A number of weeks back I adopted a yellow-sided GCC, Sunny. He is still in quarantine. He is less bitey now and gets excited when he sees me. He always steps up and is looking good... healthier-looking now he is off seed and loving pellets and chop and takes daily baths. He's a fantastic little fellow. I have a work commitment this month that requires me to be out of the apartment for stretches that are longer than usual. I monitor him through a webcam and my wife is at home. He has toys but (understandably) gets stir crazy. The breeder was unable to sell his previous cage mate and offered him to me very cheaply. I have no more room for quarantine so i decided to re-introduce them out of cage this morning. After a mildly bitey start they are already inseparable. My new addition is a natural GCC, no mutations. My goodness his bite hurts. He is small but almost breaks the skin. Sunny also bites playfully and it is becoming less and less painful. This evening the new guy began acting (as i interpret it as an idiot monkey parent) aggressively towards me. He looked cheesed off, flutters his wings at me and bites. It is possible he is still scared, and i am working to make him feel at home. I know if a parrot has a person they are bonded with they can become jealous if another parrot also begins to form a friendship with the chosen human. My long-winded question is this: Is the converse situation also true? Is the new guy (I may well name him Mako) threatened by Sunny's existing friendship with me, and experiencing jealousy? Could this be a cause of his angry behaviour? Sunny jumps on my hand and the new guy is Sunny's velcro bird so follows suit. I stand calmly and talk softly to them and offer them sunflower seeds. Mako snatches them then immediately spits them out. I have to wear gloves because his bite is too painful to bear. For such a small head it really is a marvel of biological engineering generating such large bite pressure!
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GCC Jealousy
- Thread starter MattP
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Wardy
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There has been a couple of big changes with the birds they have been seperated and then reintroduced to each other in a few weeks add yourself and your wife to the flock.
You need to give the new bird to settle in with you all give him time and space.
Target training is a good way to interact with the new bird whilst giving him some space.
I dont think he is jealous he is also getting used to the addition of the new bird.
Take a step back with them both spend short amounts of time with them both seperately doing training.target/step up.
All birds are going to be different in how long it takes to settle in a feel comfortable with there humans.
Both of my cheekies interact with both my and my wife in varying degrees, and whilst KiKi has happily lived with us took treats from us it took 49 weeks before she was happy to start stepping up
They happily spend most of there out of cage time playing with each other preening each other and sometimes dont bother with the humans.
You say Sunny is stir crazy in his cage, what kind of toys do you have for him ? Do you have any foraging oppertunitys in his cage ?
You need to give the new bird to settle in with you all give him time and space.
Target training is a good way to interact with the new bird whilst giving him some space.
I dont think he is jealous he is also getting used to the addition of the new bird.
Take a step back with them both spend short amounts of time with them both seperately doing training.target/step up.
All birds are going to be different in how long it takes to settle in a feel comfortable with there humans.
Both of my cheekies interact with both my and my wife in varying degrees, and whilst KiKi has happily lived with us took treats from us it took 49 weeks before she was happy to start stepping up
They happily spend most of there out of cage time playing with each other preening each other and sometimes dont bother with the humans.
You say Sunny is stir crazy in his cage, what kind of toys do you have for him ? Do you have any foraging oppertunitys in his cage ?
Thank you very much for taking the time to respond and share your experience. Sunny has a boing (he loves this), carefully-chosen and modified (trimmed, bells and other toe hazards removed) hanging wood/wicker toys that i have been rotating, a seagrass cargo net (loves this too) unbleached toilet roll, and a balsa wood kebab. I am in the process of making a foraging tray: I ordered these items online: trays, wicker balls, kitty balls, toe toys, pony beads, a paper shredder. They are arriving and the sets should be ready for disinfecting and use tomorrow. I also ordered some Tropibird imported foraging toys. I have taken Sunny for walks in a bird carrier cage. Both GCCs were clipped pretty severely and neither can fly. I won't clip them. I believe (and know from research) that it's bad for their health and it's a bird's right to fly. Sunny can half-jump-half-flutter but cannot ascend. Mako appears entirely grounded. In general Sunny seems content in his cage but sometimes wants out and this month i have less time for him. And also a quaker who needs dad time too. I will certainly do as you suggest. I am more than happy to go at bird-speed 
I didn't take him out of the cage this evening, he tagged along with Sunny, who was excited to see me and wanted to play. I love reading posts on here and the experiences and adventures people share on here: people who love their fids as much as I
I didn't take him out of the cage this evening, he tagged along with Sunny, who was excited to see me and wanted to play. I love reading posts on here and the experiences and adventures people share on here: people who love their fids as much as II have tried sourcing finger traps, but the best i can find is DIY bamboo strips, and i am pretty swamped with bird- and teaching-related duties so they will have to wait for nowThere has been a couple of big changes with the birds they have been seperated and then reintroduced to each other in a few weeks add yourself and your wife to the flock.
You need to give the new bird to settle in with you all give him time and space.
Target training is a good way to interact with the new bird whilst giving him some space.
I dont think he is jealous he is also getting used to the addition of the new bird.
Take a step back with them both spend short amounts of time with them both seperately doing training.target/step up.
All birds are going to be different in how long it takes to settle in a feel comfortable with there humans.
Both of my cheekies interact with both my and my wife in varying degrees, and whilst KiKi has happily lived with us took treats from us it took 49 weeks before she was happy to start stepping up
They happily spend most of there out of cage time playing with each other preening each other and sometimes dont bother with the humans.
You say Sunny is stir crazy in his cage, what kind of toys do you have for him ? Do you have any foraging oppertunitys in his cage ?
Wardy
Rollerblading along the road
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A little bowl in their cage with shredded paper and a sprinkling of seed is a good introduction to foraging.
My first attempt at a foraging tray. It scared the crap out of my conures so i followed Wardy's suggestion and put some shredded paper and seeds in a stainless steel bowl. Also i fear the beads are too small and a choking hazard. I have ordered larger beads. Mako is much less hostile today. Still bitey though
Ok a day to introduce foraging to my boys. Already Donnie Q and the conures are curious. I removed the pony beads. Maybe parrots are smart enough not to swallow them but I don't know enough to risk it. I have ordered some too large to swallow. I had to move my hand at a rate of 1 inch/ten minutes in the skittish tiel cage so as not to spook them
