Thinking of adopting a older conure

[Joana13]

Hello,
I'm new to this forum but have been reading for a while now. We have a 6 month old cockatiel that we adore and recently went to get his nails cut at a family owned pet store in our area.

They have an older green cheek conure (5 years old) for sale that someone apparently left them. He seems like a very sweet bird and came to me almost right away.

They told me that the poor baby wasn't taken care of and someone butchered his wings so now he can't fly (just falls in his cage) - I was told that it will take a long time but they will grow back... Is that generally true?

I must admit that I fell a little bit in love with the fellow and am contemplating bringing him home with us (2 different cages and eventually maybe supervised playtime together) - I'm just a bit concerned about his wings and if he might need special care - and can a cockatiel get along with a conure under constant supervision?

Would they keep each other company when we're at work?

My baby cockatiel was with me in his carrier and seemed intrigued by the conure and vice versa but I'd like some insight as I'm not very familiar with conure besides reading...

Any advise would be welcomed as I don't want to rush since its a lifetime commitment.

Thank you in advance

 

[Gabz]

Hi and welcome.

I am a very new conure owner, and have limited experience with them. We adopted two conures in November last year, and all I can say is they are just the best and most loveable little creatures. Our two appear extremely hardy and have taken no time to come round to their new living environment.

I can't answer on the conure/cockatiel mix, we have two greys and an anti social parakeet, so when our conures come out of their cage, we have it just the two of them, because i wouldn't mix them with the greys, and i don't trust our parakeet with them as yet. I guess you could judge by their reaction to each other when you get home.

Apologies, not sure i've been too helpful, in honesty, but my experience with conures has been all good.

 

[LaManuka]

Welcome aboard the forum to you and your baby cockatiel, does s/he have a name yet?

Up until his premature death in 2018 we had a green cheeked conure named Baci along with our cockatiel Fang. They were not exactly friends but not mortal enemies either, Baci was very bonded to me and Fang is very much a daddy’s bird. Individual results will vary of course and you’d have to be prepared to deal with the consequences if your two birds ended up hating each other and you definitely would be better to cage them separately regardless. The positive thing about adopting an older conure is that he’s already been through puberty where personalities can change enormously so you don’t have to concern yourself about that at least!

Without knowing the conure’s history it’s impossible to say how good or bad his previous experiences might have been. He may even have already been passed around among several homes so if you do take the plunge it would be great if he could find his forever home with you. It would also be a good idea to get him health checked by your avian vet, along with your cockatiel if you haven’t done so already.

I know full well how easy it is to lose your heart to those precious little green cheeked babies, and once they have gripped your heart in their little claws they don’t ever let go. Looking forward to hearing about your next adventure in bird parenting

 

[fiddlejen]

I have friends who have a GCC and a cockatiel (along with other birds) which get along quite well. That doesn’t guarantee that yours would, as every bird really is a different individual, but Conure-Cockatiel friendship is definitely possible.

 

[Joana13]

Thank you very much for the insight. Our baby's name is Enzo
Another concern I have would be noise... The pet store mentioned that Flash (5 yrs old conure) was very quiet but I'm not sure if putting the 2 in the same room (2 cages) would change that.

Our cockatiel is fairly quiet too unless he wants something lol and I'm really hoping that he will like having another bird close by for company... My husband thinks he's fine as a lone bird so I'm still debating...

 

[Gabz]

Our two GCCs are the quietest out of our flock with our parakeet being the loudest, although the greys are constant noise makers, they're not overly loud for us.

 

[Flboy]

Hi and welcome! Yes, the wings should grow out!
5 years old is a great age to start with!
As for them getting along, there is never a guarantee, but! Just be sure to avoid jealousy!

 

[clark_conure]

I haven't owned a GCC at the same time as a cockatiel but my two gcc's get along ok. I imagine they might scuffle a bit till the pecking order is established but in the end I think it would work.

 

[SassiBird]

Feathers will molt out. Ours seem to molt constantly, but August for sure.
The cockatiel and conure will keep each other company. Something I think your cockatiel will enjoy.
You are right to advocate supervised interaction. The conure can bite much harder than the tiel. They may someday be trustworthy together without supervision, but don't bank on it.
If the conure came right to you, that's a good sign.
Noise. If you live in an apartment you might want give some consideration to how nice/tolerant your neighbors are. Conures are louder than tiels. Ours are really only loud in the morning. However, a single conure might not be as loud. When we had just our black capped conure she hardly made any noise. She did contact call in the beginning, until she settled in.

 

[Laurasea]

My GCC and mine that passed, were not loud. A very rare alarm call were loud enough to hear outside.

Feathers could take a year to grow back. But they will.

Welcome to forum,! If a parrot chooses you like the GCC seemed to , that is very special

 

[SailBoat]

The only concern I have was with the Parrot falling! Unless, this Parrot was seriously clipped just before provided to the shop, it would have determined that flight was not possible and would avoid it.

When you visit next, spend time observing the comfort the Parrot has in moving about the cage and any signs of issues with balance.

 

[LaManuka]

Wing feathers do grow back but actual flying will depend on whether he’s been clipped all his life and if indeed he ever learned to fly in the first place. My Baci was clipped when I bought him and I don’t know if he ever flew beforehand. As his feathers gradually grew back I taught him to fly in short hops between me and his cage and other safe landing spots (confidence in landing is key in learning to fly!) but he always remained a fairly reluctant flyer. Your Enzo being a cockatiel should be a very strong and skilled flyer so hopefully he might be able to provide a good example.