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First of all, I mentioned Cicero on the Conure thread. He/she is the sun conure we got first for my daughter's 17th birthday. I went ahead and paid to get the bird sexed and should get the results this week. If it's a girl, we'll just call her Cici. Whatever the sex, it's a sweet, sweet bird. We hopefully get to bring him/her home this weekend. I need all the help I can get on bringing the appropriate toys and perches for the cage and good education about appropriate food as possible. I'd like to go as natural as possible, as that is what I do with my dogs, and they are so healthy. So, while visiting Cicero daily, they had newly hatched yellow-sided green cheeks that were reported to be coming in. I just wanted to see what they looked like, but before I knew it I fell in love with one and that one turned out to be a full green cheek - no yellow - a genetics thing. When I first saw this bird, I was thinking it was a girl for some reason and wanted to name her Lola, but after looking at how the genetics played out for this bird to be a full green cheek with no color variations means that it is almost a 95% chance that it is a male, so I need a help renaming Lola. I am thinking Merry or Pippin from LOTR, but I'm open to suggestions. I'm also open to staying with Lola. I just love that name. Also, can we keep them in the same cage or should we get a separate setup for each bird and let them play, though, at other times (this is what I'm leaning towards). We have the room for them to have separate cages. Here is a photo dump! "Lola" first then Cicero. Lola is only three and a half weeks old (hatched March 17 - love that she/he is a St. Patty's Day baby - perfect for a green cheek) in these pictures and Cicero was hatched on February 3. The first time I saw "Lola" she was smiling at me and I fell in love. I held her and she fell asleep on my chest for an hour.  lola - or another name? by my3bellas, on FlickrI hadn't planned on getting a second one right now, but I just fell in love with Lola and eventually Bella, my daughter will move out and take Cicero with her, so I talked myself into needing my own bird.  "Lola" getting banded:  lola getting her banding by my3bellas, on FlickrCicero with my daughter's boyfriend, Mikey (he used to be terrified of birds, but this bird loves him):  Cicero with Mikey by my3bellas, on FlickrCloseup of Cicero - isn't he gorgeous?  Cicero closeup by my3bellas, on FlickrMy daughter, Bella, and Cicero. She's so proud of this bird and excited to have her own bird!  cicero and bella by my3bellas, on FlickrI'll be posting more pics, as we visit almost every day. Here is an early picture of Cicero when he/she didn't have all his feathers.  IMG_3968 by my3bellas, on FlickrCicero is already almost 100% potty trained. He will not go on us, so I just need to get him trained to wait to go in the cage.
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Apr 15, 2015 18:35
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| # ? Apr 24, 2024 21:06 |
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aaaa what a handsome bird  and that baby green-cheek! little bundle of fluff. too cute.Pippin would be an adorable name for a GCC, they are fiesty little scamps. That said Lola is also adorable and your bird won't care if he's a boy with a girl's name, so if you think he's a Lola, run with it! I think Laurie is a cute possibility too. Definitely get them separate cages. There's no guarantee they will like each other, and even if they do, conures can get territorial and Cicero's going to be big enough that he could really hurt Lola. If they do get along you can put the cages next to each other: they'll have a safety barrier so there are no squabbles and mishaps, and still have somebody to keep them company when you and your daughter aren't around. As far as enrichment goes, get them a few different toys and see what they like. Some birds like toys that rattle, others like to shred or chew, and foraging toys are great once you start learning which treats they enjoy. I highly recommend getting a package of those plastic cat jingly balls, they make conures crazy. Ice cream waffle cones are also popular and are dead cheap. Get a variety of perches, both in sizes and materials. Avoid the rough cement perches advertised for nail trimming, because it can hurt the undersides of their feet and are not effective anyway. Natural wood and rope are great. You want to vary the widths so that their feet aren't locked in the same position day in and day out, but don't be alarmed when they pick a perch or two (usually one near the top!) as their favorite. 
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Apr 15, 2015 23:28
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Yeah, I think I am sticking with Lola. She perched on my finger for the first time today and crawled from my chest to my shoulder and cuddled behind my hair. She's so sweet. She also has more feathers today and has a bit of yellow on her chest. Is that normal for a regular green cheek? Also, tell me about food please! Thanks for the information! I already know that Cicero loves to chew, so I am looking at lots of chew toys for him.
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Apr 15, 2015 23:43
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Pellets and fresh fruits & veggies should be the staples of their diets. ZuPreem and Harrison's are both good brands, but Kaytee tends to have a lot of recalls on various products so I'm not keen on them. In most cases you'll want to keep a bowl of pellets available throughout the day, and fresh food at mealtimes so that you can remove uneaten portions before they get gross. You can prepare a "parrot chop" for your birds out of various fruits and vegetables and freeze it so you have easy access to fresh veg in the morning. Nutriberries are great supplementary treats because they've been nutritionally balanced, but contain fruit and seeds and can be held in one foot to eat, making them both tasty and something fun to wave around. Seeds and millet should be kept as "sometimes" treats only, and a lot of times they make great motivators when you're teaching your bird tricks or better behavior. Also, you should post in the main bird thread! Conure pictures make the world go 'round. 
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Apr 16, 2015 19:41
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