New to these boards and to keeping Conures - after some advice

Hi all,

Im new here, also im new to Conures so am after some advice. I am looking to get my first Conure within the next week or so and was after advice on cages and settling the bird in. I have had plenty of birds, budgies and tiels but this is my first venture into conures.

Firstly I have found some local green cheeks for £65 each which seems to cheap, should I be looking out for something here? If they arent ring'd can I just go to my vet to get sorted? I am also looking into sun conures, whats the main differences besides plumage?

Also when I do finally get one how do I go about letting him/her settle? Do I provide a box for a hide away, cover part of the cage or just leave him/her to settle in the cage how he will be living?

Also I want him/her to be very much a 'free' bird, he shall be out of the cage all the time I am at home so I shall be getting his/her wings clipped, is there a best way to do this? (the vet shall be doing it but I have heard of different ways for different flight characteristics) Also I would like to get harness trained as I would like to take him/her out and about, is this OK with Conures?

Sorry for all the questions, I want to get it all right tho.

Cheers

Jon

Hi Jon,
You have a lot of good questions.

First cages. Get the largest one you can afford and have space for. But, you want 1/2" or 5/8" bar spacing. Anything larger than that and the bird could get it's head stuck or even squeeze itself out. Conures really make full use of their cages, and need several toys.

Your price on the Green Cheeks would be on par with what you would see in the US. I'm not able to comment on UK pricing. If by ringed you mean have a band on the leg, it is required here to prove it is not a wild caught bird. Again, I don't know the UK regulations.

Green Cheeks are smaller and quieter than Suns are. As for other differences, I will defer to the owners here of those birds. I have a Nanday and had a Blue Crown.

I would not provide a nest box or anything like that. It might just spurn more hormonal behavior later on when the bird matures. I would proceed depending on how the bird reacts to you and your home. Some of my birds have been out right away upon coming home, others needed a few days to settle in. Talk quietly to the bird, without looking it in the eye, sing for it, play some silly games like peek a boo under a blanket or hiding behind the sofa, wiggle your tongue for it. If it's very frightened birdie, you might start with the "blink" game. Do a long, slow blink and see if it blinks back. Frightened birds won't blink, especially a long, relaxed one. So try to get it to give you blinks back. Pet another animal in front of it like a dog or cat if you have one. Watching my cat roll around in my lap getting petted seemed to be what won over my amazon.

The vet will know how to trim the feathers to prevent the bird from flying. Still, it must be supervised at all times. This did not stop my Nanday from simply jumping off her play gym to get to me or whatever she wanted! Some will just climb down if they can from wherever they are. Birds, and especially conures will chew anything they can get. Your furniture, electrical cords, your computer, etc.

As for the harness, once you have your bird's trust you can begin working on getting it used to the harness. Just be patient as you may not get it all the way on your first try. It may take several sessions working slowly.

Harness training is a very rewarding experience for both you and your bird but it can take months to get your bird into it. Depending on the personality of your bird, you may have to start with just letting the harness hang on the cage and become another part of the bird's life. Occasionally pick it up and play with it while your bird watches then put it back. Try this several times a day to show your bird that the harness won't harm it.

Once the bird is touching the harness, you can start touching the bird with the harness. Make sure not to scare the bird when doing this so move slow and pull away if the bird shows that it is scared or backs away. If you move faster than your parrot is comfortable with, you'll never get him into the harness.

I've had Con's Aviator Harness for about a week now and it's just sitting on top of her cage. She touches it and lets me touch her with it but I have no progressed to anything else. I will wait months if it means she feels safe with the harness and then lets me put it on her. I'm guessing she'll be wearing it around April

If you have any questions about harness training, feel free to ask!

Thanks for the advice everyone, it all sounds good and very helpfull.

I have 1 more question, the guy I have found selling the GCC has said thet they arent hand reared and also that they dont have a leg ring. Am I right in thinking that not being hand reared can change the personality of the bird? Theres alot of information online but its a struggle trying to figure out whats what.

Cheers

Hand raised ones are definitely a lot easier to train. They are already tame with people. That might explain the lower price. Parent raised birds do sell for less money. Depending on it's age, it may just take some patience, or it may never be a hand tame pet. I would advise probably getting a hand raised bird.

I think 65pounds is more like $150USD. I guess that is still cheaper though than what I normally see. Green Cheeks around here are more like $200-250USD if they are the normal coloring.