Sun Conure Help

[Faygo]

Me and my wife just got a new baby for the house, it's a beautiful Sun Conure we named Faygo (obviously for his colors). I'm going to some vets tomorrow to make sure we have a bird vet near by. I was just wanting to hear from other owners about food needs, play needs and stuff like that. We have been all over the internet (over 7 hours so far) looking at stuff and it seems to be different on every page. The only thing that is always the same is what NOT to feed them.

We bought him for a decent amount of money from a Pet Store that is not a major chain. The people there seemed to know they stuff and seemed like loving people, we're hoping they did their part of keeping him healthy and happy.

My main points that i'm worried about are these:
Seed diets.
We read on a couple of pages that a full seed and nut type of diet (like those most commonly found in chain stores) can cause a lot of issues in our new buddy. Is that true? The pet store was feeding him this kind of diet and they said it was just fine for him. The food we got him was a dye free natural mix of goodies, but he seems to pick through it and only eat the Sun Flower seeds.

Toys and Playtime.
The cage we bought came with toys that he LOVES, one is a series of plastic rings and the other is a roped toy with a bell. My issue with this is I read that the ropes can be bad for hanging or getting snagged on. His is frayed at the ends but all he does is play with it with his beak. The bell has got to be his favorite toy, but after reading so much on how certain metals can hurt him im worried the bell will do just that.

Bad stuff in the air.
Faygo is living in our living room and the kitchen is about 9 feet to the back left of his cage with a wall in between, but our house is a VERY open house and im worried fumes from cooking may get to him. (when we cook bacon or certain foods it smells like that food almost all day) are these dangerous?


Sorry for the long post, i'm sure I will have many more in the future. ANY insight in all of this or other helpful tips would be very welcomed. Thanks in advance!

 

[BoomBoom]

There's a lootttt of things I can suggest to keep your household bird safe, I don't even know where to begin. I'll start off by addressing your question on cooking and bad stuff in the air. When cooking, make sure you do not use non-stick pans. Those are deadly to birds when heated at high temps. No aerosal spray cans no matter the content. No candles, plug in air freshners, or harsh chemicals. A good air filter/purifier, humidifier, large potted plants and fresh ventilated rooms is always beneficial to birds (and to you too!) Maybe you can read up one of the quick start guides here to get the safety basics down.

Congratulations to your new family member! Best of luck to you and your new buddy!

 

[MikeyTN]

It's always wise to allow the baby to readjust to their new home first before attempting in changing their diet. I usually let them be on their existing diet for a month before I try to change it to something else. Which is pellets, that's a more balanced diet along with fresh fruits and veggies of course. After a month of adjusting, we start by placing a bowl of pellets in the cage all day everyday. Then we place a morning feeding of fresh fruits and veggies. During evening time I give a minimal amount of seeds. I usually have them switched over within a week. Once I see they are eating the pellets good, I stop the night time feeding of seeds period. No need treats for awhile until they're eating the pellets real good. Then down the road I would use the seeds as treats , just a few pieces.

I don't like the rope toys, but if they start to fall apart, remove it and toss it!

If you really worried about cooking fumes getting to him, remove him into a separate room until you have the house aired out before bringing him back into the room.

 

[Faygo]

I think I have the safety basics down to be honest, I was just wanting to hear from actual owners. It's hard to trust info off of the internet, even when the site looks legit. I've read almost all the links in the Conure "links" thread. He's still trying to adjust it seems, he's just playing with his toys but doesn't want to come out yet. I like the switching food ideas btw, I think it is smart to wait a month and do it very slowly. Thanks for the advice

 

[erik7181]

As far as toys go these are the main toy types you want. Wood for keeping the beak good, leather and any kind of straw or paper as a destroy toy. Conures seem to love the bells and the tiny sneakers.
Now as far as food. You want something that's varied with no seeds. Pellets,vegies and fruit.
A lot of the pet store food is crap mostly seed. The smells. Just try and keep the windows open when cooking. One thing you should not cook near your bird with any kind of non stick cookware, its poisonous to them.

 

[ACEPHONECHIC]

I have zak a Sun Conure of 14 years old who we had as a fresh from handrearing baby all those years ago. He is very healthy and has beautiful plumage. I have always fed all my parrots seed but I will only feed seed that is fit for human consumption as I consider my birds deserve the best. In the uk I use Tidymix which is beautiful clean mixture of seed, plus I add fruit treat and they all receive a bowl with fruit, vegetables. I had an african grey who would only eat sunflower seed but if you keep perserving you will teach him lots of other nice food to eat.

 

[barw33zy]

Before getting our first bird we bought a full stainless steel cooking set and donated all our teflon to goodwill. We found the pans difficult to cook with, so we tried a cast iron skillet and it works better than the teflon ever did. As far as the cooking fumes, I agree with putting your bird in a different room. Even "safe" things in the air can irritate your bird, you will notice though because he will be sneezing or his nares may run a little. We have made a scared vet call about this and learned from it.

Find a 24 hour avian vet if you can, put the number somewhere easy to find and don't hesitate to call. A good vet will be happy to asses your situation over the phone and meet you at the office if necessary.