Hello from England

[Wendy40]

Hiya everyone

I am new here so hello to everyone. I am now the owner of a lovely green cheek conure who I have named Ozzie. I purchased him at the weekend and he was born on the 4 April 2014 so he 13 weeks old

I have read up lots of information but thought I would also ask here as a little confused about one or two particular things. Is it safe to give Ozzie bananas, is it correct they like scrumbled egg and I also read that they like cooked meat!!!

My main question is about clipping. We would like to have Ozzie clipped so he can have safe run (so to speak of our living room). I have registered him with a vets today and they have informed me that they recommend owners wait until their birds are 1 year old because of their breast bones but I have also read owners having their conures clipped at a very early age. Help please!!

Also any other information anyone can offer regarding their care and attention would be really apprecaited. Thank you all very much.

[Wolf]

Hi Wendy;

Glad to have you and we will be happy to answer your questions, as best that we can.

Yes, bananas are safe for Ozzie to eat and so is a little scrambled egg maybe once a month. Many people do not feed eggs to their birds at all, but as long as you understand that eggs are high in protein and that too much protein in a birds diet will cause problems, then it is up to you to give him egg or not. I would really avoid other types of meat for them although they are not toxic to them.
This link, viewtopic.php?f=8&t=12521 , contains a very good list of things, including foods that are safe and things that are toxic to your bird.

Clipping birds is a difficult topic as there is still a lot of controversy concerning it. Most of the people here are dead set against clipping a birds wings. I believe there are a few circumstances where it is the only way to help your bird stay reasonably safe. The birds safety is the driving thought behind people clipping their birds wings, while the driving thought behind not clipping a birds wings are its safety and its psychological and physical well being. I am of the opinion that unless there is on overriding medical reason that one should not clip a birds wings.
Consider that a bird that is meant to fly is a bit slow and awkward on the ground, and this makes it easy to catch them. If a bird is easy to catch, then you can be certain that its main means to escape danger has been compromised, which is the case with a bird whose wings are clipped.
I hope that this information is useful to you, and answers your questions.

[Yarrow]

Welcome from me.

Since you're from England, I'm suprised that you're looking into wing clipping since it's not really done over here. Wolf answered your questions quite well so I'll only ad a link with some good hints on how to make a home safe for a flighted parrot http://trainedparrot.com/Flight_Safety/

and 2 links that explains the issues that clipping causes in more detail http://www.northernparrots.com/thinking ... -1-blog77/
http://www.northernparrots.com/thinking ... -2-blog78/

Hope that's of some help.

[shiraartain]

I have a green cheek who came from the breeder with clipped wings (no idea how to change the settings on my profile, I've tried), but I am strongly against it.

He has learned to fly and is doing quite well at it. Upon hearing the doorbell he will fly from his room to sit on a stand next to the front door while calling for my dad! (If it's anyone else we bring a few rose petals in with us as a consolation prize )
In my personal opinion, the floor is more dangerous, since that's where all the power cords are.

If there's anything specific in the living room that you don't know how to bird-proof, perhaps you can provide pictures and everyone can offer suggestions.

(My GCC LOVES bananas and egg whites.)

Edit: it would require a more severe clip in order to keep your bird just to the floor, which would be extremely cruel and unfair.

[moderndaydinosaurs]

Welcome! Congratulations on your new baby!

[Harpmaker]

Welcome Wendy40!

As far as safety goes, just about any parrot can get into mischief whether its wings are clipped or not. I would be afraid of stepping on a GCC on the floor because they are so small. While clipping a bird's wings does make it harder for the bird to leave the house unexpectedly, a frightened bird that has never flown can surprise their owner and take off when they feel an urgent need-kind of like a person picking up a car to get someone out from underneath it. And a bird with clipped wings can get airspeed in a gust of wind. Several people on this forum have experienced this.

In the end, though, you are responsible for your new buddie's health and safety, and the fact that you are seeking information gives me confidence that you will make the decision with that in mind.

[Wendy40]

Thank you so much for your replies and welcome.

We got Ozzie out of his cage properly for a long period of time last night. I think I am in love with that bird lol.

He took flight a couple of times but same back to us immediately. The colour of those wings are amazing. Having seen him have a little fly around last night we have decided not to have his wing clipped and just hope that he will understand not to go too crazy.

When my partner puts his hand in the cage and says "step up" he does it almost immediately. I am hoping that this is not by chance as we have only had him since Saturday but that he feels comfortable with us/surroundings and is at ease whent his is done. He does seem to be quite prone to bitting my partner's hands tho!

Almost last night which amazed me was that he sat on my shoulder, tucked his head into the side of my face/chin and went to sleep!! Amazing

[Pajarita]

Yes, neck cuddling and napping is very common with GCCs - so much so that it appears to be their main goal in life -LOL

I don't feed any meat to my birds. Parrots are classified as herbivores and that means plant material and not animal flesh. As to eggs, I give mine grated hard-boiled eggs about three times a year, once when the breeding season starts, again half-way through it and lastly, when they start their molt. The problem with eggs is the high animal protein (different from vegetal protein), the high bad cholesterol (something that doesn't exist in wild parrots diet) and, unless you are getting free-range, all vegetarian diet, no hormones and no antibiotics, the fact that there are too many unnatural and real bad things in them.

Clipping is a hot topic. I don't clip. Lack of flight atrophies not only their muscles and shortens their tendons, it also atrophies their respiratory system so it's, most definitely, not healthy for them from a physical point of view and terribly stressful from an emotional one (it deprives them of their only predator-avoidance mechanism). But, aside from that, I think it's unkind to deprive an animal of its mode of transportation.