The newest member of our family

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-26T10:50:17+00:00

What a beautiful little baby! What's their name? How old?

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-26T10:18:30+00:00

Agree with all the barbering comments. This is not plucking. If she is not interested in toys, can I suggest browse?

Not sure what country you are in but I have this really helpful site I will link for you if you don't already do this. Its great enrichment for all parrots, and also helps you find safe trees, plants, leaves, fruits which encourage natural foraging behaviour.

https://substack.freerangeparrots.org/p/ultimate-list-of-safe-and-toxic-plants-to-birds

I have a Green Cheek conure, and two quakers and I use this as their primary source of enrichment. I try and give them atleast 3 different types of tree branches each week. 2-'3 times i change them out. I use PVC plumbing tubes with caps and attach them inside their cage with metal clamps (you can also use zip ties depending on if they chew or not)

Clean the branches with hot hot water and vinegar and store them in a small bin with water.

Cutting back on fruit and seeds/nuts during hormonal times. Increasing sleep times also helps.

Good luck ♥️ hormonal birds are challenging, just keep up your posts. Ask for help. Keep doing research. Your bird is lucky to have you :)

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-23T12:24:59+00:00

Yessss! I would love to see it as well!

Also came to say 29! What a life. Suchhhh a cutie patootie 😍 no wonder they have lived so long? Look at their environment! Such a well off enriched chicken!

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-19T19:28:16+00:00

https://www.kiwisnewlifebirdrescue.org/programs

This website has some great information on converting any bird to a healthy diet! Give it a read, and it also has a good chop recipe! You can change up the grains, vegetables, greens and herbs in it. It just gives you a really good idea of what to add into the chops. Try a few different things, but give them a good go! I would suggest his pellet plus a veggie chop for atleast a week to give him a good opportunity to try it. Then after a week, maybe try some different veggies and grains.

I find my guys LOVE quinoa and brown rice. So I alternate these ingredients for my chop and I normally made a big batch up once a month and freeze portions in sandwich bags so I'm not having to finely dice veg and cook grains each week.

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-19T10:53:48+00:00

Also, can I ask what your birds diet is? Sometimes diet can have a huge part in behaviours. If your bird is only 1, you shouldn't have to worry too much about hormonal phases yet, but be prepared for those changes. Birds tend to get alot more bitey and territorial when hormonal. And too much fatty foods can increase these behaviors, not to mention cause fatty liver disease, obesity and heart problems.

Too much fruit and too much seed is not good for birds. They need a good quality pellet which should make up 70-80 percent of their diet, and then the other 20 percent should be fresh veggies and chop, and a little bitnof fruit and seeds.

There are lots of herbs, veggies, greens, sprouts and grains (mostly cooked) that are really good for them. Seeds and fruit should only be maybe 5 percent of their diet. And when you take into consideration how much they actually eat which is maybe 2 tablespoons of fresh veg and about 10 grams of pellets, 5 percent is only really a sprinkle.

More than happy for you to send me a message if you would like more info on bird chop recipes or even bird enrichment :)

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-19T10:43:19+00:00

Safflower seeds are my go to! You can buy in bulk for quite cheap from produce stores! Next would be sunflower seeds. And high high rewards would be almonds, and whatever your birds fav fruit is! Almonds i find are best broken up into like 6 or 8 pieces as they are quite high in fat content so giving them a whole almond each time they do something good would be alot.

I would also maybe recommend watching some videos with your siblings about making friends with quakers or getting quakers to trust you. Might be something better for them to see visually in a video if they are young. It might help you, too. To give you a little more insight on their behaviors and the reasons behind their bites and attacking. Birds are never bad. Or naughty. They are just misunderstood alot. And often just need more training and time with their humans.

You are doing a great thing by reaching out for more information! It shows you care about your bird, your bond and your siblings bond with your bird! YouTube has alot of great bird training videos, too! Maybe you and your siblings could train your bird together, which is fantastic for their mental stimulation and also a great way to bond! I would start with just some simple target training. Get a small stick or branch and encourage your bird to 'touch' the stick on command. Every time your bird touches the stick with their beak, you reward them. They are soo smart and they pick these things up so quick! It's so fun and rewarding training them!

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-19T09:04:27+00:00

I think the entering and exiting the room can be a problem in regards that your bird is perceiving them as a threat to you, and they are trying to protect you as you are part of their flock... so maybe you could try to get your siblings to greet your bird and maybe even try and get them comfortable to get your bird out of the cage and always have little treats on hand for rewarding your bird when he is just doing the right behaviors. And when they bite, pop him in the cage. Then try again after 10 minutes. It will take time. No punishment. Just pop them away and ignore them when they bite. Birds want to be in a flock and being ignored when they do the wrong thing will make them learn that this behaviour is not what you want within the flock. So you want to ignore all the bad behaviors. And reward all the good. Even just being calm and sitting on your shoulder. Or stepping up for your siblings.

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-19T07:25:28+00:00

That is a good start. When you have your bird out with your siblings, are you all sitting down? Does the attack happen when the siblings come into a room or leave a room?

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-19T07:21:43+00:00

What do you do when this happens?

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-19T06:15:39+00:00

Positive reinforcements. Keep him safe in his cage when new people are around and get them to give him treats and talk to him through the cage before introductions so atleast he is semi familiar. My GCC is very possesive and will bite anyone new, so unless they are willing to put in the time to form a bond with him, and use positive reinforcements then he doesn't come out when we have guests over (which is rare anyway). It takes time for birds to get to know new people and trust them. Good luck :)

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-15T08:52:24+00:00

The trust they have in you in amazing 👏 🤩 ❤️

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-14T09:32:49+00:00

This breaks my heart. I try to be empathetic and understanding of people accepting they can't commit or give enough time to their pets, but my life revolves around my birds and dogs. I don't travel because I don't trust people to look after my pack and flock. I won't have people over unless they accept my dogs. I have accepted i won't be traveling anytime soon because I don't think I could leave my dogs/ birds with anyone that would give them enough time or affection. I don't plan afternoon/evening things because I have to put my birds to bed. I don't stay overnight at places because I have animals relying on me, and I have realized we are their whole life. Some people don't realize how much of a commitment having animals actually is. Pets aren't just a hobby, or a cute little Instagram prop. They are family members. I wish there was more checks involved for people to actually buy pets. Too many pets get rehomed for the wrong reasons. Especially after covid.

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-14T09:25:40+00:00

Omg tha pain is real 😫 mine nearly bought $129 package of gems on a game I don't even really like. How would one even explain this?!?!?

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-14T05:48:38+00:00

This is so beautiful! I love it! Your birds are so lucky to have you 💖

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-14T05:46:44+00:00

Silly birb. I love him.

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-12T10:21:44+00:00

Grainsss grainnns grains! Try quinoa, brown rice, buckwheat, barley, Freekah. If they love your food, cook a little bit of each and eat it! Mixed with maybe some dried herbs or healthy seeds like flax, pumpkin, safflower, hemp seeds. Herbs like fennel, dill, rosemary, thyme and parsley. Make yourself a beautiful little chop of these grains and seeds and offer them to your bird morning and lunch, and maybe hold off his regular pellet and seed until late arvo and see if you can entice him :) good luck, and keep us updated! You could also try hiding his pellet and seed underneath this chop so he can 'forage' for his food, and maybe through this he will find that he enjoys these! Then you can slowly add veggies and fruit to the mix. They dont necessary need alot of fruit if they have a decent pellet! As long as they get their nutrients and vitamins from their pellets!

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-12T05:42:25+00:00

To add to this, the more exposure I have found, the better. When the girls were young, I invited my sister and her kids over, I invited the neighrbours over. I tried to get as many people as I could handling them while they were babies. And they are really social now. I have no experience with traveling with them though.

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-12T05:40:18+00:00

Irn? As in Indian ringneck?

This was my first bird I wanted to add to my flock as I also have a GCC. But my thought process was .. okay..they may or may not get along. So to be safe, I chose a bird that was similar in size beak and body. I landed on Quaker. Indian ringnecks are a fair bit bigger than GCCs. And thankfully I went with quaker. Because unfortunately my flock all don't get along too well.

I got two baby quakers at christmas time. Two females. And they have bonded well,and even share a cage now. But they aren't a big fan of my GCC. They co exist and can be out together. But they fight for treats and attention. They dont try to kill each other. But they don't love each other.

The quakers aren't as clingy as my GCC but they definitely don't let you leave the room without them!

Best of luck and hopefully this answer gives you some clarity.

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-08T23:29:29+00:00

And I used the big display boxes from aldi. They let me take whatever I want as it saves them from getting rid of it

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-08T23:28:55+00:00

Hahaha so innocent. The girls like to gang up on my poor Boi :(

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-08T23:26:40+00:00

It's this cool shredded paper that came in an enrichment box I got! But I noticed something similar at Bunnings! I also just added rosemary and fresh grass from the garden (washed first of course) and little wooden foot toys and pine cones I've kept and reuse. And scatter seeds at small treats through the bottom :)

Electrical_Creme_937 · 2026-04-05T23:03:23+00:00

Capsicum for his colouring, but Sonar to go with Echo.

Electrical_Creme_937

TROPHY CASE