Another happy letter! 06/16/2010
I love happy letters from our "extended family"....I always am happy to know that the baby I raised is doing so great!: "Thanks Nicole. All is great. Maui is a little character and adjusting nicely to our family and lifestyle. When we got him that new cage before picking him up, we got him one of those tents. I had heard conures loves them...boy does he love it. He goes in there at night and is snug as a bug. It is great because my husband doesn't bother him when he gets up at 1am to go to work. I made up a batch of brown rice, red peppers, carrots and broccoli and he goes to town on that in the morning. We had bought those Kaytee pellets before we picked him up as well and I mixed that bag with the bag of seed that you gave us. I sprinkle that mixture on top of his rice/veggie mix and he is very happy. Last night I brought Maui in to my sons room while I was putting him to bed and he snuggled right next to my sons head on the pillow and would have been happy to stay there all night I think. Chris loved it and we talked about his birthday party at school and then of course it was back to his tent for Maui for the night. He sounds like a cricket...the cutest little noise that he makes. Not sure if that is because he is still a baby or that is what he will always sound like but it does sound like a cricket. Thanks again for everything! You did a great job with Maui!! Kelly" Add Comment Our NEW baby is HOME!!!! 06/15/2010
 The Shamrock Macaw is a hybrid cross between a Scarlet Macaw and a Military Macaw. This is our new baby's first picture at home!!!!! LOVE at first sight, I don't know of any bird person who would NOT love this baby!!!!! Obito went home! 06/14/2010
 Obito went home today....it sure is getting quiet here with all the babies going home! Anyway, Obito went to a great home, where he will be getting LOTS of one on one attention! He is a smart one, so I am sure Obito will be learning LOTS of tricks and lots of things to keep everyone in his new home amused!!! my husband will miss Obito, sine he was one cool birdie! Maui Went home! 06/12/2010
 This baby was VERY shy at first! It took a week for him to adjust to living on his own, away from his "sibs". But, one day, lo and behold, he was bouncing around at the front of the cage to be petted and held. After that, he was/is the SWEETEST baby! I am happy to say that he found his home with Kelly and her family in Forked River, NJ. Kelly's 9 year old son, Chris, was a natural him, and I can honestly say that I was so happy when they called me back to tell me they wanted to take him! They named him Maui! I think he went to the perfect home for him; he will get lots of love and attention, which is what he wanted most after his adjustment period! Sine the Green Cheeks have such a long life span, I am hoping that the family is able to enjoy the baby for years to come!!!! What a happy day! ~~~~Conure Queen~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kiwi Went home 06/12/2010
 Kiwi went home today! Congrats to Jeanette and Brandon.....Kiwi is a typical Pineapple; colorful and smart as a whip! She will be missed! Now who are we going to play "birdie baseball" with??? Keep in touch Jeanette.....I want to hear that she is doing AWESOME and has made you a wonderful pet!!! She went to a great home and I know she will be loved and spoiled! ~~~~~~Conure Queen~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Buddy went home!!! 06/08/2010
 Buddy went to his new home with Heather and Jerry. He will be missed here, by me and his siblings (Kiwi and Obito). Buddy is such a sweet baby, and I could not have asked for a better family for him! This is my ULTIMATE goal when I breed, not only for health but for WONDERFUL families that will enjoy my babies and make them part of their family Thank you Heather and Jerry! It was WONDERFUL to meet you both! I am so glad that both of you were able to make the trip! And wouldn't you know it: right after you left, and I mean, not 2 minutes after, all 4 babies were asleep and the other 3 were up and begging for food!!! :) ~~~~~~~~Conure Queen~~~~~~~~~ Hand Raising babies 06/01/2010
I wanted to give everyone a brief glimpse into the life of a "bird mom"..... Wake up at 6am to the sound of babies wanting food. Take puppies out, and bleary eyed, start to make formula for baby birds. While water is heating, let puppies in and feed them. Prepare formula (the MagicBullet is now your BEST friend), fill syringes. Babies are fussy, and only eat 1/2 of what they should be eating, so you toss the wasted formula and know that you will start over in about 4 hours. Clean brooder and weanling cage before putting babies back. Give "weanlings" mash, fruit, veggies and fresh water Feed and water breeder birds Make coffee and breakfast for hubby Wash all dishes; including syringes Update pictures and website Take a shower Prepare lunch for younger babies Feed younger babies. They are finally willing to eat more Clean brooder again Give "weanlings" mash and seed for lunch Make lunch for hubby Wash all dishes and syringes again Take puppies out Bring puppies in Do human laundry Vacuum Mop Prepare Human dinner Eat Take puppies out Bring puppies in Prepare dinner for all babies Fill syringes for 7-10 babies Feed Clean all dishes and syringes again Relax for about 4 hours (usually go for a walk) Prepare last meal of the day for babies Feed again Clean brooder and weanling cage Wash dishes and syringes again Finally, it's lights out and bed time around 11:30pm-12am for me! Will be up again at 6am to do it all again! Typically if I have to go out during the day, I go in-between feedings, and it's usually bird or dog related! Picking up more bird food is a given! ~~~~~Conure Queen~~~~ Diets 04/18/2010
It has been a little while since my last post! I have been watching nests and hatching babies and it has been FUN! I had a very good question from a client a few days ago, and thought I would post about it. One of Ic and Caly's babies is going to a family, in which a child has a nut allergy. For their family, they could never have a Macaw, or too many of the other large species of parrots because in their diets they require nuts. But this got me thinking, so I made sure that there is a food that could be used. The mix that we wean the babies too has no nuts in it, but is made in a mill that does work with nuts, so there may be trace elements. Always check labels! I have noticed that lots of treats contain nuts! Nurtuberries contain nuts! And most other treats that I looked at and checked labels contained some form of nut. When in doubt, use a pellet only diet with lots of supplemented veggies and fruits for your Green Cheek Conure. I also then suggest twice weekly proteins of chicken, a small amount. They LOVE it! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Conure Queen~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ No matter how large or how small the bird is, they rely on people to be their "flock". What does this mean, you may ask..... The flock consists of sometimes hundreds of birds (depending on species). Foraging and protection are the two main goals! Food and being safe. So, our bird buddies see US as their family, their protection, their food source, their source of play and companionship. This is NATURAL behavior. Especially with the small Conures, they want to be constant companions. It takes LEARNED behavior for them to want to be alone, and honestly, even with training, you should then ask yourself why you got a Conure in the first place! They should be able to sit by themselves in their cage, but when out, they will innately want to be with you. Green Cheeks especially are not great "stand" birds. They will fly around and seek you out if you leave the room. I always tell people to remember that the bird/human bond is very strong, but their trust can be broken sometimes irrevocably. If you punish them each time that they fly to you, they will come to see you as someone NOT to be trusted, and you will loose your wonderful companion. I love the bond, only for the reason that once it is established, the sun rises and falls on you in your bird's eyes! Who else can you say that about! ~~~~~~~~~Conure Queen~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Learned behavior VS natural behavior: Part 1 03/29/2010
I want to talk about Conure behaviors and how some are learned and some are natural. This, hopefully, will give everyone some idea about how to turn their Conure into the almost-perfect bird! A natural behavior is something that any bird would do in the wild. The one I am going to touch on is: calling. CALLING: every single bird will do this, primarily at dusk and dawn. Picture yourself in a South American Jungle. You are a Conure, and have roosted in a tree all night with your flock. There are about 100 of your friends and family. When the sun comes up, you open your eyes, stretch your wings and start finding your friends to go find breakfast. How would you do that? Call out! 100 bird voices yell out to find each other and make plans. After a day of flying the sun is starting to go down, you are now looking for another tree to roost in, and you once again, use calling out to find your family, tell them that you are near and that everything is OK. Calling is vital in locating members of the flock, of telling others where the great food is, etc. The a companion situation, we humans, are the flock. So, a Conure will call out in the morning to see if you are awake and where you are. At night, when the sun starts to set, once again you will hear chatter, and possibly again when you turn the lights out for the night. These calls are natural behavior. There is not a whole lot we can do to change a natural behavior. However, a Conure who calls excessively and is rewarded by getting taken out of his cage, or given attention, will soon develop a learned behavior of excessive calling. In this instance, we have created and positively reinforced a NEGATIVE behavior. Excessive calling/screaming is one of the main reasons companion birds are re-homed. BUT, never fear....you have the key to change this! The solution is so simple too. All you have to do is NOT reward the bird for screaming. You may find that calling out to your bird in the morning and at night will actually help to create a stable bird. If you yell with your bird in the morning (same at night), do it for up to 5 minutes. After that time, simply turn away from the bird for a few seconds. This may not work the first time, but repeated attempts should create a calming effect. You can then reward the Conure for being quiet. So, we partner a NATURAL behavior with a LEARNED behavior to create the desired result. A bird who will still do what it must (calling), but who will then also be secure enough to be quiet. Patience is a key to working with any bird or companion animal. If the behavior does not work the first time, try again and again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Conure Queen~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | AuthorBy: Conure Queen ArchivesMay 2011 CategoriesAll |
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