Weird feelings/ depression about new GCC???

[barry collins]

I have 6 tiels and recently took in a yellow sided green cheek conure and I spent 2 weeks questioning my desicion and having really bad mixed emotions about it as my tiels now have to give up some of their attention and the dynamics in the house have changed. Fast forward another 2 weeks and things are settling down and he is a lovely bird if not very independent!
Everybody is readjusting and a new routine is slowly formulating. Don't worry any new long term commitment will fill you with mixed feelings after all you could pay off a mortgage, get married, have 3 kids, get divorced, the kids leave home and you retire before a new bird leaves you. Definitely prepare food in batches using the freezer and bags it will take away some frustration.

 

[Milestone]

I've been there and still feel that way at times. I find however it passes eventually, don't worry you'll get past it.

 

[karen256]

I think what you're feeling is normal.
Are you keeping your new GCC quarantined from your budgies? Because once that is over, and you can keep them in the same room, things will be much easier. There's no reason you can't talk to your budgie and give him the attention he wants while also playing with your GCC.
They may even turn out to become friends! GCC's are big enough to hurt a budgie, so you do want to supervise them together until you know how they will get along. And if your GCC ever does show signs of being cage-territorial, you'll want to keep any budgies from landing on the cage while the GCC is inside. But if you keep an eye on things, they may like to interact and play with each other.

I've had my GCC with two budgies, the first one I got when she was already 4, and they had the most adorable big sister/annoying little brother type relationship. He would steal her toys and sneak up and pull her tail and generally be a little pest, but he'd also preen her head and neck for her... and they would sometimes playfully beak-wrestle - my GCC always being super gentle and careful with him.

The budgie I have now... he's a little more obnoxious, but my GCC is still nice to him. And even though they don't act like they're friends, whenever I come into the room after leaving them alone for awhile... I always find them sitting near each other (neither is caged). They clearly do enjoy each others' company.

 

[Parakeet88]

Thanks for all the replies.
I'm really hoping that the GCC and budgie will be friends one day or I at least hope they don't hate each other. The GCC gets upset if I'm over talking to or working with the budgie. He doesn't yell but he makes a lot of noise and gets antsy so that's why I'm having a hard time working with the budgie. I know I shouldn't be giving the GCC constant attention all the time but with him being new I'm still trying to kind of figure him out. My goal is to be able to have them both out (supervised of course) and have them atleast be generally nice to each other. I tried just bringing the GCC over to the budgies just to see all their reactions but they're afraid of each other right now.

My bourkes and my keets are in one massive breeder cage with the divider in the middle and they love that set up. They can interact through the divider if they want to but I don't have worry about anyone getting hurt. They do like to give kisses and sometimes even share food through the divider. It cracks me up because the bourkes are almost always half asleep (they're both very calm) and it always looks like they're just quietly judging their crazy, loud parakeet neighbors lol

I'll definitely look into some methods of making their meal prep quicker. I just feel like pre cutting it and keeping it in the fridge causes it to go bad faster. Will the foods retain their nutritional quality in the freezer?

 

[Parakeet88]

I can relate to this alot! Infact, I started a thread here not long ago, and was surprised to find out that alot of other members could also relate .

Not sure if you're interested in reading but if you are, it's here http://forums.avianavenue.com/index.php?threads/my-little-secret.193835/

I was finally able to read your post and it's almost exactly the same situation. I've been nervous over every bird I've bought. The male parakeet was the only bird I actually planned on getting all the others were pretty much adopted on the spot and every time I'd get home thinking "what have I done?" But I've never had a bird as large and demanding as a conure so I guess that's why I'm having more issues this time around. All my other birds obviously needed to be incorporated into my schedule but with the conure I feel like my whole life and routine has to revolve around him instead of the other way around.

It was great reading about your experience and also reading everyone else's replies. It's given hope that I can work this out and I'm not a terrible parront for feeling down about my new bird.

 

[TWR]

I'll definitely look into some methods of making their meal prep quicker. I just feel like pre cutting it and keeping it in the fridge causes it to go bad faster. Will the foods retain their nutritional quality in the freezer?

its definitely the way to go. Check out this video
Chop. Shot By Shot – Parrot Nation

 

[Parakeet88]

UPDATE

everything is going great and I'm feeling a lot better! I finally got his big cage put together and made room for it in my tiny apartment which was part of my concern. He really likes it and it's great that I can just leave his door open so he can come and go as he pleases. It has a play gym on top and I put his other gym next to it. before I had a play gym set up on my couch which I had to carry him back and forth to so it's nice that he has more freedom now with the new set up.

I bought a food processor and will hopefully try my first batch of chop over the weekend.

I'm really enjoying learning what foods and toys he likes. I learned that he LOVES taking baths! Almost immediately after I put clean water in his cage he will run over and splash around like a maniac! It's so fun to watch. He took two baths today lol I also got a shower perch to try out with him.

I know some of you were asking for pictures so I was going to upload a video of his bath but it won't let me I have to play around with posting videos but here's some pics for now.

My conure, male bourke, male (green) keet, and female (blue) keet (after eating some berries) lol

Thank you all so much for all the help and sharing your stories! I'm sure I'll be posting plenty more questions about conure training lol!

 

[Limnori]

I can relate to this feeling in many ways really. I am an anxious person and over think things and get myself into these funks too!

When you get a new pet, even if you understand the responsibility , when you actually have to do it then its still a bit daunting! You feel a bit robbed of time and you suddenly have "another thing to worry about". But as you point out this is natural to some extent and its because you're in some period of upheaval by having your daily routine changed.

I think it will pass once you work out exactly how things best suit you and him and your other birds, just try and act positively and not to focus on meeting expectations of other people.

 

[finchly]

Your birds are all beautiful, but your new one is stunning!

 

[Biohazard]

I feel this way every time I get a new pet too! I think I get expectations of exactly how a new pet will go and when reality is not 100% up to expectations I have to deal with the disappointment. And any change to my normal routine fuels that anxiety, and new pets always lead to a change in routine. Glad you are feeling better!

 

[Distaff]

Beautiful flock!

 

[BrianB]

I felt bad when I added a Blue Crown to my flock. My little GCC was really angry at me for having another bird in the house. Even more so because the bird was bigger. They both got over it eventually, but I felt bad that I caused them stress. I found that the daily feeding is a comforting routine for me. I get to spend one on one time with each of them. Even the breeders we have get some individual attention. It takes an hour of my day to feed and water everyone, but I made a routing out of it, and enjoy the time I spend with them. . When I'm done I make sure to lavish some attention on the cat because he gets jealous too. I hope it provides some enrichment for them and makes me feel better.

 

[Princessbella]

Thanks for the reply!
Yeas thay are all in the same room and I do talk to my keets while I have the conure out but my keet loves to be nearly in my mouth when I talk to him lol so I guess what I mean is that I haven't been able to spend as much time at his cage really focusing on him. None of them are tame at the moment but I do think I could get the male keet out eventually. Again maybe it was bad timing to get the conure while I'm still trying to train My keet. I was hoping maybe having the conure out would help the keet want to come out more but they are both still afraid of each other.
I do need to find ways to truly bond with him instead of just having him out and sitting with him. I hope my feelings will change once we get a stronger bond going. As much as I enjoy him now I still don't really know him so he's still sort of "just a bird" to me if that makes any sense.
I'm definitely waiting before making any decisions, I know it could take months for us to bond and it could take just as long for me to get comfortable in this new lifestyle and get on a new routine.

I can totally relate to your circumstances. There is a big difference in what you imagine vs. reality. I went through this myself. My first tiel Buddy, was the perfect bird. She ate everything, she loved everyone, she never destroyed anything important, she traveled well, and was an institution where I work. People still talk about her and she died almost 4 years ago. When she died I was more than heartbroken. I wound up getting Bella, my current tiel, 2 months later. Bella is the opposite of Buddy. She won't eat vegetables, she is mainly a one person bird, and she gets into a lot of trouble. When I first got her, it was a struggle, but over time, we bonded and I couldn't imagine life without her. I would not think about what you thought your conure would be and hang out with your conure, doing what you do. I knit and crochet and Bella loves to play with my hooks and my stitch markers and that is how we bonded. Also just being with her and watching her do silly things and making me laugh also helped. This is a video of Bella showing me her butt because I told her to go to bed. Also we are here and please tell us about both your frustrations and your joys. unfortunately, sometimes we focus on what we want vs what we have. Your conure sounds beautiful. Do you have a picture of him?

 

[Parakeet88]

I'm glad this thread is picking back up. This seems to be a really common issue but something that is not talked about often so I'm glad it's getting back up the list so others can see it.

Things are going really well. We have a pretty solid routine going but I still need to squeeze in more time for my keets eventually. I also made my first batch of chop which has really helped me save time.

He is a great bird, it's not him that's the issue at all, I'd be having this issue with any larger, more demanding bird that I got. He's my first really emotionally and socially needy bird and that really freaked me out, especially because I already have a flock to care for. I obviously give my keets plenty of attention but they are also perfectly fine being left alone to play in their cage. I think I already said on here that I'm lucky to have such a great bird to be going through this with. So far he is really well behaved, he stays in his play area unless I bring him elsewhere and he is pretty good with not biting. He's great at keeping himself busy. He is actually a lot quieter than I was expecting which has been a huge bonus considering I work night shift.

We actually just did out first road trip together. Took a two hour drive to my parents and he's doing great. I love that he's so calm and doesn't stress out easily like my keets do. I plan to bring him with me whenever I go to my parents for a couple days and for his first trip he's doing amazing.

 

[Parakeet88]

Your conure sounds beautiful. Do you have a picture of him?

Pics of most of my flock (including Ben my GCC) are posted earlier in the thread. The only one missing is my female bourke. The bourkes don't like being bothered so I can never get good pics of them. I can post some better ones of Ben later.

 

[Parakeet88]

Here's a couple recent pics. He LOVES scratches! And I love the face he makes lol

 

[Dartman]

That's a happy birdy right there.I can relate to the maybe I made a mistake or just feeling a bit down about my new family member. I had Nerd, a Maxi pionus, for 31 years and we became best friends and basically grew up together. When he finally left me in 2009 I was devastated and broke so family found me Lurch, another Maxi. He was not like Nerd at all except being a much bigger version of him. He was mad at the world, scared to death and quick to bite. I buckled down and worked with him and very slowly earned his trust and love. He still wasn't Nerd, he was Lurch, but he was now happy and was starting to be my best bud though he still would get grumpy and bite if I broke a rule. It only took a mere 5 years, then due to a dumb mistake he escaped at around year six last April. I climbed two trees and touched him once but after two days crows chased him away and haven't seen him since Then I was offered Dobby, yet another Maxi when Momazons life took a turn and she could no longer keep him. She knew what I went through with Lurch and figured I'd make a perfect Dad for him, provided I was OK with getting another family member so soon. I said yes and Dobby is the most well socialized and gentle Maxi I have ever had. He is not Nerd, or Lurch, just a similar package. He is also a wild boy and loves to zip around and chew stuff, get treats, and hang out with my sister, his chosen one.
He is also very happy and I'll work with him and see if he can decide I'm acceptable for more then giving treats, stepping up, and the occasional rescue. He doesn't hate me, or anyone else he meets so far but sister and he have that special bond. If I had said I don' think I'm ready for this with any of my birds that would have been a great loss for both of us as different as they all were. Nerd just plain loved and fully trusted me and I him. He would very gently preen my eye lids, finger wrestle, and hang out getting treats and scritches. Lurch learned to mostly trust and love me and would fly after me any time I left the room at the end. But he was also grumpy and made me earn everything I got from him with lots of time, patience, and bite dodging. Dobby was like OK this is my new flock and Mom taught me to be nice and step up and it has stuck. At first he let me scritch him and try to feed me but then he realized sister looks kinda like Mom to him and she does all the cool stuff involving food and drinks.
I have usually had one bird at a time but we have rescued wild birds and raised them or kept them till they were ready to be released and it's always something when even a house finch decides your trust worthy and loves you back. He has won you over so you now have another family member and he will be a loyal friend for the rest of his life

 

[Parakeet88]

He has won you over so you now have another family member and he will be a loyal friend for the rest of his life

Thanks for sharing your story. He has definitely won me over and I'm really glad I got him. He's such a character and I feel like I still have so much to learn about him and more of his personality to see.

I guess part of the feeling of having made a "mistake" is wondering if I could give this bird along with all my other birds the life they all deserve. It's not so much related to the actual bird or their personality. Working night shift and having 4 birds already I was wondering if I could give him the time and attention he needs. I still wonder if I'm doing enough for him to keep him stimulated and happy

 

[Dartman]

Well give him a nice big house and lots of things to play with and occupy him when your not around and he should be just fine. All my Maxis knew approximately when we'd be home and would snooze, eat, play with toys, till somebody got home. Of course most Pionus parrots are pretty good at doing their own thing when alone but most birds will adapt to their families schedule. Nerd knew when my sisters days off were and she was expected to share breakfast then provide a long or short scritching session, his choice, when she was done eating. If she didn't get with the scritching fast enough he'd be pretty put out.
One of the things we always did when I got home is he'd wait at the end off the top of his house and I'd run over like a maniac saying TOUCHING BIRD and he'd run to the other side and dive over before I could get him. He always looked very proud of himself for escaping my evil grasp BUT if I failed to play our game he'd again be very put out.
You and he will find things that are just for the two of you with time, enjoy the journey.

 

[Parakeet88]

He has a big cage and I have a whole hoard of foraging toys to rotate in and out as he gets bored of them. He is great at keeping himself busy but I also want him to like me lol he almost never wakes me up yelling during the day so I'm guessing he keeps busy enough. I still feel like I need to spend more time with him when he's out. He has free range of his gym on top of his cage and another gym next to it so he usually hangs out there while I get stuff done but I do want to get into training with him. Its just another thing I need to work into the schedule.