New Member in the Family

This is "Zucchi" which is short for Zucchini. He is the newest member to our crazy bunch. He is a 6 month old, Green Cheeked Conure. He is VERY friendly, and would rather spend the whole day with us then be in his fun packed cage.

We didn't plan to bring a pet into our home, especially with all the work that goes in to raising two spirited children. But when we met Zucchi at the local Petsmart, we were charmed. It took a whole month and plenty of visits to convince Mom, but Zucchi's incredible charm and Dad's persistance won out.

I wouldn't generally recommend buying a bird from a store like Petsmart. They are usually neglected and poorly socialized. But Zucchi is a rare exception. He arrived at the Petsmart with such a social desposition that the entire store loved him. He spent part of every day hanging out with the employees and they all made it a point to come by his cage and say Hi. Keeping him very tame and willing to go to new people. Needless to say when you came up to see him, he made quite the show to get you to scratch his head and when they opened his cage he raced to get to the door to come out and meet whoever wanted to come say Hi. He even let both Aniva and Tove pet him. The employees were glad to see him going to a good home, but they were VERY sorry to see him go. It took quite a while to let them all say good-bye. They even asked if we would bring him back in every once in a while so they could see him again.

The first week with Zucchi was a little stressful. Mom, forgot how much work a bird could be. His water must be changed multiple times a day, he need dry food, fresh food, he drops seeds EVERYWHERE, and he never wanted to be in the cage. Birds like to perch on fingers.... mom's of two kids need their hands, four of them if possible... it just wasn't adding up.

But things settled down, and Mom fell in love with her new baby. We have also reached quite the compromise. Mom needs her hands, Zucchi doesn't like her shoulder, so Zucchi now climbs up and settles himself in her hair, which is usually in a bun. A little strange... but I have my hands.

I'm still debating whether or not it's a bad habit we've created. I think as long as he doesn't start climbing into guest's hair we will be alright. :)