New Christmas Bird... Maybe!

I have wanted a parrot now for years and years, and this Christmas my husband, while accompanying me on a pet shop visit for my periodic parrot fix, fell for a young Sun Conure. Four months old, and a total love!

But... There are issues.

1. Two very gentle Newfoundlands, who put dog drool on everything! I am sure that I can keep the bird physically safe, but what about the big, deep, slobber covered dog bowls? Is that a hazard?

2. Although we are home much of the time in winter, in summer we work long hours on a boat. Probably 8 hours a day in June and September, but up to 17 or 18 in July and August, ever day. We take our dogs with us, and think we can make a draft free area in the cabin... Also the bird can come out on a leash periodically throughout the day, but then will be in a cage again for three to four hours at a time. Think that will work?

Thanks in advance for any ideas and opinions...

I think a good portion of us work full time. I leave the house at 6 am and get home around 430. My birds are out about 4 hours on weekdays, more on the weekends so it's definitely doable.

I also have 3 dogs and 2 cats. I don't let my birds wander on the floor because who knows what the dogs will have brought in from the outside at any given time.

Hi Tempest! Sounds like an interesting life you have out in Maine .

Of course any bird should be supervised even with gentle dogs, but MANY people keep both dogs and birds. I'm not sure if dog drool bacteria is necessarily of any harm to the bird beyond the general 'unsavory-ness' of it lol. Just to be safe, I'd take measures to keep the bird away from their water bowls at least.

Just a word of caution with a bird on a boat, there has to be a way to keep the bird in the cabin unless it's wearing a parrot harness. If the bird does not become willing to eventually use a harness, there is of course the risk of flying away (even more dangerous out at sea)... Even a parrot with wings clipped can fly with wind currents, and a clipped bird who can't fly well and find land will certainly end in disaster. I think it can possibly work after lots of consideration, planning, and 'bird proofing' on deck . Hopefully others will have some tips for you too!

Thanks thekarens and Ravensgryf for your input. Yes, we will secure a smallish cage in the boat cabin (no swings in it) as the door leading out to the deck where passengers sit is almost always open. We can secure the cabin to put on the conure's harness, then open it up again. We can also leave the little guy or girl home, but that seems like a long time! If the weather is too raw we probably would leave him or her home for that day.

I was really worried about the dog bowls and germs and drowning! Not that we will let the bird roam around unsupervised, but it only takes a second!

Do parrot harnesses chafe the birds? How long can one safely leave the harness on?

This Aviator Harness is considered the best (and safest) design for parrots. No, it doesn't chafe or cut in. Of course getting the correct size is essential. https://theparrotuniversity.com/content/aviator-bird-harness My birds now aren't used to one unfortunately, but in the past I've used it with good results. Many people here have one. It does help if the bird is very young as far as getting used to it and wearing it successfully. Some birds will take right to it, others won't. Depends on the individual. I don't see why it couldn't be left on for long periods, but if they're not supervised I could see a potential of getting tangled up in the leash part.

As far as leaving the bird home, most would say the 18 hour day is too long. Though not ideal, MY birds would be able to handle it periodically because 1) they're naturally independent species, and 2) these already independent species were raised by me to be accept and adapt to me being very busy and absent for long periods at times. I'm not sure a conure would handle that as easily. They're a naturally very social species, and can be not too easy going about letting you know that! The good majority of species are that way, but teaching a bird to be independent as possible is important.

Even more to consider huh?! Keep asking if you have any more questions ... Lots of great people here to help. Although it might be a bit slower than usual until after the holiday .

While I enjoy boating, I'm not sure I would be confident enough to take a leashed sun conure to sea with me.....having a bird get loose on dry land is totally different than having a bird get loose at sea, where the only dry landing space may be 25'x50,' knowing the chewing propensity of most conures and the quickness that they are able to dispatch leather leashes. Now taking a bird to sea in a cage would be a different kettle of fish, with a closed and secured cabin if any out of cage handling is to be done.....

The keeping birds out of drafts we are schooled in, usually regards sudden temperature changes, normally colder and the possibility of catching a cold, but birds don't catch colds like we do ! ! ! As it's a bird's nature is to fly, I don't think they wait for dead-air to go flying.....with companion birds, heat can be as much of or maybe more of a threat than colder air.

Our feathered friends have up to three layers of feathers that they can raise or lower for personal insulation, but they have a very hard time cooling themselves in temperatures above 75 degrees fahrenheit and temperatures of a 15-20 degree increase can be deadly for some birds.....

Much of owning and caring for companion birds is as much common sense as it is reading books about them.....

Good luck.....

Oh dear - I hadn't thought of the drool. I have three cats and a dog. One cat does a lot of drooling. It hasn't been a problem until yesterday...Jingle got into the dry cat bowl and started eating the cat food. I did stop it right away but I thought it was pretty funny. What a crazy bird.

A friend of mine used to have a bird on his boat. That bird sat right by the captain while they were underway.

Much to consider... The draft/ temperature thing is quite interesting, and it totally makes sense that heat could potentially pose a bigger threat than cooler temperatures, and harder to deal with.

But we have plunked down our savings and paid for the conure... We will pick him or her up after Christmas. S/he is two months old, and currently eating Zupreem Pellets. We have to start working on adding fresh veggies and fruits... more research coming up!

Meanwhile, we have a cage; not ideal, I think, but okay for a few months while we all get adjusted. It is 22x20; a Prevue Hendryks or something like that, and on sale as it had some issues. The play gym on top had no perch and they said it was broken, and to zip tie a dowel on. However, they had just attached the whole thing on upside down, and we were able to fix it. Also, one feed cup ring on top broke off, so we will have to figure that out.

Eventually, we decided we will build or buy a large cage ...we have an unused but bright loft... we want to either by put a 4 x 4 walk in cage up there, or maybe fence off most of the loft, which would create a space about 24 x 8 or 12 feet, depending on how we do it. If those plans don't materialize, we will be aiming for a 33 x 33 corner cage downstairs, in addition to the current cage.

The boat? We still have to work on the boat....

Given your desires to take your new friend out with you, I think you would be wise to invest first in a small stainless steel cage, something around 24"x24"x24" that will give you a decent sized travel cage that should be easy to secure in the cabin, but you would want to change out any perches that came with it for wooden ones of about 3/4" or 7/8" diameter so that your bird will have good perching in the event of rough and/or choppy seas.....there are stainless cages available in this size range for something like $500 new, though if you were to keep a close eye on Craigslist, you might get lucky.....I'm sure you know what salt water will do to regular steel items.....keep any cages you currently have, that are not stainless steel off the boat.....

Since your new friend is only two months old, getting started on her diet conversion should be fairly easy endeavor.....

Your unused loft space intrigues me and was wondering if your home is repurposed from another use or was built in the early part of last century or older, but when you get to the point of conversion of that space, make sure the bird doesn't have access to any open high ceilinged areas.....

Your cage problems all sound fixable there are aftermarket strap-on food/water dishes available as well as strap-on water bottles, much like gerbil/rabbit water bottles, if needed.....

Good luck.....

weco said:

Given your desires to take your new friend out with you, I think you would be wise to invest first in a small stainless steel cage, something around 24"x24"x24" that will give you a decent sized travel cage that should be easy to secure in the cabin, but you would want to change out any perches that came with it for wooden ones of about 3/4" or 7/8" diameter so that your bird will have good perching in the event of rough and/or choppy seas.....there are stainless cages available in this size range for something like $500 new, though if you were to keep a close eye on Craigslist, you might get lucky.....I'm sure you know what salt water will do to regular steel items.....keep any cages you currently have, that are not stainless steel off the boat.....

Since your new friend is only two months old, getting started on her diet conversion should be fairly easy endeavor.....

Your unused loft space intrigues me and was wondering if your home is repurposed from another use or was built in the early part of last century or older, but when you get to the point of conversion of that space, make sure the bird doesn't have access to any open high ceilinged areas.....

Your cage problems all sound fixable there are aftermarket strap-on food/water dishes available as well as strap-on water bottles, much like gerbil/rabbit water bottles, if needed.....

Good luck.....

Click to expand...

Well, Kraken is here...



That is him or her. We mailed off the gender DNA test today, so should know in a week or so. S/he has a smallish 24x20 cage now, and we are really leaning toward the loft conversion, or at least a sizable cage up there. I am really interested in creating a foraging tree and in the flight harness (thanks for the link!). I would love to use jesses, but totally understand the shallow socket problem with this type of bird, so will get the harness.

We are working on expanding the diet, but so far, the bird has no interest in anything other than corn flakes and pellets. At the pet store s/he also ate microwaved vegetables (carrots only) but here s/he hasn't touched them. We have also tried carrot tops, apples, spinach and millet spray. I guess we have to keep making them available in hopes that they may become appealing.

Congratulations, Kraken is a beauty!

Yes, keep offering the vegetables. Try a variety of vegetables and use different methods to prepare them. Chop them, dice them, shred them, steam them, add cooked quinoa or brown rice, cooked sweet potato. You'll throw away a lot at first, but patience and persistence is usually successful.