Soon to be first time conure owner.

[Mk23]

Hello all, first time poster here.

I am planning on getting a sun conure sometime in the next few weeks and I thought these forums would be a great place to get some general info on conures and to ask a few questions.

What are some not so well known facts or opinions on sun conures? I think I got all the basics down as far as care and attention and really would like to know some less basic info. For one thing, I am an insomniac and tend to sleep late into the afternoon due to being physically ill (not contagious), I was wondering if its possible to cover a cage and the bird will still think its night and tend not to wake up and get noisy? I know they like to get vocal when they see the sun (or light) but was wondering if they would know it's light out even if their cage is covered. On the flip side, will the bird think it's still day with some lights on?

I plan on getting a cage that is 32 x 28 (might be 27), I also will be home most of the time and when I occasionally head out he will come with me.

I do bike rides at night or late evening and would take him with me there as well. Would I need to invest in some type of leash or will he stay on my shoulder or handlebars?

Another question I have is what are some good training sites, books, videos or magazines that will help teach my bird to not poop on me or in the car?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I quite frankly am very excited about owning my first conure. I can only hope they my sun conure will be as cuddly and goofy as the ones I have been looking at on YouTube. Thanks a bunch!

 

[Mamanda]

I am a very new conure owner, so I will let someone more experienced answer your questions, but I wanted to wish you luck and congratulations on your upcoming sun conure!

 

[andrea.faerie]

Bike rides are not a good idea with a bird. I know one person on the forum does ride bikes and horses with the birds but they've been bonded for quite a while and I believe are recall trained. I take my Black cap conure with me to work but she stays safely inside her transport cage. If you want to take your feathered friend outside invest in an aviator harness and leash set

I don't have a sun, like i said i have a black cap. As i'm sure you've read.. they are loud. I cannot reiterate this enough... THEY ARE LOUUUUUDDD haha lucy is the "quietest" of the conure family... and her sqwaking is ear piercing.

As for the poop... poop and birds go hand in hand. I know that you can potty train them to a degree... but I dont think they will ever be fully potty trained like a person. My advice is to keep a towel or roll of paper towels in your car and have a designated bird shirt for when your sun is on you incase of poop.

As for trick training, use the search feature of the forums for help on curbing biting, aviator training, step up commands, and all that stuff. I wrote a little article thingie about conures if you'd like me to email you a copy of it. Just shoot me a PM with your email and i'll send it right along to you.

I haven't had birds all that long but I've learned QUITE a lot from this forum and just being hands on with Lucy and Bleu, your sun will teach you more about suns than anyone could ever try to explain to you! congrats on the new baby!

 

[Mk23]

Not sure I clarified very well, I would be getting the bird's wing clipped for safety reasons. I plan on taking her with me everywhere I go almost. That includes in the car and going for bike rides (when it's not cold). I would also plan on getting a leash and harness or something for the bike rides. I know from what I've read on here that clipping the birds wings is not the popular decision but I figure it's best for the bird when he'll be outside the house a lot.

Thanks for the reply, hopefully my sun conure will learn not to poop on me.

 

[QuackQuack]

As far as fooling them into believing it isn't morning, I know a sun conure who will begin his screech repertoire at 530AM sharp light or no light regardless of season . My own birds have varied as to whether or not they can be made to stay quiet in the morning (My current OWA will sleep in as late as I do God bless him!), but I have never owned a conure, personally. My friend finally reconciled with being unable to change her bird after years of trying to change HIS bedtime/wake-up time and began change her OWN bedtime and that worked for her.

 

[Mk23]

As far as fooling them into believing it isn't morning, I know a sun conure who will begin his screech repertoire at 530AM sharp light or no light regardless of season . My own birds have varied as to whether or not they can be made to stay quiet in the morning (My current OWA will sleep in as late as I do God bless him!), but I have never owned a conure, personally. My friend finally reconciled with being unable to change her bird after years of trying to change HIS bedtime/wake-up time and began change her OWN bedtime and that worked for her.

Oh jeez, can anyone else confirm this? This is terrible news for me... I can't really change my sleeping schedule... Believe me I've tried... I go to sleep at 4am to 5am most nights... Wonder if you could raise a conure from a baby to sleep in? =/

 

[QuackQuack]

Have you ever considered a green cheek conure? They are supposed to be quieter than a sun with the fun conure personality - many people here seem to own them. Maybe they can comment?

 

[Rio Mom]

I have a green cheek conure, River. My husband and I both work second shift, so we're stay up late, sleep in kinda people. Usually to bed around 2am or 3am, then up at 10am or 11am. We get home from work around 10:30pm, and let him stay up until about midnight, then put him to bed, start dimming lights, etc. He stays quiet in the morning until he hears our voices, or the alarm clock. (he's in the living room, and the bedroom is right off the living room) Sometimes I hear him quietly moving around or playing with a toy a little before we get up. As soon as he knows we're awake, he starts yelling a bit to let us know it's time to feed the birdie, and let him out!

 

[QuackQuack]

I have been considering a second bird for a while now and can't seem to make a species decision. I think I want a caique, but these GCC seem to offer the same comical attitudes and compact size! So many people here have them as well, so they must be great!