Chipotle update, one month later.
On April 9th, I posted about our new crimson bellied conure, Chipotle.
And today, you get an update, with pictures and thoughts. :)
Health: We went to the vet Friday, and Mr. Chipotle was examined, bloodworked, and fecal'd. His bloodwork came back pretty good, with the only oddness a slightly low blood protein, which can be easily explained by the fact that he's growing in his entire tail at once. We're waiting on the Psittacosis test, and then we'll break Q. He switched to a pelleted/fresh food diet in two days, and has been eating us out of house and home ever since.
Behaviour: This completely untame breeder bird has stepped up for a dozen strangers, happily steps up for us, and does not bite at all, ever. He protests when he's handled, but that's it. And today, he even licked juice off my scary, scary finger. His terror of hands has decreased immensely, and he's much more tolerant of people moving quickly around him. Unfortunately, he's still somewhat uninterested in toys, though he's decided over the past few days that he should destroy one of his rope perches. So we're still working on it.
Feathers: As said above, he's growing in all his tail at once, which unfortunately means that at some point in the pretty recent past, someone grabbed his tail feathers and pulled them all out, most likely on accident. On the upside, even if the feathers aren't beautiful, once they come in, they'll be able to support new, prettier feathers. He's got enough primaries now that he can flutter like a clipped parrot would, which is a good start.
GCC vs CBC: Honestly, considering that they're both Pyrrhura conures, they're not all that behaivorally similar. This guy is MUCH, MUCH, MUCH less nippy than the GCCs that I've interacted with, and a little bit less bold about the world in general -- not afraid, but certainly not the 'bite first, ask questions later' that comes with a lot of GCCs. Right now, since we've put a happy hut in his cage to prevent him falling at night, he hides a lot when we come into the room.
He's also very, very vocal. Not louder than a GCC, volume wise, but he talks a lot. He regularly calls back and forth to the parrots downstairs, he likes to sing along with music, and he protests immensely when he doesn't like things.
I really like him, he's a super fun little parrot, and I can't wait for him to be able to start meeting the other guys (and for me to stop washing my hands constantly -- oh the dry skin is agonizing).
And now, what you really came here for: Pictures!
Here's two pictures of the toys that shadowrabbit of Birdy Booty made for him. They're really fantastic, but he's not a fan yet. Toys are going to take a LONG time with this one.
Chipotle being a little horrified at the twine wrapping of his perch -- but he can hold on better with it.
This isn't a great picture, but it absolutely shows his feathers better than most. Check out his little tail, and those bright blue primaries!
Up close and personal.
He absolutely disapproved of my glasses as a perch.
He was trying to flee the horrible glasses-perch to my hand -- but in this, you can see the nice maroon of his tailfeathers. I don't think this set are going to be particularly beautiful, but it's a start.
This is the worst of the two sides as far as feathers go.
I love the red under his wings. (He was deeply displeased about the perch and wanted OFF.)
Not a flattering picture of me, surprise that, but just remember: Untame, breeder bird, terrified of hands. :)
He was SO gentle licking juice off my fingertip.
And today, you get an update, with pictures and thoughts. :)
Health: We went to the vet Friday, and Mr. Chipotle was examined, bloodworked, and fecal'd. His bloodwork came back pretty good, with the only oddness a slightly low blood protein, which can be easily explained by the fact that he's growing in his entire tail at once. We're waiting on the Psittacosis test, and then we'll break Q. He switched to a pelleted/fresh food diet in two days, and has been eating us out of house and home ever since.
Behaviour: This completely untame breeder bird has stepped up for a dozen strangers, happily steps up for us, and does not bite at all, ever. He protests when he's handled, but that's it. And today, he even licked juice off my scary, scary finger. His terror of hands has decreased immensely, and he's much more tolerant of people moving quickly around him. Unfortunately, he's still somewhat uninterested in toys, though he's decided over the past few days that he should destroy one of his rope perches. So we're still working on it.
Feathers: As said above, he's growing in all his tail at once, which unfortunately means that at some point in the pretty recent past, someone grabbed his tail feathers and pulled them all out, most likely on accident. On the upside, even if the feathers aren't beautiful, once they come in, they'll be able to support new, prettier feathers. He's got enough primaries now that he can flutter like a clipped parrot would, which is a good start.
GCC vs CBC: Honestly, considering that they're both Pyrrhura conures, they're not all that behaivorally similar. This guy is MUCH, MUCH, MUCH less nippy than the GCCs that I've interacted with, and a little bit less bold about the world in general -- not afraid, but certainly not the 'bite first, ask questions later' that comes with a lot of GCCs. Right now, since we've put a happy hut in his cage to prevent him falling at night, he hides a lot when we come into the room.
He's also very, very vocal. Not louder than a GCC, volume wise, but he talks a lot. He regularly calls back and forth to the parrots downstairs, he likes to sing along with music, and he protests immensely when he doesn't like things.
I really like him, he's a super fun little parrot, and I can't wait for him to be able to start meeting the other guys (and for me to stop washing my hands constantly -- oh the dry skin is agonizing).
And now, what you really came here for: Pictures!
Here's two pictures of the toys that shadowrabbit of Birdy Booty made for him. They're really fantastic, but he's not a fan yet. Toys are going to take a LONG time with this one.
Chipotle being a little horrified at the twine wrapping of his perch -- but he can hold on better with it.
This isn't a great picture, but it absolutely shows his feathers better than most. Check out his little tail, and those bright blue primaries!
Up close and personal.
He absolutely disapproved of my glasses as a perch.
He was trying to flee the horrible glasses-perch to my hand -- but in this, you can see the nice maroon of his tailfeathers. I don't think this set are going to be particularly beautiful, but it's a start.
This is the worst of the two sides as far as feathers go.
I love the red under his wings. (He was deeply displeased about the perch and wanted OFF.)
Not a flattering picture of me, surprise that, but just remember: Untame, breeder bird, terrified of hands. :)
He was SO gentle licking juice off my fingertip.