New Conure Shopping List

So I want to make sure I have absolutely everything for my Conure before I begin to fully look for one. I'm making a Shopping List. Can you guys help out? The things I absolutely need immediately have an * next to it.

Cage*
Perches (at least two)*
Food (pellets and seeds.. veggies and some fruit is a given)*
Bowls*
Toys (at least four that I can swap out)*
UV light
Travel carrier (I need suggestions)
Stainless Steel cookware*
Bird-safe household cleaners (need suggestions)*
Bird-safe household smelly-goods (need suggestions)*
Bird-safe bed*
Play Gym

Hi and welcome! Seems like you have a pretty good list going on. I do have a couple suggestions that may help you buy smarter for your new little friend

1. Bowls for food and water come with the cage. You may want an extra set at some point, but it's not essential to have a second set

2. Don't forget something to cover the cage with at night! An old blanket or sheet will do just fine, but covering the cage is like tucking your birdie into bed at night

3. I think a travel cage is essential. If there is any kind of emergency, you need it. For a conure, just get a inexpensive budgie cage. A travel cage needn't be large, basically just large enough the birds head doesn't touch the top and their tail doesn't touch the bottoms/sides. One perch in the travel cage (the dowel kind the cage comes with is fine since the bird will not spend enough time in the cage for foot problems to form).

3. Stainless is great for parrot homes, but cast iron and (ceramic) enamelware are safe too

4. Nix the smelly stuff you buy at the store. You can put a few drops of a essential oil you like the scent of into a spritz bottle of water for deodorizing purposes. Also be sure not to use chemical cleaners anywhere near the bird (where it could ingest or smell).

5. Finally, make sure one toy is a foraging toy and buy or make them as you grow your toy collection. Teaching self rewarding behaviors from day one is very important for a well-adjusted bird. Check out the DIY section on here for toy ideas, because you'll be going through a lot once your little buddy settles in

Sounds like you are on the right track, and hope to see you around when you get your bird.

Don't forget to try and put together a good birdy-medic kit for emergencies Cornstarch in case of a blood feather break, styptic incase of a nail clip too far.

Essential oils are great! Just do some research on which ones you use before using them, as some can be dangerous. But the safe ones, when used in moderation and not right near the birdies make up for no more nice smelling stuff.

As for cleaning materials, generally a vinegar and water mix does the trick for everything. Vinegar is a magical solution, I swear. Magic erasers are safe to use near birds, too, for those crazy hard stains. For bathroom cleaner, try to use anything that's for scent sensitive people if it's close to the birds, if not simply closing the door and turning on the fan will make it all good. Most soaps and cleaners have a scent-sensitive version somewhere.

I look forward to meeting the bird that gets to enjoy all of this!

So is my lavendar hand soap ok? What about the carpet cleaner for when the idiot Chihuahua soils the carpet? I was thinking about just using vinegar for the immediate odor of dog pee and every other month shampoo the carpets, but shut the door to the Conure room until it's completely dry.

I bought a pretty fun play gym for my GCC from Petco for $20. It has 3 different positions you can put it in, but eventually some of the rods loosen, so I would reccomend finding a position you like and then permanentlynailing them together.

If you just steam the carpets with hot water, it should help a lot too instead of just carpet cleaning. You could add vinegar to the water to help, too. If shampooing is the only option, then just make sure your bird is quite a distance aways in a room well ventilated with the door closed while cleaning.

You could also look into enzyme cleaners made for birds that also work on other messes too (F10, Avitech, Nature's Miracle - though that last one isn't a favorite of mine) to help with the dog soiling the carpet - that way you can make a water mixture, scrub the spot, and steam clean it to loosen it from the carpet to remove it.

It's amazing how innovative you become when you own birds

Quick edit - using scented hand soaps, conditioner, etc. is fine so long as it isn't used right beside your birds or doesn't leave a residue for them to ingest. I love nicely scented hand soaps and hair products. If I use them, they're used in the bathroom with the door closed and window opened until the scent disappears. I also have a plant based skin lotion I use every day that has no perfume but smells nice from Costco.

My baby was hatched yesterday!

For cleaners vinegar is amazing. Also the Target brand cleaners (I think it's called Method or something like that) is plant based. We make sure and check since we use it mainly for cleaning the bearded dragons' tanks and we don't want them sitting in something that smells like bleach or Simple Green.

Congrats. The fun will be starting soon.

The bowls that come with cages are plastic and they can harbor thin films of bacteria. Get stainless steel. They are easy to keep cleaned and sanitized. How big if a cage are you looking at? I'm terrible about buying something and upgrading two or three times before I'm happy.

Good luck!!!!

Well, I may actually have to wait a bit for my bird. I took in a rescue today... A parakeet with a broken wing. Since I don't know how much it's going to cost to fix him, I might have to wait until the next clutch. Everyone has been telling me to let my bird pick me. Well, it happened. It just wasn't a Conure. He's a pied (I think) named Martin. I adopted him and bought another to go with him. I thought they were both female, but since I know next to nothing about birds, I now think Pip is a girl and Martin is a boy. They're my first birds ever. I ate cereal tonight because I didn't want to cook with my teflon pots. It'll be cereal and oatmeal until Friday! haha

I would put a * next to the playgym. It is a blast to watch Larry (my greencheek) on his, as well as being great exercise. This is not the play top on his cage, it is free standing with ladders, swing, rope, etc. I put him on it around the same time every evening and give him a treat. It took a while, and some slight training how to use it. He is amazing to watch on that thing. Good investment for $20 or you could make one It is his favorite toy