Thinking of adding a Blue throated to flock!

[adz1984]

A few hand raised babies have popped up in my area I believe they are extremely rare and while a little expensive, I don't think I can resist.. they are a pyrrhura conure as well so nice and quite plus a little bigger!
Got a couple weeks to go before weaned so got some thinking to do....

and here the parents...

 

[SilverSage]

Why are you tormenting me with these stunning birds?


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[adz1984]

Why are you tormenting me with these stunning birds?

20mins after your post, your still in my thread STOP looking at my baby!!!

On serious note DNA will be back in less than a week and I will probably only get a male as she listed males for quite a bit cheaper, so if no male no buy

 

[Terry57]

We have a pair of BTCs and they are amazing! Their personalities and mannerisms are so different from our other conures, they really are characters. Fingers crossed that there is a boy for you

 

[itzjbean]

Congrats!! I love baby pics! *Squeeallll*

 

[JamesC]

Those are beautiful birds! So hopefully we can all say congratulations on bringing your baby home soon!

 

[adz1984]

Good news - 3 of the 4 are boys!
Bad news - I can't decide!

As some of you know I'm owned by an Alexandrine and what I have realized now is I would much prefer to have a cuddly, hands-on kind of bird as my next flock member. Bella is great and will remain to be loved but she's very independant and that makes me feel like somethings missing!

Now I can't decide on the blue throated conure as they are pretty rare and not much info can be found online, therefore I don't know what their personalities are like and if they are generally hands-on birds like there green cheek cousins, noise level is said to be quite but I can't find any comparisons. Terry if you could go into more detail for me that would be great!

EDIT:
Have found only one site comparing these guys to green cheeks and they were labeled as somewhat cuddly while green cheeks and almost every other conure were labeled very cuddly.

Breeder said they are nippy atm while held but believes it's because they are going through a learning stage of flying and eating on their own + still have some head feathers coming in.

 

[adz1984]

Should I be concerned of nippy just weaned babies? Another thing is fully weaned at 8.5 weeks? is that possible? she did state they were on 1 feed for a while and has been checking their eating and weight for a few days since no formula with no reported issues
Direct quotes from breeder:
"These two are going through their learning stage right now and testing their beaks , because they aren't clipped I have to hold them over their back and wings or they fly and they don't like being held like that so try to tell me so!" "The last one was the same and by the time he left he was awesome!"
My main concern right now is I don't want another hand's off bird

 

[RavensGryf]

I know people say love them for who and what they are (and we do), but I completely understand you wanting one that is not "hands off".

Some individuals are, and some aren't, and unfortunately there isn't a guarantee when you get a baby. When I got Griffin, I thought that since he was hand fed and supposedly handled enough, that I'd be getting a cuddly bird. I figured that since Robin is, and both Robin and Griffin are in the Poicephalus family, I'd have a good chance. But some individual Poicephalus are hands on, and some are hands off. Just like conures, just like any species. Unfortunately, when Griffin started getting a little older, he lost his cuddly tameness. I was able to bring the tame part back with much training and patience, but the cuddly part is long gone. He is almost 3 now and will jump on my back and climb my arm, but refuses to let me touch him at all.

I will admit, it did take me a while to come to terms with it and not be at least a little disappointed. I wish you luck in getting everything you're hoping for in your new feathered buddy .

 

[adz1984]

I understand what you mean, every bird is an individual but I can't even find enough"general" information about this species as they are quite rare and very little are kept as pets. From what I've read and seen they can be somewhat cuddly which is probably better than super cuddly (which has its own issues) to be honest I don't need a baby 24/7
Now if I could get some input on what the breeder has said to me or from anyone who actually owns this beautiful bird it would help me make up my mind!

 

[Terry57]

Our two are a bonded pair, so not really hands on. They will step up for us, and the female will actually cuddle a bit, but the male will bite hard enough to draw blood right after stepping up. I have no idea whether either one were handfed, there was no history at all on them except that they had already changed hands multiple times before coming to us. We don't even know their ages.

I know someone who has one who is more cuddly than my two, but will still nip as all conures do when displeased...or because it's Monday She has hers sit on her shoulder, and he will lay upside down in her hands, so really very tame. He wasn't tame like that until she got him, and it didn't take her long to get him to that point. I think they are very easy to work with.

Wish I had more to tell you, but there aren't many here either.

 

[RavensGryf]

I understand what you mean, every bird is an individual but I can't even find enough"general" information about this species as they are quite rare and very little are kept as pets. From what I've read and seen they can be somewhat cuddly which is probably better than super cuddly (which has its own issues) to be honest I don't need a baby 24/7
Now if I could get some input on what the breeder has said to me or from anyone who actually owns this beautiful bird it would help me make up my mind!

I have a feeling that they wouldn't be much different from any other conure, the major difference being in individual personality.

For example, there is hardly any info on my rare Ruppell's Parrot either, another species not often kept as a pet. Yet knowing Pois, I believe his being so different from my other Poi is more just individual difference. That's kind of what I meant .

I think any info would just be 'general' anyway, and if you get a sample of several people telling you the personality of theirs, it might be totally different from yours. I'm going off thinking about my birds now and in the past and their species, and how individual they are and some were/are even way atypical of what they're supposed to be like!

 

[adz1984]

Oh snap these lil guys can draw blood? can't be worse than an alex bite though? After much reading I do like their "general traits" enough to take a chance and see what I get!
Right now my only concern is if they were force weaned and clipped too early as both of those are known to cause behavior issues!
Fully weaned at 8.5 weeks sound right? They arn't clipped now but she mentioned wanting to do it really soon.

 

[adz1984]

I spoke to her some more today expressing the importance of abundance weaning and that it seemed maybe a bit too early to be fully weaned her reply was "Yes they started refusing and regurgitating the formula. Now I am using apples to have them feed out of my hand only but they eat them on their own anyway, but thanks for that info! I'm still keeping an eye on weights yet to make sure they are OK feeding on their own" that reply kinda still leaves questions to be asked about her weaning process.
Also asked her if she could keep them unclipped for a couple more days while I decide.
Does this sound like a well raised baby? Silversage any input would be nice, I really respect your ways as a breeder!

 

[adz1984]

recent pic

 

[adz1984]

Have to make up my mind by this weekend! red or green flag?? any opinions???

 

[snowflake311]

They can't be cheap. Did you meet them? I think you should go meet the birds and see if you find one calls out to you. They are awesome looking birds looks are not everything as you know.

Have you met them? I think meeting should be the deal breaker.

 

[adz1984]

No I haven't met them and yes they are kind of expensive $700 while other conures go for around $150-$400.. they are an hour drive away and I don't get my license back for another month, if I was to get one I would have to ask a friend to kindly take me which I wouldn't do just to meet them!
I thought about it more and am leaning towards passing atm as I still have work to do on my current bird, I'm having a lot of trouble getting her to eat healthier foods and she's never been to the vet SO i think it's better for me and the birds to address those two issues first or at the very least take my bird to vet first. I'm going to try an do that asap and if she come's back clean and this bird is still available I will reconsider. Kind of sucks as I probably won't find another bird like this again for a long time and i've wanted one for a while!

 

[snowflake311]

No I haven't met them and yes they are kind of expensive $700 while other conures go for around $150-$400.. they are an hour drive away and I don't get my license back for another month, if I was to get one I would have to ask a friend to kindly take me which I wouldn't do just to meet them!
I thought about it more and am leaning towards passing atm as I still have work to do on my current bird, I'm having a lot of trouble getting her to eat healthier foods and she's never been to the vet SO i think it's better for me and the birds to address those two issues first or at the very least take my bird to vet first. I'm going to try an do that asap and if she come's back clean and this bird is still available I will reconsider. Kind of sucks as I probably won't find another bird like this again for a long time and i've wanted one for a while!

Good Idea. they might be rare now but who knows in a few years they could become more popular.