Vian Kennels & LittleWings Aviary

Proud member of the National Cockatiel Society

Also an NCS Michigan State Coordinator

Visit the NCS

viankennels@aol.com

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Green Cheeked Conure



Our GC Price List

A lively conure, very playful; can be very shy; love huts and tents for hiding; enjoys bathing; chewing requirement varies from bird to bird; mostly quiet, only noisy when disturbed by strangers; very inoffensive in aviculture; makes wonderful pet for responsible children.
Diet: seed mix of safflower, oats, some sunflower (also sprouted), hemp, buckwheat, millet, canary seed and rowan berries; millet spray; plenty of fruit, vegetables and green food; regular supply of branches with flowers and buds; mineral and vitamin supplements.
Size: Same Size as most Cockatiels sometimes smaller.
Colors: Normal, Yellow Side, Turquoise, Cinnamon, & Pineapple.
Housing: They do deserve a large cage -- more of a parrot cage than those tiny cages available at the general petstores.
You need room for toys. Your GC needs to be able to "roam around", flap its wings -- do the things birds like and need to do for their well-being. The more time they spend in the cage, the larger the cage should be.

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Crimson Rosella
1. Platycercus e. elegans (Gmelin 1788)

German: Pennantsittich

Description: generally red; cheeks violet-blue; nape, back and parts of secondaries black with broad red edging; inner median wing-coverts black; bend of wing, outer median wing-coverts and secondary coverts blue; secondaries, outer webs of base of primaries and under wing-coverts blue; upperside of middle tail feathers dark blue with black base, outer tail feathers dark blue with lighter edging and pale tips; tail underside pale bluish; bill horn-grey ; skin to narrow periophthalmic ring grey, iris dark brown; feet grey.

Female on average smaller and with greenish tinge to upperside of middle tail-feathers; smaller and narrower bill.

Red plumage olive-green in immatures except for forehead, crown, upper cheek area, throat, parts of upper breast, thighs and under tail-coverts; inner median wing-coverts and outer secondary-coverts dull olive-green; under wing-coverts dull blue; upperside of middle tail-feathers dark olive-green with blue-black tips; tail underside pale grey-blue; pale under-wing stripe present; attains adult plumage by 16 months.

Length: 36 cm (14 ins), wing length 164 - 188 mm (6.5 - 7.5 ins)

Diet: seed mix of sunflower, canary grass seed, various millets and weeds, oats, wheat and a little hemp; various fruit and vegetables, particularly carrot and apple; rose hips, mountain ash berries; greenfood ( chickweed, dandelion etc.); egg and soft insect food as well as a little sprouted sunflower for rearing.

 Vosmaeri Eclectus

Talking ability: Eclectus parrots are generally classified among the top three parrots for talking ability. Rivaling the African Grey and the talking Amazon parrots in clarity of speech and scope of vocabulary, they not only repeat many words and phrases but some learn entire songs. My oldest male sings "You ain't Nuthin' but a Hound Dog" from start to finish! Some Eclectus chicks learn their first word before they are weaned if the hand-feeder repeats a word to them often. Eclectus parrots enjoy repeating interesting sounds as well as words and phrases learned from their human companions. Many Eclectus owners have been fooled by phantom doorbells, running water, and family members talking in absentia. Some males have melodious voices while others sound more masculine, but nearly all Eclectus females have the most charming sweet and seductive voice--full and throaty like that of a "southern belle opera singer." As with all parrot species, there are birds that never learn to say more than "hello".

Housing: The answer to the question of proper cage size for the Eclectus parrot is easy; buy the largest cage or aviary that your space and budget will accommodate. Horizontal space is important due to the large wingspan of the Eclectus. They require daily exercise and their cage must be wide enough to allow them to flap their wings vigorously if they are unable to fly in the home or in a large aviary. Three feet is a good width if they are to spend a good deal of time in the cage. Cage height is important because of their love of climbing. A macaw-style cage allows enough vertical space for a boing toy to be hung inside the cage. Otherwise, a four or five foot cotton rope and a swing are standard Eclectus cage equipment. They enjoy small hand toys, V-Tech brand and other toys for toddlers, and any challenging toy that can be manipulated by beak and feet. Wood toys for chewing and destruction can prevent a bird from becoming interested in overgrooming and possibly destroying its feathers. Eclectus should be allowed out of the cage and into a separate play area or tree for at least an hour a day and longer if possible.

Diet: It has been reported that Eclectus have a longer than average intestinal tract to accommodate the high fiber diet that they require. They have been observed in the wild eating many types of fruits, flowers, and vegetable matter. The Eclectus digestive system seems to be extremely efficient at assimilating nutrients from foods. This probably is due to the high percentage of fibrous fruits and vegetables that make up their diet in the wild. These foods are "nutrient-sparse" foods as opposed to "nutrient-dense" foods such as pellets. Since they assimilate nutrients so efficiently, they can exhibit symptoms such as "repetitive foot clenching and wing flicking" if oversupplemented or fed too many rich foods. Unless a vitamin or mineral deficiency is diagnosed with blood tests, they should not be supplemented with vitamins and minerals. Even pellets which have a full complement of vitamins and minerals can be too rich for the Eclectus system. Natural juicy foods of deep color including greens, sprouts, fruits and vegetables should be the mainstay of their diet. They do not need vitamin A supplements or shots, as was thought many years ago. They will assimilate all the vitamin A that they need from the colorful orange, yellow, red, and green foods like pomegranates, mangos, cantaloupe, carrots, red and green bell peppers, kale, collards, dandelion and other greens. All parrots should be given organically grown produce whenever possible.

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