Bailey's progress : 66 days old

[TrishMM]

Hi All,
Just a little update on my little flock and newest flock member Bailey.
As suggested might be the case, Our Green Cheek Conure; Milo is struggling with the concept of sharing me with another bird and we have had a few little behavioural issues. Am working hard at keeping him tame, safe and happy and reassuring him that there is enough love to go around . I think I am winning that battle but am a little nervous to take my eyes of him for even a second when they are both out. Bailey spends about 8 hours each day out of his cage and in my company. That's not 8 hours straight as I have to pop out for school runs and errands so I put him in and take him out as according to if I am here with him. Milo was never out as much as he is a very "in contact bird " and needs to be constantly on me which isn't conducive to doing anything else !! However he's actually benefiting now and is out a lot more than he used to be , but I just can't take my eyes off him .

Bailey is down to just one night time formula feed , he has that usuall around the same time as the sun starts to go down as he likes to have a cuddle then and as soon as I pop him into bed he goes straight to sleep. He had been refusing his other morning feed for 3 days now so today was the first day where I didn't even offer it to him. He is eating lots and behaving exactly how I would expect him to regarding veg and fruit.

I think he has just about tripled in size since we got him on day 50. Can anyone advise me what age they (Indian ring necks ) meet their full size ? I assumed it would take months but seemingly not!
He is also starting to make some wonderful sounds that I am sure will turn into chatter eventually. He's such a sweet bird , And we are all so attached already. It's amazing the bond we can have with them.

This is his current favourite place to rest.

[Wolf]

Looks like a great place to sleep.

I really don't have a timeline for when he will reach full size but he should be getting pretty close to it. The average length of a ringneck is 15 and 1/2 inches so when he reaches that then he will have his full size.

[TrishMM]

Thank you wolf, I've actually managed to research that he will reach full body size around 12-13 weeks ( another 3/4 weeks to go) and then his tail will reach its full length around 6 months. This would seem about right for how quick he's growing . I thought it was a longer process and if he kept going like he is right now that he would turn out much larger than the 16 or so inches I expected.

[Pajarita]

Baby birds need to reach adult size very early in life because by the time the resting season (the one that doesn't have that much food to go around) comes around, they need to be big and strong enough to go foraging with their parents. But that doesn't mean that they are fully grown or that they don't need baby food (the parents will continue to supplement their own intake for months) so, please, make sure he has two kind of soft food always available.

Where is Milo when you have Bailey on you? In his cage? Or is he clipped and cannot reach you when this happens? Because, if it was my GCC, she would fly right up to me regardless of how many other birds I have on me (what she does is hang from my chest while the others are on my shoulders). Sometimes I walk around with 3 birds on me (my grandkids call it 'the human birdy Christmas tree' ) and, believe it or not, I have been doing for so long that I actually manage to do all my morning chores this way... well, to be honest, sometimes I have to move one from one part of my body to another but I don't even think about it, I just do it as part of the routine.

[TrishMM]

Thank you for your reply parajita. I am currently leaving Bailey with veggie Mash available to him as well as fruits and his parrot mix and he still gets a formula feed each night at twilight.

Milo is on me almost all of the time whenever he is out of his cage, he likes to perch on my chest or head . But since baileys arrival he is inclined to jump up and down in my hair and flap his wings in between each jump if Bailey is on me also, I feel it's obviously some sort of distress signal from milo and also it causes Bailey to be quite jumpy so I try to give milo as much alone one time with me as he was used to before baileys arrival and then plan my time when they are both on me until they get a little better at being together . On one occasion Milo ( the tiny GCC ) has flown directly over my head and directly at baileys feet knocking him straight off his perch. With the result that Bailey is now reluctant to be on me when Milo is. When Bailey is on me he will favour my shoulder if I'm moving about and my chest if we are stationary I am trying hard to balance both their needs and make sure that Bailey is not frightened by Milo's behaviour, he has already started to shy away from me when milo is on me. 90 percent of the time they are both great and tolerate , even enjoy , Eachother , it's that niggly 10% that poses the problems, which are mostly minor sor far . I'm crazy about the two of them, , I just feel that Bailey as a baby needs a chance to develop his own persoablity wothout being fearful of an altercation with milo. Milo just seems a little jealous. I'm sure it will iron itself out.

[Pajarita]

Well, the thing with lone GCCs (meaning, without a bird mate of their own) is that the concept of sharing its human with another bird does not exist I am lucky that my Codee GCC bonded with Pablo Peachfront so, although she really doesn't really like other birds perching on me, she puts up with it because she has somebody of her own. Both of yours are very young so I guess you will have to wait a few years before you see what is going to be...