New here, and getting a new conure!

[Boo]

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!

That's great!! Thanks for everything! I've decided to try keep a journal for him/her, but I'm most likely going to end up forgetting to write in it lol. I think a journal would be cool to record all my memories and experiences, but it's just remembering to write that'll be the problem . The first page right now just has a table of all of the things I need to buy in the order that I need to buy them. I haven't spoken to the breeder yet, but her ad is still up. I'm probably going to get my last thing sold next week, and I'll rush over to her house asap! I have sun conure first on my list because I don't see many good sun conure ads in my area, and she only lives about 20 minutes away from me, plus her babies were just weaned! So I think everything else can wait for now. I get paid $100 a month for watching my brother after school, so I still have $40 left for this month. I usually just buy whatever I want during the month and my mom just deducts it from my "paycheck" at the end of the month, rather than me having to wait till the end of the month to get money lol . Second on my list is this cage:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Open-Victorian-Small-Cage-Color/dp/B004964OL2]Amazon.com: Open Top Victorian Small Bird Cage Color: Pure White: Kitchen & Dining[/ame]

Does it look good? I'm trying to find a cage that isn't too expensive, and I read that since I'm going to be giving him hours of playtime every day, I don't need to buy him a huge cage. That one is 25x21x30 inches. But it's weird.. this one ([ame=http://www.amazon.com/Victorian-Small-Bird-Cage-Color/dp/B00496JF02/ref=pd_sbs_k_3]Amazon.com: Victorian Small Bird Cage Color: Pure White: Kitchen & Dining[/ame]) looks like the same cage. I don't know if the top opens, but I think it does. That one says 25x21x32, rather than 30. But I don't know. Flat top cages are good for playsets, but I already have a 4 foot tall play gym downstairs so I don't think I'll be needing one.

Next I have the two books you recommended (Parrots for Dummies and the Conure Handbook). And then I have a flight suit, since conures have bigger poopies, and if I bring him downstairs, my dad might get all anal about the poop.

Then I want a DNA test because I'm trying to think of names and I don't know if he'll be a boy or a girl! Which method would you recommend - blood or feathers? I don't know how to draw blood, and I know it's dangerous if a bird loses blood, but do you think pulling a couple feathers out will hurt him or scar him mentally forever? Is there another way to tell?

And that's it so far. I'll look for the Kaytee pellets that you use until I'm able to find a store that carries Harrison's. I took notes in my journal of everything you feed Cal! It even sounds cheaper than buying seeds all day, since I can just share some of my dinner with my birds every time . When you buy the human grade nuts, how are they cooked? Like roasted, etc. I see a lot that are "Lightly Salted," but I don't want to buy those just in case it's too much salt. Do you ever give her millet? My cockatiel loves millet, and we don't have much left. I hardly ever give it to him because there's millet in his seed and I don't want him to have too much, but is half a spray okay once in a while? I usually give him half at a time, and I give the other half to my brother for his budgies.

There's a guy at the other forum who has some kind of larger parrot. I don't remember exactly what it was but it was green lol . It wasn't a conure and it wasn't a macaw or an eclectus. I don't know, but anyhow, his bird lives on his playgym. The playgym isn't huge, but it's not tiny. He has a lot to do on it. Our playgym sits inside a cardboard box because my dad hates bird poop, and the food and water are inside the box so the bird can go down to eat. The playgym itself is about 2x2 and it's 4 feet tall. It's definitely bigger than the cage I'm planning to buy, but what do you think? If I brought the playgym upstairs and put it in the guest room, it'll be bird safe for while I'm away. He'll have more to do and play with, but I think learning to be in a cage is also good because then he'll sit in it if he ever needs to and won't have a problem with it.

 

[Von1983]

Wow lol!

Ok....I'll try and remember everything here.....

Playstand/cage is a personal choice. I would personally never not have a cage for Cal. She has her smaller cage which is so she can be moved round the house/shop and a big AG sized caged for a play den. Both are packed with toys. She has natural branches sticking out everywhere and they also have things attached to them lol. She loves using those in out of cage time. The cages you have seen are a bit on the small side. I understand you will be having him/her out a lot, but whilst in the cage, sunnies NEVER stop. Only to sleep. Even eating is done on the move a lot of the time. They love nothing more to climb around bars. Cal's smaller cage is bigger than the conure minimum which as a rule of thumb is 30x30x30. HUGE cages as the only cage aren't great either as they can feel a bit lost to begin with. A lot of people have a large daytime cage and a sleep cage similar to us.

I know some people have just playstands but to be honest, I think that this is a sure fire way to ensure you have a bird that can't feel safe when they want to - this is JUST my opinion.

Ok DNA testing is a personal choice. It is easily done with a blood or feather test and most people report noooo problems at all. AV's are very competent as you'd imagine and do this all the time. I haven't had a DNA done because I feel it is unneccesary for Cal. She's pretty small and her name is unisex lol. I call her my little girl because the breeder felt she was one.

Most birdo's like a millet spray every now and again. Cal has had a few but only because she loves to decimate them lol, she eats little of it. As I said before, they have little nutritional value so I prefer to make her shredding toys in various shapes using the pinata method. Old clean tshirts are great for making shred toys also. She additionally loves wood lol.

You are in the USA, yes? It is VERY easy to find Harrisons there lol. It is expensive, be warned, but it is the best possible start. It is what AV's recommend. It is difficult to find it in the UK which is why I chose kaytee first. I figured it was better than seed anyway!

As for nuts and seed, you buy them in the supermarket and they are all PLAIN. No salt, no added anything, just the nut itself. One's with shells like pistachio are extra fun. I usually pay around £1 for a small bag - again, it's not cheap lol. Same goes for seeds. Ours are all found in the fruit and nut section of the supermarket.

Sunnies are very easily toilet trained. Cal is trained to fly to either of her cages when she's out to poop. I didn't pursue it too much because they are prone to holding on for you which I'm sure is uncomfortable if you forget to say "go poop"!!! She has the odd occasional poop outside the cage but these aren't like cockatiel poops and in my opinion very easily wiped up. If she poops I have a damp cloth with me during out of cage time to sort it out. I must be honest and say that I rarely have to use it. Sunnies make a BIG show of when they are going to poop and if I see her, I'll just say - go poop then! So she does! Sadly as I said before, Moo rabbits cage apparently counts as a loo also....at least she's yet to hit her.....

 

[Boo]

Wow lol!

Ok....I'll try and remember everything here.....

Playstand/cage is a personal choice. I would personally never not have a cage for Cal. She has her smaller cage which is so she can be moved round the house/shop and a big AG sized caged for a play den. Both are packed with toys. She has natural branches sticking out everywhere and they also have things attached to them lol. She loves using those in out of cage time. The cages you have seen are a bit on the small side. I understand you will be having him/her out a lot, but whilst in the cage, sunnies NEVER stop. Only to sleep. Even eating is done on the move a lot of the time. They love nothing more to climb around bars. Cal's smaller cage is bigger than the conure minimum which as a rule of thumb is 30x30x30. HUGE cages as the only cage aren't great either as they can feel a bit lost to begin with. A lot of people have a large daytime cage and a sleep cage similar to us.

I know some people have just playstands but to be honest, I think that this is a sure fire way to ensure you have a bird that can't feel safe when they want to - this is JUST my opinion.

Ok DNA testing is a personal choice. It is easily done with a blood or feather test and most people report noooo problems at all. AV's are very competent as you'd imagine and do this all the time. I haven't had a DNA done because I feel it is unneccesary for Cal. She's pretty small and her name is unisex lol. I call her my little girl because the breeder felt she was one.

Most birdo's like a millet spray every now and again. Cal has had a few but only because she loves to decimate them lol, she eats little of it. As I said before, they have little nutritional value so I prefer to make her shredding toys in various shapes using the pinata method. Old clean tshirts are great for making shred toys also. She additionally loves wood lol.

You are in the USA, yes? It is VERY easy to find Harrisons there lol. It is expensive, be warned, but it is the best possible start. It is what AV's recommend. It is difficult to find it in the UK which is why I chose kaytee first. I figured it was better than seed anyway!

As for nuts and seed, you buy them in the supermarket and they are all PLAIN. No salt, no added anything, just the nut itself. One's with shells like pistachio are extra fun. I usually pay around £1 for a small bag - again, it's not cheap lol. Same goes for seeds. Ours are all found in the fruit and nut section of the supermarket.

Sunnies are very easily toilet trained. Cal is trained to fly to either of her cages when she's out to poop. I didn't pursue it too much because they are prone to holding on for you which I'm sure is uncomfortable if you forget to say "go poop"!!! She has the odd occasional poop outside the cage but these aren't like cockatiel poops and in my opinion very easily wiped up. If she poops I have a damp cloth with me during out of cage time to sort it out. I must be honest and say that I rarely have to use it. Sunnies make a BIG show of when they are going to poop and if I see her, I'll just say - go poop then! So she does! Sadly as I said before, Moo rabbits cage apparently counts as a loo also....at least she's yet to hit her.....

Okay, I'll look for a bigger cage. I think it's important that he feels secure, especially since he's just a baby.

I just remembered that we buy bags of hazelnuts with the shell, and we just spread them on cookie sheets and bake them! Would it be okay for a bird to eat them baked? Or are they best raw? Either works for me and it's convenient . I've never seen Harrison's at Petco or Petsmart, but I'll check a non-chain store next Tuesday or Friday.

How do you potty train a bird? I know that some people hold their bird over the toilet, and when it poops they clicker and give him a treat. That's awesome that Cal flies back to her cage to poop!

 

[Boo]

Oh and I forgot to say that we eat white rice, but my mom and I are more health-conscious than my dad so we try to eat brown rice. We do have it, so maybe a conure will help us switch to brown rice lol!

 

[Boo]

I found this cage:

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Large-Parrot-Premium-Quality-Birdcages/dp/B002SM9XX8/[/ame]

But it's out of my price range . It would take me 2 months to get enough money for it. We have an old dog crate that's still pretty new. We used to have a dog, but the shelter didn't know what she was because her mom was a stray, and so they told us she was an American Eskimo mix, but she turned out to be a Husky mix, and she got twice as big as what we wanted. We brought her back to her foster parents, but we still have her huge crate. It's definitely over 30x30x30, the only problem is the bars might be too far apart. I was thinking, what if I went to Home Depot (it's like a construction/hardware/home improvement store) and bought some closet racks and attached them to the walls and ceiling of the crate? It's not like a plastic travel crate. It's a big black metal one that can fit maybe 3 of me . If I put the metal close racks inside and attached them so they were secure, it would be the same as having a cage with smaller bar spacing right? Would it work? It's freezing cold were I live, and I'm too cold to go to the basement and take a picture of the dimensions, but I think it's definitely big enough for a conure.

 

[pet3graphics]

@Von1983 - Quote: "Sun conure's actual screams can rip through you like razor wire lol."

Ya know... I've never heard it expressed that way, but it is SO true!!!

My little Zoe was sitting on my shoulder a few days after we got her and she let one go...
I was completely DEAF in my right ear for the rest of the day and partially deaf for a few days after!

 

[Boo]

@Von1983 - Quote: "Sun conure's actual screams can rip through you like razor wire lol."

Ya know... I've never heard it expressed that way, but it is SO true!!!

My little Zoe was sitting on my shoulder a few days after we got her and she let one go...
I was completely DEAF in my right ear for the rest of the day and partially deaf for a few days after!

Lol ouch!!!! I think I might have experienced an "actual" scream once at the pet store, but I was about 2-3 feet away from him so it didn't really deafen me .

-----
I went to the breeder's to see her today, and she is SUCH an angel! The breeder brought her outside, I guess cuz she didn't want us going in her house lol, and she just had her on her finger and she didn't even think about flying away! Then I got to hold her and she climbed up onto my shoulder and preened my hair, then buried her face in it . She also let me give her head scratches! I'm so in love :smile015:! She's also really quiet, but I heard a little.. what I think was a purr? I never actually heard a bird purr so I think it was a purr lol. It was a low gravely sound. Hopefully she won't turn out to be a screamer. I think it's unlikely though . She was so sweet! I put a deposit on her and will be picking her up in 1-2 weeks when I have everything ready .

Oh and btw, the breeder isn't sure if she's a girl or a boy but she said she thinks she's a girl . I may or may not get her tested.