First Conure - In over my head?

[Tauredheil]

I never had much interest in birds of any kind until recently when I was given a Pintail Whydah. Since then I decided I wanted a larger, more interactive bird and started researching Green Cheek Conures and have fallen in love with their personalities and looks. I came across a cage that was on sale at the pet store and brought it home with me, thinking I'd just put it away until I feel ready to bring a gcc into my home.
Well, my husbands co worker offered to sell us one of his. My husband paid him on the spot for it and he told me that we're picking it up this Friday. The kicker? The bird isn't tame. From what I understand it's a younger bird (Couple months?) and when his wife left him, she also left the birds. To combat boredom he put the birds in the same cage and they ended up breeding.
My husband is 100% set on getting this bird and even though I've tried to say no, he's still bringing it home. Since I'm a stay at home wife, I'm going to be the one who's with the bird every day so I'm trying to make the best out of it.
I've read what I've been able to find on the subject but I think my question is, is there anything that I should know that you can't find in the easier to find websites to help. I tend to over think things so everything seems far scarier then it actually is (lol)

Thanks!

 

[melinda]

A Nontamed bird for your first is going to be a little harder on you. But just take your time with her. Don't try to rush the bird you have plenty of time for the fun stuff later. When you bring the bird home put it in the cage and let her settle in. The best way to bond is just sit next to the cage read a book alound to it until it no longer stays on the other side of the cage. Then you can start hand feeding little treats through the bars. Before you know it you can pet her through the bars and then you can start working more with her. I would make sure she had a wing trim so you can let her out of her cage while you are sitting next to her. She might surprise you after a couple of weeks by climbing down and getting on you with out you asking her. Just try to stay calm when you are near her that way she doesn't get upset birds pick up on how we feel real good. Just give yourself and her time to adjust And try not to push her to do something to soon.

 

[Spiritbird]

One of the best ways to know your bird is to study and read up on what conures do in the wild. What they eat, how they play and so forth. That way you can understand why the bird is doing something. conures love to shred almost anything. I give my little guy shredding things all the time. Today it was an empty Kleenex box which I cut a larger opening in and put treats inside. conures love to cuddle after they get to know you. It is important to have their wings trimmed some by a vet during the training period. They can still fly some but not like a hummingbird. We are all here for you and any problems you run into.

 

[Pedro]

Tauredheil, I hear you loud & clear. I breed GCC but all mine are hand reared. The other day i swapped one of my hens for a male. Not thinking for one minute he wasn't a quite bird, I placed him in a small flight cage, to my horror he goes nuts when i approach the cage. This bird i have isn't going to tame down anytime soon. Although he will be an aviary bird. I also received a nasty bite to my finger from the hen when i caught her but to be fair she was never intended to be a pet.

In my opinion if your unsure about taming down an aviary bred youngster at this stage i wouldn't go there. It could scare you off birds for life. However i would go with your original plan of buying a young hand reared baby that you can handle from the start so much easier for a first timer.

The thing is if you are afraid of being bitten by this bird your not going to even try to tame it & it will possibily be in it's cage & never let out. At the end of the day you have to do what feels right for you.

 

[Tauredheil]

Thanks everyone. Not bringing the bird home at this point isn't an option, I hope once my husband sees how much work this is he'll be willing to let me find the bird a more experienced home. I'm still going to try and hopefully it'll work but I'm not going to kid myself into believing this is going to be easy.
I have the cage set up and a few toys in there and am waiting on getting food so I can ask what he's been fed so far. Thanks again for the help, I know I'll be back with pics or more help

 

[Amber]

Just wanting to wish you good luck! I'm glad you know what this will possibly be like

As for the husband, make sure to tell him that choosing a pet for you isn't really his domain. Just because you want a GCC doesn't mean he has to go grab the first one he finds. You wouldn't buy the first car you see without looking around first, after all. It just irks me so much when people do stuff like this, or give animals as gifts without warning or asking first. It would have been like someone dumping a half wild bird on me without asking permission while I was out looking at breeders and carefully choosing the companion bird I wanted, and as a result me not being able to get the tame pet bird I wanted, I guess. I'd LOVE to take in some non tame birds one day, but not until I have the skills I feel I need in order to do so.

That said though, I'm glad your going to give it your best shot! I think if you put in the work and read up on conure behaviours like suggested you can do this You'll probably fall in love and build a great bond with this bird if you persevere. Just be sure to give the hubby a slap on the wrists!

 

[Tauredheil]

I ended up bringing a bird home yesterday. Not the bird that was expected though. Went to go pick up the bird and my husbands co worker is talking to us and telling us about the pets and shows us "my" bird then continues talking, I got bored so I was looking around and noticed this little bird in the corner in a tiny cage. Apparently someone had traded him the bird for a gun and he didn't know what to do with it since he didn't have any other cages. I'm a total sucker though and ended up talking both of them into letting me bring him home.
He's had 5 homes in 2 years and is missing the tip of his toe and a toenail which has long been healed over, had no toys and was fed nothing but wild bird seed. ("He won't eat nothin else!"). I've named him Petrie and he's sweet. He's eating pellets here (a mix of harrison's and zupreem naturals), grapes, hard boiled eggs, peanuts, and basically anything I'll give him. When offered seed he'll root through it and throw it everywhere. Apparently the co worker couldn't get anywhere near him and was looking to "unload" him as well. He's still nervous around my husband but will eat treats from our hand and likes it when we talk to him, he startles if you bring your hand too close to him so I'm not going to push it. After all, he hasn't even been here 24 hours.

I've bought a book on conures and am waiting for it to get here, but I do have a question on a behaviour he's been doing. He'll climb onto the side of the cage, once he gets close he crouches low, brings his wings out ever so slightly and it's like they vibrate? Should I be concerned?
Thanks again

 

[Amber]

Oh! I'm really glad you got to choose your bird! It's always so much better that way, then they really are YOURS. Is this one a GCC?

On the diet, remember to swap him over slowly! He may not even identify the pellets as food to begin with! Let him have a seed and pellet mix, gradually dropping the % of seed and increasing the % of pellets over a few weeks to a month. Watch him and make sure he is eating the pellets! He has enough changes to cope with right now without being forced into a new diet But on the other hand, if he eats them right away, maybe somewhere in those 5 homes he WAS fed pellets and he will swap over easier. Flicking seed is normal, Alex used to do it too in order to find his favourite parts of the mix. He does it especially when on a new blend for some reason. Now he chows down on it all no issues (Personally I feed a balanced seed/pellet/dried fruit blend as recommended by my avian vet. But that is because Alex gets more exercise then most pets, and the artificial vitamins and restricted energy in the pellets were not enough for him, we were fighting a deficiency caused by them. Now he is sleek and healthy, and that is all that matters to me.)

He's taking food from you? That's a great sign! I think he will settle in and become quite tame quite fast As for the wings, don't worry too much, my conure does the same when he is excited. I would also consider get an avian vet to have a look over him though just to give him a clean bill of health, especially after 5 homes! Thats alot of different enviroments to pick up different problems in! Plus if the wing thing bothers you you can get it looked at, just in case

This co-worker should not have birds. Why did he get them in the first place? ):

Heres to many hears of happiness with your new friend!

 

[kentstar]

Right, too many people buy a bird because it looks pretty, without thinking about the consequences until later. You should buy the bird that comes to YOU and not the one you go to! You'll know then that it's a match made in heaven

 

[melinda]

I am so glad you got to pick your baby. It sounds like you made a great choice. Sounds like you are doing great with food. Just give him a couple of days to get use to his new home and i am sure he will become a sweet baby if he is already eating from your hand. My conure does his wings like that when he is happy or begging me to pick him up. Try to find his fav. food and keep that as a training treat. That way he will try just a little harder to please you to get what he wants.