First Time Conure Owner?

ExtraterrestrialGuy said:

I'm not sure which country you're in, but there's a UK based website named Northern Parrots. Their products usually state which birds they're intended for use for. I'm sure most other bird websites will have that information too. We use Harrison's Pellets for our IRN. You can get various sizes for different birds. For toys you can pretty much use any brand. They'll only get chewed up and broken. Just make sure there are no small parts that your bird can choke on, and that any colourings are non-toxic to birds. You might want to make your own perches from branches but make sure you cook them to kill bacteria. You can buy exotic wooden perches from pet shops too.

I think most parrots will take to fruit and veg pretty easily, especially if they've been fed them by their breeders. I had an untamed GCC and have a tame IRN and they both ate fruits and vegetables without persuasion. The GCC wasn't fed anything but seeds until we purchased him. But there will always be certain ones they just don't like. My IRN doesn't like carrots but my GCC did, and my GCC didn't eat berries but my IRN does. Your bird might not eat them if he is scared, which may be the case for the first few days.

As for settling in it really depends on the bird. I think the general rule is to leave them in their cage for a day to adjust (aside from feeding and cleaning, of course). Decide whether you want to keep him/her in a small room or the main room, and whenever you pass or approach him/her always do it slowly. Personally, my GCC took weeks to get out of his cage, but I started sitting next to the cage and talking to it the day after we brought him home. My IRN was happy to get out and interact with us on the same evening we brought him home.

The settling in stage is different for every bird too. My GCC didn't go anywhere in the room apart from the curtain rail above the patio door, and on a ladder if we put one on his cage leading up to the railing. My IRN is tame so he sits wherever you put him, but he always flies back to his cage if you leave him for thirty seconds or so. He loves just sitting on the play gym on his cage.

Your conure will need a lot of time outside of his/her cage so make sure you have a system that will keep your cats and dogs happy too. We have two cats but they're only allowed to sleep in the living room overnight when the bird istaken to my room to sleep in his smaller cage. They eat breakfast, leave, I take the bird down, and the cats are fed again at lunch after the bird is in his cage. Then the cats eat again at 9pm after the bird is put to sleep in my room.

Have fun with your bird. Conures are great fun.

Click to expand...

MissTaz said:

Congrats on your new bird, you love having a conure!! We have three dogs and a cat and they all do fine, just make sure that your bird is never left unsupervised with the dogs and cats. I just went to my local pets store and picked up some toys. I use Zupreem pellets and then a seed mixture and lots of dried fruits and some fresh veggies. Everyone has there own opinion on what to feed parrots but I would get recommendations from and Avian Vet.

Click to expand...