i can agree how GGC are very cuddly, but they are a nippy species too. You have ony had 4 and they went into a house with many parrots. This would give them a lot of stimulus added to the fact that you are home all the time. They are a high stimulus species and a flock species. New parrot owners will be taking these parrots to homes with sometimes no other parrots and I am trying to give them a fair representation of how nippy they are as a species for a regular parrot owner who works for a living. i hate to see them wind up as rehomes.

They are a velcro parrot, and most people dont have enough time in their day for a velcro parrot, so they end up with a nippy parrot. When compared to average parrots in homes with very few parrots they rank as a nippy species because they are more nippy in the same situations. You have made valid points about how to make them happy, but that does not change the fact that they get nippy when they do not get enough stimulus. In the area I live in Green Cheeked Conures are constantly being rehomed.
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Re: Green Cheek Conure gone sour, need help!

Postby Wolf » Wed Aug 03, 2016 10:14 pm

I must admit that I have no experience with GCC's, myself and that all I know about them comes from reading about them either in reference type materials or in this and other forums and the general consensus has been worded as this species of parrot goes through a recurring nippy stage or that they are a nippy species f parrot. I must also say that these accounts on forums appear to be primarily from people that are out in the regular workforce and not from those who are able to be at home with them all day, except for some from people that work from home and due to their job requirements are still unable to spend most of their day with them.

This most definitely leads one to the conclusion that they are indeed " Velcro" type birds that require lots of personal one on one time and that if they get that attention that they feel more secure and would therefore be less unhappy and less nippy. More well adjusted, I would say.

However, many people get these birds without realizing just how much time and attention that they require and are unable to give the bird this much attention on a regular basis. This leads to the bird being more insecure and most likely the reason for them responding by nipping as much as they appear to do. This would suggest that it be emphasized that if their human or perspective human can not provide these birds with this level of personal attention daily or provide them with a suitable companion that they should be prepared to have a bird that is more nippy than most other species of parrots.
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Re: Green Cheek Conure gone sour, need help!

Postby Pajarita » Thu Aug 04, 2016 1:50 pm

seagoatdeb wrote:
Pajarita wrote:Well, I've had four altogether - all of them came to me as adults and all of them were given up because of their aggression so I am not saying that they cannot be aggressive, they certainly can! Sheesh, Boca, a male that had been either severely neglected or perhaps even abused, was a HOLY TERROR! But in all four cases, the aggression disappeared in a matter of weeks -and that tells me that they are inherently sweet-natured.

What I am saying is that when they love and trust you, are content with their life and not overly hormonal, they are the sweetest little things! Super affectionate, easy going and wanting nothing else but to be cuddling with you all the time, never biting or even nipping. The problem is that the right GCC husbandry is hard to accomplish for anybody with a normal lifestyle or who doesn't do enough research about their diet and that's why they have gotten this 'nippy' reputation. But I don't think it's fair to label a species aggressive when the animal is merely reacting out of unhappiness and/or physical discomfort.


i cant agree with the cockaoo comparison, but i can agree how GGC are very cuddly, but they are a nippy species too. You have ony had 4 and they went into a house with many parrots. This would give them a lot of stimulus added to the fact that you are home all the time. They are a high stimulus species and a flock species. New parrot owners will be taking these parrots to homes with sometimes no other parrots and I am trying to give them a fair representation of how nippy they are as a species for a regular parrot owner who works for a living. i hate to see them wind up as rehomes.

They are a velcro parrot, and most people dont have enough time in their day for a velcro parrot, so they end up with a nippy parrot. When compared to average parrots in homes with very few parrots they rank as a nippy species because they are more nippy in the same situations. You have made valid points about how to make them happy, but that does not change the fact that they get nippy when they do not get enough stimulus. In the area I live in Green Cheeked Conures are constantly being rehomed.


Seagoatdeb, I don't know if you realize it but you said the same thing I said with different words, namely, if you don't give them what they need to be content with their lives, they will become aggressive. The ONLY difference between what I say and what you say is that you are looking at it from the owner's perspective -'GCCs, as pets under normal circumstances, rank as a nippy species' - while I look at it from the bird's perspective -'GCCs are sweet but will turn nippy when owners cannot provide the care they need'. The comparison to cockatoos is not only the cuddliness they share but also the need for the many more hours of one-on-one they require compared to other species. I think it's a fair comparison when talking about their specific needs... especially if you take into consideration that, as you noted, GCCs are been rehomed all the time, same as cockatoos!
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Re: Green Cheek Conure gone sour, need help!

Postby seagoatdeb » Thu Aug 04, 2016 6:50 pm

Pajarita wrote:
seagoatdeb wrote:
Pajarita wrote:Well, I've had four altogether - all of them came to me as adults and all of them were given up because of their aggression so I am not saying that they cannot be aggressive, they certainly can! Sheesh, Boca, a male that had been either severely neglected or perhaps even abused, was a HOLY TERROR! But in all four cases, the aggression disappeared in a matter of weeks -and that tells me that they are inherently sweet-natured.

What I am saying is that when they love and trust you, are content with their life and not overly hormonal, they are the sweetest little things! Super affectionate, easy going and wanting nothing else but to be cuddling with you all the time, never biting or even nipping. The problem is that the right GCC husbandry is hard to accomplish for anybody with a normal lifestyle or who doesn't do enough research about their diet and that's why they have gotten this 'nippy' reputation. But I don't think it's fair to label a species aggressive when the animal is merely reacting out of unhappiness and/or physical discomfort.


i cant agree with the cockaoo comparison, but i can agree how GGC are very cuddly, but they are a nippy species too. You have ony had 4 and they went into a house with many parrots. This would give them a lot of stimulus added to the fact that you are home all the time. They are a high stimulus species and a flock species. New parrot owners will be taking these parrots to homes with sometimes no other parrots and I am trying to give them a fair representation of how nippy they are as a species for a regular parrot owner who works for a living. i hate to see them wind up as rehomes.

They are a velcro parrot, and most people dont have enough time in their day for a velcro parrot, so they end up with a nippy parrot. When compared to average parrots in homes with very few parrots they rank as a nippy species because they are more nippy in the same situations. You have made valid points about how to make them happy, but that does not change the fact that they get nippy when they do not get enough stimulus. In the area I live in Green Cheeked Conures are constantly being rehomed.


Seagoatdeb, I don't know if you realize it but you said the same thing I said with different words, namely, if you don't give them what they need to be content with their lives, they will become aggressive. The ONLY difference between what I say and what you say is that you are looking at it from the owner's perspective -'GCCs, as pets under normal circumstances, rank as a nippy species' - while I look at it from the bird's perspective -'GCCs are sweet but will turn nippy when owners cannot provide the care they need'. The comparison to cockatoos is not only the cuddliness they share but also the need for the many more hours of one-on-one they require compared to other species. I think it's a fair comparison when talking about their specific needs... especially if you take into consideration that, as you noted, GCCs are been rehomed all the time, same as cockatoos!


This forum is seen by many so that is why I am mentioning this from owners perspective as what you said could have scewed their understanding of what to expect from a GGC. They differ greatly from a cockatoo, a cockatoo is more inclined to pluck, and a conure is more inclined to nip. The cockatoo is a much clearer talker. GGC is more flock oriented, and needs more stimulation that way. They are both velcro, but a conure likes to cuddle or get any kind of attention, and a cockatoo lives to love and cuddle....so I see more differences than similarities.
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Re: Green Cheek Conure gone sour, need help!

Postby Pajarita » Fri Aug 05, 2016 12:04 pm

Seagoatdeb, I don't think you are reading my postings correctly. I only compared both species need for more hours of attention than other species, not whether they are good talkers or not as it was not germane to the issue of aggression or the cause of it which was the subject of the thread.

And GCCs don't really need other parrots to be happy (it is, of course, ideal for them to have a flock of their own and much better if they have a mate but this is true of ALL parrot species, not only GCCs). They can be very happy with the right husbandry and a single human as long as the human is there all the time and is willing to give them the attention they need. I rehomed Leo, a single male that came to me from Texas because he screamed all the time and had turned aggressive not only to his human but also to other birds, to a household with no other parrots and he is as happy as any parrot can be in captivity. He doesn't scream or bite at all any longer and I know this for a fact because I see him two or three times a year. I provide his gloop and, sometimes, when they are on their way to or from Pennsylvania where his family lives -they live in Manhattan- they stop by and I get to visit with him for a little while and he is still as sweet as he was when he was here with me.
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Re: Green Cheek Conure gone sour, need help!

Postby seagoatdeb » Fri Aug 05, 2016 4:15 pm

Pajarita wrote:Seagoatdeb, I don't think you are reading my postings correctly. I only compared both species need for more hours of attention than other species, not whether they are good talkers or not as it was not germane to the issue of aggression or the cause of it which was the subject of the thread.

And GCCs don't really need other parrots to be happy (it is, of course, ideal for them to have a flock of their own and much better if they have a mate but this is true of ALL parrot species, not only GCCs). They can be very happy with the right husbandry and a single human as long as the human is there all the time and is willing to give them the attention they need. I rehomed Leo, a single male that came to me from Texas because he screamed all the time and had turned aggressive not only to his human but also to other birds, to a household with no other parrots and he is as happy as any parrot can be in captivity. He doesn't scream or bite at all any longer and I know this for a fact because I see him two or three times a year. I provide his gloop and, sometimes, when they are on their way to or from Pennsylvania where his family lives -they live in Manhattan- they stop by and I get to visit with him for a little while and he is still as sweet as he was when he was here with me.
. I am reading your posts correctly, but i dont see those two as very similar at all and there are more species that need aa lot of attention. You are basing your view on 4 GGC. I am basing mine on more than that and some are sweet and not very nippy, and some go through nippy periods all through their life. They are much better with lots of attention, but they are a nippy species. New owners should know that and be prepared for it.
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Re: Green Cheek Conure gone sour, need help!

Postby Pajarita » Sat Aug 06, 2016 10:51 am

I did not even know you have had GCCs, how many have you had?
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Re: Green Cheek Conure gone sour, need help!

Postby seagoatdeb » Sat Aug 06, 2016 6:59 pm

Pajarita wrote:I did not even know you have had GCCs, how many have you had?


I have been on this forum long enough you should already know. All parrots are nippy, and if you own one you are likely to get bit. GGC are nippy. All the sites say Pois are nippy, but in my experience GGC are much more nippy than Pois.
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