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Brown Headed Parrot or Green Cheek Parrot

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Brown Headed Parrot or Green Cheek Parrot

Postby DannysConfused » Wed Dec 06, 2017 10:28 pm

Hey y’all new here, just wondering if I could some advice and words of wisdom. I want to get a parrot so I went to my local bird shop and they introduce me to two birds which I really love. As the title suggests I love the Green Cheek parrot and the Brown Headed parrot they seem very similar and I don’t know which to choose. If someone can provide some pros and cons and insight about these 2 birds it’ll be greatly appreciate. I’m a 25 graduate with no experience with birds I’ve just read about them and would love to have a companion while I do my work in coding in my room.
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Re: Brown Headed Parrot or Green Cheek Parrot

Postby Pajarita » Thu Dec 07, 2017 11:24 am

Well, no, they are not similar. They are both parrots but the GCC is a small [cockatiel size] South American species with a fruit mainly diet and intensely needy in terms of company and the other is a medium African parrot which is a bit more independent than the GCC.

Now, a word of caution. Keeping a parrot is not as easy as keeping a dog, a cat, a rabbit or any other creature we have decided to keep as a pet. All the others pretty much adapt to you, your lifestyle, your home, etc but, with parrots, you need to adapt to them and it's NOT an easy thing to do. They are expensive to keep, super labor intensive and demanding [I am talking hours and hours every single day!] plus, they are very difficult to 'read' and understand and if you don't do everything right, they will let you know it big time! So think about it VERY carefully because this is a labor-intensive, do research for the rest of your life, expensive 30 - 40 year commitment we are talking about. But, if you do decide to go for it, please consider adopting an adult instead of buying a baby from a store. I recommend this to everybody because there is a HUGE overpopulation problem with parrots and we have thousands and thousands of them in rescues BUT most especially to people with no experience because, with an adult bird, what you see is what you get while, with a baby [especially one bought from a store] is a lottery and, if you don't know what you are doing, you can end up with a dead bird or one that is messed up. Rescues vet, evaluate and rehabilitate the ones that newbies messed up and they give you lots of pointers that are specific to the bird you clicked with - and you can choose from many different species!
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Re: Brown Headed Parrot or Green Cheek Parrot

Postby DannysConfused » Thu Dec 07, 2017 1:51 pm

@Parajita Thanks for quick response! :) So both birds are are actually parrots that are ready to adopt not purchase and I understand and agree that's is way better to go about. The GCC is actually 9 years old however I don't know (remember) how old the Brown Headed Poicephalas is. I have a toy poodle and I've had him for 12 years so I understand the commitment and responsibility I'm about to take on. But, as you say taking care of bird vs taking care of a dog are 2 different things so I want to come prepared. And for a little background, I used to live with my grandma in Colombia where she was taking care of a toucan and my great grandma was breeding little budgies. However I can't claim any experience since they took care of them since I was kid however, I do understand a little bit of bird's behaviors and needs.

I've done my homework as you say and I'm mentally prepare and ok with spending a lot of time with my companion since I do a lot of my work at home (It's quite lonely actually haha). So yeah, I'm interested when you say one is needy and the other one is more independent if you could give me some examples that would be great for me to visualize how they behave. Another goal I want to do with my buddy is to take him to the park and be able to fly him and walk around public. I may be moving to an apartment soon so I don't want a loud chirper (such as the sun conure) but both are described as relatively quite birds. Both birds (on paper) seem good canidates for me and I've met both and are really friendly which makes me so confused to pick since I only want one.

Always confused, Danny :)
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Re: Brown Headed Parrot or Green Cheek Parrot

Postby Navre » Thu Dec 07, 2017 6:32 pm

A green Cheeked parrot could be a Green Cheeked Amazon. Or Mexican Red headed Parrot.

It is a tiny little conure, or a bird a little bit bigger than a pigeon?

These are green cheek Amazons.
Image
Navre
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Re: Brown Headed Parrot or Green Cheek Parrot

Postby DannysConfused » Thu Dec 07, 2017 6:53 pm

@Navre Oh the keepers showed me a small conure
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Re: Brown Headed Parrot or Green Cheek Parrot

Postby Pajarita » Fri Dec 08, 2017 11:02 am

Yes, I understood it to be what we call a GCC [Green Cheek Conure]. I have a female right now but had four in total, two males and two females -three of them were rehomed and I kept Codee, the female I have because I promised her owner that I would. She is now bonded to an old, severely handicapped, wild-caught ex-breeder Peach Front Conure so she has company and attention 24/7/365 but she still needs at least two hours of one-on-one with me.

Yes, they are both 'quiet' parrots but, I warn you, quietness in parrots is relative and, if you ever heard a cockatoo scream, you would understand why these are called 'quiet' species :lol: But, in my personal experience and with the possible exception of species like quakers, sun conures, jendays and sundays which seem to scream just to hear themselves do it, all parrots are OK in terms of vocalizations IF they are kept the right way. Of course, for an apartment, you would want a 'quiet' species. I've never had a brownhead but I've had and still have other species of poicephalus [right now I have two senegals and two redbellies] and it is true that they are much quieter than other species. Having said that, I once took in a female Senegal because she screamed bloody murder all day long and the owner was afraid she was going to get evicted from her apartment, and Codee GCC was given up because of screams and bites but she never makes a peep here and never, ever, ever bites - she is one of the sweetest birds I have with the female Senegal coming a VERY close second!

As to which one... personally, if I were you, I would go with the one that likes me the best. I would also ask about their previous owners because birds that are used to a man, tend to like men better and birds that are used to a woman, tend to like them better BUT this does not mean that a 'man-owned' bird would not love a woman or viceversa. And, sometimes, they surprise you because my Zoey Senegal, which loved me from the very first and hated my husband was raised by a man - and the new bird I have, a black-capped caique, was raised by a man [and very well treated and loved by him, I might add!] but he took to me and goes after my husband every chance he gets. Parrots are difficult... one never knows with them. Sometimes they fall in love at first sight with a person, sometimes it takes them years [the male Senegal, Sweetpea, took 3.5 years to stop attacking me several times a day every single day and 1.5 years more to accept me as a friend]. The point is that it's always easier on the human when the bird likes him/her from the beginning. And this is especially true of newbies because they tend to be in a rush to make a personal pet out of the bird and get very discouraged and even resentful when months go by and the bird still doesn't like them. Parrots are not like dogs or cats - they are not people oriented, they don't understand submission or even obedience and discipline actually works against you with them - they are not even grateful for the food we give them! They are more like people than any other companion animal we might have. You need to learn their personal boundaries and accept them, you need to respect their wishes, you can't take them for granted and you can't impose your idea on what a good parrot is on them. Living with one is harder than having a difficult roomie who doesn't even speak your language :lol: But, if you do everything right and are patient, consistent, persistent and loving, they reward you in ways I can't even begin to describe!

So my advice to you is to go back to the store and spend time with both parrots separately. Don't ask them to step up or anything, just observe them out of the corner of your eye [you should never stare straight at a bird in a vulnerable situation -as it would be for a bird in a store where strange people are in and out all the time]. Look to see which one stays close to the side of the cage you are standing without backing away, see if one of them actually gets closer, which one looks at you with interest, which one takes a treat from your hand readily [carry some almond slivers with you or pieces of walnuts]. Do these people vet the birds? Are they a rescue or a store that takes birds in on commission? Because anybody who leaves a pet bird in a store to be re-sold was NOT a good owner and any bird in a store is going to be -without the shadow of a doubt!- a stressed out bird so vet records are important. If they don't offer any records, look at what the bird is being fed [although most likely is crap], check its plumage [is it shiny and smooth or raggedy looking - are there black marks on the parts that are supposed to be green? both the brownheads and GCCs have a completely green back and wing tops, there should be no black whatsoever on them].

Now, personally, I would still take one of them even if they have black on their plumage or if they look ragged but be advised that, if they cannot give you vet records issued within the last six months, you will have to take it to an avian vet for a completely physical [and that means blood work!] as soon as you get it [and I would recommend doing it the same day because you want the stress of going there AND going to a new home to be over asap].
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
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