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New Member/GCC Owner

1K views 6 replies 3 participants last post by  Mr Peepers 
#1 ·
Hey guys, I’m a new owner here and I need some help with my bird’s diet. Please try not to be too harsh as I’m doing my best.

My parents just got me a green cheek conure as a gift for my birthday (I’m about to turn 19), and I figured since I had always loved birds and had done a lot of research before that I’d be okay. But now that I have my bird, I’m paranoid about EVERYTHING. Most of all, his diet.

So far he’s mainly been eating pellets (I went with Zupreem, as I had seen from quite a lot of people that it was a good brand), and I have also offered him some mixed vegetables (corn, green beans, peas, and carrots). He loves the pellets, but didn’t eat too much of the vegetables. I also offered him some banana (my parents had been told it was one of his favorites), but he didn’t take to that either. Today I’ll be making some chop to see if he’ll like that.

Basically, I’m just looked for what and how much I should be feeding him. What do you guys feed your conures? How did you get them into it? How much do you give them?

I want to be the best bird owner possible. I’m sorry if I come off as someone who just bought a bird without being informed, I really wasn’t expecting to get a bird like this and now I’m worried I’ll end up being bad. Again, please try to be nice in the thread.
 
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#2 ·
Hi and welcome to Talk Parrots.

Don't be so worried about what we will say on here we all try to be positive when giving advice regarding birds.

You seem to be very dedicated to your new bird at his diet and this is great.

The main piece of advice I can offer you about you giving your bird new veggies or fruits is DON'T EVER STOP OFFERING IT.

All new fruits and veggies you offer to a new bird is new and a little scary to them so they will ignore most of it right away. You can't give up. Keep offering it to the bird. Stand in front of the bird and chew some carrot or a chunk of lettuce or sweet pepper and let the bird see you are eating it. They will catch on soon enough and figure out if you are eating it they can eat it. Sometimes birds enjoy peeling the inside skin of a banana instead of the banana flesh itself. My birds like to peel the stringy strands off the inside of the peel and nibble that so give it a try.

Just keep offering it.

The chop idea is good but I would suggest also to offer some seeds in the birds diet as this is a natural part of every birds diet. Sprout the seeds and offer them freshly grown so you can add these to chop recipes. Make birdy bread and check out the links below to see some recipes people here offer to their birds.

You sound like you are doing a good job wanting to have your bird eat well. Don't expect to make huge changes overnight just keep offering things. Good luck!


http://www.talkparrots.com/82-talkparrots-cookbook/6016-making-chop-you-bird-s-%5Brecipes%5D.html

http://www.talkparrots.com/18-parrot-nutrition-diet-feeding/25777-how-sprout-seed.html

http://www.talkparrots.com/82-talkparrots-cookbook/5541-recipes-your-birds.html
 
#3 · (Edited)
Hey and congratulations on becoming a birdy parent! We have had our green cheek for about 2 months and his favourites are grapes and apple. I offer new fruits and veggies and he tends to take them straight away but all birds are different. Our little guy gets given a metal bowl 3/4 full of parrot seed mix which is mainly sunflower seeds. This is either daily or every other day I go by how much of the seed is used. If he’s had a lot of out of cage time then his bowl will still be quite full as there is also a bowl of seed on top of his cage where his toys are and a sunflower seed head. In the outside bowl is Cockatiel and parakeet seed as he likes the small seeds too. He always wants what ever we are eating and drinking even if you pretend to eat it!! He’s very curious maybe yours will get more curious as time goes on? They are a very confident bird.
 
#4 ·
Thank you both very much for getting back to me!

Chacha still hasn’t really taken much of the fruits and vegetables yet, but he loves strawberries and green grapes so far! He especially loves eating the seeds off the strawberry. I’m still a bit nervous with diet and such, but that’s just because I have really bad anxiety.

Also, do you have any tips on bathing? He’s still a bit anxious (and has been biting quite a bit), and I don’t want to scare him more. My main problemwith all of this is with information online. Some sites will tell you one thing while others tell you another. Are there any reliable sites either of you know with more trustworthy information on conures? I’m also looking for trustworthy bird toy sites, as I’d like to get some more for him soon, as well as some natural perches.

Again, thank you for the help! Chacha and I both appreciate it. ^^
 
#5 ·
Introducing foods can take a while, I might just be lucky with Sebby as he will try anything he even wants to drink from our cups and eat from what ever we are eating.

With the bathing tho Sebby loves a cold shower in the kitchen sink! The first time I tried to bath him I put him in the sink with about an inch of warm water he hated that! But then I noticed he was bouncing around on the top of his cage while I was rinsing out the sink after washing up so I went to get him and he was trying to climb down my arm to the sink and then he started dipping under the flowing water. That’s how he baths now every few days he gets in the sink and I turn the tap on lol it’s quite funny to watch but he loves it. I don’t know if this is a learnt behaviour from his breeder or if they like he idea of running water so maybe you could try that.
 
#6 ·
Chacha has been bathing in his water bowl a lot, so I’ve decided for now I’ll just get him a bowl that can attach to the side of his cage. :)

He’s been very vocal and is becoming more affectionate, though he’s still very bitey. But I’m confident that as we bond more, it will go away. I love him very much and I want to do everything I can for him.

Also, how much do you give your bird for fruits and vegetables a day? 1/2 cup? 1 cup? I can’t find a good measurement online and I just want to make sure I do it right. Getting him to try the fruits and vegetables is still hard right now, but I won’t give up!

Lastly, any reliable sites for toys or how to make them? I’ve noticed that it’s also hard to find a good place for that as well and I’d like to get him some more soon.

God, I really hope I’m doing all of this stuff right. :(
 
#7 ·
You'll do fine, just relax and read up all you can and you'll learn as you go. That's what most of us have done.

I offer about a 1/2 cup of chop to my birds diet daily as well as sprouted seeds and pellets. I throw in a chunk of corn on the cob or a piece of something special later in the day to allow my budgies to munch a little treat. You'll see how much is left over in the dish and be able to estimate if you need to offer more or give less.

Check on the web for sites to make bird toys, there are some excellent places that have delivery and lots of interesting little chewy things for your conure.

The Toymaker DIY Bird Toys- Make Your Bird Toys. Exotic birds & parrots bird toy ideas.

Here's a google page link to make bird toys out of things you have at home.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=how+...IMKHe8gCvsQ1QIIdCgA&biw=1173&bih=581&dpr=1.36
 
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