*in urgent need of help*--new bird person on the loose;)!

[smoura123]

hi:)
i got a 9 wk old green cheek conure the other day (called milo) and everythings going alright so far..
ive just got a whole load of questions for you bird people out there..
milo is really cute and sweet and everything and i dont want to make him sick by not looking after him properly! i dont know what veggies and fruits he can have, how to teach him to 'step up' and 'step down', how to make him trust me, when to bath him and also he doesnt make that much noise. like i said hes only 9 wks old but should be making more noise? he makes a little noise when i speak to him, leave the room and enter the room. is that a good sign like hes saying 'hi' or is he saying 'get the heck away i dont like you'??! he also screeches a bit when i switch out the lights at night (hes in my room so hes not alone all night) and yeah is that normal? is he scared of the dark? i have noo idea..
quick replies would be great!
thanks!
sofia and milo

[TheNzJessie]

first of all congratulations! conures make great pets can i ask how long you have had him, depending on his personality he could take a while to settle in.

on the foods list avoid anything with caffine and sugar so any sodas, coffee even tea has caffine in it. also avocado is a no no never let him have avocado

i always buy organtic food for my birds and most is homegrown, (silverbeat, apple,s pear, plum) make sure you take the seeds out of fruits. dark leavy green vegetables are high in iron. i try to offer a mixture of 2-3 different fruits and veges a day. but thats up to you.

[smoura123]

thanks! yeah hes really good and qite friendly..apart from when he accidently beaks too hard!
hes 9 wks old and i got him yesterday
he lets my touch him without running away but he wont easily leave the cage and come onto my finger..is this normal? i was also wondering how you make your bird trust you because i really want him to trust me and let me pick him up and take him around the house and all that..
p.s. thanks for your reply!!!:)
sofia and milo

[Jenny]

Hi Sofia - if you haven't already found it, a lot of the info you'd be looking for can be found under Taming & Basic Training on the board index.

[michellet]

Hi Sofia

I'm a new GCC owner too...i've had Missy for almost 2 weeks. She's 15 weeks old, and absolutely gorgeous. She was hand raised by the breeder so i'm lucky that she's already very tame. From the research I've done I've found out that green cheeks are the quietest of the conures... so dont worry too much about the lack of noise. Missy is pretty quiet too....just little squeaks and squawks when she wants to know where we are, or if she wants to come out of her cage.....and the occasional loud outburst in reply to our budgies. Missy also sometimes makes a little bit of noise when i turn out all the lights at night...but she has a "happy hut" in her cage and quite often she takes herself off to bed before I do
Like you, I was majorally stressed for the first week I had my new baby...just like a paranoid 1st time mumma! i've chilled out a bit, but i know exactly how it feels to want to get it really right! Try not to worry too much and enjoy Milo...he will pick up on your stress and uncertaintity...try to be quietly confident and you'll have a happy little bird

Michelle and Missy