Heyo! From Hawaii

[danfrog]

Soldier here and former frog keeper. Just PCSed to Hawaii (Army's orders) and had to get rid of my frogs due to Hawaii laws. Now I've always wanted a bird. Was at a local pet store the other day and saw a baby Green Cheek showing off. Soon as we got home, we started doing our basic research. And a few days later we brought home our new 5 month old Green Cheek Joey. Now I know the purchase was a bit impulsive, but I think we are going to be good to go. Joey is a good bit nippy when trying the step up, but soon as he/she is on your finger Joey calms down. Joey especially loves to cuddle up in a tee shirt. When we get him out we will wrap him in the shirt and me and the wife rub his little head. Its no contest, Joey falls fast asleep. Ill post some pics tomorrow.

[Feathers First Aviary]

A[Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks] green cheeks are wonderful, you won't be disappointed! And super jealous over your location, namely because we are in the midst of a huge snowstorm at the moment :/ But at any rate, welcome to the forum :D Can't wait to see some pictures of Joey :D

[Honesty]

:hello: and welcome to PP.

Congrats on your new addition and we look forward to seeing pics of Joey :)

[Pinkbirdy]

WOO cool to be in Hawawii !! I love my conures ,[they seem to be such people birds]. I almost feel they nip cause their so excited. I use a perch to put my greencheek back in his cage . Just keep trying different things.

[spiritbird]

:hello: Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you have the "bird bug" like the rest of us. Conures are easily trained and very much into people. Potty training is a breeze. Joey will be so much fun.

[Debra]

:pp_welcome: It's good to have you here. I can't wait to learn more about you and Joey. I'll be waiting on pins and needles to see pics of this lovely baby you've accepted into your home.

[Maddy]

Hi, and welcome to the forum! Congrats on your faby! Green cheeks are so much fun!

[kendrafitz]

Hello and welcome to the forum! I am looking forward to seeing lots of pics of Joey and your new home. :) I am jealous, Hawaii is beautiful!

[Turquoise]

Welcome to the forum! :th_greet13:

A[Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks] green cheeks are super sweet little feathered darling. I will be excited to see photos of Joey as well.:th_biggrin: Excellent choice for a first bird and sometimes they can be a bit nippy like Terri said, especially as babies. Rest assured they do grow out of it and become a snuggle bug.

I have a 7 yr old pineapple green cheek and she loves my hubby and me. She was a re-home I got from a mutual friend, but she took to us and our home from the first day. And green cheeks are fearless, Peta will call out my macaw Roscoe in a moment's notice if I am not watching her every second while she is out. She is a little stinker and doesn't realize his beak is as big as her whole body.

Don't forget to check out our Photo Competition for February in the Contest, Celebrations & Recognition Section. This month the subject/theme is "Cheekiest Photo With Caption". We'd love to see a photo of Joey and a funny caption entered. There is no post limit restriction on new members, any member no matter if you just joined is eligible to enter our monthly competition. :hybrid:

[danfrog]

Well here's the pics! Joey like to try and sneak up to my shoulders, but we dont let him. He is way less nippy today. And seemed a lit more comfortable around us. We are still learning the body language. He is a little grumpy in the mornings. But all and all today went really well. [Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]

[Honesty]

Joey is adorable :) Join the club on a grumpy morning bird! Codie is grumpy for the first 2 hours after I get him up :(

[Pinkbirdy]

So cute!!!

[Debra]

He's precious! That first pic would be a good entry for our competition if you can come up with a cute caption.

[Maddy]

Joey is so cute! :th_heart:

[danfrog]

Couple more.
[Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]

[Debra]

I swear Joey looks to be smiling in all those pictures! He looks so happy all cuddled up.

[coltfire]

Welcome and joey is adorable.

[danfrog]

And a couple more. He love bath time. [Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]

[Honesty]

Adorable pics :)

[Maddy]

Those pictures are adorable! He looks super adorable in the first one. :th_heart:

[kendrafitz]

Joey is a cutie!!

[Turquoise]

Your Joey is a real cutie for sure! :th_biggrin:

He has a very sweet face and does look to be smiling as Debra mentioned. He is definitely loving the attention you give him.:thanks4sharingthumb

[PlaxMacaws]

Thanks for sharing Joey with us :). What a sweet little bird!

[danfrog]

Kk now for advise time! We play with Joey a lot. He can dance on command, and is pretty decent at target training. Joey excels at biting lol. I think its a territorial thing. He have to get him out and handle him for a while and then the biting goes away, for the most part (Joey will never turn down a finger chomp). He doesn't show any signs of distress, or fear. I would like to know what veteran bird keepers do to discourage biting in young green cheeks. I want to make sure we get things right from the beginning so Joey can be a happy bird.

[Turquoise]

I can't help you with the young green cheeks part. My green cheek was given to me when she was 5 1/2 yr old and she has never been a biter other than the nibble nip when I scratch her neck. I have read they can be nippy when young and then grow out of it, but not owning one from a baby I can't say just how different that is from macaws which I do have first hand experience with from the weaned baby stage.

[danfrog]

What im doing right now is sticking my finger out sideways and saying step up. If he bites I walk away without saying anything. If he steps up I give lots of praise and give a treat.

[Turquoise]

Sounds like you are doing the right thing with Joey. It does take time for them to adjust to a new place and new people. Most say to give a bird regardless of age at least 6 months to adjust and settle in. Some rescues with lots of baggage to get over even longer. I know it took at least that long for mine who have all been weaned babies except Peta my GCC to settle completely in even tho they began to bond with me long before that. I could just tell the difference when each one decided in their mind that this was their home and I was their human friend.

I used the treat system with my first two who were my Catalina macaws. My two boys, Roscoe and Angel love pistachios and I used those in a treat bowl filled with various nuts to reward positive stepping up to & from the enclosure. With Ruby Jewel, my Green Wing macaw I had to use a different approach. She didn't care about getting a treat to come & go, so I made going into her cage a fun game of asking her what did we have in there in her bowls. I had to find what she loved most which is grapes and tell her she had grapes in her bowl. When she first came to live with me after being weaned at 8 1/2 months old, she was used to eating on her play perch away from her cage. Her breeder never put her in her cage til bedtime and at my house she had to learn to be fed inside her large enclosure and be in it when I slept for work during the 4 days i work out of the week. It didn't take long for her to learn a ride out of the enclosure was to play on her perch by my computer area. And a ride back had her favorite treat waiting for her, plus all the other good foods she loves.

Most birds are cage aggressive and some never like being taken out of their cage. They prefer coming out on their own and then they are fine being handled. have you tried allowing Joey to come out on his own and then offering to step up? My ekkie Leyla Belle does not like to be handled and she will bite in a hurry if I try to get her out while she is in her cage. I remedied that by pushing her play perch up to her open cage door and she is quite content to come & go in and out as she pleases. I can hold her, but only picking her up from her play perch and not for long. She has a temper and is just a different girl from my macaws.

[danfrog]

Yup, Joey has a small play gym ontop of his cage. In the mornings we open it up and let him come out. Joey can enter and leave his enclosure as he pleases, and is out most of the day. Im thinking that I might have been taking things a bit too fast. Already Joey has show leaps and bounds in the last little bit with biting.

[Turquoise]

Sometimes you do have to take a step back and go a little slower with these guys, big or small. I have had to do that with mine at some point. They do regress a little sometimes before they settle in.

With my newest bird, my white capped pionus Sierra I had to do that. She/he (not sure yet, but I call it a her) regressed some after coming home.I had to do things a bit slower and even had to change where I was keeping her cage for a couple of weeks. That did the trick and she is now back behind me when I am at my computer. She was also a nipper when asked to step up and I just kept working with her when she was wanting out of her cage and she learned quickly if she is good she comes out. If not she stays in and misses out. Her treat is a scratch on the back of her head which she loves and a kiss. Although sometimes her kisses are a bit more of a nip. LOL