Several questions!

[kikiki]

Hey there all,

i do not own a bird nor do i plan on owning one anytime soon. I am an employee of a popular pet store. We have a beautiful 6 month old conure for sale there and i figure he/she will be around with us a lot longer. I was wonder if any one had any tips on how i can socialize her, and train her slowly. Might as well make the best of her time with us while she's here. WE've already have her giving kisses, and she's said her name but that's it.

Another question i have is about a strange behavior she has. She will rub her beak up and down REALLY fast along my finger. IT's very odd and i'm not sure what she's doing. how can i teach her to quit squawking so much? and the biting! what can i do about that? thanks for all your tips ahead of time! i'll put them to good use!

 

[Spiritbird]

Since you work with the birds in a pet store I suggest you educate yourself and you have come to the right place. Conures are the clowns of parrots and love to be active with people and toys. Parrots need quality time out of the cage for training and bonding. I hope the bird is not there a long time. I bet it is a sun connure because the $$$ is usually high and that is why they do not move fast. The beak rubbing is not unusual. They like to keep beak clean. You should be giving a bath via a bowl or spritz almost daily as being under those bright lights is drying to the skin and feathers. Also consentrate on feeding pellets and not seed. Thank you for caring.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

If the beak rubbing is really fast, as in thrashing back and forth, this is also quite normal. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but it is a sign of excitement, happiness, but also bordering on over-stimulation. Basically it seems they need to let off some steam... if they don't they'll end up getting nasty. Try giving her a pen or a key chain when she does this. I give Auggie my keys, he thrashes them around for a while (you'd think it'd hurt smacking keys against his face) tosses them a few times, then he is happy as can be.

 

[kikiki]

thanks for the suggestions!

she is a sun conure. for sure. she's been there since august. i'm still new so i'm kinda learning the ropes. she's well cared for has the proper food (mix of pellets and seed) and water. she takes baths daily. it's so cute. i've been trying to read up on the sun conure while i have downtime at work because we have several books on them. we all try to spend time in there with her when we aren't busy, but it is a business and managers would prefer us on the sales floor. our pet care manager is a really caring person and our entire department truly cares about the well being of all of our animals. just wanted to make sure you know not all major petstores are uncaring giants! it depends on the individual stores! that's what she's doing auggies dad. she only does it when i stick my finger through the cage when i can't get in there with her. she loves having her neck and cheeks and chest scratched! please keep the suggestions coming!

i'd like some stories to tell customers about what it's like to own a pet conure. so please please please let me know. i think her price is so high compared to breeders because we don't want her to be an impulse buy. thanks all!

 

[luvmysun]

I have a sun conure, Perseus and just absolutely adore him Mine does not squawk too much, though when he does he is rather loud! He is the loudest in the morning, but only once he hears my voice, he knows that when Mama gets up its time for his fruit salad. He loves fruit, bananas are his favorite! He loves attention and gets a lot of it! I recently was laid off from my job, so am now home with him all the time and he spends a great deal of time with me. He has to be kept busy or he lets us know he is bored, I make all of his toys and keep three or 4 big bright toys he can chew on and hang from and swing on in his cage, I rotate his toys every few days so he doesn't get bored with them. My husband built Perseus a big play gym he really enjoys getting on, he loves to climb up and down the ladders. One thing I have noticed about suns they are very social birds, if you keep them busy and interact with them ALOT they wont squawk as much. Perseus also likes to tell us when people are at the door, he makes a better guard dog then my actual dogs do lol! What I love most about my sun is he loves to cuddle. Every evening we sit in the living room and he cuddles up under my chin and falls asleep while I watch tv! One thing I dont like so much about him is ( and its a very small thing lol) he does nip a little, but we are working on that. They are a lot of fun, and beautiful to look at! Good luck, its good to know there are good pet stores out there with good, caring people working at them

 

[KasloConure]

Wow... it's wonderful that you care so much about that conure! I have a sun conure and she is great! If customers ask, I would tell them that sun conures are LOUD! I've heard that they are even louder than some much larger parrots. That's the biggest problem we have with our bird, Garbanzo. Definitely not a good bird for someone who lives in an apartment or condo, or someone who works from home. However, she is extremely affectionate and playful. What we love most about her is her attitude. My husband and I have had many different kinds of pets and none has had quite as big of a personality as our conure.