u/hayleyspeir

Hey everyone! Last month my fiancé and I got two GCCs who were at our local PetSmart for 2+ years. They are definitely more comfortable and starting to trust us! They will still not take treats from us, but Moe did gently brushed up on my partner’s hand when he gave them breakfast the other day.

We have let them out of their cage for the past 3 days, but they will only come out if we put on Bird Nerd Sophie’s video on how to get birds out of the cage? They have flown (a little) and landed less than a foot away from us once! A real perch area for out of the cage is getting here Tuesday so maybe that will help? They go back in their cage on their own when they are ready (after about an hour). They are not great at flying, and get very tired after just a little bit… We don’t think they’ve ever had an open space to truly fly in because they go in little circles 😭 They have been a bit more comfortable each time we let them out, and seem to be exploring a little bit! They loveeee to chew at the strings that their toys are ties up with from the outside!

Moe (yellower) is always the first one out and the last one in, and he has gotten a lot closer to both of us (and brushed up against my partner). I think he will be the one to take treats from us and let us handle him before Pete (greener)…

Any advice on getting them to come out without always playing that specific video? (We have a treat buffet and toy options to lure them out onto a metal chair they like to perch on) And also to bridge the gap between using a specific treat bowl and taking treats through the bars from us? They run up the second we back away whenever anything goes in the treat bowl. We’re having trouble introducing target training because they don’t know us like that yet… I’m sure it will just take time! Thank you so much!

Hey everyone! Last month my fiancé and I got two GCCs who were at our local PetSmart for 2+ years. They are definitely more comfortable and starting to trust us! They will still not take treats from us, but Moe did gently brushed up on my partner’s hand when he gave them breakfast the other day.

We have let them out of their cage for the past 3 days, but they will only come out if we put on Bird Nerd Sophie’s video on how to get birds out of the cage? They have flown (a little) and landed less than a foot away from us once! A real perch area for out of the cage is getting here Tuesday so maybe that will help? They go back in their cage on their own when they are ready (after about an hour). They are not great at flying, and get very tired after just a little bit… We don’t think they’ve ever had an open space to truly fly in because they go in little circles 😭 They have been a bit more comfortable each time we let them out, and seem to be exploring a little bit! They loveeee to chew at the strings that their toys are ties up with from the outside!

Any advice on getting them to come out without always playing that specific video? (We have a treat buffet and toy options to lure them out onto a metal chair they like to perch on) And also to bridge the gap between using a specific treat bowl and taking treats through the bars from us? They run up the second we back away whenever anything goes in the treat bowl. We’re having trouble introducing target training because they don’t know us like that yet… I’m sure it will just take time! Thank you so much!

It’s been 3 weeks since we brought Moe and Pete to their forever home after their first 2 years of life at PetSmart. They are adjusting well! They are loving their chop, playing with toys, grooming each other, and starting to show their personalities and voices off! They are getting more comfortable with both of us, but especially their dad/my fiancé! They love listening to music, watching shows (especially SpongeBob), and being serenaded by instruments played by their dad!

We have been using a treat bowl on the door of their cage, and are about to start trying to hand feeding them their favorite treats so far, almonds! Any advice on this stage in the relationship? We plan on going slow and offering the almond at the doorway (cracked) and waiting for them to come accept it. They don’t seem bothered
when their cage is cleaned, and have even kind of approached their dad when he is cleaning or adding food/water!

They also seem to have started molting. They have lost 4 bigger feathers and quite a few tiny feathers so far. Their colors already seem a bit brighter than when we got them! We have not witnessed any stress behaviors or self plucking, all the feather loss appears to be natural!

Thank you so much for any advice!

Well we ended up getting both GCCs that had been at PetSmart for the past 2 years. The manager said they are phasing birds out but aren’t sure if more will be sent, so we are still going to call corporate tomorrow to complain about the poor birds. The manager actually got the last two conures that were at that store after 2 years. Also he’s standing on his leg just fine today so maybe it’s not bothering him?? Still have a vet appointment for them anyways. We are definitely going to have to upgrade cages and everything much sooner than expected 😅 They’re getting settled in and we’ll see how they are feeling the next few days! Trying to just give them their space. They are 0% tame so this will be a long process! We are naming the yellower one Moe and the greener one Pete. Any advice for the first few days? Thanks everyone!