Sun Conure help!

[RandomChick23]

The other day I was looking in my Local Petco at the birds, when I spotted a beautiful bird named Weezy. He was a male Sun Conure and me and my mom both just started to look at him. And then out of no where a song came on and he started to dance! He climbed super quickly to the top of his cage and hung from 1 claw upside down. And then continued to bob his head and me and my mom fell in love. But then we looked at his price (Which was $600) and we heard him squack. And my mom sadly turned away from him. But I stood there and promised I was gonna take him home one day... So what I am basically here is to find out a few facts about Sun Conures to get my mom to change her mind! Main reason was how to keep him quiet as my mom does not like noise at ALL. Also to know a little about me, I am 13, turning 14 in 2 months, I do plan on going to college in the future, and also that if I had not saw Weezy I don't think I would have ever even thought of getting a bird, as Weezy is the only birdy I want And well if he gets adopted before I can get to him than I shall let the idea go. Any/all help welcome! Thank you!

 

[weco]

Welcome to the forum, you've come to a good place for information on birds, though I'm afraid most of what will be offered will not really be what you want to hear.

Sun conures are one of the noisiest of the conures & some will scream just to hear themselves scream, but mostly they do it when their flock (that would be you & the rest of your family) leaves them (goes to school, work, etc.) They often scream when the phone rings, when somebody knocks on the door & when they hear a noise outside.....

I've got two suns right now & have had as many as seven at a time.....some people will tell you about the various training methods, but I don't know of any method of training them not to scream.....it is just something they do.....

$600 is a bit high, You didn't post where you are from, but I know a breeder that has suns for sale for $250 and I am quite sure they would make better companion birds than one from a pet store.....

Good luck.....

 

[RandomChick23]

Awe poo :-/ Yeah the noise is the only problem. So there is no way to not make them squawk? Also how loud is the squawk? Like ear piercing or is it a soft like you would be able to hear it through a closed door?

 

[weco]

I had a girlfriend who told me to get rid of my birds, that she couldn't handle the noise, but she got a real surprise when I told her that I'd keep the birds & find another girlfriend.....she really was not happy, but had the nerve to ask me if we were still going skiing in Colorado the following month.....

Yes, the noise, to someone who can't stand a conure's scream can be almost as irritating behind closed doors as in person.....sorry.

 

[RandomChick23]

Darn... Guess Weezy boy isn't the right one for me. :-/

 

[legal_eagle]

Check out the Green Cheek Conure mutations, such as the Yellow Sided or Pineapple for a much quieter alternative that still has quite a bit of yellow coloring.

 

[RandomChick23]

Do they have the same personality? Cause now I am looking for a quiet bird with the same personality and same life expectancy :3 Any recommendations?

 

[94lt1]

I've gotta chime in here.. My sun came from Petco... He too was 600$ could've gotten a cheaper bird... But when he rolled over and blinked.. Then squawked at me.. I was in love.. It had to be him..

Starburst is quiet for a Sun.. I was expecting him to be loud, but he started squawking one day, and my macaw cut loose with a yell... Lol.. Poor Starburst tried to fly away from that... Lol and he hasn't really screamed since...

So maybe if you want a quiet sun, have a macaw scare the bageezus out of the sun??

 

[weco]

The average life expectancy of most conure species is 20-35 years & with good care they will often live that long.....

I think you'd find most of the green cheek mutations to have excellent personalities & be funny birds.....

 

[RandomChick23]

A mutation means mixed breed right? Do they sell those at Petco?

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Sun conures are very very loud and call often. And sadly pet stores sell a lot even with their way over priced price and many owners cannot handle the noise. I highly recommend green cheeks conures, black capped conures, and maroon bellied conures. They are fantastic birds who are much quiter but still have all the charm of a conure. I'm so happy you came here, too many people plunge into parrots without realizing that they are wild animals who will be loud. Birds will be birds and it takes a certain kind of person to live with one.

Something important to know is that little sun conure is a baby still, soon he will go through maturity and you'll have to stay on top of training and may feel frustrated at times. Try not to fall in love after only liking/meeting one individual. Meet several and decide if a bird is truly right for you as well as the bird.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

A mutation is a specific color, not a hybrid. Also parrots are called species not a breed.

Green cheeks are fantastic birds, I love them. And Petco does carry various mutations, please consider buying from a good breeder though. It will be cheaper and the bird will have had a better up bringing.

 

[RandomChick23]

These green cheek conures are actually catching my interest Are they friendly and what size cage do they need? And also do they get sick easily?

 

[Featheredsamurai]

There are no bad birds, all are nice. If you buy a baby conure and it ends up being mean that is your own failure not the birds. They do have stages of life were they are more likely to be aggressive and you'll just need to insure that. During puberty they may be a little more challenging, and also yearly during breeding season.

No matter the type of bird you'll have a lot of research you'll need to do.

A flight cage is inexpensive($120-200) and would give a green cheek a ton of room. You can go a little smaller but not less than half the size IMO

 

[BoomBoom]

Great tips from everyone.

I want to add something very important. That is, that a green cheek can and will scream. Their vocalizations may not be as loud as a sun conure but it is still loud by most people's standards especially if they are sensitive to noise (like your mom). Being birds, screeching comes natural to them. They screech when they're happy, angry, upset, scared, bored, excited. You might minimize it with proper training and reinforcement, but they will always make sound.

The noise is not the only thing to worry about too. Parrots are very sensitive creatures who require very focused care. Their humans must be able to provide all their nutritional, physical, mental and emotional needs. A lot of work! Only have a parrot if you are willing to put in at least 3 hours into them every day and more on weekends. Not trying to scare you but I think it is important for you to know before you make such a life changing decision.

Good luck on your decision. I suggest you search videos on Youtube of screeching conures and both you and your mom can watch it.

 

[chasroth]

My neighbor had 2 sun conures and they never shut up. They were loud. I would take a larger bird that is loud less times a day than a sun that is loud much more often in a day. I hear green cheeks are nice. But like someone said a bird is a bird and do make noise. Its what they do.

 

[RandomChick23]

Thank you for all the lovely tips everyone I'm glad I did my research then before I got weezy x3

 

[Sasha2]

yep, Sun = loud, Greencheeks are the ticket, same personality but without the noise.I mean they can make some noise all birds do.
But between my cockatiels and the greencheek the cockatiels are way noisier and louder.
The Sun is less annoying to me then the tiels.But that is me.The sound Suns make is not pretty either.But the Tiels never shut up. And i created monsters when I taught them to say phrases because now its the same phrase over and over and over and over..LOL, love those birds...

BTW the greencheeks hang by one foot from the top of the cages too.And she will lay on her back in my palm.She loves to lay on her back on the floor of the cage and play with a cat ball or with her own feet(its adorable)..But they can be bossy birds too.

 

[legal_eagle]

My 14-year-old Green Cheek is a very sweet, even-tempered and fun bird. She squawks from time to time (a couple of times a day for a minute or so), but it is not nearly as loud as a Sun. But, as others have said, all birds make noise at least occasionally that might irritate some people. If noise is a really big issue, I think that Lineolated Parakeets are among the quieter species.

 

[RandomChick23]

Ahhhh ok Well I appreciate everyone telling me :3 I shall now start my research on green cheek conures