Possible First Time Bird Owner =)

Hey there! I'm new here and seeking advice! =)

I never really thought about owning a bird before. Then I was on tumblr a month ago and saw some animated .gifs of the cutest pearly conure being rubbed by its owner and wanting more, rolling over for tummy rubs, and just overally being incredibly cuddly! I'm 20, a college student, and work part time, so I never thought about a dog. I tried having a ball python and that just wasn't for me, either. But I've been reading up on birds, particularly conures, and have been thoroughly intrigued.

I was wondering if a conure is right for me, and which species might be? I particularly like half mooned conures (one is on my local Craigslist right now, actually), pearly conures, and sun conures. I work days or evenings, it varies, and I go to school, and go out sometimes. But I am home every day at some point, and have time to spend with a bird. I've read that they like set schedules though.

I just don't want to get one without knowing for sure that I can properly meet its emotional needs, but I am very intrigued with the possibility of owning a bird. =) I also live in an apartment, so nothing too very loud. My roommate does have a slightly annoying minpin dog that barks a lot thought at strangers, and that seems fine. So around that noise level should be fine.

Thanks! <3

Welcome to the forum!
Well all birds no matter how big or small can be LOUD but I would say the quietest is a green cheeked conure.How many hours do you think you can be home a day?Its a little bit harder while in college but it can be doneOwning a bird is a very rewarding experience.Since it would be in I'm assuming a dorm,the thing I would be concerned about is being able to separate the minpin to a different part of the the dorm so the bird can come out of its cage,unless of course it is friendly with animals such as birds but they would need to be always supervised.I have a minpin also.

Welcome again conure owners will probably answer too!

HolyHookerJuju said:

Hey there! I'm new here and seeking advice! =)

I never really thought about owning a bird before. Then I was on tumblr a month ago and saw some animated .gifs of the cutest pearly conure being rubbed by its owner and wanting more, rolling over for tummy rubs, and just overally being incredibly cuddly! I'm 20, a college student, and work part time, so I never thought about a dog. I tried having a ball python and that just wasn't for me, either. But I've been reading up on birds, particularly conures, and have been thoroughly intrigued.

I was wondering if a conure is right for me, and which species might be? I particularly like half mooned conures (one is on my local Craigslist right now, actually), pearly conures, and sun conures. I work days or evenings, it varies, and I go to school, and go out sometimes. But I am home every day at some point, and have time to spend with a bird. I've read that they like set schedules though.

I just don't want to get one without knowing for sure that I can properly meet its emotional needs, but I am very intrigued with the possibility of owning a bird. =) I also live in an apartment, so nothing too very loud. My roommate does have a slightly annoying minpin dog that barks a lot thought at strangers, and that seems fine. So around that noise level should be fine.

Thanks! <3

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How much time do you have each day? With conures and other parrots, the more the better.

Living in an apartment, I would probably rule out the Suns and other Aratinga conures. A Green Cheek might be ok, or others from that family. I'm not sure what a Pearly conure is.

How do you feel at this time about having a pet that will live 15-30 years?

Can you afford the bird, cage, perches, toys, food and vet bills? You initial vet check will run $250-300. Avian vets are considerably more expensive than dog/cat vets.

Will your roommate mind the noise and mess?

Do you go home during the summer months? Will your parents mind?

suncon97 said:

Welcome to the forum!
Well all birds no matter how big or small can be LOUD but I would say the quietest is a green cheeked conure.How many hours do you think you can be home a day?Its a little bit harder while in college but it can be doneOwning a bird is a very rewarding experience.Since it would be in I'm assuming a dorm,the thing I would be concerned about is being able to separate the minpin to a different part of the the dorm so the bird can come out of its cage,unless of course it is friendly with animals such as birds but they would need to be always supervised.I have a minpin also.

Welcome again conure owners will probably answer too!

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I actually live in an 1,100 sq ft apartment with 2 bedrooms. So separation is not a problem. =)

roxynoodle said:

How much time do you have each day? With conures and other parrots, the more the better.

Minimum of 3-4 hours at home, sometimes upwards of 6. Sometimes I'm lucky and have an entire day off! lol

How do you feel at this time about having a pet that will live 15-30 years?

Great! I want something to get attached to, a pet that needs me but that I mutually need it as well.

Can you afford the bird, cage, perches, toys, food and vet bills? You initial vet check will run $250-300. Avian vets are considerably more expensive than dog/cat vets.

Definitely. I wouldn't think of owning an animal I couldn't afford. And thought I do live paycheck to paycheck as is normal for a college student living on their own, I have a decent savings account saved for emergencies or when life bites me in the butt, and any sudden vet visit due to a bird illness would definitely count as an emergency to me.

Will your roommate mind the noise and mess?

How messy would a conure be? And nah, my roomie and I are friends and we hang out a lot. Plus she has a loud and obnoxious (though cute as can be!) dog.

Do you go home during the summer months? Will your parents mind?

No home visits. I go to a community college and mom lives in the city too and I visit her maybe once a week for a few hours, but I am fully on my own and carving out a life for myself. =)

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Well, sounds good!

How messy can a conure be? Mine shoots poop a good 2.5 feet. It lands on the walls, the floor and the couch. Sometimes they throw food farther than that. Last night there were chewed up carrots on my mouse pad. That was a good 4 foot throw on her part. Sometimes when she wants attention she launches food at my head! Actually her cage takes me longer to clean than the 2 bigger birds, lol!

Okay.And you asked how messy a conure would be.Well some birds throw food some splash water.I have bird food stuck to the wall behind my cage in some places although I have a grey.They require fresh veggies and some fruits each day.I get veggies thrown at my dog sometimes haha.Its an everyday thing and i actually enjoy it because it means spending time with my bird.Also make sure you have an avian vet near.Not regular dog,cat,etc. vet.Exotic avian vet.It sounds like you have the right home but I would suggest saving some money up and putting it away for emergency vet visits.I would do this no matter how much anybody made because they aren't cheap. I find bird pellets in places you wouldn't believe.

Yes, she also throws food at the cat, lol! And chewed up fruit and veggies stuck to the wall is a regular thing I have to clean up.

And in case you think mine is unique, I used to have another conure as well. She could shoot poop also and threw almost as much food.

Wow! In everything I've read about conures, I've never read about such mess! That sort of range means that a lot of stuff can get messy, even my bed or my religious altar! Hah! Plus I have the apartment painted, and the paint is low quality so comes off easy. It worries me that I will get mess a lot on the walls and will lose paint.

Also, another question: Do conures like shiny, metal objects? I have a lot of piercings, and 2 years ago I briefly lived with someone who had a cockatiel. When I would try to hold him (aside from sneezing, apparently I am allergic to cockatiels... do conures have dandruff like that?) he would pick at my piercings and it was rather painful.

If you can catch the food while it is still moist then it shouldn't matter.And if the bird is with you from a young age it should get used to things such as piercings but it might try to pull at them(my grey pulls at my glasses).Green cheeks don't have as fine or as much powder as say a cockatoo but yes they have dander so I would recommend an air purifier and misting every few days or bathing can cut down on the amount of dander,

I would rate conures as very good birds to have if you have allergies. Very little dander and they tend to bathe nearly every day.

Mine will pull on all jewelry. I do have people take out earrings/piercings if they want to hold her. She will chew on diamond engagement rings as well. Pretty much any jewelry she is attracted to.

She is the messiest all the way around of all my birds. Pete and Merlin rarely throw anything outside of their cages, and neither of them shoot poop. And bear in mind she is 4-5x smaller than they are, lol!

Sorry I was wrong about dander lol.

suncon97 said:

Sorry I was wrong about dander lol.

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Their being rather hypoallergenic was one of the reasons I chose conures actually. I do need an air purifier for Merlin and Pete.

Conures and macaws were rated high as good birds for people with allergies back when I was doing my breed research.

Ok thanks for telling me I need an air purifier because I'm asthmatic but I've been getting by with the hepa filter in our furnace and misting her a,most every other day.

We have a black capped conure and he really isn't that messy. I know he probably could be if he wanted to be but his poop never gets outside of the cage when he is in it and he doesn't usually throw food. The only messy thing about him is that he loves to bathe in his water bowl and he will splash water in about a 2 foot radius of his cage. It's never much water though, kind of like if you sprayed a spray bottle on a fine mist. If it's something you're worried about, you could just pick out a nice looking shower curtain and hang it on the wall behind his cage, then it could be easily wiped down, won't hurt your paint, and there are a lot of cool curtains, I bet you could find one to match your decor, or maybe one with parrots on it?

As far as piercings, my fiance is a body piercer with around 18 piercings, and I have 17 myself. I'm cautious around birds I don't know, but I've never had a problem very quickly teaching our birds that it's not okay to chew on jewelry. Generally, I don't like to put my face very close to beaks, regardless of the piercings, our conure bit me in the upper lip about a month ago and I once again learned my lesson. :31: He didn't bite either of my lip piercings, he ignored them and bit the very center of my upper lip(hurts way worse than any lip piercing btw!). Normally, most birds will try nibble on your jewelry, but all I've done is tell them no in a stern voice, do it any time they try to chew on any jewelry, including rings and necklaces, and they usually seem to get it pretty quickly that they aren't allowed to chew on that kind of stuff. After that, as long as you aren't taunting them with it(like sticking your tongue bar out at them, I've literally had people do this and think it was a good idea...), I don't think you will have too much of a problem. Every bird is different though.

See, I don't wear jewelry at home much. I don't want anything to get ruined between cleaning stalls and working on home remodeling projects and what not. And I have a pretty bad metal allergy and can't wear earrings of any kind. So when my conure sees earrings on someone, I think that is exciting for her. How nice of them to wear bird toys from their ears for her! And since the majority of my visitors are not bird people, they are not expecting her to grab an earring and pull. So I don't want anyone to get injured. Obviously you can work on teaching your bird to leave them alone. If I wore them myself, she would have learned not to touch them (although that still doesn't mean she wouldn't test other people she doesn't know well).

I think all of us with kissing birds have had a bad lip bite! Although it was my Blue Crown who got me the worst. She was very sweet and gentle, but they have that sharp little needle on the ends of their beaks and boy will that thing pierce flesh like a needle! Rowdy has only given me a bad lip bite maybe once during kissing, but she nailed a friend of mine, who decided to kiss her while I was in the bathroom.

I just thought of this and really wanted to share this idea. I dont have a bird yet, but I live in a apartment with a roommate and have been obsessing with finding a "quiet" bird, not gonna happen. Finally realized I was going about it wrong. Audimute sells sound absorption sheets... you can put it on the back of the cage and on the side.. it will reduce the sound IN the room. You can also hang a sheet on your door to help reduce the sound travel through your home. ALSO you can buy soundproofing foam pads on amazon for pretty cheap. I saw a youtube video where this guy figured out how to hang the pads without damaging the walls by using command strips!! genuis fellow. Put all this together, and you have a very tolerable sounding bird I think. Making it easier to teach the bird screaming for attention isnt going to work. I know they need hours of attention and flying time... but sometimes they just get loud from everything I have read and heard. I hope this is helpful to anyone looking to get a bird and anyone who already has one. You can focus on the bird you want and control the sound.

audimute sells sound absorption sheets, that will help with sound. Also you can buy sound proofing pads for the walls and use command strips to stick them to the walls without causing damage. If you feel the pads might be dangerous in anyway I would think hanging sheets or blankets over them should be fine... you could add some ropes to hang around as well and have climb able walls maybe.. idk. I really want a bird, a sun conure. So sound control is super important for me as I have a roommate. So for her sake i have been going crazy about sound control.

A good cage is at least 100$, the green cheek is anywhere from 200 - 300 from what i have seen. so if you can afford the bird, the cage, the food, the toys... you can invest in sound control. I would maybe even sound control your room, then the cage n stuff ... then get the bird. The nest will be nice and ready for your new companion.

U do know this post is about 5 years old??

I'm a 22 full time college student and here's what I can tell you.

LOUD. even the quieter conures will still make noise. Not normally an issue since they scream during daylight hours and aren't any louder than a stereo.

NEEDY. They require at least 2 hours of direct interaction. I live at home and my bird benefits from my mother who adores her. It works for us, but I acknowledge it may not work for most people. At the very least, keep the bird in a common/family area where they are most likely to get the most people interaction. They are as needy as any dog, if not moreso.

SMART. These boogers need lots of toys and interesting things to do, or they take it out on you.

COMPLEX DIETARY NEEDS. a bowl of birdseed isn't going to cut it, contrary to what you might expect. They need pellets and fresh fruits/veggies at least a few times a week. If you're out all day, it can be a challenge to feed and remove before it spoils. It's not crazy hard (and is a ton easier if you make big freezer batches), but still something to consider.

STILL A WILD ANIMAL. Birds aren't domesticated. They take more knowledgeable owners because they won't be as forgiving of your mistakes. They will bite if you offend them.

Great amazing pets, but undertake such a task if you can accept the above conditions haha. Best of luck to you !

Alternatively, consider a pair of male budgies. They're less needy than conures and will rely more on each other for attention than you. They will be less tame as well, but even together you can make progress with them I've had a lot of luck with them in the past.