Hi!

I'm a brand new bird mom as of this weekend. I have a baby Sun Conure, but it's still such a baby that it's staying with the shop until it's weened.

My husband and I have been putting a lot of research and thought into a cage, perch, toys, etc., but would appreciate any tips.

My baby is the one in my avatar!

Hi! Welcome to you! What part of Colorado?

Welcome! That is very exciting!

Please research PFCs, PTFE, PFOA and Teflon (they are all over 90% of things that heat---pans, trays, cookie sheets, blow-dryers, curling irons, space-heaters, drip trays,rice-cookers, irons, ironing board covers, air fryers etc...even some microwave popcorn bags contain a related clear-coat! When heated, these gasses are deadly. Please....only use stainless or trustworthy cast-iron/ceramic and call ahead on any appliances. Birds have died on separate floors (and within the supposed "safe" temperature ranges quoted by DuPont) when the aforementioned chemicals off-gassed under the same roof.

As a new bird mom, you may also be unaware of the dangers of scented products (air fresheners, aerosols, bleach, windex, ammonia, kaboom, comet, carpet shampoo, flea baths, bug-spray, sunscreen, pesticides, candles (scented or non), perfume, vaping, smoke, burning food, self-cleaning ovens, glue, paint, stains,incense, potpourri burners, oil burners, essential oils, sharpie markers etc)...Please clean only with avian safe products or unheated vinegar +water (or gse +water). Birds have VERY sensitive respiratory systems.

Finally, please pet your bird only on the head and do not use any "snuggle tents" or special sleep spaces. If you provide shadowy areas you risk serious behavioral and health issues, and you want to start off on the right foot.
Although your bird is young now, they are suckers for routine---don't start what will be inappropriate within a year...Shadows and petting places other than the head stimulates hormones and this leads to dangerous behaviors and health problems.

Welcome to you and your baby Sun, an excellent plan to wait until fully weaned. The forum has an extensive conure community, please read from the Conure forum and post any questions!! Beautiful pic!!

Welcome to the Forum! Have you picked out a name for your birdie?

Welcome to the community!!! And congrats on your new baby!

Welcome to the world of being a Parront, it's a totally different experience than owning any other type of pet, and also much more rewarding (in my opinion anyway, and I'm also a dog and reptile lover as well!)

***I am SOOOOOO GLAD that you are leaving your new baby Sun Conure at the Pet Shop/with the Breeder until he/she is fully-weaned, instead of bringing the baby home and trying to hand-feed and Abundance-Wean them yourself! This is very common, unfortunately, and ends in serious illness or death over 50% of the time, actually more often than that...So I'm glad that your baby will be on 100% solid-foods when you bring them home!

What I will tell you is that it's very common for babies who have just finished weaning to cry/beg for a "Comfort-Feeding" at nighttime before they go to sleep...Most baby birds do this, and it's just a matter of whether or not the breeder keeps the baby long enough that they are no longer crying for a comfort feeding at nighttime before bed or not...Some do, some don't...So if you happen to bring your baby home and you find that they are crying at nighttime (usually as soon as the sun goes down and it's dark out) but at no other time during the day, then you'll know what the problem is, and that there is nothing wrong with your baby, they aren't sick or in pain, they are simply crying for a Comfort-Feeding...Some people choose to give them a hand-feeding at nighttime when they cry, some don't, either way they usually only do this for a week or so at most, then it stops. And it's perfectly normal.

***Something that is extremely important for new bird/parrot owners to know is their health and well-being is a situation that is unlike that of any other pet/animal...All birds possess a natural, innate survival-instinct that causes them to hide any and all outward signs/symptoms of illness and/or pain for as long as they possibly can! They do this because parrots are "Prey Animals", and they are also "Flock-Animals", and if a bird appears outwardly sick or in pain, it makes them a direct target for Predators, and also makes their entire Flock targets as well. So they do this to protect themselves and their entire Flocks from being attacked/eaten....Because of this, by the time we as people notice that something may be wrong with our parrots, they have usually already been sick for quite some time, typically for at least weeks, if not months and months, depending on the illness/disease..This means that by the time we as people typically realize that our birds are sick, it is often too late to help them or save them, and we must get them to either a Certified Avian Vet or an Avian Specialist Vet immediately after we notice that something is wrong, we cannot wait at all.

***It's highly suggested that all pet birds/parrots get a complete Wellness-Exam at least once a year (some people do it every 6-months), and that these Wellness-Exams always include #1) Complete Fecal-Testing, meaning they do a Gram-Stain/Microscopy right then and there in their office, and they also send out a sample to whatever lab they use to have a Culture & Sensitivity run, which usually takes 3-4 days to get the results back; this means you must bring a fresh Fecal-sample with you to your appointments, either from the morning-of or from up to 24-hours prior to the appointments (just put them in a container/baggie and put them in the fridge until you leave for the appointment)...and then also #2) Full, "Baseline" Blood-Work...This is extremely important to have done at least once a year, because this is going to not only tell you if your bird has an active-infection of any kind, is Anemic, is suffering from any type of Nutritional-Deficiency, Metabolic issues, Hormone issues (such as Thyroid problems), etc., but it also tells you how both their Liver and their Kidneys are functioning and whether they are suffering from any Disease of their Liver and/or Kidneys. This is extremely important because the #1 cause of pet/captive birds dying well before they should is Fatty Liver Disease due to a daily-diet that is way too high in fat and sugar and way too low in protein.

***You should find either the closest Certified Avian Vet or Avian Specialist Vet to you BEFORE you bring your new bird home, and you should make an appointment for a Wellness-Exam for them that happens ideally within the first week of bringing them home, if not the first week then the first month for sure. (Some breeders/pet shops give you a "Health Guarantee" with your new baby bird, but it usually only lasts for a very short period of time after you bring them home, typically it's 3-days; whatever it is you need to have a complete Wellness-Exam done with a CAV or Avian Specialist Vet that includes at least full Fecal-Testing, within the time-period specified in their Health-Guarantee, that way if there is anything wrong with your bird you typically get reimbursed for any Avian Vet bills you accrue as long as you have the first Wellness-Exam appointment done within the timeline of their Health-Guarantee)...And even if you don't get any Health-Guarantee with your bird, you still need to have a full Wellness-Exam done with a CAV/Avian Specialist Vet very quickly after you bring them home, because it's extremely common for new baby birds coming from pet shops and breeders to have a Gastrointestinal Infection of some kind, either Bacterial or Fungal, which can be diagnosed or ruled-out by full Fecal-testing; they may or may not be able to do full Blood-Work on your baby Sun Conure when you first bring him home, usually with Sun Conures they can because they are larger baby birds (with smaller baby birds they have to wait until they weigh enough that it's safe). With Sun Conures who are already fully-weaned and fledged, they are typically large enough to run Blood-Work...And since your bird is coming from a pet shop (really it doesn't matter, they should all have this done), in addition to the routine Blood-Work they should also run an individual blood-test for PBFD (Parrot Beak and Feather Disease), which unfortunately is becoming more and more common in the US and elsewhere around the world, and which is an extremely debilitating and eventually fatal Avian Viral Disease.

Just to specify, there is a HUGE DIFFERENCE between a Certified Avian Vet/Avian Specialist Vet and an "Exotics" Vet in the United States (in other countries the requirements are different)...So here is the difference in the US:

-In the US, a "Certified Avian Vet" is a Vet who has graduated from Veterinary Medical School, and then does additional education followed by either an Internship or usually a Fellowship, which lasts for 2-4 years typically, with a very experienced CAV; they then take Board-tests to Certify themselves as Board Certified Avian Vets, and typically they only treat/see birds; An "Avian Specialist Vet" does basically the same thing, they have extra education and then they work under an experienced CAV, and they typically only see/treat birds.

****In the US, a Vet who calls themselves an "Exotics" Vet is someone who graduates from Veterinary Medical school, passes their state licensing test, does a year internship, and then decides to call themselves an "Exotics" Vet because they want to/are willing to see/treat animals and pets other than dogs and cats. That's it, that's the difference between an "Exotics" Vet and a General dog/cat Vet in the US, it's simply that an "Exotics" Vet is willing to see pets other than dogs and cats, while a General Vet sees only dogs and cats...Exotics Vets in the US have ZERO extra education, training, or experience in Avian Medicine (or any other specialty medicine) and because Avian Medicine is vastly-specialized and totally different from dog and cat medicine, unfortunately most Exotics Vets end-up either not helping birds at all, making birds worse than they already are, or more commonly than should be they actually cause the death of birds (very common in the US). So as such, it's highly advised that you find either a CAV or an Avian Specialist Vet and take your bird to them for their yearly Wellness-Exams, as well as for any illnesses or injuries...****(Keep in-mind that there are Exotics Vets who are ALSO Certified Avian Vets, so they treat all pets other than dogs/cats, but did go through the extra education, training, and experience and did get themselves board-certified in Avian Medicine; typically General Vets will not see any pets other than dogs and cats.)

There is a search-tool here in the forum that finds you all of the CAV's and Avian Specialists closest to you, and it's a world-wide search, and it seems to be extremely accurate and works well. There is a link posted all over the forum...Someone will post it here I'm sure...

Welcome and be welcomed. Additionally, yeah, what EllenD said !!