Looking to be a happy conure owner

[AkridChaos]

Hello everyone. I'm new to this community. I have recently bought myself a house, and found myself feeling like something was just missing in my life. Everything clicked into place when I saw the mourning dove nesting in the gutter (her babies have hatched and have gotten to the flying stage now, soon to leave ). I realized, I miss having my little babies around! I grew up owning birds (mostly parakeets and a lone parrotlet, all such spunky darlings) and haven't had birds since graduating college. Lived in a place that didn't allow pets of any kind (not even a goldfish! D:< ) Now that I finally have my own place, I can have birds again! It's just been gnawing at me since my realization of what I've been missing, so I finally did some thinking of what I'd really like to give a try. Parakeets and parrotlets are lovely, but I'd like to try something new. Nothing as extreme as a macaw/cockatoo (I've seen Maxwell bird on the YouTubes to know he's just not for me. Love at a distance). But something like a conure sounds like it would be better suited. I don't exactly want a bird companion that would outlive me (macaw) but I don't want a friend who would leave me in 10-15 years either. Too much heartache! I hear conures last at least 30 when taken well care of. 30 is a nicer sounding number to me than 10 or life. I also hear conures are more of a "cuddly" bird, sort of like a cockatiel (never owned one but I've seen the darlings in action). It's why I'm decidedly drawn to potentially owning one now.

So with that in mind, I'd like to ask the community some questions. It's going to be a bit yet before I go investing in a home for a conure. I don't want to do anything just yet until painting and some other things are finished at the house. But I have a lot of time to prepare. Please be aware that I am not by any means new to the avian community (so no need to tell me things like clean food/water dish every day, how often to clean cage, etc). I'm really only new to conures. As in what types there are (all I've really seen are the green green/cinnamon cheeck ones, a few sun ones, and the beautiful turquoise ones). Do the different types have general different personalities, or is it all bird dependant? Is there a specific type anyone recommends over other types in terms of noise factor or cuddlyness? When people say conures are noisy, how noisy is noisy? (Videos don't quite help me determine that. Are their squaks more piercing than that of a parakeet? Are they about the same as the Maxwell bird cockatoo? I just want to determine how loud they are for the sake of neighbors. Honestly I know I can handle the noise on my own, it's others I'm worried about annoying). What's the minimum recommend size for a cage? (I will go larger than minimum, I just want a general size to be looking for). Any special sites people get their food/toys? Any special meals people cook for them? Favorite fruits/veggies/nuts? I understand avocado is a BIG NO with birds, but my memory is rusty in other foods. I remember no chocolate (duh) no alcohol (again duh) but are there other more subtle things I need to watch out for like that avocado? No teflan for sure. Just any helpful reminders or tips, I'm open to food sites or recipes or if you have an article you feel I should read up on. Anything that you feel is helpful! It is all appreciated! Open to everything here! Do not be afraid to post something.

Thank you all so much for your time. Looking forward to your feedback. ^^

 

[Scott]

I'm not familiar with conures and their needs, however they are an immensely popular species! Take your time, plan, and prepare for your new companion.

When you do scout for your conure, consider letting the bird "choose" you. This often leads to an easier transition and ultimately closer bond.

 

[FlyBirdiesFly]

I have a yellow sided green cheek conure and they are wonderful.
Green cheek conures are the most popular conure, due to their small size, cuddliness, playfulness and being quieter than other conure species. This does not mean they don't make any noise, but they are definetly quieter than a sun or other Aratinga conure. The turquoise, pineapple, and cinnamon conures are actually mutations of the green cheek, so they are the same species. Green cheek conure screams are definetly quieter than a cockatoo, but noisier than a budgie. Conures are fairly cuddly birds, much more than your typical budgie. For a cage, I'm not really sure of the minimum requirements but go for the biggest cage you can afford. My conure's cage is the Prevue Hendryx Pagoda Cockatiel Cage (they are just a little smaller than cockatiels) here is the amazon link:
https://www.amazon.com/Prevue-Produ...&sr=8-1&keywords=prevue+pagoda+cockatiel+cage
For their diet, conures love fruit (well at least mine does). My conure's favorite foods are blackberries, grapes, and raisins, but he also loves corn and peas. I also give my birds cooked whole grains like quinoa, wheat berries, and buckwheat. All three of them love it! lol they're all flying around the room right now. And that's another thing, will you be able to bird proof your house to allow flight? Or are you planning to clip your bird's wings? And how much time will you be able to spend with your bird? They need a lot of out of cage time.

 

[Notdumasilook]

My only experience with conures is with a lil Sun Conure. As far as noisy?? Well.. its not the volume... more the pitch. Myself, I am immune. IF you do your part you wont have a chronic screamer. Mine limits most of his sqawks to enthusiastic greetings when I drive up in the driveway.. occasional locating calls when I leave the room, and of course the evening singalong prior to bed.
As for bothering neighbors, no worries. If you were in a condo perhaps.. but a house, noooooo problem.
Cage?? As has been said.. large as you can afford. Its least important for me I guess cuz mine spend lots of time out of cage. Its just a home base to sleep and siesta of course during the day.
Personality.. this lil Sun is a loving lap baby enjoying lots of playtime including "pull my tail" "tickle my belly""hide and seek" etc. And lord.. the kisses..and kisses..........and more kisses.
Food... they aint picky and will beg anything you have so careful not to overindulge junk food. Mine gets fresh chop composed of stuff too
numerous to mention... no avacodo..no chocolate..no caffeine. Staples are a mix of Tops, Harrison power treats, Zupreem Natural, Zupreem fruit, mixed with Sunsations blend of seeds, dried fruit, pellets.
For toys.. easy.. his faves are a paper towel to attack, paper towel rolls to chew and toss around. But he has a material fetish. Be forewarned wear old shirts only when the bird is on you. Everything ends up with holes chewed in it. Another fetish... if they get near an unmade bed or a pile of cloths out of the dryer they turn in to feathered tunnel rats... going slap goofy. Amusing is an understatement. Good luck

 

[clark_conure]

lol maxwell on youtube is hilarious I agree with you there. And I agree I wouldn't be able to own a bird like that.

Conures are usually, if bred right and trained right EXTREMELY cuddly...like puppies or hamsters. I can't get mine off me... my first post was this.... http://www.parrotforums.com/questions-answers/69829-my-bird-too-attached-me.html they love to snuggle. Of course every bird has a different personality, but that being said they are known for that characteristic, they also can learn to talk some, and use words in context; and they are complete clowns. They can also be poop trained with a relative degree of success.

I wouldn't worry to much about the cage, anytime you are home your bird will train you to come get him, it will mostly be for sleeping and hanging toys in for him to play with when he minimally happens to be alone.

I know this sounds confident but but when a bird says I love you and makes clicky noises and puts his beak against your lips...yeah you just can't help yourself.

Also I have no data on this, but at least when I sleep, during the day my GCC is quiet, and he lets me sleep, when we are up it's still not loud when he's vieing for attention neighbors would not hear him.

I kind of wish I had an Einstein mackaw with a 1000 word vocabulary but if you to offer me the choice to trade Clark in....no way

 

[AkridChaos]

Thanks a bunch already guys.

To answer a previous question: I do intend on bird-proofing the house so he/she can fly around. I understand wing clipping is a common practice, I might do it for the introduction to the house so the poor bugger doesn't freak out and go smack dab into a wall or window full-speed. But after that first wing clipping, I would like him/her to be able to fly around. There really aren't any hazards upstairs where he'll be with me in my room, so bird proofing won't be a problem. Downstairs is the kitchen. I'll have to ask my roommate to warn me ahead of time if he's cooking something or coming in/going out a door. I might be better off not bringing my feathered friend down there just in case.

I'll try and find a nice large cage (thanks for the link fyi). I'm going to have the conure out as often as possible when I'm home (which is a lot). The cage is mostly for sleeping or for while I'm at work. I want it to be a space he/she can enjoy while I'm not at home and not feel cramped. I obviously don't want to let him/her out unsupervised while I'm away. I know how destructive and curious birds can be, and if curiosity can kill the cat, I'd hate to imagine what it could do to a bird.

Good to know that they like generally anything when it comes to food/toys. I'll just have to experiment and find what my special companion likes most. I do still have a question about toys that I just thought of though. I understand larger birds like macaws or cockatoos like to break apart wood (the person who recognized Maxwell the cockatoo on YouTube I'm sure has seen him go through a pile of wood blocks a day). Are conures also like that, where they like something wooden to break apart with their beaks? Or is that a large bird thing only? Just trying to get a feel for what exactly I'll need around is all.

Good to know that the green cheecks are a bit quieter than some other breeds. But also good to know that most won't bother neighbors anyway. The extra plus in this area is we live by an airport, and the airport had some deal a few years ago I guess where they installed a bunch of sound proof windows into people's houses for free. You really can't hear much of anything here! It had completely slipped my mind. So I could be rocking a macaw and I doubt a soul could hear it around here. (Still sticking with a conure though!!)

I might just go with a green cheeck, whether it's green or blue I don't mind. It's the individual bird that counts. A color is just something nice to look at. My reason for saying is it's all I've ever really seen around anywhere. I understand breeders are usually the way to go over pet stores, but I know how awkward I can get around actual people (lol). Unless my brother is willing to go to a breeder with me again (we did that for my old parrotlet friend in the past), I'd say store is better suited to my comfort zone. Nothing is set in stone. I'm sure my brother will be more than happy to go somewhere with me. But for now it's a "we'll see".

I'm going to have a look at those brands of foods/treats one of the previous people have mentioned.

Are there specific perches conures like? As in swings, ladders, maybe a bird hammock, stuff like that? What about mirrors? People are kind of usually split about mirrors in cage due to bird thinking it's another bird. Is it recommended having one in there while I'm away at work or not really?

So many more questions are arising lol. I should stop for a little bit as I understand people get intimidated by very lengthy paragraphs @@;

 

[wrench13]

While we are on the list of NO's for parrots please add

No Scented Candles
No Fabreeze sheets or other scented fabric softeners
No uncooked beans
No apple seeds or other fruit seeds

You have lots of decisions to make - clipped or not, potty trained or not, so many decisions and choices, kind of an exciting time, right?

 

[Notdumasilook]

No on the mirrors... On perches I make my own from a pecan tree out back. They are generally skilled little flyers.. just put blinds on windows and close doors to rooms with any mirrors (like on a dresser). Ladders make GREAT chewtoys for them lol
Oh,,, and strange as it may seem... Booger potty trained himself. Cleanest lil bird I have ever known.

 

[Jen5200]

I have a sun conure and a green cheek. You'll love conures! I'd agree with the above - suns have a much higher pitch holler and some people find that hard to live with. I don't mind it at all, they communicate for reasons and I'm good with that.

Toys are pretty individual- mine like bird kabobs (wood like things that they shred), wood ladders, wood beads (Mine definitely chew wood), climbing toys, swings, paper shredables. And both of mine LOVE bells. I have a decent sized stainless steel bell that is their absolute favorite toy EVER. They have epic battles with that thing. Be cautious with bells, make sure that they are well made (little parts being ingested would be my biggest concern). Many conures like snuggle huts - but consider carefully because conures chew and eating threads can be quite hazardous to their health. There are sea grass huts that might be a better option. If you can, introduce them to a healthy diet early - fresh veggies and fruit and a good pellet. A thought about free flight - mine are both flighted. I walked my guys around the house on my arm and shoulder, we tapped walls and windows (let them tap with beaks as well). This really seemed to help them map out hazards in their heads and be aware of windows in case curtains are open. I'm not sure if it really helps, but we haven't had any collisions since we did this.

Hope you'll post pictures of your new companion when you settle on one!

 

[AkridChaos]

Along the lines of no Frebreeze (?) sprayed furniture or scented candles (yuk, I don't like those anyway!) I have to ask about air fresheners. Like the airwick plug in I have in the bathroom. Is that also a strong no? It's ok in the house right now, as no bird friend as of yet, but I want to be sure I'm not going to be exposing him to a potential danger in the future. If that's a yes, would the general rule of thumb be nothing scented? Does that also apply when I wash clothes? I don't use fabric softene like someone earlier brought up, but my laundry soap does have a distinct refreshing smell to it, as do my bounce sheets for the dryer. All things I need to be prepared to change should it pose a hazard to my friend. I can safely assume spray air fresheners of any kind are a no since Febreeze (? Still can't tell if that's spelled correctly) is out of the question. Which actually poses a new question for me. I'm almost positive it's the hazard of the airborne chemical getting into their lungs and causing harm. So say I'm having a Christmas or Thanksgiving or Easter party and my furniture is stinky. If I don't put the conure anywhere near that room, am I safe to spray my furniture for that day? And then never bring the conure into that room for X amount of days? Livingroom is downstairs and that's where people will be hanging out on holidays, and I plan on having the conure upstairs with me, so keeping him out of sprayed room is not a problem at all. I just want to know if it's a flat no, or if it's ok as long as I'm not exposing my friend to that environment again for a set period of time. Holidays only, I could care less how my furniture smells any other day of the week. Excuse me for living (lol)! Definitely not a hassle to have no Febreeze at all period. Just have to find a safe alternative to mask stinky furniture if at all possible. If anyone has alternative methods I'm completely all ears...or rather, eyes in this case

No fruit seeds. I have to ask, what about something like pumpkin seeds (roasted yet unsalted)? I don't think pumpkin is a fruit but it grows in the same manner of seed being inside the "goods". We do carve pumpkins near Halloween and use the seeds, and sometimes even the actual pumpkin for pies or prepare it for eating as is (same with squash). Besides the actual seeds, would the actual pumpkin/squash when prepared be safe to let them try, provided I add no spices/salt to it until they are done and now it's my turn to eat? Just curious is all. Any plant like that. Like eggplant too. I do like the occasional breaded eggplant. Would birds be safe eating the raw unbreaded eggplant, do I have to remove those seeds as well? What about something like sugarsnap peas? I understand peas are a type of seed. Maybe I'm going overboard in these questions. I'm just curious and want to know just in case.

On the note of making your own perches: I have a walnut tree out front. Would branches from that tree be favorable perches for a conure? Or is walnut not popular among birds? I don't see many birds fly into that tree. Maybe they're being sneaky about it. I understand if yes, make a few perches out of walnut branches, that they would have to be properly cleaned before putting in his/her cage. I'll also make a mental note to have lots of ladders on hand if they do like it as a chew toy.

No mirrors. Got it! And no worries about other mirrors in house. Only the bathroom has those. It's as simple as shut those doors! Blinds/curtains we will be doing. I hopefully am installing blinds this weekend. I just was saying if I open up a blind, I worry a scared conure might fly into a window. I do like the idea of having the conure out (once comfortable) and going around to tap windows. I'll be sure to try it!

Safe bells my goodness yes! I remember my parakeets also loved all bells. Something about their ring and shinyness draws them to it! The bell I had actually encased the ringer inside, so there was no hazard of them breaking off the ringer and swallowing it. Paper shredables as well were a favorite, especially with a treat inside Wood beads I can see being enjoyable, as long as they aren't swallowable. I will keep sea grass hut in mind.

No worries about early healthy diet. I intend on doing that as soon as possible. Don't need a fatty bird hobbling around everywhere and collapsing in his/her early age. I just need to figure out what he/she likes first is all, then try mapping something out on a calendar for what to feed him/her on which days (probably overkill but it gives me something for my brain to do. I like doing odd things like that).

I have to also ask the question here: how does one potty train a conure? You don't have to give a lengthy paragraph, you can do something as simple as link another forum thread for me you found to be helpful and I will gladly read it ^^

And no worries guys! I'll take a picture of the cage when I get it and set it up, and also the new conure roommate when it happens (in a timely fashion of course. I don't want to scare him/her first day in the house with picture taking. Unless I take a zoomed in one at a safe, unscary distance.

Thanks for the wonderful responses so far guys, and I look forward to more!

 

[clark_conure]

Jesus why are you asking us for advice, from this last post I think you know more than I do!

ok

1) Seeds are ok as treats but don't go looking for them get the pet store seeds because they are going to be safe, no corp. is going to put out poisinous seeds in their mix.

2) Wood is wood, unless your talking about exotic stuff, walnut is fine, a lot of furniture is made form walnut because its a beautiful wood used in tables and furniture and no bird has died from eating a table....and you know millions of birds have tried. it's a nut bearing tree which means it is looking for animals to move the nuts around, it's safe.

3) I don't really know what the discussion is on mirrors...to fly into yes they can, but conures like looking at themselves I have a few hanging mirrors in his cage and the mirror built into my headboard is basically covered in conure tongue prints. so mirrors are fine but if he's flying yeah you could expect a thunk (bad).

4) potty training use your words, soon as you take him out take him to a designated area like over a sink or toilet and say "go poop" or whatever puritan words you like then stay there till he does... then "good boy/girl , "you're so smart!" "omg your so smart" keep the praise going.... soon they will figure it out. Here's the rub, you need to take them to that area a lot, they might go all night holding it in but they won't generally unless he's gifted. So if he/she poops on you....you missed the window.

 

[Notdumasilook]

Pumpkin seeds are fine... if you can get them to eat them. My birds don't like them.. nor do the outside birds. Now... cantelope and honeydew melon seeds.. both my birds will fight over them. Not sure of nutritional value but the make a darn good treat. Of course, both my birds eat the melons as well, which is healthy.
My reasoning on mirrors. Lil budgies look in a mirror and see another bird they want to talk to/mate with etc. However , my conure and amazon have an awareness of self (a sign of intelligence).. and realize the reflection is of themselves. The BFA occasionally likes to strut his stuff in front of wifeys makeup mirror, knowing how handsome he is. My lil SC... couldn't care less.. hah.

 

[Flboy]

Airwick will kill your bird! I know a woman , had a flock of three, added two more. So she decided to plug in two of those in the bird room! The next morning all the bird's were dead! My daughter was working with our vet at the time, a very sad story!