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LITERALLY A BIRD posted:Baby conure! The conures are in it too. Using all their cuddly powers to get nice and close to jugular.
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Aug 7, 2013 04:47
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Yes, he is just nervous and shy. It won't be long before he gets into the "loud motherfucker" stage of new bird ownership, so be prepared for that, it gets better. 
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Sekkira posted:
I've seen GCCs for sale in Queanbeyan. I guess it boils down to whether you want a specialist breeder or whether you're happy to go with someone close by even if breeding GCCs isn't their speciality. It sounds like you want to be able to go and look at some young birds, pick one out and take it home on the day. Many breeders breed to order - you lose your deposit if you don't take the bird reserved for you - so they're probably not a good option for you. If you want to be able to pick a bird and take it home with you, you're looking mostly going to be looking at birds which haven't been sold before weaning. It's possible you'll have to go and check out several breeders (or pet shops) before you find one which has a bird available for sale which you feel OK about taking home. As you mentioned that finances affect your ability to get to Sydney to visit breeders, I can't stress strongly enough how costly veterinary care for exotic birds can be and how difficult finding an affordable avian vet can be somewhere as small as Canberra (there aren't even that many in Sydney). Also keep in mind that some breeders will effectively "interview" buyers and won't sell you a bird unless they're confident you can provide it with a good home, understand the breed, and have the resources to care for it properly (including the resources to obtain veterinary care). It's probably a good idea to write down a list of what you're looking for in a seller - proximity is obviously a major consideration for you, and it sounds like "to order" breeders are pretty much out of the question - and then hit the Aussie bird forums for recommendations.
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Aug 7, 2013 04:57
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Lolie posted:As you mentioned that finances affect your ability to get to Sydney to visit breeders, I can't stress strongly enough how costly veterinary care for exotic birds can be and how difficult finding an affordable avian vet can be somewhere as small as Canberra (there aren't even that many in Sydney). Finances (a stay in Sydney for a few days) on top of everything else (bird, cage, food, toys, checkup). I'm aware of a few vets (there's one practically down the road from where I am) and am aware of an avian specialist one down south, so that's not too much of an issue. I may have worded it poorly, I do plan to pretty much drop in and pick one up, but not without planning beforehand. ie, talking to the breeder organising transport (if it's up in Sydney), figuring out the bird's preferences and such from the breeder in terms of diet, toys, favourite colours? etc. Do you have a link to those forums? I'm not sure I'm familiar with them.
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Aug 7, 2013 05:33
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I am dying from the cuteness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KAP6OLAIhg
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Aug 7, 2013 06:33
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I bought some jingly bells since so many have posted about their birds liking them, and gave a green one to Ohtori then threw the other yellow one in Steve's cage just because. 'Tori apparently hates it and prefers to play with his plastic lids from milk bottles, but surprisingly Steve was interested as soon as he saw it and was actually flinging it around the bottom of his cage for a bit.LivesInGrey posted:
Unconditional love... so long as you don't pet below the neck. jadebullet posted:I would like to introduce everyone to Simon, our new Green Cheeked Conure. Sorry about the blurry picture, but I didn't want to startle him too much with the camera. Aww, he's cute (though what GCC isn't). How young is young? Offer him apple and see if he goes crazy for it! Also, what playstand is that? Kenshin posted:I am dying from the cuteness: Oh god those squeaks and honks 
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Aug 7, 2013 15:18
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So Simon seems to be really happy and really curious. He is a bit bitey but he is learning step up quickly. He loved the apple. As for what the playpen is, it is one that I picked up from Petsmart. He really seems to enjoy it, though he prefers to crawl around in my hair which is awesome because he is as snuggly as we wanted. He is even starting to make a cautious squawk every now and again. Uh oh, he found the keyboard so I will have to cut this short if I want to keep my keys attached. Edit: The brand of playground is "All Things Living" jadebullet fucked around with this message at 17:28 on Aug 7, 2013 |
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Aug 7, 2013 16:48
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My conure hasn't attacked my keyboard yet but he immediately goes for any of those white Apple cords like for my keyboard or usb cable. I have to literally pry his beak open. Don't worry, I'm gentle. 
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Aug 7, 2013 16:57
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I guess I should feel lucky that the only things my conure chews on are my shirt collars and his shredding toy in his cage. The only worry I have about my keyboard is him pooping on it.
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Aug 7, 2013 17:02
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You know, it is odd. I thought I would have to train Simon not to poop on me, but so far he hasn't pooped on me yet. Instead he will walk down my arm onto my desk, or wait until I put him on the playpen before pooping. The only issue that I forsee is that we live in an apartment so I can't exactly avoid the room he is in if he is doing a "where are you" squawking. Does anyone have any advice for making sure that I don't end up accidentally training him that squawking = we come into the room.
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Aug 7, 2013 17:32
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I live in an apartment, as well: generally I'll call back to Amadeus a few times in case he just needs reassurance, and sometimes that does the trick and he settles down. If he just keeps yelling, I go to let him out and when he hops onto me, smug as can be, I carry him over to his sleep/time-out cage and make as if to put him in there. The threat is usually enough to make him behave when I put him back, and if he does end up being put in time-out for five minutes he behaves himself after that. This might not be ideal, feel free to contradict me other Bird Crazies, but while living in a studio apartment with my parrots it worked for me.  Semi-relatedly, when Ama isn't screaming just for the sake of screaming holy poo poo i love noise RAUGHK RAUGHK RAUGHK and actually wants something from me, he's really good at communicating it. He gets noisy and antsy if he needs to poop, he hops onto his bath dish and yells if he wants clean bathwater, he screams at a jingly-ball if he's bored. When he wants fresh food he'll sit on the perch between his dishes and yap. For a while, due to the local heat/humidity wave, I was feeding him Nutri-Berries instead of pellets. Now that the weather's back to normal he gets pellets again, but because he's clever and spoiled whenever he started yapping I added a Nutri-Berry or two to his dish. Now I'm all out and the last couple times he indicated he wanted more/better food I gave him some oat sprays, or a few unsalted sunflower seeds, or some granola.  He probably thinks I'm an idiot.
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Aug 7, 2013 18:51
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Amaya posted:QUAKERSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SCREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM  A warm welcome to Simon! He's gorgeous. I hope he brings you decades of love and joy! Also, happy birthday, Mindo! Anyone else's birds eat better than they do? I'm over here eating pizza while my birds are eating organic chop mix and bananas for dessert. Hobo Camp fucked around with this message at 23:41 on Aug 7, 2013 |
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Aug 7, 2013 23:38
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My new life dream is to have a basket of bobbling baby quakers one day<3
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So Simon is being a very good boy. He is perfectly fine going in his cage when I need to do things like cook and doesn't squawk at all except if he is worried because I haven't made any noise. Then I just whistle a little tune to him that my fiance and I picked out to be our "flock call" as she calls it and he is reassured and goes back to playing around in his cage. He also loves his playground and loves tossing the little jingly cat balls around that we got him. I just have one question about Conure behavior. From time to time when I am watching him, even if he is right in front of me on the desk, he will get real low and spread his wings like he is getting ready to jump, or trying to look like a hood ornament or something. What does this mean?
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Aug 8, 2013 01:23
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Birds do that all the time. It's like they know they want to go somewhere but they can't quite commit to the leap. My gray does it a lot.
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Aug 8, 2013 01:26
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Here are two pics of Simon crawling around on my fiance.   I just need to train him out of biting our fingers and fingernails while he sits on them. Do you guys have any tips on doing that? Would clicker training help? I want to start but I still don't know what type of treat he likes.
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Aug 8, 2013 02:05
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There are very few parrots who don't go totally nuts for chunks of walnut, so that's a good clicker training treat. Clicker training will help. You also should try not to react as much as possible, just move your hand out of the way when he nips. If he's constantly chewing on your fingers then it may be he just needs something to chew on, and you can discourage chewing by putting him down on the floor when he does it. He'll beg to get let back up almost immediately--wait 10 seconds and then pick him up. If he starts associating chewing your fingers with not being on you anymore when he wants to be...
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Aug 8, 2013 02:09
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jadebullet posted:I just have one question about Conure behavior. From time to time when I am watching him, even if he is right in front of me on the desk, he will get real low and spread his wings like he is getting ready to jump, or trying to look like a hood ornament or something. What does this mean? He wants to go to you, or for you to pick him up. He looks like he's clipped, so can't go himself-if he could he'd be taking off like a conure missile towards you.
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Aug 8, 2013 02:10
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Battle Pigeon posted:He wants to go to you, or for you to pick him up. He looks like he's clipped, so can't go himself-if he could he'd be taking off like a conure missile towards you. Conure missiles are the best missiles
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Aug 8, 2013 03:05
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jadebullet posted:I just need to train him out of biting our fingers and fingernails while he sits on them. Do you guys have any tips on doing that? Would clicker training help? I want to start but I still don't know what type of treat he likes. Hey man if you figure out how to make them not like finger nails, let me know. Preening under our nails is Marci and FInn's favorite thing to do. Unfortunately when I'm trying to grow my nails out this isn't cute at all. They don't do it maliciously, they're just trying to preen. Is that what he's doing? Or is he trying to nip the skin on your finger.
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Aug 8, 2013 03:07
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jadebullet posted:Here are two pics of Simon crawling around on my fiance. Haha conure_tail.jpg
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Aug 8, 2013 03:26
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I've been thinking about getting a bird for a few years, and now I'm finally able to afford one. However, I still haven't decided what type to get. I want: - A bird large and friendly enough to handle/play with (so no finches/canaries) - Something fairly quiet, as I live in an apartment - NOT a green cheek/other conure So far I'm thinking a cockatiel, budgie, or possibly a parrotlet (though I saw some blue quakers when I was poking around on Kijiji and they're beautiful! ). Thoughts? Warnings? This will be my first bird, and I work only part-time, so I'll be able to spend a fair bit of time with birdie.
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Aug 8, 2013 04:23
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Carbon Thief posted:I've been thinking about getting a bird for a few years, and now I'm finally able to afford one. However, I still haven't decided what type to get. I want: Quaker owner here: Quakers can be EXCEPTIONALLY LOUD. Ranked below sun conures but above other conures and cockatiels imo. Finn is often quiet and content but when he does want to yell it's ear drum rupturingly loud. I will say though that quakers are adorable and mine is extremely snuggly. They say that quakers get sort of bipolar and that can be true. Quakers are also often very cage territorial and can be one person birds. Just the other day Finn was sitting on my shoulder and hissed any time my friend came close to touching me.
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Aug 8, 2013 04:30
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Carbon Thief posted:I've been thinking about getting a bird for a few years, and now I'm finally able to afford one. However, I still haven't decided what type to get. I want: Get a cockatiel. They're very easy birds. Also, read up a ton. Being armed with knowledge on how to properly train your Also do not get a quaker as your first bird, especially if you want something quiet. I have an umbrella cockatoo and I grudgingly acknowledge that quakers are almost loud.
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Aug 8, 2013 05:16
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Don't forget to keep in mind the life span of the animal. I mean, if my tiels live their natural life span, I'll be in my early 60s and still dealing with their bull(bird)poo poo. I mean I love them to death but I'd be lying if I said they didn't complicate my life.
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Aug 8, 2013 05:21
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WorldWarWonderful posted:Don't forget to keep in mind the life span of the animal. I mean, if my tiels live their natural life span, I'll be in my early 60s and still dealing with their bull(bird)poo poo. This. Picture a 3 year old, with a bed time, and tantrums, and everything else that comes with them. It's amazing
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Aug 8, 2013 06:12
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7sUUBUOdcs and you also do this to cockatiels i know i do (to bart anyway. pichu would make a fuss)
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Aug 8, 2013 07:12
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Amaya posted:Hey man if you figure out how to make them not like finger nails, let me know. Preening under our nails is Marci and FInn's favorite thing to do. Unfortunately when I'm trying to grow my nails out this isn't cute at all. They don't do it maliciously, they're just trying to preen. Is that what he's doing? Or is he trying to nip the skin on your finger. Yeah, he is just trying to preen but is also doing some curiosity bites. My nails are atrocious(gently caress genetics, and he is mainly picking at the skin around it, but he got me good yesterday and bit the one nail pretty hard to the point that I was afraid he cracked it due to the sound it made, but it was fine. Of course I was doing something he didn't like, AKA playing Warthunder with my Xbox controller with him on my shoulder. He climbed down my hands and started attacking my thumbs as well as some of the buttons. (Don't worry, I made sure he wasn't breaking any plastic off and eating it, or any of soft rubber)
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Aug 8, 2013 11:34
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jadebullet posted:Yeah, he is just trying to preen but is also doing some curiosity bites. My nails are atrocious(gently caress genetics, and he is mainly picking at the skin around it, but he got me good yesterday and bit the one nail pretty hard to the point that I was afraid he cracked it due to the sound it made, but it was fine. Of course I was doing something he didn't like, AKA playing Warthunder with my Xbox controller with him on my shoulder. He climbed down my hands and started attacking my thumbs as well as some of the buttons. (Don't worry, I made sure he wasn't breaking any plastic off and eating it, or any of soft rubber) Put his dumb rear end on the floor or back in the cage or something. And do it immediately so that there is no ambiguity about biting nails leads to being removed from human. It's called negative punishment--to reduce a behavior, remove a positive stimulus whenever that behavior occurs. Bite nails/hands, removed from human. You only need to punish for like 30 seconds though, so it's overall quite an easy fix.
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Aug 8, 2013 14:07
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Malalol posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7sUUBUOdcs Aaaa, cockatiels are so cute. This one looks just like a marshmellow peep.
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Aug 8, 2013 14:56
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I'm a little worried about the birds. Lately it's been about 30-32C, but today it went up to 36C and I've seen Ohtori panting, and Steve sat quietly with his wings held away from him a bit. We don't have air conditioning or fans or anything like that, all I'm able to do is open the windows on each side of the apartment to make a breeze come through. I've sprayed both (though neither wanted it) and as soon as I paid attention to them they appeared normal again. Mostly I'm worried about if I go out and it gets too hot for them-anyone have any suggestions? They're not in direct sunlight, both have never bathed in a dish before (so can't put one on the bottom of the cage, besides they'd likely just tip it over), and they're acting fine now.
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Aug 8, 2013 15:10
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That is what I have started doing and it seems to be working. Edit: Getting a cheap stand style oscillating fan might help to keep them cooler. My apartment has AC, but it is only in the living room so the bedroom would get really hot so we put an ocilating fan in the doorway to pull the cool air into the room. It could also help to make a breeze for your birds. You could also pick up one of those box fans and put it in your window blowing outward, not inward which would cool your house down as it pulls air through your house rather than push hot air in. jadebullet fucked around with this message at 15:28 on Aug 8, 2013 |
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Aug 8, 2013 15:25
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We live in a small apartment, rather than a house, and the room where birds are (and me during the day) also contains the computers which doesn't help. I think the fan sounds like a good idea, for both them and me. Until then I'm wondering what else I can do for them-neither of them wanted a bath again now, and honestly don't seem to give a poo poo. Maybe I'm worrying too much.
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Aug 8, 2013 15:32
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Battle Pigeon posted:I'm a little worried about the birds. Lately it's been about 30-32C, but today it went up to 36C and I've seen Ohtori panting, and Steve sat quietly with his wings held away from him a bit. We don't have air conditioning or fans or anything like that, all I'm able to do is open the windows on each side of the apartment to make a breeze come through. I've sprayed both (though neither wanted it) and as soon as I paid attention to them they appeared normal again. Mostly I'm worried about if I go out and it gets too hot for them-anyone have any suggestions? They're not in direct sunlight, both have never bathed in a dish before (so can't put one on the bottom of the cage, besides they'd likely just tip it over), and they're acting fine now. I don't think that is a particularly concerning temperature. They were hot and just doing what they could to cool off. You need to watch for signs of shock and stress that accompany heat-dissipating behaviors to determine if they actually are overheating. Spraying them was definitely the right course of action, sounds like you were doing everything else right. It's especially not a big deal if you don't regularly keep your apartment air conditioned and they're accustomed to higher temperatures.
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Aug 8, 2013 15:32
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Yeah, I was just worried about it happening when I'm not here, and if the sudden increase is too much. In winter when it falls by the same amount or more suddenly they've been fine (and what heaters we have are next to the ceiling for some reason, so the only heating is the computers and whatever is coming from apartments below rising up) so maybe with heat it isn't too bad either. Also with Steve it doesn't seem like spraying really does much, since it all just rolls off him unless you really soak him and he lifts up his wings and does the rain dance. So hopefully everything's fine but I've got a good excuse to get a fan anyway.
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Aug 8, 2013 15:45
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Battle Pigeon posted:Yeah, I was just worried about it happening when I'm not here, and if the sudden increase is too much. In winter when it falls by the same amount or more suddenly they've been fine (and what heaters we have are next to the ceiling for some reason, so the only heating is the computers and whatever is coming from apartments below rising up) so maybe with heat it isn't too bad either. Also with Steve it doesn't seem like spraying really does much, since it all just rolls off him unless you really soak him and he lifts up his wings and does the rain dance. Ahaha yes, I was spraying Teeka a few days ago and it was just as hilariously ineffective. It just beads up and sits there and he's too much of clutz (not his fault) to shower without someone showering with him. At least he's okay with me playing with his wings, so lifting them up and spraying him under there wasn't hard. Until I actually pulled the trigger and he flipped out into full fortress cockatoo mode.
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Aug 8, 2013 15:59
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Battle Pigeon posted:both have never bathed in a dish before (so can't put one on the bottom of the cage, besides they'd likely just tip it over), and they're acting fine now. If you are really worried about the heat, I would still put a dish in the bottom of the cage. Nugget won't bathe in dishes but she will stand in them and stomp around, and that can help with cooling down. Even if they don't sit in the dishes, evaporative cooling will help a lot too! Alternatively, put a dish of water in front of the fan for a similar effect.
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Aug 8, 2013 18:51
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Boy, Simon is learning fast. He has already stopped biting, and waits to poop until I hold him over his playset paper and tell him to poop.
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Aug 9, 2013 14:02
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Is Simon available to train other birds in the art of being civilized? Because my birds are learning fast, too, but in all the wrong ways. Today Nico learned how to open his own cage. I had a doctor's appointment so my mom went to work for me. Normally she takes them with her to work when we're gonna be away from home for long hours, but she didn't today. As soon as I came home and opened the door, I saw Nico standing on top of Arya's cage. The roof of his cage is locked and there's no gaps or anything on it. Which means he actually opened the door and flew out. When I asked him what he did he just started laughing. My birds are juvenile delinquents. Luckily we keep them in a room with the door and windows closed, or who knows what would've happened. Meanwhile, Arya has absolutely no table manners. 
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Aug 9, 2013 22:11
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Hobo Camp posted:Is Simon available to train other birds in the art of being civilized? Because my birds are learning fast, too, but in all the wrong ways. Nip that escaping poo poo in the butt RIGHT now. I see that the cage in the picture (if that's the type of cages they have) is similar to the kind we have Marshall in. He has figured out how to lift up the little doors for the food and water, that's probably how he escaped if the rest of the cage was locked up tight. I use binder clips on all the doors to keep them closed. Super easy to get on and off and bird-proof. The only reason I'm saying this is because quakers get EXTREMELY cage aggressive. Nico could have lost a toe if Arya was a little older. Like with my quaker, him and Marci are BESTIES4LYFE but the second she sets one foot on his cage he starts hissing and charging at her and tryign to bite her through the bars.  open windows aren't your only worry is all I'm saying! No more birds losing toes in this thread.
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Aug 9, 2013 22:27
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Video game copilot. It's hard to see but he's standing only on his left foot, all his weight's on my mouse wrist. 
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Aug 10, 2013 00:50
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| # ? May 18, 2024 10:19 |
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If that was Scout she would be trying to eat the scroll wheel or tearing off the keys on the keyboard. Desk time is not chill out time.
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Aug 10, 2013 00:57
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