The time has finally arrived! We got a handsome, colorful and most joyful green cheek conure! How exciting! His name is Elvis. He might very well be a girl, but we decided not to invest in a DNA test (this is the only way to tell in the case of most parrots). Therefore, we came home with our handsome baby boy Elvis 🙂
Before arriving at the bird shop, we already knew exactly what kind of parrot we were going to get. We had his main cage and travel cages bought, we even had his name chosen! More information on how we decided on the type of parrot and how we chose his name, you can revisit my previous article here:
The green cheek conure’s first night in his new home
The first night and first two days were pretty stressful and challenging. None of us (me nor my boyfriend) has had a green cheek conure before. Therefore, we did not really know how to behave with him, nor understand the best cage arrangements for him, except for the small advice we were given by the pet shop assistants. They advised us on the food to give him, on the cage to keep him in, but they could not have foreseen everything that might happen in the first period.
The first week rule
We were advised to keep him in his smaller travel cage and not allow him out of it for the first whole week. That was mainly due to the fact that our green cheek was below the weight they would normally sell him (60 grams). As a consequence, we were advised to provide him with less space to move around and to eat fattier seeds (sun flower seeds, peas, beans, corn, etc.) so he can preserve his energy and store everything to gain weight.
However, that was easier said than done. Shortly after we arrived home with him from the pet store, he became very anxious and active all around his cage. We assumed that it was maybe the first reaction to his new home, new surrounding and the absence of his fellow siblings. Therefore, we focused on arranging his cage in a way that he has easy access to everything, that he has enough nice, tasty food around him and sufficient toys to keep him busy, etc.
The first night struggle
Leaving him to sleep in the living room for the first night was quite worrying for us. We just wanted to keep an eye on him all the time and make sure that he is okay, and we wanted to make sure that as part of his anxiety he does not fall somehow in the cage and hurt himself. But waking up the following day assured us that everything was fine. He had picked the highest point on one of his toys and slept like a sweet baby (like he is) on it all night!
I have made a video of Elvis’ first morning in his new home. You can check it out below:
First morning of our Green Cheek conure Elvis
Daily weight check – our green cheek conure is getting fat!
Our baby Elvis was still unsettled in his small cage. He was jumping up and down, he was acting unhappy and so we have decided to move him to his big, permanent house. Once he found himself in a bigger space, filled up with all his toys, he started displaying a more calm behavior. In a few days he even started playing with his toys and allowing us to slightly touch and pet him.
It melted my heart to see how nicely he manages to play by himself in his cage and how sweet he had been to us.
As part of the advice that we were given by the pet shop assistants, we were supposed to weigh him every day to make sure that in the worst case he is not losing weight and in the optimal case he is gaining some weight. The starting point for Elvis was his first weight check in the shop when he was 54 grams. And I am proud to announce that only after 7 days in his new home he has gained 3 extra grams and has now a proud bunch of 57 grams! 🙂
First finger bites
As part of the weighing process, I had to pick him up and put him on the scale. And that part was challenging.
Given that my bird is still a baby, he does not know how to step on my finger (just yet), he does not know that I will not hurt him and he is having a hard time comprehending all the changes that have recently happened to him. Therefore, as a responsible baby parrot owner, I am trying to scare him as little as possible, to approach him as nicely as possible and to talk to him as softly as possible. But he is still scared and to him everything is threatening including my hand approaching him. That is when I realized that such a small bird can actually bite really hard!
However, I noticed that his bites became looser and looser as I was reaching to weigh him. I can proudly say that he has got used to us over the past week and does enjoy spending his time with us.
You can check the below video out for more information on the first week of Elvis in his new home!
First week of our Green Cheek conure Elvis!
Exploring our living room with the bird
On day six we have finally opened his cage and allowed our baby bird to explore his surroundings. He jumped on our shoulders right away, it seemed natural to him. I can tell that sitting on our shoulders is his favourite place to be: from there he can see everything and can be part of everything that we are doing. He calmly and joyfully stays on our shoulders as we were doing the house choirs. Isn’t that the most loyal friend!
Feel free to share with me your experience in the comments below. I would love to hear your story!
To all the Parrot Lovers,
Tatiana
Founder of Best Parrot Toys
Disclaimer: I am not a parrot expert therefore the information in this site represents my opinion based on my experience. Please do not make decisions based solely on my articles. It helps to do further research.