New here, and getting a new conure!

[Boo]

Hi everyone! I just joined this forum. I'm actually a part of a different forum, but because I'm getting a conure, specifically a pineapple GCC, I thought I might be able to get more information here.

I currently have a cockatiel, so I do have experience with birds. I am selling a couple of my things to save up more money to buy the conure. My parents are taking care of vet visits, I just have to pay for the bird itself.

But anyway, I just want to make sure I know everything! I tend to do lots of research on things I'm really passionate about, and anyone that knows me knows that I'm a true animal lover .

So I guess this is what I have to offer my new GCC:
- a diet of seeds, pellets, safe table foods, and lots of veggies
- at least 6 hours of play time every day
- daily showers in the shower if he/she wants, if not, then misting or a bowl of water
- a large cage
- lots of toys that will take turns in the cage so he/she does not get bored
- fresh water every day

I just have one question - what exactly are "safe" table foods? I know birds can have unbuttered/unsalted popcorn, but what else? Most of the food I eat is cooked, and has sauce and stuff. I think steamed white/brown rice is also okay, right?

I'm pretty sure I'm getting a baby pineapple, but I'm not putting a deposit on the bird because I don't have the money yet. Two people have asked already about the things I'm selling, and one I know is definitely buying one, the other I think is buying the other one but I'm not positive. I just started my search for gccs near me today and I didn't expect to already be making a decision . But since I'm not counting on a deposit to have the bird on hold for me, it may be sold before I can get it. If that happens I'll just look for another one.

I am also planning to quarantine for one month before he meets my other birds.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Maighen]

Welcome! I am new to birds myself....I just got my very first bird this past Friday.....Frankie is a CAG and he is a challenge! You seem very passionate and its good you are doing a lot of research! There are a lot of friendly knowledgable people here and I'm sure they will be more then happy to answer any questions!

 

[Von1983]

Welcome to the forum

I am very pleased to see you are doing your homework before purchasing a bird, sadly, many people do not.

I have a sun conure myself and my previous experience was in the form of budgies and cockatiels like yourself.

I can tell you now, a conure is a different kettle of fish entirely. It sounds like you can offer a bird a lot but you do not say how old you are.

Conures are like human toddlers their entire life. They have great emotional needs and although you can spend time with them now, will you be able to offer the same companionship for the full 25-30yrs that conures live?

Not many of us can say catagorically that we can. Noone can forsee the future, but if you are still living at home, what about when you are working or in further education? These things are very real considerations. The fact that you must buy the bird feels like you will have responsibility for the bird. Does this mean your parents will not be too actively involved? If that is the case, your birds heart will be absolutely sick if you go away to college and he/she is left with your parents who simply feed them and clean the cage. They develop INSANELY strong bonds and do not cope well when those bonds are severed. My girl will cry out when the CAT leaves the room, she see's her as one of the flock and any conure you bring home will feel the same about anyone in the household but especially strongly towards you as cheif guardian.

In my very humble opinion, conures are not as self sufficient in that manner (emotionally) as the hardier cockatiel.

I had to wait until I was 27 years old, married, financially stable and had my own home and shop so I am with my girl nearly all of the time.

I am not presuming to know your set up or life plans. I do not wish to be rude in ANY way, I just want to make sure you have considered the most important aspect of all which is a commitment to a conure that could span for decades.

As for your question about table foods, the list is long and varied! I would suggest you get a couple of books so you can educate yourself. The first is Parrots for Dummies which is great even for experienced owners. The second is The Conure Handbook which is great for conure beginners and also wonderful to have as a reference. I have read mine many times!

 

[Boo]

Welcome! I am new to birds myself....I just got my very first bird this past Friday.....Frankie is a CAG and he is a challenge! You seem very passionate and its good you are doing a lot of research! There are a lot of friendly knowledgable people here and I'm sure they will be more then happy to answer any questions!

Thanks for the warm welcome! You sound like you really do have a big challenge and you took on a CAG as your first bird ! Good luck with him!

Welcome to the forum

I am very pleased to see you are doing your homework before purchasing a bird, sadly, many people do not.

I have a sun conure myself and my previous experience was in the form of budgies and cockatiels like yourself.

I can tell you now, a conure is a different kettle of fish entirely. It sounds like you can offer a bird a lot but you do not say how old you are.

Conures are like human toddlers their entire life. They have great emotional needs and although you can spend time with them now, will you be able to offer the same companionship for the full 25-30yrs that conures live?

Not many of us can say catagorically that we can. Noone can forsee the future, but if you are still living at home, what about when you are working or in further education? These things are very real considerations. The fact that you must buy the bird feels like you will have responsibility for the bird. Does this mean your parents will not be too actively involved? If that is the case, your birds heart will be absolutely sick if you go away to college and he/she is left with your parents who simply feed them and clean the cage. They develop INSANELY strong bonds and do not cope well when those bonds are severed. My girl will cry out when the CAT leaves the room, she see's her as one of the flock and any conure you bring home will feel the same about anyone in the household but especially strongly towards you as cheif guardian.

In my very humble opinion, conures are not as self sufficient in that manner (emotionally) as the hardier cockatiel.

I had to wait until I was 27 years old, married, financially stable and had my own home and shop so I am with my girl nearly all of the time.

I am not presuming to know your set up or life plans. I do not wish to be rude in ANY way, I just want to make sure you have considered the most important aspect of all which is a commitment to a conure that could span for decades.

As for your question about table foods, the list is long and varied! I would suggest you get a couple of books so you can educate yourself. The first is Parrots for Dummies which is great even for experienced owners. The second is The Conure Handbook which is great for conure beginners and also wonderful to have as a reference. I have read mine many times!

Thanks for the welcome! I'm in high school now, but I plan on living in a condo when I go to college because I cannot live without pets. I've had pets my whole life and I will do whatever it takes to make sure I always have a little animal friend with me. I'm studying to be a vet, as it was a dream of mine since 1st grade. Since it never died, and I was never interested in anything as much as veterinary medicine, I just think it's what I'm meant to pursue . Plus, it'll save me a lot of money with my own pets at home lol! But yes, I have considered college, and I know I can make it happen. Living on campus is more convenient, but if it means no pets, I wouldn't survive.

I think sun conures are the most beautiful birds . I would get one myself, but it's the noise that I don't think I would be able to handle.

 

[Von1983]

That's lovely to hear - if you are certain then that's great!

Sunnies get SUCH bad rap for the yelling *sigh sigh* hehe. Cal would thankyou for the compliment though - she does so love to be adored by the "little people". (Yes, I have a bird who feels she's akin to the Queen.)

You know that some GCC's(all conures in fact!) have fantastic lungs on them also....? It is the luck of the draw! There are very effective methods to train them out of screeching though.

I just realised after I said table foods were "long and varied" that my fingers went slower than my brain and I did not give some examples!

Other than fruit and veg there are many. Some examples are: small pieces of pizza crust/cinnamon toast, tiny bits of peanut butter, yogurt, cheese (careful -lactose intolerant birdo's are so not too much!), popcorn, plain wheat crackers, boiled egg, scrambled egg (with no salt or pepper), small pieces of chicken, pasta......

Many many more! It is not to say your conure would like all of them, but it IS fun to try!

 

[Boo]

That's lovely to hear - if you are certain then that's great!

Sunnies get SUCH bad rap for the yelling *sigh sigh* hehe. Cal would thankyou for the compliment though - she does so love to be adored by the "little people". (Yes, I have a bird who feels she's akin to the Queen.)

You know that some GCC's(all conures in fact!) have fantastic lungs on them also....? It is the luck of the draw! There are very effective methods to train them out of screeching though.

I just realised after I said table foods were "long and varied" that my fingers went slower than my brain and I did not give some examples!

Other than fruit and veg there are many. Some examples are: small pieces of pizza crust/cinnamon toast, tiny bits of peanut butter, yogurt, cheese (careful -lactose intolerant birdo's are so not too much!), popcorn, plain wheat crackers, boiled egg, scrambled egg (with no salt or pepper), small pieces of chicken, pasta......

Many many more! It is not to say your conure would like all of them, but it IS fun to try!

Haha awww!! Well we are bird slaves after all aren't we . I know that every bird is different and you can't really generalize, but the breeder said in her listing that her babies were very quiet. But sun conures are also more expensive, and over where I live EVERYTHING is overpriced . I was lucky to find a pineapple GCC for $250 lol! But are sun conures really not that bad? I heard that they're twice as loud as GCCs. But I would really love one if they weren't too loud . There were also a couple conures at the Petco near me, and they were both adopted, but they got VERY loud! And they scared my mom off lol! But I loved them anyway . I was sad when they were gone, but now there's a little green cheek and another sun conure. The two sunnies before were named Maurice and Fayla, and they loved head scratches and they stepped up on my finger when I put them through the bars. The new sunny is named Kovy, and he likes to bob his head and it's SO cute! But he bites pretty hard . Not hard enough to draw blood, but hard enough to hurt. A piece of my cuticle came off lol. He's very yellow and orange, and doesn't have as much green on his wings. The green cheek's name is Jax, and he's really shy. I didn't get to give either of them head scratches, but Kovy kept trying to chew off my finger and Jax kept running away from me. He did sneak over and test my finger a little before dashing off again . They're so cute. I don't trust pet stores with animals because they don't really know anything, but I like Petco more than Petsmart because at least you get to interact with their birds!

I'll be sure to try all of those foods! What kind of chicken can they eat? Sometimes my dad buys rotisserie chicken from costco. It's white meat, and the skin is sooo good but I know it's unhealthy so I try to keep myself from eating it . I care a lot about my appearance lmao! I also love pasta, so I can definitely give them that. Is a little bit of salt okay? I usually cook pasta in salted water, but I can do it without too. I just know that birds can have salt licks, so I don't know if a little bit of salt would be bad?

 

[Von1983]

Sun conure's actual screams can rip through you like razor wire lol. That is true. However, you can train them not to do this. I managed to (despite a wobble involving the neighbour calling Cal through the wall and setting her off the other week....we're getting there now!!!) teach her quite well not to scream. She now sounds like a smoke alarm with batteries running out...beeep...beeep.....beeeeep lol. As with anything, it takes time and patience though.

As for the chicken, tiny pieces of grilled chicken breast are best. No excess fat. With adding salt to food, it is never a good idea. Birds do not need much salt in their diet. Like us, it is not good for them. If you have your bird on a good pellet diet such as Harrisons, you will see that they cater for your birdo's daily allowance of salt. Also there is natural salt in some nuts and other foods you can share with your bird which also must always be plain and never salted.

 

[Boo]

Sun conure's actual screams can rip through you like razor wire lol. That is true. However, you can train them not to do this. I managed to (despite a wobble involving the neighbour calling Cal through the wall and setting her off the other week....we're getting there now!!!) teach her quite well not to scream. She now sounds like a smoke alarm with batteries running out...beeep...beeep.....beeeeep lol. As with anything, it takes time and patience though.

Oh that's great!! I have heard very loud sun conure screams at Petco. I guess not many people went in there to interact with them, but they were screaming their heads off when I had to leave . The poor babies! I walked maybe 5 steps away from the bird room and their screams could probably be heard by the whole store! But I know it's possible to train them not to scream. Maybe it would actually be good, in case someone breaks into MY house (like that article in another thread) lol! That would be awesome. Someone was breaking into houses in my neighborhood a year ago, thankfully they didn't get into my house, but they broke into my friend's house . I live in a normally safe neighborhood though. I didn't look as much into sun conures as I did green cheeks, but do suns ever scream for no reason?

As for the chicken, tiny pieces of grilled chicken breast are best. No excess fat. With adding salt to food, it is never a good idea. Birds do not need much salt in their diet. Like us, it is not good for them. If you have your bird on a good pellet diet such as Harrisons, you will see that they cater for your birdo's daily allowance of salt. Also there is natural salt in some nuts and other foods you can share with your bird which also must always be plain and never salted.

Oh, okay cool!! I'll just cook my pasta in clean water now, and add salt/butter/sauce to my bowl after sharing a couple pieces . In another forum, people were advised to keep a salt lick in ther birds' cages. Is that a good or bad idea? I know it's good to have a little salt in your diet, but would a bird "overdose" on salt? I have a little mineral salt lick in my bird's cage. It's a Superpet Salt Savor or somthing, and they come in different flavors like apple, carrots, celery, etc.

I think it's kinda weird that parrots will eat meat lmao . I mean, as far as I know, I don't think they're raptors or scavengers in the wild ! But I'm not saying I wont feed them chicken haha. I'll give them as wide a variety as I can! After all, humans aren't meant to eat meat either .

 

[Boo]

Von, I've been doing my research and I think I want a Sun Conure. I know they're louder, but the lady who I was planning to buy a Green Cheek from, it turns out she also breeds conures and she has some that were just weaned. They're only $50 more than I would have paid for the Green Cheek, and Sun Conures are my all time favorite bird (when it comes to looks that is ). I was just afraid of getting one before because I knew they could scream. But after doing my research and seeing some quiet Sun Conures, I'm pretty confident I can handle a loud sunnie and train it to be quiet. Plus, her babies are very tame and friendly, so I think I'll have a pretty good head start on having a quieter conure . I will have at least 6 hours every weekday, and every more time on weekends, to interact with him/her, so she'll definitely get lots of attention. I'm glad I'm making this decision, and I'm glad you told me about your Calypso (love the name btw ). All I heard before was talk about the Sun Conure's bad reputation for being loud, and I even experienced it for myself at the pet store, but it was really just my mom that was kind of surprised. But I talked to her about it, and she says she wants me to get the Sun Conure rather than the Green Cheek . She's most likely someone who would buy on impulse, but trust me, I'm only in high school but I'm mature enough to make what decision I feel is right, and I know that if I get a Sun Conure I won't regret it . And I am aware of the noise and additional responsibility she will bring, and I'm prepared for it!

Really the whole point of this post explaining myself was because I'm new here and I don't want to make a bad first impression since you guys don't know me yet. I really just want to be friends with you all! I don't want you to think I have my heart set on one bird, and then change my mind and decide to get another, because truthfully, sunnies were my favorite the moment I saw my first one, and after all my research of Pionus, Hahn's macaws, Lovebirds, Lorikeets, Budgies, Cockatiels, Indian Ringnecks, Parrotlets, Conures, Finches, and even a little bit of Hyacinth macaws, I know that Conures are still my favorite, and I can definitely take one on. So now that you've opened my eyes more to quiet Sun Conures, I know my mind won't be changed because they're the bird I've always loved!

 

[Von1983]

lol, well it is entirely up to you!

Sunnies are.....oh my goodness....lol

I loved them for years before I was in the position to provide a great home for Cal.

The general screaming is caused because they hate to be seperated from you or anyone else in the "flock". I have found with Cal that "flock" consists of the other animals and sometimes, just a visitor she takes a liking too lol. When she is really irate, she will beeeeep away and shout COME HERE!

I will always have to put up with a certain amount of shouting. The "no shout" thing worked great for me but some days she wakes up and today is a day she will shhhhhout lol. What she does do is tell you there's a customer in the shop when you aren't in it lol.

Her good points far outweigh the bad though. If you are having a hand reared baby then you have an even better start than I did.

Cal was 3months old and from an aviary - people didn't touch her. It took a few weeks to teach her we were trustworthy.

Taking that into consideration, it is astounding that within a month she was cuddling. Now, she wants to be with us all the time. She cuddles, she preens us, she gets involved in every conversation she can with her limited vocab, she loves to play, she walks around everywhere even though she is flighted lol, she tells off the doggies for barking, purrs at the cat and goes to my poor pet rabbits cage to poop. She will happily sit on the hand of anyone we offer her too, she loves kisses, she loves sharing, she loves life and it is the last part that makes me the happiest. She's messy, she's bossy, she's hilarious, when you're happy she'll laugh with you, when you're sad she will preen your hair for you.

It's difficult to describe my bundle of joy any other way. I love her to distraction.

She was SO green when we got her and now she is losing tail and flight feathers....nearly all her green has gone....she's growing up!

I love all of my pets dearly, but this little bird is something else!

 

[Boo]

lol, well it is entirely up to you!

Sunnies are.....oh my goodness....lol

I loved them for years before I was in the position to provide a great home for Cal.

The general screaming is caused because they hate to be seperated from you or anyone else in the "flock". I have found with Cal that "flock" consists of the other animals and sometimes, just a visitor she takes a liking too lol. When she is really irate, she will beeeeep away and shout COME HERE!

I will always have to put up with a certain amount of shouting. The "no shout" thing worked great for me but some days she wakes up and today is a day she will shhhhhout lol. What she does do is tell you there's a customer in the shop when you aren't in it lol.

Her good points far outweigh the bad though. If you are having a hand reared baby then you have an even better start than I did.

Cal was 3months old and from an aviary - people didn't touch her. It took a few weeks to teach her we were trustworthy.

Taking that into consideration, it is astounding that within a month she was cuddling. Now, she wants to be with us all the time. She cuddles, she preens us, she gets involved in every conversation she can with her limited vocab, she loves to play, she walks around everywhere even though she is flighted lol, she tells off the doggies for barking, purrs at the cat and goes to my poor pet rabbits cage to poop. She will happily sit on the hand of anyone we offer her too, she loves kisses, she loves sharing, she loves life and it is the last part that makes me the happiest. She's messy, she's bossy, she's hilarious, when you're happy she'll laugh with you, when you're sad she will preen your hair for you.

It's difficult to describe my bundle of joy any other way. I love her to distraction.

She was SO green when we got her and now she is losing tail and flight feathers....nearly all her green has gone....she's growing up!

I love all of my pets dearly, but this little bird is something else!

Oh wow! She clearly is a special bird! I can't imagine having an aviary. It'd be awesome to have so many beautiful birds flying around you, but I like being able to interact with them. I guess Cal realized how good it felt to be loved by a human . I think it's her way of saying thank you for showing her a better life and more love. Like with dogs in shelters, once they come home it seems like they love you more than if you got a well-treated puppy from a breeder who didn't know hardship. I love how Cal treats the other animals . "Well I don't want to fill MY cage wth poop... but I'm sure you wouldn't mind!" Hahaha she is just too funny! And also VERY beautiful :smile015:!

Does Cal actually shout the words "come here," or does she just scream in bird language to mean "come here"? That's so cute! I wouldn't mind a bit of shouting. I'll be able to work on it while he/she's in quarantine in my room, and I'll spend my afternoons in here after school so he/she can get used to me. I can stand loud shouting, as long as I don't have a headache . How long do they usually scream for at once? At the pet store, the sunnie screamed for maybe 5 seconds before stopping. Also, how did you teach Cal to be quieter? I'm thinking about clicker training, but I don't know how well it works. If he likes being with people, I can return him to his cage for a timeout so he knows that screaming results in not being able to hang out with me.

 

[Von1983]

Cal shouts "come here" lol. She is only 8months old and loves to talk, but it is more toning at the minute. I have some vids on youtube if you want to see In one of them my husband is thoughtfully translating lol.

If Cal is in screaming mode, it is usually quite short. Less than a minute for sure. There are many reasons for screaming but really, Cal only does so (although it is generally the beeping I told you about) when someone leaves the room or if she wants attention. She does not scream or beep if someone (even the cat) is with her. Another reason she screams - not the beep - a scream, is if she is in the shop and someone with bad body odour comes in. It's pretty embarrassing lol. Every bird is different but I have watched many sunnies on youtube scream and it is always when someone exits or enters a room which is exactly what Cal did.

I taught her "no shout".

Basically, I would take two steps away from her cage backwards. Smile at her and say: Good girl. Then I'd take two more. I got to 6 usually and the screaming started. I'd then go back forwards two and say "no shout". Then I'd try again. Everytime she was quiet I would go into ridiculously happy raptures about how great she was (never much one for food treats during training for some reason). I'd spent maybe 10 mins a day doing this and found that I could get further away. When I finally reached the door, I would say: Be a minute! Which is my follow up phrase everytime I leave a room.

Eventually, I was able to go over the whole house. It took roughly about a fortnight. Now if I want to leave the room I will say: Be a minute! To which she replies bizarrely: Thankyou! (Limited vocab sort of ensures she just uses what she can lol). Then maybe if she can hear me in the other room she may beep a bit. She does still shout a couple of times a day, don't get me wrong, I didn't intend to quiet her forever lol but it is definately a lot less severe than it was in the beginning.

It is difficult to get angry at the screaming because I took the time to understand her mentality. She is a bird. Birds do EVERYTHING with the flock. Sleep, eat, preen, play....

She did not HAVE a feathered flock anymore WE are her flock, and exclusion from the flock is the most severest of punishments. To her, we are punishing her by not allowing her to come with us. This is why I made sure that she understood we would be back, we weren't leaving forever. I talk to her as I go about my chores and call through. She appreciates this. We have mealtimes with her and we have playtime with her, the deal is, she grooms us first, then we're allowed to preen her. We have tried SO hard to enter her world and way of thinking. She responds brilliantly to it.

 

[Boo]

Cal shouts "come here" lol. She is only 8months old and loves to talk, but it is more toning at the minute. I have some vids on youtube if you want to see In one of them my husband is thoughtfully translating lol.

If Cal is in screaming mode, it is usually quite short. Less than a minute for sure. There are many reasons for screaming but really, Cal only does so (although it is generally the beeping I told you about) when someone leaves the room or if she wants attention. She does not scream or beep if someone (even the cat) is with her. Another reason she screams - not the beep - a scream, is if she is in the shop and someone with bad body odour comes in. It's pretty embarrassing lol. Every bird is different but I have watched many sunnies on youtube scream and it is always when someone exits or enters a room which is exactly what Cal did.

I taught her "no shout".

Basically, I would take two steps away from her cage backwards. Smile at her and say: Good girl. Then I'd take two more. I got to 6 usually and the screaming started. I'd then go back forwards two and say "no shout". Then I'd try again. Everytime she was quiet I would go into ridiculously happy raptures about how great she was (never much one for food treats during training for some reason). I'd spent maybe 10 mins a day doing this and found that I could get further away. When I finally reached the door, I would say: Be a minute! Which is my follow up phrase everytime I leave a room.

Eventually, I was able to go over the whole house. It took roughly about a fortnight. Now if I want to leave the room I will say: Be a minute! To which she replies bizarrely: Thankyou! (Limited vocab sort of ensures she just uses what she can lol). Then maybe if she can hear me in the other room she may beep a bit. She does still shout a couple of times a day, don't get me wrong, I didn't intend to quiet her forever lol but it is definately a lot less severe than it was in the beginning.

It is difficult to get angry at the screaming because I took the time to understand her mentality. She is a bird. Birds do EVERYTHING with the flock. Sleep, eat, preen, play....

She did not HAVE a feathered flock anymore WE are her flock, and exclusion from the flock is the most severest of punishments. To her, we are punishing her by not allowing her to come with us. This is why I made sure that she understood we would be back, we weren't leaving forever. I talk to her as I go about my chores and call through. She appreciates this. We have mealtimes with her and we have playtime with her, the deal is, she grooms us first, then we're allowed to preen her. We have tried SO hard to enter her world and way of thinking. She responds brilliantly to it.

I subscribed to you on youtube!! And I saw the video of Cal eating fruits and pellets at the same time, and I think that's the video where your husband is translating . It's so funny lol! "You're a good girl!" "Yes!" And the body odor thing, LOL! Do you ever have to explain to them why your bird screamed at them? You should put a little basket by her cage or wherever she is, filled with stick deodorants and a sign that says "If my bird screams when you come in, please take one."

When you were training her, was she inside her cage or outside? My cockatiel only flies to me if he's not too lazy to . Hopefully when I get him/her, he'll be a friendly little baby . Maybe I can train him out of screaming before he gets bigger and louder lol. Our house is also pretty big. It has a lot of open space. So I told my mom that maybe she thought the bird was loud in the pet store because it was in the bird room, which was kind of just a smallish room with cages lied up on one side, and the sound filled the room and echoed, but since our house has more space he wouldn't sound as loud. But then again, maybe the sound would just bounce off the walls lol . I don't know much about this stuff yet. But that's just my logic... lol! Oh well. He won't sound as loud if he's in my room, and my door is always closed .

How did you teach Cal what "no shout" meant? I tried teaching my friend's budgie "no bite" and I don't think he understood what I was saying.

 

[Von1983]

ahhhha! Yeah that's the translatey one.....

People say when she screams: "Is she always like this?"

I just go so so red lol! Luckily it's not been too bad but I am dreading sweaty summer! lol!

The words No shout are just a trigger. It is debatable whether she knows what it is lol. However, she says thankyou whenever someone gives her something, she says ni night when she see's her cover coming out at night and laughs when she hears someone else laugh lol.

No shout, She just knows I would like her to shhhhhhhhhhhhh. If you tone your voice properly, trigger words become easy for birdo's to read. No Bite, no shout, no don't do that....it's too many no's sometimes lol. No bite with us quickly changed to uh uh uh.....Cal uses this back to us when we are "misbehaving" (Like not wanting her near our mouths - her fascination!) no shout is still no shout but also shh shh shh which she does back when I've been on the phone too long.....don't do that has changed to aye....ayyyye...no! I think it always changes along the way!

It's all about finding what works for the birdo you take home! Easily done once you understand their mentality and individual quirks!

 

[Boo]

ahhhha! Yeah that's the translatey one.....

People say when she screams: "Is she always like this?"

I just go so so red lol! Luckily it's not been too bad but I am dreading sweaty summer! lol!

The words No shout are just a trigger. It is debatable whether she knows what it is lol. However, she says thankyou whenever someone gives her something, she says ni night when she see's her cover coming out at night and laughs when she hears someone else laugh lol.

No shout, She just knows I would like her to shhhhhhhhhhhhh. If you tone your voice properly, trigger words become easy for birdo's to read. No Bite, no shout, no don't do that....it's too many no's sometimes lol. No bite with us quickly changed to uh uh uh.....Cal uses this back to us when we are "misbehaving" (Like not wanting her near our mouths - her cination!) no shout is still no shout but also shh shh shh which she does back when I've been on the phone too long.....don't do that has changed to aye....ayyyye...no! I think it always changes along the way!

It's all about finding what works for the birdo you take home! Easily done once you understand their mentality and individual quirks!

Ohh makes sense! Hahaha Cal is SO funny ! She is a really smart bird! I'm so excited to bring mine home . When she says stuff like "aye ayyye no!" does she say it loud? Like if you're on the phone in another room, will the person you're on the phone with hear her? That would be so funny lol! My cockatiel has also been interested in my mouth lately... I think it's because my lips are chapped from our cold winter and he likes picking my skin (eeeww!). Is it bad for birds to be near your mouth though? I read on the other forum that birds can die from something in your saliva, which is why you shouldn't blow the hulls out of their food dish. But on here there's people sharing meals with their birds, so is that dangerous at all?

 

[Von1983]

lol, No, her talking isn't that loud.

"blow the hulls out of their food bowls". No, you definately SHOULDN'T because an all seed diet is really REALLY bad for a bird! :O Cal has never had a single husk in her bowl lol!

As for saliva, it can be harmful. A kiss on the lips is fine. Mouth should always be closed and you can share food, but the bird cannot take it from your mouth.

I have seen birds "clean" people's teeth, seen birds share ALCOHOL in pics, seen birds eating chocolate cake. I'd be surprised if these birds are still alive tbh.

 

[Boo]

lol, No, her talking isn't that loud.

"blow the hulls out of their food bowls". No, you definately SHOULDN'T because an all seed diet is really REALLY bad for a bird! :O Cal has never had a single husk in her bowl lol!

As for saliva, it can be harmful. A kiss on the lips is fine. Mouth should always be closed and you can share food, but the bird cannot take it from your mouth.

I have seen birds "clean" people's teeth, seen birds share ALCOHOL in pics, seen birds eating chocolate cake. I'd be surprised if these birds are still alive tbh.

Yeah I've seen a GCC lick the lip of a guy's beer bottle after he drank it! I can't stand alcohol myself. I'm not even at drinking age, but I never ever want to try alcohol because I just hate the smell.

Is it bad to feed them seeds at all? I mean since you said Cal has never had a seed husk in her food bowl. I buy budgie/cockatiel seed (which has dried fruits and pellets in it), but I also buy pellets and mix them in and give them fruits and veggies almost every day. Should I stop feeding them seed?

 

[Von1983]

eeeep! lol.

YES! Much of so called seen mixes are full of seeds that have little or no nutritional value. Like millet for example. Sunflower are very high in fat. Cal gets literally a few of those and some other like pumpkin for eg a WEEK. Dried fruit is a biiiiig no no. It contains sulpher dioxide which is a poison. Over time it can cause a LOT of damage. Peanuts are a no no as they have a natural fungus which grows in them that is dangerous.

There are so many things poisonous that you may not be aware of. As I say, chocolate and alcohol are poison to birds. Onions are another - they have a chemical in them that appears to affect animals and birds. It causes them to become aneamic. I think you need to get yourself those books, you'll find out so much from them.

Do you know about PTFE for example? If not, these are fumes that come off non stick cookware/heaters/hairdryers/straighteners/irons that if left to heat up tp temp is an INSTANT killer. Very, very distressing.

Or air fresheners that poison over time?

There is a lot to learn but in order to ensure a long and happy life, this is what we must do!

 

[Boo]

eeeep! lol.

YES! Much of so called seen mixes are full of seeds that have little or no nutritional value. Like millet for example. Sunflower are very high in fat. Cal gets literally a few of those and some other like pumpkin for eg a WEEK. Dried fruit is a biiiiig no no. It contains sulpher dioxide which is a poison. Over time it can cause a LOT of damage. Peanuts are a no no as they have a natural fungus which grows in them that is dangerous.

There are so many things poisonous that you may not be aware of. As I say, chocolate and alcohol are poison to birds. Onions are another - they have a chemical in them that appears to affect animals and birds. It causes them to become aneamic. I think you need to get yourself those books, you'll find out so much from them.

Do you know about PTFE for example? If not, these are fumes that come off non stick cookware/heaters/hairdryers/straighteners/irons that if left to heat up tp temp is an INSTANT killer. Very, very distressing.

Or air fresheners that poison over time?

There is a lot to learn but in order to ensure a long and happy life, this is what we must do!

Oh :11: Uh oh!! Well I've only seen them eat the millet and sunflower seeds and some other stuff in their seed anyway. The budgies, which belong to my brother, throw out everything they don't like from their seed, and they never eat the dried fruit (at least I think it's dried fruit), or the sunflower seeds. Stormy doesn't really eat the big things either, just the different types of seeds and he eats broccoli and rice and other stuff. He's usually always interested in whatever I'm eating . And I do know about PTFE. I think we do use non-stick cookware, but we don't heat them to high temperatures, and I never have my birds downstairs while my parents or I are cooking. We also use the fans above the stove to suck the majority of the fumes out. Not sure if it actually works, but it's just another thing we do to keep the birds safe. I didn't know that about peanuts, but I don't feed them peanuts anyway. All the peanuts we buy are baked and salted. I don't even eat them.

I know that chocolate and alcohol are poisonous, also avocados and apple seeds I think. Are grape seeds poisonous? We don't really eat grapes anyway, but I've given Stormy seedless grapes before at a dinner party that I brought him to. He was invited lmao .

What do you feed Cal? I'm not buying any more seed from now on, because it doesn't sound good for them at all. More pellets and pasta and rice and fruits and veggies and eggs, and maybe chicken? Man, I feel like I've been making this huge mistake for so long . My poor baby!

 

[Von1983]

What type of rice do you use? Brown is better and only small amounts

I feed Cal a lot of things but I can give you a few examples....

Her pellets are currently kaytee exact rainbow cockatiel and harrisons superfine. She was a total seedie so I went with the kaytee first as it was fruity - she loves it. I EVENTUALLY sourced a harrisons stockist and now she is slowly being fed more harrisons.

I buy human grade nuts like hazelnut, pistachio, walnut, macademia....also seed....pumpkin & sunflower, usually. She gets some of those a week. Not many and more nuts than seed, those go in her pellet bowl.

In the morning I usually give her some fruit. Her fave is apple and grapes (seedless are fine as is peeled apple, you're right about the seeds). She also likes mango, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, pineapple, melon, passion fruit.....I sort of rotate these things daily but breakfast is only a small amount.

She then gets a larger amount of veg at dinnertime. That could be brocolli, carrot, peas, sweetcorn, chillis....her tastes are quite adament when it comes to veg lol. She also eats spinich and kale. These are important because sun conures (most conures in fact) can suffer with a Vit K deficiency as they get older. It basically means their blood can become thick (another reason for a healthy low fat diet with fewer seeds and nuts) and cause clots. Vik K is natures warfarin.

Just before bed, she gets a small piece of fruit as a way of a ni night.

She gets varying other treats through the week but only about 3 times a week and one at a time, obviously! These can include plain popcorn which she loves, a wholewheat cracker bread which she loves, the odd sweet potato french fry (which I have to make lol), some egg, mainly boiled, not a fan of scrambled, some pasta, she's had teeny bits of chicken, tried her on yogurt but no thanks lol. (Lactose intolerant are our birdo's so only tiny bits if a bird does like it)....

There's much, much more but I struggle to remember if I'm honest lol.

Don't beat yourself up about the seed. I really don't think enough people in pet shops and even some breeders are educated themselves when it comes to keeping parrots - how can you be unless you do what you've done and question things??

There is much left unknown about parrots as pets and all we can do is try to give them the best by researching as far as anyone has got. Food will always be a difficult one because on a lot of matters, there are no firm answers and this will ALWAYS lead to a divide in camp.

Some people think peanuts are the best thing to give a bird. Some people people believe pellets are evil and all seed diet is the way to go. "Give them what they eat in the wild!".....sure, but how many sunnies dya suppose live for 30yrs in the wild now?

Everything I do was from research and is really what I decided to do. With her routine I feel I am doing the best for her I can but I keep looking and researching. All any of us can do!

The vet is happy with her, she's the correct weight, she's healthy and most of all she is happy!