My new GCC is coming!

[ShelbyLRay]

I'm excited to say that after a long time looking, I'm going to pick up my first green cheek on saturday!!! I'm not really sure which one I'm getting yet, so the breeder is bringing 3 of them to our meeting, which i'll have to chose from. I'm very nervous as to which one i should pick, i just dont want to pick one that might not be as well tempered as the other. the breeder has advised me that the cinnamon one will definitely be the best for a new owner because of the temperament, so that's making me think, but then the yellow sided one is just so pretty... he says he's very headstrong and likes to do things on his own so he wouldn't be as good for a first timer... and then he has a pineapple that is supposed to be like the cin, but I'm really not sure if i can afford her. they're all beautiful birds, but of course i can't post a picture because i dont know how to change the pixel size. but anyways, wish me luck, ill try post pictures sometime soon!!!

[Lady]

Well how exciting! Congratulations to you. I hope you have some time to visit with each of the babies and maybe one of them will pick you~

[Wolf]

They ought to hold birdie showers os some such.

[ShelbyLRay]

They ought to hold birdie showers os some such.

This is the best thing ive ever heard.

[Pajarita]

Welcome to the forum. In my personal experience, all GCCs are sweet-tempered little things which only want to spend all day long on you and, as long as you are able to give them MANY hours of attention, there are no problems. But I would be concerned about buying from a breeder that is going to meet me somewhere... I don't believe in buying babies from breeders but, if I was going to, I would want to see the parents, the siblings, the set-up, the records, etc. to make sure they come from good, healthy, happy stock, that the breeder knows what he/she is doing, and that the babies were not kept in a dirty place, fed inferior food, etc. I would be mighty suspicious of somebody who is meeting me (where? in a parking lot, out of the trunk of his car?) and bringing three babies for me to choose from (terribly stressful to the babies, completely unnecessary and more than highly irregular -I've never heard of such a thing).

[ShelbyLRay]

Welcome to the forum. In my personal experience, all GCCs are sweet-tempered little things which only want to spend all day long on you and, as long as you are able to give them MANY hours of attention, there are no problems. But I would be concerned about buying from a breeder that is going to meet me somewhere... I don't believe in buying babies from breeders but, if I was going to, I would want to see the parents, the siblings, the set-up, the records, etc. to make sure they come from good, healthy, happy stock, that the breeder knows what he/she is doing, and that the babies were not kept in a dirty place, fed inferior food, etc. I would be mighty suspicious of somebody who is meeting me (where? in a parking lot, out of the trunk of his car?) and bringing three babies for me to choose from (terribly stressful to the babies, completely unnecessary and more than highly irregular -I've never heard of such a thing).

well he wasn't going to meet me, but being at a 5 hour difference, it was the best option. we are meeting in a completely public place, and I'm only 17, so my mom is going with me. he didn't really want to meet anywhere because he wanted me to see everything for myself. i had messaged other people asking if they had any gccs available, and they all pointed to him as being the best around. he has a Facebook page for his birds and when i was on there (can't think of the name now) he had some pictures of his birds he bred, the facility which is amazing, and the birds that are up for sale as well as the cage setups he has them in. he's a very nice person, and even gave me all his contact information to confirm the visit. he was actually already on his way to the place we're meeting at because he's going to pick up some english budgies from an aviary he knows of. with me being a first time conure owner, i dont want to get all the big bird attitude from a bird that already has bad habits, like if i were to adopt one that had already been neglected in a way that made it hard to bond with said bird. if i ever end up getting another bird, once i have more experience, ill probably choose that pathway. i, too, agree on giving an animal a second shot at a better life, but i really dont know if i could do that at the time to a needy bird who needed 10x more training to correct those bad habits the previous owner had dropped it off with. but anyways, i juts think this person will be completely fair with everything and not try to low-ball me in any way, mainly because he has such a good reputation. i know he really cares for his birds, as well as finding the ones he sells good homes.

[Pajarita]

Well, let me tell you that, in my personal experience, words and pictures don't mean anything. Anybody can post nice photos and say exactly what you want to hear. I, personally, have found this out the hard way and I am sure you will too as you get older.

As to all rescue birds having bad habits, that's a myth (people used to think the same of adopting a dog but, thankfully, this has been debunked a long time ago so more people adopt them nowadays). But, yes, of course there are birds with issues in rescue. On the other hand, there are also lots and lots of rescue birds that are pretty perfect. And, don't forget that all the birds with issues that ended up in rescue were baby birds acquired by people who, like you, had no experience in them and messed them up themselves from lack of knowledge so, in reality, for a newbie, it's much safer to adopt an adult bird already trained right than to go with a baby.

But I wish you and your bird the best luck in the world. Now, don't take this the wrong way because it's not meant as a criticism but I hope you realize that, if you are planning on going to college, your relationship with the bird will change drastically then and that your mother (or whoever is there during the day) might become its human.

[Harpmaker]

Congratulations! Good luck with your new buddy!

One problem with getting a GCC from a rescue is that (in my area, at least) a lot of rescues don't HAVE any. I consider that a point for GCCs and their owners, because the pet stores around here DO have them. Budgies and Conures are what you can find (if you are so foolish as to buy from there), and the Conures are usually split between Sunnies and Green Cheeks. The rescues DO have Sunnies.

Anyway, ShelbyLRay, you may have been forced to go to a breeder rather than a rescue if you had tried rescues.

[ShelbyLRay]

Congratulations! Good luck with your new buddy!

One problem with getting a GCC from a rescue is that (in my area, at least) a lot of rescues don't HAVE any. I consider that a point for GCCs and their owners, because the pet stores around here DO have them. Budgies and Conures are what you can find (if you are so foolish as to buy from there), and the Conures are usually split between Sunnies and Green Cheeks. The rescues DO have Sunnies.

Anyway, ShelbyLRay, you may have been forced to go to a breeder rather than a rescue if you had tried rescues.

I am from a very ummm... "middle of nowhereish" place and theres not an animal shelter or rescue within 3 hours of me, and on their website, they only have senior dogs and cats... so i feel you. And i dont think anyone should buy pets from pet stores, so eventually they'll have to quit carrying them, but thats like trying to make world peace. oh and for the other person, i DO have experience with birds. my last bird was really well trained and was very nice and sweet, and he came from a place that had never socialized him, but he didn't bite so it was a lot easier to train. And i won't be leaving for college for at least two years, and I'm already saving up money to live in the same "animal friendly" apartments that my brother lives in. His roommate has a german shepherd living in there with them, so I'm sure they wouldn't mind a bird.

[Pajarita]

Oh, where to live with a little bird is not the problem, the problem is lack of time. GCCs (and all birds) need to be kept at a strict solar schedule and, with the short days during the winter, if you have classes during the day and even just a bit of a social life, you might not be able to have enough hours during the day to devote to the bird - especially a GCC which needs hours and hours of shoulder time or they get real bitey. But, who knows! Maybe your bird is the one single exception to the rule.