Which Conure should I get?

[Chocobo]

I've been wanting one of the two Conures from a local Petsmart. There is a female green cheek and a male sun conure - both of which are 6 months old and born in captivity. The green cheek is $350 and the sun is $600. I can only buy one of them and is wondering which I should get.

Their caretaker told me about their different personalities. The female is slightly more playful and curious than the male, but she was not tamed when she arrived at the store. However, she is very playful and has not had any bad experiences with people (I play with her from outside the glass, and she loves it!) The male is tamed, but sometimes he can nip a little too hard and so the caretaker is working on trying to set boundaries with his biting. I only got to interact with the sun conure because he was the only one tamed enough to be let outside. He's very smart, loves shiny things, gives kisses, and hangs upside down.

I would like some opinions on which one I should get. My dad likes the sun conure because they are louder and they look wonderful, but the sun is too expensive and we're not sure if it's worth the difference of $250 between the green cheek. I liked the green cheek because she seems more playful, but since I have never raised conures before, I'm very apprehensive about taming and teaching her about biting (since conures are very nippy, I recall) I have a cockatiel, but she is much more calm, docile, and prefers pets and cuddling over play, so I've never really had experience with that kind of energetic parrot before. What do you guys think? Are conures good beginner birds? And which one should I get?

 

[Kalidasa]

Hello, and just curious, have those birds been DNA sexed? Do they come with a certificate saying they are make or female? Or is this just a guess by a petsmart employee?

 

[Chocobo]

I hadn't asked them that, sorry. I'll probably come back later this week to check.

 

[Kalidasa]

I would go with the one who you click with the best. So definately go back and request to spend time with each. If they're both tame, they shouldn't have a problem with that. Conures are alot of work, but also alot of fun

 

[hanna.allen.71]

I struggled with the same decision. I fell in love with a pineapple conure named Caesar. Just when I got the equipment, he was adopted. So I thought long and hard about these two birds that were there. The green cheek was shy and quiet. The sun was loud and playful. I went with the sun conure(now named Ruby) because certain behaviors can be corrected. So now, she is quiet and playful.

 

[loud_lola]

I wouldn't buy one from petsmart. Find a local breeder. I found mine thru kijiji.

When I decided to get a bird I had the same dilemma, with a sun at petsmart. When I actually went to the back to hold it, I realized it was not socialized and it bit me in seconds. So I decided to go with a breeder and I'm glad I did. Because I got one that was already tame and much easier to train. The breeder was excellent and I got to see the parents. Also, petsmart is grossly overpriced. I bought mine for $450.

Just my opinion.

 

[riddick07]

450 for a sun is still overpriced. 350 is more around the average asking price. I think mine was 375 from a good breeder. The sun sounds much more social but you have to be sure you've done your research on them and what they require. I too would go with the one that you are more drawn too if you really want one of the pet store ones.

On a side note you can look into local bird rescues for a nice sun pretty easily. They are common rescue birds. If you are anywhere near New Jersey than A Helping Wing has I believe 2 single suns available that would make nice pets. They have one on petfinder but I believe they just got another that is in quarantine or just came out of quarantine.

 

[thekarens]

It really depends on where you live for the price. I would expect much lower prices in Florida/Texas/California than some other places.

 

[lquan]

Yep, Sun and Jenday in California is about $350-$375 through a breeder. Pineapple is about $150-$160. Yellow Sided is about $120-$135. Turquoise is about $500-$600.

The problem with Petsmart and Petco is they always clip the conures wings as soon as the breeders deliver them. When conures are clipped at such young age before they have a chance to learn to fly well, they are terrible flyers even when you let their wings grow. Their landing and coordination are poorer than those can fly since birth. A year later even if you decide to clip when they can fly since birth, they can still fly well as before clipping.

 

[Lintini]

I would look for a breeder, the birds in those large chain stores are way over priced. Save the money and use it for a check up at the vets and some more toys!

 

[Chocobo]

Thanks! I FINALLY found a breeder (searched for nearly a week!), who is selling 3 month old babies for about $325 each. I was wondering, can you tell a sun conure's loudness and personality at that age? Or do they change their behavior when they grow older? I wanted to know so I can choose the right one and be sure that it'll stay like that.

 

[riaria]

Thanks! I FINALLY found a breeder (searched for nearly a week!), who is selling 3 month old babies for about $325 each. I was wondering, can you tell a sun conure's loudness and personality at that age? Or do they change their behavior when they grow older? I wanted to know so I can choose the right one and be sure that it'll stay like that.

They do change as they mature, and even if you did find an individual that seemed quiet, regardless of age, there is no guarantee that it'd last. A quiet individual may grown into its voice in a new home, or a loud individual may change its behaviour and be more quiet. There are never any guarantees, ever. So prepare for a really really loud bird (and if you can't stand sun conure screams, don't get one), and be happy if you get a quieter one

Edited to say: obviously you can work with a loud bird, but I think it's a bad idea to get one unless you know you can cope with the noise.

 

[Janedeaux]

Sun Conure's screams are loud period. The loudness is there no matter what. It's the frequency you are going to need to work with. My paisley rarely screams, when he does he is usually answering something outside or the my other two conures, who are also loud. I have managed to not react loudly or hyper to his screams and he has stayed pretty low vocal. He hollers a few times a day for 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Thats it. I just don't react until it's reaching the 2 minute mark then I do a sign I've been teaching him and say quiet in a real low voice. IF, as he does ever so often is going on and on, he gets put away for about 5 minutes covered in his cage.
Some will say that you shouldn't put them in their cage for punishment so that they won't identify with negativity towards their cage, and while this is surely true for some birds and maybe many, it has not held true for us. Paisley in no way dislikes his cage. It could be that he doesn't have to go in there often for time outs.

Anyway, back on topic, Suns are loud, you have to teach them to scream less frequently, but you absolutely have to allow for some screaming. It's their nature to scream in the morning and some will also in the evenings. Paisley does not. And he really doesn't seem to have a schedule for screaming. Only when he is reacting to something or talking to me in the morning when he hears me making coffee. Sometimes he is awake when I'm making coffee, and he talks to me from under his cover. Ill let him out when he lets me know he is awake and he usually doesn't scream.

 

[loud_lola]

I'm in canada and suns go for about $400-450, most being $450. GCC go for under $400

My sun will scream at least once a day (usually in the am) no matter if she has toys to keep her busy or not. But if they are bored/ignored and do not have toys, to keep them busy/stimulated then they will get destructive and scream a lot more.

I live in a 2 storey home with her cage on the main floor but I don't know if I would have bought one if I lived in a apt.

 

[KeroRocks]

My sun only really screams when I come home from work...he's yelling Welcome home in his birdy language! It is quite loud.

Most suns get rehomed due to screaming. They are not a bird that you can lose interest in. They need to come out of their cage every day and have play time. For up to 30 years!

 

[jenphilly]

I totally disagree with the opinion that a bird can't fly well if they have their wings clipped young.

Don't be too frightened or put off if a young conure's wing are clipped before they fly well. My daughter's little pineapple green cheek had her wings cut way too short way too young and while it took quite some time for her wings to grow out completely, she is a little fighter jet now. She is closing in on four this year and has built up alot of muscles. For years she could just break her fall or fly a very short distance. But even with never learning to fly as a baby, she can buzz around like a flash and can turn, dive and pickup speed like a heat seeking missle when she is seeking out my daughter!

My cockatoo was somewhat the same, when she came home, she could not even fly from cage to floor, she literally did what looked like a backflip when she tried to fly. After only months of us working with her on wing and body strength, she can fly thru multiple rooms and turn thru doorways to get where she wants (or to whom she wants).

The sad part is how long it can take a bird to grow a full set of flight feathers, but smaller birds seem to be pretty dang good at flying even with flight feathers cut. We joke that my daughter's cockatiels would need their wings cut off entirely to stop their ability to fly!

Good luck finding a breeder and if a rescue is an option, you might find a wonderful adult conure that you won't need to deal with the puberty / hormonal period. And don't let anyone tell you that a rescue bird won't bond as strong as a baby... Our true velcro bird in our home was a rehome at 4 years old and she is like my shadow and the biggest love bug you could find with feathers!

 

[Chocobo]

Ah, okay! Also, is there a difference in behavior between male and female sun conures? I often hear male birds are more active and outgoing than females, and that females tend to be more nippy, is this true for conures?

 

[riddick07]

I'm not sure for suns since mine isn't DNA tested and just a baby. I do have one male and one female green cheek conure. My female is more outgoing but can be nippy with others. She isn't with me because she knows I don't tolerate it and won't do what she wants. My male is very reserved but will still hang with people. He is not nippy at all.

A lot of it is individual personality and you don't know what you have until their personality comes through...and well sexual maturity has passed for some.