New here, need help! Found a conure!

So, funny story, I am a dog trainer, I was out yesterday morning training a client. I hear screeching from an upset bird, I figured someones pet parrot so the big boxer and got worried. So I look around to see where the bird is and I see a bright yellow bird on the electrical wires who's looking at me screaming. I reached out my hand and called him, he was trying to climb down, after 10 minutes and he didn't come I had to continue. He then flew after me, he still wasn't low enough, so I kept on walking, and he flew again, this time landing on a stoop. So I walked over and gave him my finger and he climbed up. I cupped my hand over him and held him to my chest, and he started doing a head bobbing. I first didn't know what that meant, but he does it while rubbing against me so apparently that is affection and should not be encouraged cause it can lead to regurgitation and weight loss? (please confirm)

Said and done, when I came home I reported a found bird on CL, the avian vet in the area, parrot 911, and posted him on facebook. The birdy was eating a piece of pear sitting on my shoulder. He did not wanna leave me. So since I have one pit, and was baby sitting one boxer, there was no way I would leave the bird at home, needing supplies I took the bird, put him in my reptile carrying case, took the boxer and headed to Petco.

After 170 dollars later I got him a conure cage, it's fairly big, food, fruits and veggies, and 5 toys. After that me, birdy and doggy took a cab back home. I put the cage together so he'd be safe from the dogs, shows up, the dogs are the one that has to worry. If I call out to the dogs, he will call with me. If my pitbull comes to say hi to me, he will fly over them to protect me, and he pecked their noses. Now my pitty is great with other animals so he's patient and the bird is warming up to him.

No one has claimed him yet which is a surprise, he seems to be fairly quiet, and when he screams for me I refuse to give him attention. He will sit on me all day long, he laid on my tummy last night getting scratchies while I was watching TV, the pitty and the boxer was wrestling. He will scream once or twice if I leave the room and preferably be with me. I think he went through something very scary and that he's now being appreciative.

Someone has put in a lot of work on this bird, he's very well behaved, gentle, social, tries to talk I haven't figured out what he's saying yet, but I gave him collard greens this morning and he said something. I feel that someone has to miss him.. Some little girl out there crying for her pet flew away.. Id be heartbroken loosing such a bird.. but I've called all the right places, even though I love him and apparently he loves me I'd love for him to find his way home so it can have a happy ending.

At least he's safe, Im moving in two weeks though and not sure if new landlord will clear the bird too. Im prepared to bribe him with more money if I have to so Yeah I am keeping him if no one claims him.

I have an appointment on Monday booked for wing clip as well as a health check, he seems healthy, nice poops, eats, active, goofy, BUT I like to be sure of it, and if he gets clipped he can come on all my dog walks when weather permits. I lead a very active life and if the bird wanna tag along, the bird gets to tag along. I figured that'd keep him happy and quiet.

So.....

NOW...
What is the most common newbie mistakes? I've tried to read as much as I can the last 24 hours..

they have a blood clotting disease and need a lot of iron and vitamin E? Like kale and dark leafy greens? Yes?

If the scream and you dont want that ignore them?

They can be clicker trained? (I am a positive reinforcement trainer so I can utilize this tool, I love training tricks)

room should be around 70-75 degrees for optimum happy healthy bird?

Do not encourage head bobbing/affection cause it can lead to regurgitate and skinny bird?

Seed should be a staple, but they need a lot of roughness/foraging/fruits and veggies? Where's the best list for this?

Just bombard me with info, the more I know the happier I will be..
He is an amazing bird and deserves the best..

First off welcome to the forum. Thank you for rescuing him and trying to find the owner. Do you know what kind of conure? You said yellow and three come to mind a sun conure, a golden conure also known as Queen of Bavaria conure, A mix between a sun and a jendey conure. In any case all of my parrots do the head bobbing, it is a natural behavior when hungry, excited or just plain happy. We call it the happy dance and all three will do it if we tell them to do the happy dance and start clapping. They do not regugitate while doing this until and unless they are trying to feed a mate then hormones are kicking in and that is a different behaviour. Be aware that a bird even when their wings are clipped can still fly to an extent and especially if they get a gust of wind. The only safe way to take them out is to harness train them or in a carrier and they do sell backpacks for birds. I feed a mix that I get from the petstore made by HIGGENS. It is called gourmet sun conure mix and it has a picture of a sun conure on it. It contains seed, pellets, dried fruit, dried veggies and nuts. As a base then they get a dish with a some dark leafy greens, cooked whole grains, veggies raw or cooked, fruit, and a protien source liked cooked meat, or cooked seafood cooked ckicken, cooked beans, nuts. The foods they should never have is caffine, avacado, chocolate, onions, alcohol, or the pits from apples cherries plums or peaches. Pretty much they can have little bits of what you are having. the more variety the better. If you look at the recipie section in the forum you can get lots of ideas for different foods. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like and can you post a pic of your new friend

There are several lists of food in the forums and one written by Monica Mc on 10/21/2012. That is a really good one but I don't know how to post the link Try general parrot info or recipie sections I had bookmarked it when she posted it, and find it very useful.. Oh by the way regurgating doesn't make for a skinny bird it is the sexual behavior that you want to distract them from.

If I were you and this bird is as comfortable as you say it is with you, I would advise against clipping. I would get him a harness instead. Then you can take him out with you, on walks, where ever. If he is used to being flighted and is sweet, gentle, etc clipping him may, or may not, change his behavior. You may regret it. To clip or not to clip is a sensitive subject. Even if your bird is clipped, if he is a strong flyer, what's to say a nice strong gust and a lil will power and he is off and away. Clipping IMHO gives people a false sense of security. And if he should be in a situation one on one with your dogs and needs too he can fly to safety. Just something to consider.

Where you able to get the tag number and give it too the vet's and the parrot 911 number?

I hope the owner does find you and takes the bird back and compensates you for the supplies. I know my wife and I would be devastated to see our bird missing. So glad you are trying to find the owners. I would suggest putting up some flyers around town, but be careful and make sure the owner knows the tag numbers or have proof that it's their bird. You would be surprised how many people want free birds. :-/

Anyway, if that does not happen thanks for rescuing the bird. Can you post pic's of your rescue? We can tell you what kind of Conure it is and can help you with some of the temperament that the bird might have. You said Bright Yellow so it's possible without seeing any pic's he is a Sun Conure, but pic's would help.

Also my Pineapple Conure is flighted. We decided against clipping because we have cats and dogs and allowing him full flight would give him a chance if anything were to happen. Plus it's fun to have him fly to your shoulder when you are out of the room. lol

Oh he's a sun conure, I feel its fairly safe to share info with you guys. When I posted on CL I just wrote parrot, don't want people to produce fake pictures and stuff. I've been very thorough, I def do not wanna give him to the wrong people. I have had 4 people so far emailing me about be allowed to buy him. Ive said hands down that ain't happening, if owners don't step forward, and if the new landlord says no to keeping him I have a friend who has always wished for one. She has gone through hell recently so she may get an early Christmas but I am really hoping to keep him. He is nutty about me already, I was laying in bed before, and he rolled up on my shoulder and wouldn't move from there. When I took a nap I had to put him away but he protested. He's attached by the hip! Even if the owners dont compensate me I'd just be happy if he found his way home. I mean he even tries to talk, someone has to be missing him.

So clipping wings is a hot topic? What is pro's and con;s? this guy was clipped, I can tell on how they have been dropped and growing out, some of the feathers are still there/clipped. He was a very insecure flyer at first when he tried to get to me, flying was last resort, now he has gotten the hang of it and seem to enjoy it. I didn't know they have harnesses? where can I find one of those? I have an appointment on Wednesday for health check up, wing clip, nail trim and beak clip (what ever that's necessary). I just wanna have him checked up to ensure he's ok and we will look for a potential chip.

I did get the Higgins, not the sun conure one, the conure/lovebird one (Vita seed), I didn't see the one you described.. And I need to go and get more veggies.. Well Ihave a lot of learning to do I see, this is why I come to forums.. Thank you so much guys, I appreciate this.

I feel that someone would have contacted me by now if they were really missing him, maybe its a little old lady who has no internet who had him. Then it may be harder to find me, so I guess i have to put up posters too.

Question, can the fact that I rescued him when he was in such distress be part of why he got so attached to me? Cause aren't they usually one person birds? The client I was with reached out a hand to see if he'd step up and he screamed and flew away. I let him out again now after the nap, he flew to my shoulder and was bobbing away like a little mad man.. he will already roll over and get a belly rub.. he was picking on a pimple, (it hurt) so I said no and moved him and he screamed at me, so I took him off my body and walked away. He hasn't tried picking the pimple again..

How does their psyche work?

Sorry for all the questions I just really wanna figure this little bugger out.

OH what is the best way to tire them out? He seems to have endless levels of energy,he was good though when I took the nap, he ate and was then just doing his little low sounds he does when talking to himself and climbing around the cage. How long time of stimulation should they have a day? Like right now he isnt doing anything but just snuggled up on my shoulder as I walk around doing my stuff. How do I train the bird to be more independent? I that doable?

Since he seem to enjoy flying now, and Im guessing clipping wings can be compared to docking and cropping and I don't like that in dogs. So.. and he's very handeable, so I ordered a harness.. The harness will be here Tuesday. I did pick the aviator one since that one got more recommendations. I absolutely adore this bird and would hate to loose ihim.. I also ordered a few treats and more toys.. I guess its like having a puppy, I have to interact and teach him what is wrong/right and be consistent about it and offer enough enrichment when Im not around for him to be happy and satisfied. but The more info you guys can give me that I should not do and what is good please do.

Im one of those people that I have no issues in being corrected..

Ravennessa said:

Since he seem to enjoy flying now, and Im guessing clipping wings can be compared to docking and cropping and I don't like that in dogs. So.. and he's very handeable, so I ordered a harness.. The harness will be here Tuesday. I did pick the aviator one since that one got more recommendations. I absolutely adore this bird and would hate to loose ihim.. I also ordered a few treats and more toys.. I guess its like having a puppy, I have to interact and teach him what is wrong/right and be consistent about it and offer enough enrichment when Im not around for him to be happy and satisfied. but The more info you guys can give me that I should not do and what is good please do.

Im one of those people that I have no issues in being corrected..

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Wow! I just got around to reading the post before this one, and since then you ordered a harness. LOL The aviator is really good, I have that one too. Sounds to me like you are on the right track. This is a great forum to help you with your questions. If no one claims him I hope you get to keep him/her. Provide him with lots of toys and rotate them out weekly so he doesn't get bored. Also give him toys to shred, you can make your own. And forging toys should keep him busy too. I have a stand separate from my cage, and a bungee as well.

p.s. I think it's great that you are taking him to the vet to get checked out, just if you have your mind made up on the clipping issue don't let them talk you in to it. I would read read read. Ok that's all.

Ravennessa said:

Seed should be a staple, but they need a lot of roughness/foraging/fruits and veggies? Where's the best list for this?

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For conures, seeds should not be a staple, because they're a little too fatty. Seeds and nuts can be mixed in with their diets, and also used as training treats.

Pellets should be their staple diet, and you can mix the pellets with seeds, dried fruits and veggies, etc. Consider ordering a specialty pellet like Harrisons or TOP pellets. They're organic and are a great staple diet. The pellet blends that you find in pet stores are typically too high in sugar and have coloring.

You're already doing the right thing be feeding fresh fruits and vegetables. I actually haven't heard anything about conures being particularly prone to blood clotting diseases, but leafy greens and kale, watercress, etc are great.

Avoid avocado, onion, dairy, mushrooms, and fruit seeds. Hope this helps :] Thanks for taking great care of a poor lost birdie!

Thanks guys, Dr Monaco is avian expert so I trust him, he wouldn't do anything against my will he is also my primary care taker of my lizards. So apparently beloved birdbrain likes baths... He jumped down the sink when i was washing my hands in the bathroom and now I have a very wet bird.. He smells LOL I thought wet dog was bad.. <3

Here's a little video I took of him yesterday, his training has started, he wants to eat everything I eat and landed in my mashed potatoes.. He tried to steal a pringle chips before as well so now when I block him and I tell him leave it, he starts protesting VERY loud, when he does that, I take him off of me and let him sit on the bed, shelf or whatever and I turn my back on him. He is not allowed back on me until he's being quiet. I think he's used to do whatever he wants.. Im gonna break out the clicker and some cheerios and see if I can teach him to be quiet on command. He really is smart though and I think he tries to say hello, it sounds like a mubled hello when he mutters.. I need to take a ton of videos of this guy and let you guys see what he does.. Still no one who has claimed him..


I appreciate all the advices, you guys dont know how much you have helped me. I feel better knowing we are on the right path..

Thank you for rescuing him! He is obviously someone's pet who escaped or was let loose. I'm glad you found each other. I'll try to answer your questions, the best I can. I know you've had great advice thus far, so here's a few more to add:

they have a blood clotting disease and need a lot of iron and vitamin E? Like kale and dark leafy greens? Yes?

I'm not sure what you mean by the blood clotting disease. They do not need that much iron. In fact, too much iron is bad for them and can lead to iron toxicity. Look up fruits and veggies high in iron and give those in moderation. Grapes come to mind. Vitamin E is important for skin, beak, nail and plumage health among other things. Look up foods high in vitamin E. Carrots and cantaloupe come to mind.


If the scream and you dont want that ignore them?

If they are screaming for attention, yes, ignore. Once they call out in an acceptable way either by talking or a softer sound, then respond. Make sure, before you ignore, he is not screaming due to danger or discomfort.


They can be clicker trained? (I am a positive reinforcement trainer so I can utilize this tool, I love training tricks)

Yes. There's a ton of guides on youtube and in the forum


room should be around 70-75 degrees for optimum happy healthy bird?

Yes. I believe conures can tolerate a high temp of 90F, low temp of 50F.


Do not encourage head bobbing/affection cause it can lead to regurgitate and skinny bird?

I haven't heard of regurgitation making a bird skinny. I do not encourage mine if he regurgs because I don't like the puke on my shirt lol! That said, I also do not scold if he does it. I just pretend nothing happened.


Seed should be a staple, but they need a lot of roughness/foraging/fruits and veggies? Where's the best list for this?

Foraging is so important. I have 5 forgagers in Boomer's cage. I fill it with a few nuts and seeds. This is the only time he gets them, so he's got to work for the food he'd rather eat all day. I suggest giving yours a staple of fresh produce and pellets, as well as animal protein, calcium supplements and vitamin e supplements to start. I give my conure awide array of fresh veggies and fruits, and various supplementation because he is not a big pellet eater.


Most importantly, look up the top 10-20 household dangers to pet birds. A quick search on google will yield a ton of results. They also have a list in this very forum.


Hope this helps. Good luck!

I really wish you'd keep the bird. I mean, his previous owner is really irresponsible since he's after letting his bird fly away. Birds should be kept in our eyes, and that's the thing you're doing. Therefore, you're a more worthy owner to this bird than the previous. But to keep your conscience safe, put posters in the same place you found the conure, maybe someone would come.
Try calling him common names, especially Sun Conures ones, and if he answered one of them you'd be achieving a major step.

It's vitamin K that they require for blood clottting... but as long as you have a healthy bird who eats a healthy diet, it doesn't require a special diet.

Beak trim is *NOT* required unless there is some condition that results in a bird requiring beak trims. Most parrots that require beak trims is because they either have a damaged beak and it doesn't grow properly (or perhaps it accidentally scissor beaked as a chick during the hand feeding process) or because of health. Otherwise, beak trims are not required and trimming it may cause it to grow faster.

Seven years ago, my mitred conure tried to attack/bully a blind ruby macaw. (before I adopted him) He got the short end of the stick.... Two surgeries later, he's missing half his beak and will require beak trims for the rest of his life. He's 19 years old this year!





Pellets are indeed healthier than seeds!


Flight is a *great* way to get rid of pent up energy! If you already know how to teach a dog to come to you, you can teach this conure to fly to you on command, then to fly back to the cage or a perch on command.


You did say that you got him a great sized cage, but many cages (unless you go with a flight cage) advertised for conures are actually far too small for them. Flight cages are typically $150 and up, otherwise an appropriate sized cage for a conure generally costs $200 and up.



Conures are only one person birds if they are trained to be that way. Charlie is not a one person bird, but he doesn't like strangers. It can take several weeks of someone he doesn't know working with him before he'll go to them and accept food from them. My first conure, Noel, only I could handle, but this was more because only I knew how to handle him. If anyone actually put in the effort to really understand him, I am sure he would have gone to other people as well. Jayde is my third conure and so far doesn't appear to have any kind of a 'one person' preference, she just doesn't like being alone, but she's not easy to handle at the moment. We're working on that part!



If you want to try and prevent screaming, it's better to keep him busy with something rather than just plane ignore it. Give him something to do other than screaming. It will take time, but not impossible.


My birds are subject to temperatures typically within the 50's to the 80's, if not a bit higher. I've even taken Charlie outside on some short excursions in below freezing temperatures.




[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13XmlniLKd4"]Charlie Flying Outside - YouTube[/ame]




Losing a bird does not make the owner irresponsible. Sometimes accidents happen. Please also look at kijiji/ebayclassifieds and put up posters at all the vet offices, around the neighborhood you found him in as well as at common places such as grocery stores and post offices. (mail boxes)

HusseinBerjaoui said:

I really wish you'd keep the bird. I mean, his previous owner is really irresponsible since he's after letting his bird fly away. Birds should be kept in our eyes, and that's the thing you're doing. Therefore, you're a more worthy owner to this bird than the previous. But to keep your conscience safe, put posters in the same place you found the conure, maybe someone would come.
Try calling him common names, especially Sun Conures ones, and if he answered one of them you'd be achieving a major step.

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I think this is an unfair assumption to make. Accidents happen to even the most careful of pet owners, including beloved animals getting loose. This bird appears well-cared for, meaning its previous owner or owners loved it so very much. No doubt they are very upset that their bird flew away. Rather than judging the previous owner as careless or thoughtless, you should have some sympathy instead. No doubt you would want us to sympathize with you if your bird ever got loose. You wouldn't like it if someone told you that you don't deserve your bird if that happened, would you?

HusseinBerjaoui said:

I really wish you'd keep the bird. I mean, his previous owner is really irresponsible since he's after letting his bird fly away. Birds should be kept in our eyes, and that's the thing you're doing. Therefore, you're a more worthy owner to this bird than the previous. But to keep your conscience safe, put posters in the same place you found the conure, maybe someone would come.
Try calling him common names, especially Sun Conures ones, and if he answered one of them you'd be achieving a major step.

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Calling a owner irresponsible because a pet bird got out of a cage or maybe flew out a opened door is irresponsible and assuming the previous owner does not care or love the bird. You know what assuming does to you? So don't assume.

Accidents happen, maybe a tornado let the bird lose, or hurricane. Maybe some friend left a door open and the bird flew out. You just never know what happened. Also just because someone found a bird does not make them a more worthy owner. I am not saying the OP is not a worthy owner, I am just saying you can not judge someone just because of a action you have no control over.

My bird is small, and I know most conures are. I am always scared of stepping on him, or letting him out of my sight. So would I be considered an unworthy owner if I do step on my bird by mistake? Even thou I take my bird to the vet for check ups, play with my bird, and love my bird to death, in your eyes because I made one mistake I would be unworthy?

How can you have a bird and let him just fly away? I can never step outside or inside home without checking the cage, the food and the supplies. When I get him out the cage I made sure every window is closed, no ventilators nor harming devices open, oilets closed so no drowning in the toilet seats like I've read once.
Birds are like our children and even more precious, and losing your children does make you an irresponsible parent. You do close the door when you get out of the house, and you also keep them supervised by nannies.

I never said they shouldn't be upset or they never were caring, but they missed a point there.

Thank you guys... I really appreciate these advice, I did read about non sticky pans yesterday.. guess what I use... So.... when I move Im gonna have to go and buy new stuff... Never knew that was dangerous for birds..

I guess I have an odd conure, someone wrote its a one person bird, this one likes everyone it seems like. My bf came by last night, and first 5 minutes, birdy was screeching, and flying back and forth, not happy, we ignored him. And eventually he flew down, landed on my head as him and me were laying on the bed. After 10 minutes in total he gave my bf kisses on the lips, walked around on him, picking on him like he did with me. I swear to God, previous owner has put in a ton of work on him, his Hello is clearer. You can almost hear him say it.

I guess I need to buy foraging toys, he has a bunch of toys, but he dont care much for them. All he wants is me.. I am glad to hear that there's a wide variety of temp ranges I can bring him out in. I exercise my dog several times a day so Ill bring birdy with me, gonna have to get him a long leash so he can get to fly some (I really loved the video of Charlie flying)

About the cage size, so yes if thats the deal yes then it may be too small, however, he's free flying with access to the whole room, whatever room Im in. I have covered the windows with curtains. When I move Im gonna make perches with poop tables under and attach on the walls so he can utilize the whole room at the new place without me having bird poop everywhere. I believe firmly in exercising pets, esp if it saves my ears.....LOL

Thank you so much guys, and I will post more pics of him soon... I still haven't heard anything or seen any posters. I did put up a flyer in the local grocery store, close to where I found him, the owners are likely to look there. He was so insecure of flight first that I doubt he has flown far.

I think he bolted through a window or something being curious, got panicked flew a stretch and then didn't know what to do..

But he has shiney feathers, fully feathered, sweet, mild, yeah.. he's golden.. They don't become like this without a lot of work..

I am glad to hear you found the bird and am helping him. I think you are on the right track and doing a good job taking care of the bird. It sounds like he was a loved pet. That said there are many ways birds can escape. Open windows, doors, people when they get the chance deciding to dump the bird. Most people do not release birds since the are expensive. However, someone posted in the past a youtube video of a guy releasing budgies. I watch a documentary about wild parrots in California and the many stories on how they were released. One person said they heard a story of a lady that inherited some parrots just deciding to release them. I hope for the past owners sake none of their friends thought it was a good idea to dump the bird.

Congrats on your rescue and Welcome to the forum. Conure's are amazing birds they are like having a hyper active little toddler that can fly and climb on everything. Mine is super hyper. But it makes them so much fun. I am torn for you though, part of me wants you to be able to keep him because having a bonded bird is amazing!!!! The other part of me aches for the people who lost him. I will say that if he is ment to be yours he will be. Good luck and keep us posted.

Yeah I'd be sad to loose him, but I can imagine some little girl out there or little old lady who has put in a lot of time on this guy crying for him...Today I knocked the houses around the area where I found him, no one was missing him, and no one knew about a missing bird and still nothing online... I fear that someone just don't care.. Its not like Ive hidden him if you know what I mean..