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My Green Cheek wont stop regurgitating. Whatt do i do?

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My Green Cheek wont stop regurgitating. Whatt do i do?

Postby AndrewMahoney » Sat Mar 18, 2017 1:03 pm

Im a new bird owner and i have a Green Cheek named Ollie. I think its a she, a woman had came over once and check two bumps under her tail side and told us Olliver was actually jusy Ollie. Well ive had her for about 3 years now and shes probably no older than 7-10. Here recently when i get close to her cage or let her out she starts regurgitating. Ive tried putting her down and stepping away but she continoues to do it if shes out of her cage and im in the same room. What do i do? Its continous and shes been doing it for a couple months now
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Gender: This parrot forum member is male
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Types of Birds Owned: Green cheek conure
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Re: My Green Cheek wont stop regurgitating. Whatt do i do?

Postby Pajarita » Sun Mar 19, 2017 12:08 pm

She/he (nobody can tell the gender for sure from the pelvis separation) is overly hormonal, my dear. I would re-evaluate the light schedule and diet you are keeping her/him under because it seems to me that you must free-feeding protein food (seeds, pellets, avicakes, nutriberries) and keeping her/him at a human light schedule instead of a bird one (strictly solar). Please do not discount the health consequences to her/his constant regurgitation, it's not healthy at all!
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Re: My Green Cheek wont stop regurgitating. Whatt do i do?

Postby AndrewMahoney » Sun Mar 19, 2017 3:46 pm

Yea, i knew that that technique isnt for sure but i dont plan on breeding so to me its close enough. But she eats a blend of seeds and pelets. I also feed her fruits whenever their around. Like i said, im a new bird owner. What exactly is this schedule?
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Gender: This parrot forum member is male
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Types of Birds Owned: Green cheek conure
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Re: My Green Cheek wont stop regurgitating. Whatt do i do?

Postby Pajarita » Tue Mar 21, 2017 12:47 pm

Well, GCCs are mostly fruit eaters in the wild so free-feeding (putting the food in a bowl in the morning and leaving it there all day long) protein food (seeds, pellets, etc) is not recommended as it makes them go into breeding condition and damages their livers and kidneys (because they were not 'built' to process high protein). I recommend feeding cooked whole grains mixed with chopped veggies accompanied by a large portion of fruit and a smaller veggie and leafy green for breakfast and all day picking and a low protein (budgie in the winter and cockatiel in the spring and summer) seed mix for dinner.

The light schedule birds need is the solar one (think of chickens and the birds out in the trees). They need to wake up with dawn and go to sleep with dusk without the interference of artificial lights. This is because their endocrine system (the one that tells them when to produce sexual hormones and when not to) is governed by light (this is called avian photoperiodism and if you put that on your search engine, you can find lots of info on it but there is also a thread about it here: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=13220&hilit=photoperiodism). When you keep a bird on long days all and high protein all year long, the bird's body thinks it's breeding season all the time and that's real bad for them because they not only become chronically and highly sexually aroused (regurgitating in a bird that has no mate is a symptom of this) but this also causes physical discomfort and even constant pain (their sexual organs grow during breeding season and shrink when it's over but, if it's 'on' all the time, they get to be too large and start displacing other internal organs).
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Re: My Green Cheek wont stop regurgitating. Whatt do i do?

Postby AndrewMahoney » Sun Mar 26, 2017 3:15 pm

Okay. Thank you so much for the help. Ive got a seperate cage in my bedroom set up for her and she now has a bed time. I the only issues that i have now is that she wants to tear up the newspaper on the bottom of her cage. I watch her and she doesnt seem to be eating it. But idk if i should replace the newspaper with something else and if so idk what to change it with. And the other issue is that i tried replacing her seeds with veggies once and she was not happy in the least bit. Imma work with her until she becomes more willing to change her diet
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Gender: This parrot forum member is male
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Types of Birds Owned: Green cheek conure
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Re: My Green Cheek wont stop regurgitating. Whatt do i do?

Postby GreenWing » Sun Mar 26, 2017 11:17 pm

Agree with Pajarita, the bird is in love and is super hormonal. Time to get the bird to an avian vet, put on a solar schedule, and new diet. Give the bird toys, and try to allow free time out of the cage as much as possible. Music is great, too. Think of distractions. But solar schedule really is the big step.
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Re: My Green Cheek wont stop regurgitating. Whatt do i do?

Postby Pajarita » Mon Mar 27, 2017 12:16 pm

Make sure you cover the cage in your bedroom with a black-out material, especially if you, like me, watch TV in bed (the blue light from the screen interferes with the melatonin production process that makes them sleepy). She shreds the newspaper because she is hormonal but don't replace it with anything else (newspaper is actually one of the safest things you can use around birds), just give her shredding toys to satisfy her urge.
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Re: My Green Cheek wont stop regurgitating. Whatt do i do?

Postby AndrewMahoney » Thu Mar 30, 2017 8:25 pm

So she now has a bedtime of 9 and she gets up around 6 just before i get up for school. Shes covered up by a dark red blanket. Actually its like a really thick sheet. But i watch vids on my phone not tv with my brightness as low as it goes and i also use headphones. I went and got apples (her favorite) which makes up a lot of her diet. Unlike before i used it as a treat and for simple training stuff. Like coming to me. Things like that. Shes still reluctant about a full switch of her seeds so i leave a little in there but she prefers fruit over seeds and seeds over veggies. Is there anything else i should do? Ive done tons or research but website dont really address any of this its basically "no avacodo or chocholate. Thats all you need to know". Im really apreciative of you all. This is my first bird and i didnt do any research before i got her so im clueless. She was a rescue so i didnt have time to plan. But appearantly i need lots of help
AndrewMahoney
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Gender: This parrot forum member is male
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Types of Birds Owned: Green cheek conure
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Re: My Green Cheek wont stop regurgitating. Whatt do i do?

Postby Bird woman » Thu Mar 30, 2017 9:02 pm

Make sure it's an assortment of fruit and veggies. BW
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Re: My Green Cheek wont stop regurgitating. Whatt do i do?

Postby liz » Fri Mar 31, 2017 5:39 am

When in doubt go by color. Each color has different nutrition.

I finally stopped Myrtle from trying to feed me by putting my hand up between us and telling her I don't want it.
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