World, meet Baby!
Baby is the latest addition to our flock, joining us in the summer of 2018. Unlike Chewie and Dante, a lot of things about Baby is left as a mystery. First thing is the sex. We’re using female pronouns for Baby, but really have no idea if Baby is actually a girl. Baby is also the only one where her temporary name stuck and became permanent. We had names that rhymed with Baby (Phoebe, etc) ready, but at the end decided to settle with Baby since Baby was already responding to Baby (how many Baby’s can we put in a sentence?!).
Baby is another case of love-at-first-sight for me. I had heard of Sun Cheeks, and seen them once when the market price was hovering over $1,300 dollars per bird (this is when there were only 1-2 breeders that had successfully bred suncheeks). I spotted Baby from afar and my vision zoomed into the cage, where she was sitting by herself. All of Baby’s siblings had sold and Baby was the only one left waiting for a new home. Baby’s eyes were exceptionally bright and alert. They had a curious sparkle in them and the moment I walked up to take a closer look, I knew Baby had to come home with us. Unlike Chewie, Baby didn’t do much to appeal. She just clung on to the cage walls and stared at us intently. There wasn’t much argument of whether or not we should bring home another bird – 30 minutes after spotting Baby we were driving home with her.
Baby is extremely bold, sassy, and unyielding. Despite being the youngest and smallest of the three birds she manages to singlehandedly kick Chewie and Dante’s fluffy butts. Her breeder even had it written down in his notes that Baby is the bossiest one in her entire clutch. Baby likes to hang with humans and mostly stays attached to dad. She tolerates Dante more than Chewie, but doesn’t necessarily exert unnecessary dominance over either of them. Since Chewie and Dante were introduced to each other when they were young, it’s not easy for Baby to form a new branch of bond among the already established pair. Even though Baby isn’t a huge fan of Chewie, most of Baby’s behavioral or social learnings mirror that of Chewie’s. A lot of her conure ways are a direct imitation of Chewie.
Of the three birds, Baby is the friendliest and most entertaining. Any upbeat dance music will make her ruffle up and start bobbing and dancing. She sings along and isn’t shy about being filmed. Baby’s reactions are always over-the-top dramatic, which draws out a lot of laughter from spectators. Baby loves soft and cuddly material and can spend a lot of time tumbling in soft blankets or among plushies while mumbling her approval. Two random things Baby is afraid of are (1) very small animal figurines, (2) cheesecake. I know, weird but adorable. 🙂
x Birdmom
- Name: Baby
- Breed: Green cheek conure / Green-cheeked parakeet
- Mutation: Sun Cheek
- Sex: Unknown
- Hatch Date: April 28, 2018
- Gotcha Date: June 24, 2018
- Born: Sun Valley, Los Angeles, CA
- Original name given: Bobo
- Origin of current name: Temporary name solidified to current name
- Nicknames: Chewpeebeep
- Handfed: Yes, BirbDad handfed and weaned Baby
- Plumage: Light beige-yellow, bright citrus red accents, neon-yellow-green wings
- Favorite food: Sweet fruits
- Least favorite food: Greens
- Current diet: Roudy Bush, Zupreem natural, some organic human food
- Food drive: High
- Play drive: Moderate
- Favorite toys: Bunny rabbit
- FOMO level: High
- Entertainment level: Extremely high (Baby dances!)
- Cleanliness: Moderate
- Nest drive: n/a
- Suspicion level: Moderate
- Adaptability: High
- Routine-driven: Moderate
- Human Dependency: Moderate
- Survival Skills: Moderate
- Social skills: Very good
- Good with strangers: Yes
- Training Skills: Low
- Tolerance: High
- Agility: High
- Noise level: High
- Talking ability: Beginner
- Favorite words: Chewpy-ya, Baby, peekaboo
- Territorial drive: n/a
- Nesting drive: n/a
- Aggressiveness: Only towards other birds
- Flighted: Half clipped, half full feathers
- Music: Dance music, K-pop
- Shower vs. Bath: Shower
- Favorite activities: Velcro on dad, supervising kitchen activities
- Bonded human: Dad
- Baby’s playlist on Apple Music: Click here