Sun conure help!

Sunnythesunconure

New member
Jun 13, 2016
5
0
Somewhere over the rainbow
Parrots
Sun conure
Sunny has been with me now for about 8 years. Her leg band never gave me a problem until recently. I've noticed its slid up her arm. I unfortunately don't have the Money at the moment to take her to the vet to remove this. The band still able to turn around. I believe it needs to be taken off but she seems OK at the moment. Is there anything I can do to get this off her myself? I handle her well. I tried looking for band cutters online but really don't know what to look for or where to even look.

She loves seeds! And as I no this is not good. I know fresh fruit and vegetables are best, but she refuses to eat it. Does anyone recommend nutriberries for conures as a good staple to try for her diet

She's been laying eggs the past few years or so, I can't recall when she started, but it freaks me out!! And I feel badly taking them from her. She's lay only in cycles kinda like a bunch then none... does this sound normal

She also sneezes alot but no dischargecomes from her nose it's a dry sneeze. Her eyes and coat are beautiful and she's healthy otherwise.

Any help or advice welcome thanks for reading !! :orange:
 
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Falconbiscuit

New member
May 1, 2016
32
0
Australia
Parrots
Ruby - Sun Conure - 8 years
Sunny sounds pretty healthy! My sun Ruby (also 8 yrs) has had her leg band on all her life. Sometimes it slides up her leg, I just help it to slide down. Is there any sign of rawness or irritation? If so, I would take them to the Avian vet to get it cut off. They should have some special tools to get it off easily!

My sun is very, VERY picky with food. Is she on a pelleted diet? If not, I would convert her to a pelleted diet. Try to pick one with fun, colourful pellets, as it makes eating fun and exciting. Also, I offered the pellets (in your case fresh fruits) as treats, and made the bird look forward to eating them, and then slowly phase out seed, and add in fresh fruits. Trust me, Ive been at the stage where you feel like giving up, but it's worth it in the end, and will probably increase Sunny's life span by 5 or more years!

As for the eggs, don't feel bad removing them. It's better for her overall health. As long as the eggs are healthy and look alright, they shouldn't be a huge problem! Pellets help with egg-laying birds too.

Hope this helps! :)
 

Skittys_Daddy

Well-known member
Jan 6, 2014
2,172
63
Lewiston, Maine
Parrots
Neotropical Pigeon - "Skittles" (born 3/29/10)
Cockatiel - "Peaches" (1995-2015) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sammy"
(1989-2000) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sandy"
(1987-1989) R.I.P.
Hey,

When I first took Skittles to the vet for his first visit, the vet recommended having it removed and charged me $18 to remove it. Which is ridiculous. But I had her remove it.

The biggest concerns with the band should be it getting stuck and cutting off circulation, irritating the skin/feathers, it getting caught on something. "Ideally" they should be removed as they serve no legitimate purpose aside from identifying them from within a flock. There is no national database on parrots so the bands are useless.

With regard to the eggs, are you removing them after she lays them? If so, that's a no-no. You should let her sit on them and wait for her to 'discard' them (about 2-3wks). You'll know when she discards them because they will be on the other side of the cage from where she lays them. If she happens to break any open, do remove those right away.

As for diet, ideally, any parrot should be on a pellet diet. While this will vary depending on who you talk too, it also depends on the type of pellet.

I feed Skittles the Harrisons HP-Fine. It makes up 70% of his diet. 25% is power treats and 5% is fresh fruits/veggies/grains. I don't feed Skittles any seeds.

He took to the Harrisons right off. My cockatiel Peaches, had been on seeds nearly ten years when I converted her to the Harrisons.

We never know how are fids will be with a new diet or food. Some take to changes, others don't. But the most important think in any diet conversion is assuring they are getting enough nutrients.
 
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Sunnythesunconure

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Jun 13, 2016
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Somewhere over the rainbow
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Sun conure
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I just want to thank each and every one of you for your responses. I usually will leave her egg in for about 2-3 days, she actually has one of those sleepy huts. Shell stay in there all day warming her egg she will also be very territorial if you go anywhere near her cage. Shell coo in the morning for hour's at a time as well.. So I should leave it until she tosses it? I also will be switching her diet to pellets and trying fruits and vegetables as treats... sun conures can be so stubborn! As for her leg band it doesn't seem her skin is agitated around the area but I catch her picking at it sometimes. 18 dollars I can do to get this removed if that's all it is !! Thanks again everyone 😂
 

Skittys_Daddy

Well-known member
Jan 6, 2014
2,172
63
Lewiston, Maine
Parrots
Neotropical Pigeon - "Skittles" (born 3/29/10)
Cockatiel - "Peaches" (1995-2015) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sammy"
(1989-2000) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sandy"
(1987-1989) R.I.P.
That's why you shouldn't take them out right away. It encourages further laying. I always thought we were supposed to remove them, until the vet told me not too. I had a huge excessive egg laying issue with my cockatiel Peaches, when I had her. Then I was told to leave them in until the bird discards them. You can also replace them with dummy eggs, though that's not a guarantee. Sometimes they don't fall for that.

It makes sense now that I think about it. With chickens, people remove the eggs daily so the chickens will lay more.
 
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Sunnythesunconure

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Jun 13, 2016
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Somewhere over the rainbow
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Her egg has been with her now for 2 weeks. I'm concerned because she barley leaves her bed. Should I be concerned? Also her leg band somehow made its way back down her leg in the proper position but there are feathers missing.
 

Skittys_Daddy

Well-known member
Jan 6, 2014
2,172
63
Lewiston, Maine
Parrots
Neotropical Pigeon - "Skittles" (born 3/29/10)
Cockatiel - "Peaches" (1995-2015) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sammy"
(1989-2000) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sandy"
(1987-1989) R.I.P.
Is she eating/drinking? Have you checked her weight and her droppings?

Also, when was her last vet checkup? I wonder if there might be some hormonal issues going on.
 

Printer bird

New member
Jan 4, 2011
268
1
Calgary, AB
Parrots
Dipper, 8 year old WC Pionus
RIP Charlie, Green Cheek Conure,
Lelu, parrotlet and
Poe the budgie.
You might want to remove the happy hut once she's done with this laying cycle. Providing broody hens with a dark cave to nest in is a no no for parrots. If she doesn't have a nest to lay eggs in, she might not be so inclined to lay them. Bring her food and water close to her hut if you can if she's not eating very much. Its OK if she's in there for most of the day as long as she's still eating and drinking etc.

In the future, you might be able to prevent/minimize her hormonal cycles by making sure she goes to bed at the same time every night even in the summer (so that longer days don't kick start her hormonal cycle), providing her with a sleep cage in a dark room so that she has the rest she needs (sleeping in a different place from where you spend your days is more like non-breeding times in the wild), and eliminating any nest-like spaces (like happy huts) from her habitats. Make sure you aren't ever petting her on the back! Just the head.
 

MonicaMc

Well-known member
Sep 12, 2012
7,960
Media
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Parrots
Mitred Conure - Charlie 1994;
Cockatiel - Casey 2001;
Wild Caught ARN - Sylphie 2013
Charlie, my mitred conure, is 22 years old. I've had him since he was 12 years old, and he still has his [closed] leg band. Knock on wood, haven't had any issues with it!

Sylphie, a wild caught african ringneck of unknown age, was probably [open] banded in 2013 (when she was imported). She came to me in 2014. As soon as I could, I took her in to my a-vet to have her leg band removed. I think I was only charged $15, but in a normal circumstance, I would have been charged an office visit fee, which is something like $40, so I would have ended up paying under $60 for the visit.



This thread may help with ideas on how to get her eating healthier....

http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html


BTW, Nutriberries have been formulated to be a "complete diet" (they have up to 33% pellets in them - although there are also Pelletberries), although most people who feed them feed them as treats.



Sneezing in and of itself is normal. Sometimes dust particles, feathers, seed hulls, etc may get stuck in their nostrils and they need to clear them out. Sneezing could also be a sign of the air being too dry. As long as it's not excessive, her nose doesn't look irritated in any way, and there's no discharge, she may be just fine.



(X-Post of mine)


This is my general recommendation when dealing with hormonal egg laying hens.


  • Remove Eggs
    • Rearrange the cage
    • Move the cage to a new location
    • Use a cage grate
    • Get a new cage/Use a different cage
    • 12-14 hours of complete darkness
    • Decrease calcium and protein within the diet (if she is on a high calcium & protein diet prior to laying eggs)
    • Remove anything that could be taken as a nest
    • Remove anything that could be used as nesting material
    • Don't allow her in any dark place or enclosed area
    • IMPORTANT: save the eggs in the fridge
    • If she lays more than 3-4 eggs, put them back in the cage

  • Leave the Eggs
    • Leave the eggs alone in the cage
    • [Optional] Replace with fake eggs (prevent eggs from breaking)
    • Increase calcium
    • Let hen sit on eggs for 3-4 weeks or until she gets bored of them
    • Once done sitting, toss



If you remove the eggs, you must also remove the triggers to egg-laying. If you don't, your bird will just lay more eggs. (sound familiar?)

If you decide to leave the eggs, then once the hen is done sitting, you need to remove the triggers to egg laying so that she wont lay more eggs.
 

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