What are some down side of owning green cheek conure or love bird??

CYNToronto

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Dec 25, 2014
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I've owned budgies and cockatiels, and here are some common traits of them that I found intolerable:

- budgie: easily scared
- budgie: craps too often; like I need a towel in hand if I ever bring him out of cage
- budgie: hates being touched, and perpetually afraid of hands
- budgie: too attached to cage; always prefer to be on a cage or inside one
- budgie: makes a lot of mess with food; tosses it everywhere
- budgie: molts too often (might be because they were babies)

- cockatiel: too much dust; I'm allergic
- cockatiel: easily scared
- cockatiel: doesn't like being touched even if they enjoy perching on me
- cockatiel: too attached to cage; seems to panic whenever they're out of cage
- cockatiel: territorial
- cockatiel: boring; prefers to just sit on a perch all day; occasionally pecking me or the toys in its cage, and seems quite satisfied with just existing


* I can deal with the mess (except the dust), and I can deal with a bird being nippy, and I can even deal with a bit of noise, BUT what I don't like is a bird that gets too attached to cage, and doesn't want to part from it; a bird that's afraid of hands; a bird that doesn't like being touched; and a bird that prefers just kind of sitting around and does nothing all day

I mentioned smaller conure and love bird tend to be bold, not afraid to fly to owner, doesn't mind being touched or at least doesn't freak out easily and run away from hands, and that prefer to be active than sitting around all day.

What do you think?? And please no "all bird are individuals and different"; I'm asking for general difference, because there is difference.
 

Starlit_Night

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Sep 9, 2013
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Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Parrots
Aleta - Pineapple GCC (Hatch date July 2 2013), Fry & Sprite - Budgies
I have budgies and a green cheek conure.

You are spot on about the budgies, but there are a bunch of similarities, I've noticed. I can only tell you about my bird, as I don't really know any others. But I'll tell you how my conure is compared to the budgies.

-Aleta can be flighty about some sudden noises/movement, but for the most part is not too intimidated about things. Boldly walks up to and tries to take on my dogs - not really afraid of much.
-She will poop every 10(ish) minutes. We are working on training her to tell me when she has to go, but it is a big job. Unlike budgie poop which dries pretty solid and can be picked up, the conure poop is more runny and will leave a mess.
-she loves to be on people. not always in the mood to cuddle, but will spend endless hours on me, if allowed.
-would rather not spend any time in her cage
-she is VERY messy. The budgies send seed shells everywhere (they will not convert to pellets, no matter how much I try). The conure however, will fling fresh food around. If you are not on top of it, scraping dried bits of fruit and veg off the walls and floors can be a pain in the butt.
-Aleta is constantly molting. I don't find her molting to be much less than the budgies. She always seems to have pin feathers, and always feathers on and around the cage and play stands.
-She is noisy as all get out when she wants attention and let out of her cage. My SO works shift, so sometimes during the day when we are home she has to stay in her cage in the basement so not to disturb him. She will carry on until she gets her way.
-She can be nippy. They are beaky birds. She uses her beak to play (sometimes too rough) or to get a point across - like not being left in her cage when I am home.

Overall, I have no regrets about her. She is small enough to be portable, bring her places with me. Gets along with everyone in my house, She was hand raised from a breeder - so that may be part of her being very social.

Can't speak for a species on a whole, but hopefully that helps with a little info about how this conure acts. :D
 
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CYNToronto

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Thanks. I think I'll consider love bird first. Sound like a lot of work for an MSc student.

I have budgies and a green cheek conure.

You are spot on about the budgies, but there are a bunch of similarities, I've noticed. I can only tell you about my bird, as I don't really know any others. But I'll tell you how my conure is compared to the budgies.

-Aleta can be flighty about some sudden noises/movement, but for the most part is not too intimidated about things. Boldly walks up to and tries to take on my dogs - not really afraid of much.
-She will poop every 10(ish) minutes. We are working on training her to tell me when she has to go, but it is a big job. Unlike budgie poop which dries pretty solid and can be picked up, the conure poop is more runny and will leave a mess.
-she loves to be on people. not always in the mood to cuddle, but will spend endless hours on me, if allowed.
-would rather not spend any time in her cage
-she is VERY messy. The budgies send seed shells everywhere (they will not convert to pellets, no matter how much I try). The conure however, will fling fresh food around. If you are not on top of it, scraping dried bits of fruit and veg off the walls and floors can be a pain in the butt.
-Aleta is constantly molting. I don't find her molting to be much less than the budgies. She always seems to have pin feathers, and always feathers on and around the cage and play stands.
-She is noisy as all get out when she wants attention and let out of her cage. My SO works shift, so sometimes during the day when we are home she has to stay in her cage in the basement so not to disturb him. She will carry on until she gets her way.
-She can be nippy. They are beaky birds. She uses her beak to play (sometimes too rough) or to get a point across - like not being left in her cage when I am home.

Overall, I have no regrets about her. She is small enough to be portable, bring her places with me. Gets along with everyone in my house, She was hand raised from a breeder - so that may be part of her being very social.

Can't speak for a species on a whole, but hopefully that helps with a little info about how this conure acts. :D
 

LeaKP

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Aug 11, 2014
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South Africa
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Congo African Grey
Love birds are great but are more beaky than conures in my experience and boy do theY BITE HARD. They also go wild quickly without consistent handling. Love both species and have enjoyed having them both.
 

veimar

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Feb 5, 2014
1,150
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Chicago, IL
Parrots
gcc Parry; lovebird Coco; 3 budgies (Tesla, Franky and Cesar); cockatiel Murzik, red rump parakeet girl Onyx
I have both (and budgies, and a cockatiel), and cannot think of any... hmm.. Mine don't bite at all, and my lovebird is the sweetest of my whole flock. They are both great birds if treated well.
 

Dinosrawr

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Aug 15, 2013
1,587
8
Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Parrots
Avery, a GCC born on March 5th, 2013 & Shiko, a blue IRN born on February 25th, 2014
Reading your posts about conures, I find my GCC doesn't quite fit your expectations, but I still love her :)

Avery is:
- Flighty
- Scared of quick movements, hands especially unless they are mine or Brendon's
- Prefers to be on or in her cage
- Very temperamental, not at all outgoing
- Refuses to fly to me unless recall training or has been scared, and in the latter she simply flies into her cage instead
- Will often chomp me when the mood strikes, whether or not I've done something "wrong"


On the positive side of things, she is also:
- Very cuddly when she wants, but it HAS to be on her terms. You cannot force a bird to be cuddly is what I've learned.
- She is great about staying with me unless she gets scared, which is often...
- She would happy be with me wherever I go because we have a good bond
- I spend less on toys for her because she's not as destructive as my ring neck (not that she doesn't have a lot or do anything, she just doesn't do as much so it's easy to cycle them)
- She's a quiet bird if I'm in the room. But if I'm not, she's a line of sight screamer.
- She loves to be talked to rather than trained, and I enjoy telling her about my day and listening to her cute chirping responses.


I think people romanticize GCC's, though. Not that they aren't awesome birds, because they are. They're known as a beginner bird, but they can be total monsters when they hit puberty. Avery is going through hormones right now, and she's exceptionally unpredictable. One day she'll love me, the next she'll attack me no matter what I do... and when people buy them for their cuddly, goofy personality and then they hit puberty... they get upset and often give the bird up.

It sounds like you want the perfect, low maintenance bird. A perfect one doesn't exist, and I wouldn't say conures are low maintenance as a bird itself but in comparison they can be. If you do want that outgoing personality, I highly suggest you buy a conure that has been allowed to fledge as a baby. One thing I will mention as well is that I cannot study or do work with my birds in the room. With just Avery I could because she's a naturally quiet bird, but with Shiko AND Avery, it's impossible. So there's a chance your conure may be a chattery one and doing your classes/research will be difficult at times in the same room.

But overall, I think the companionship you gain from them is awesome. Personally I 100% recommend a conure. I have yet to meet one that I couldn't build a bond with and enjoy their company. :)
 

kq_fan

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Jun 26, 2013
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Seattle, Washington
Parrots
Lilo - Female Green Cheek Conure ~ Pal - male cockatiel ~ Pheobe - female cockatiel
Lilo is:
Stubborn
bossy to everyone and every pet in the house
Cuddly
snuggly
playful with her toys but usually when its breeding season.. -.-
picky picky eater
nips and bites when you don't do what she wants
loud in the morning when I'm trying to sleep in
extremely smart!
Most beautiful colors I have seen in a bird! blue red green yellow black!
I don't know what I would do with out her! :) she is so worth having!
 

mh434

New member
Oct 28, 2014
473
9
BC, Canada
Parrots
Yellow-naped Amazon "Sammy"
Love birds (4)
Green-cheeked Conure "Skittles" - now, sadly gone from my life
Blue-Crowned Conure "Tequila"
African Grey "Reno" - sadly, now gone from my life
We have a GCC and several Lovies. The Lovebirds are paired up, which seems to make them extremely territorial and cage-protective. They are also absolutely fearless. If they suspect some kind of 'slight' from another bird, no matter how big a bird it is, they will attack fiercely and relentlessly! A few weeks ago two of them attacked an Umbrella Cockatoo (MANY times their size, fearless in his own right, but doing nothing but snoozing quietly at the time of the attack). One of the Lovies has a large bruise & abrasion around the base of her beak, from where the 'Too decided enough was enough, and snapped back (he could easily have killed the Lovie, but just gave one, sharp, warning nip instead).

Single Lovebirds, on the other hand, when bonded to a person, seem to be gentle souls for the most part.

Our GCC, on the other hand, has always been a "people bird". He likes almost everyone (although he saves his special treatment for his Mom), and is almost always gentle. And (it goes without saying) mischievous!
 
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