Jazz - Green Cheek Conure Blog

He also likes to play with them from inside his cage while they are on top of it. He moves them to the edge with his beak and then knocks them onto the floor (a variation of his other game). I'm sure pretty soon he will throw them down and say "Uh-oh" because every time he throws one down, my MIL says "uh-oh" so I keep waiting for that.

Here he is in his snuggle bag. Since I opened up the end, he sleeps in it every night. He plays in it too, climbing through it is a fun game! If you want directions on how to make your own, you can find them on the toys page of our website.


Where Are You?

Being the flock creature he is, Jazz does not like being left alone and he has really bonded to me. So when I get home from work, if I don't come see him right away, he will whistle at me until I whistle back. This is just his way of checking to see where I am and that I know he wants to see me.

Most mornings, my husband and I get up within a few minutes of each other. When hubby wakes, he goes into the living room, turns on the light and lets the puppy out of her crate. Usually I walk through just in time for Jazzie to crawl out of his snuggle bag and stretch. I tell him "Good Morning" and open the door and he rushes to greet me. This morning, I was lazy and stayed in bed a few extra minutes, so after hubby walked through and took care of the puppy, Jazz climbed out of his bag and stood there looking back and forth, back and forth (I could see him in the mirror)watching for me. When I didn't follow suit, he let out a loud whistle. I think he was worried about his Momma, so I whistled back. The look on his face was priceless, it was like, "Phew, I was lookin for ya." He was okay because I answered him and went about his morning. Climbed down and took a drink, took a few bites of food and checked out his place to make sure everything was as it should be.

When I finally got out of bed and opened the door, he ran to the top of the cage and gave me a sweet kiss. What a great way to start a morning!


Messy Mouth

He didn't like it much at first, but it was a whole lot easier for him to deal with than the harness that went over his head.

Our friend, Cathleen and her GCC Ivy, sent it to us. Miss Ivy wouldn't wear it so she she it to us for Jazz to try out. She was hoping "some birdie" could use it. (I just love her clever little play on words.)

Jazz nibbled on it a little at first, but then accepted it. Especially since he got to go outside with it on. We attached a lanyard to it and Jazz went outside to see the new house across the street and he went to Sonic with me to get dinner.

It's so funny to me when Jazz goes places and people say, is that a Parrot? Duh! My husband said I should say, "No, its my pet bat, I just dress him up like a parrot, but Shhhh don't tell him, he doesn't know."

I'm so lucky to be a birdie momma!!

Here is a video I took of Jazz learning how to turn around...his very first trick. He's doing so well:

Turn around is a very easy first trick to teach your bird, it just requires time and patience on your part to teach any animal to do anything.

Here are the instructions from "BASIC TRICK TRAINING" by Tani Robar

Holding the seed in the right hand at about the bird's eye level, let the bird see the seed. Tell it "turn around". As the bird reaches for the seed, move your hand around the bird to the back so that the bird must first turn its head and next, hopefully, its whole body, to follow and reach for the seed. If the bird turns half way around to face the back, tell it "good" and reward it at once. Then coax it to turn the rest of the way around by following the seed in your right hand. Use the simple command "turn around" each time you ask it to turn. . Once the bird turns from front to back and then back to front readily, insist it turn all the way around before it gets its reward. This is a simple first trick and it might not interest you as a future trick, but what you are teaching the bird here is more than just a trick. You are teaching it how to learn and what is expected of it, and how it will be rewarded. Remember, a bird will not repeat a behavior for which it is not compensated in some way. In the next step, let the bird follow the seed around in your right hand, but hold another seed in your left hand. Once the bird has completed the turn, reward it with the seed from your left hand. Gradually raise your right hand a little higher each time the trick is successfully repeated. Next, have no seed in your right hand and just make the right hand move in a small circle above the bird's head, being sure to immediately reward the correct behavior with a seed from the left hand. Eventually you will be able to just circle the right index finger above the bird, and drop the command altogether. A tip to remember, a bird responds much more readily to a visual cue than to a verbal one. But in the beginning teach both. The verbal command forces the bird to pay attention, and gives the trainer focus. For now be satisfied with the bird turning around on the T-stand, even if it does so a bit awkwardly or slowly. Think of what the bird has learned in just a few minutes. It has heard a command (turn around), it has seen and learned to respond to a visual cue (the right hand, index finger circling over his head), it learns that the word "good" means its owner is pleased, and finally, that a reward will be following. And all it had to do was turn itself around!

My sweet, sweet Jazz. He has decided that the honeymoon is over and he is going to see what exactly he can get away with. Even though he has opened up immensely with us and is more cuddly, talking more, all around a whole lot more outgoing, he has begun biting. Not the gentle nips like before he actually drew blood on my hubby's ear and left bruises on my fingers.

Some GCC owners find blowing in their faces to work. Jazz really doesn't care. He just bites again. So, when he bites, he goes back into his cage with the door shut for a time out. So far that seems to be working. I will keep ya posted.



Update on the Snuggle Bag


The Snuggle bag I made had one design flaw. Jazz couldn't get in and turn around, so he wasn't getting in. I opened the other end, so now it's more like a tube, and now he plays in it, climbs on it and sleeps in it. You can see the pictures of it (before I opened the end) on our toys page.



Aviator Harness


The petite Harness I got was too small for Jazz, as some of you know. I wrote to Parrot University and they said to send it in, that they guarantee fit. When they got it, they said that it was the proper size for a GCC and tried it on one of their birds and said it was right. I guess Jazz is bigger than your average GCC. So, they sent me the extra small and I got it in the mail today. We will see if it fits better. I will let you know.

Update: At lunch I ran home and tried the harness. Yeah, well, I think its the right size but Jazz panicked. Then hubby panicked. He kept saying, "He's going to break something." So we took it off and we'll try again after we let him play with it a little more. I also have a flight suit coming in a few days. We'll see if that is easier for him, since it doesn't go over his head.

Silly boy looks like the kid that got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I am so glad that he is eating better now. If you have finicky birdies, try the mash recipes, they're amazing!!

Last night Jazzie ate his entire serving of "Mash". Serving it cold seems to be the key. So when I was preparing ingredients for this morning's breakfast for our family, I made a small bowl of mashed banana with finely chopped apples, pears, green seedless grapes and peaches. I mixed it all up and placed it in the fridge. This morning as we sat down for breakfast, I served him a spoonful of the "fruit mash" and he devoured it! I am so glad that he is eating so well!

When I was talking to Pam, his breeder, she suggested a snuggle bag for Jazz, said all her birds love them. So I made my own and wrote to her about its success. She said that Jazzie just loved the snuggle bag when he was small, so its no wonder he loves his new little sleeping bag. I have to reinforce the bottom so he can stand in it easier. The pictures I took are very dark, so I will try to take some better ones and post them soon.

Last night, my husband's puppy was hollering from her crate, she pretty much slept all day so she wasn't ready for bedtime. Funny thing is, every time she hollered, Jazz replied with a funny little sound. Not sure what it was, if he was saying "hush" or just making some sound but it was funny because the same sound followed every one of her whimpers.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day!!

I got alot of new content on the homepage today!! Click the green house on the left to visit.

Oh my goodness, like with this little bird is so very much fun. He has quite a personality.

I was concerned last week because my Jazz wasn't eating any fresh fruits except for broccoli, which he loves. So I wrote to my GCC group on Yahoo and got some really great recipes (that I'll be adding to the site very soon). So I used one and pureed some veggies and added it to some cooked rice. I was so disappointed the first night, he just didn't touch it at all. It made a big ol' bowl of "mash" so I stuck it in the fridge and tried again last night.

Last night I grab a small spoonful and put it in his empty dish. Took out his seed mix bowl and his pellet bowl and he munched that stuff down. Who would have known that he likes it better cold??

He talking so much, its so cute. Not only do we have Jazzie that we''re trying to teach not to bite, but my husband's Texas Heeler pup as well and so Jazz' newest phrase is "No bite!" It's so cute.

His favorite toy right now terrifies me. Not the toy, but the fact that Jazz enjoys hanging from it by one foot. I know he can fly to safety if he falls. I know that he knows what he's doing, but I am so afraid he's going to hurt himself. I know, don't worry so much!!

He's still working on his first trick - turn around. I'll let you know and maybe post a video when he gets it down!

Anyway, that Jazz for today, he's such a happy bird!

Welcome to my blog! I started this blog so you can follow the progress of my six month old Green Cheek Conure, Jazz! Jazz came from a breeder in Oklahoma, at Scotties N' Greys. As soon as I have her permission, I will link to her site. I can't wait, she said she was going to see if she had somepictures of Jazz when he was a baby!!

I got Jazz almost a week ago and he has changed so very much since then! He is talking, learning tricks and playing so much! He is saying "Pretty boy, Jazz, pretty boy" almost every night, along with some things that we can't understand. He is eager to learn. Teaching him tricks is so much fun! He knows when I open the seed bucket and get a few sunflower seeds that we're going to do something fun and he is so excited!

I am just getting the website and blog started so check back soon for some really great updates!