Louisa wrote:Pajarita wrote:Hi, Louisa and baby GCC and welcome to the forum!
OK, let's see. At 6 months of age, she is still a baby. A big baby but a baby nonetheless so she needs the reassurance of your presence to feel safe and that's why she screams when you put her in her cage. It is great that you can have her out all the time but, as you have already learned, they do get into everything and that can be dangerous for them so cage time is necessary for their own protection. Having said that, the trick is to put them into their cage always at the same time. Captive birds benefit highly from a very strict schedule and routines. The fact that everything always happens exactly the same way and at the same time every day gives them a sense of being in control of their lives which, in turn, makes them feel safe.
Hi Pajarita! Thankyou for that information and the invitation to ask further questions. It is very reassuring to know there is a place to get support from people with extensive personal experience with your parrot species.
We keep a good light schedule, fortunately my GCC is a big help in that respect as she will put herself to bed at sunset (she loves her cage then ). I will watch out for all artificial light, I thought it was only the blue light (from computers) that would affect birds, like how it interferes with melanin production in humans.
Admittedly, the rest of the day we are a little shakey on the routine, as we recently moved house and we are still settling in, so hopefully I will get some improvement there.
Even though my GCC eats the most in the morning and at dinner-time, I keep food out for her throughout the whole day (which she eats from regularly). I feed her an exclusive fresh food diet (with some supplementation), so I am always worrying that she is getting enough calories as she does fly quite a bit in order to follow us around all day. I weigh her to ensure she is a healthy weight. Are you saying I should remove food during the day, or at least keep the denser caloric foods away?
My GCC can usually entertain herself with foraging/chewing toys and acrobats, as long as I am in eyesight. She knows that if I am sitting down, she can fly in for scratches when she feels like it, as I will usually stop what I am doing for a few minutes. I feel like she engages in more independent play from having that reassurance, as I used to work overnight shifts and sleep during the day.
If I were to try to find my GCC another bird friend, would it be better to do it when she is younger? It worries me quite a bit that it will not work out.
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