STACEYV
New member
Hi my name is Stacey and I am now the proud carer of 2 sun conures. I have had them both for nearly two weeks now. I know nothing about them, despite trawling the web looking for information. everybody has a different opinion. this is the only forum i could find that is current. I only know that my conures are "babies" and thats it. So im looking for anything and everything to do with how to look after them to the best of my ability.
They are housed in a large cage indoors because i am surrounded by wildlife and i am prone to floods and extreme high winds. the cage is large, i can stand up in it so its about 7 foot high, about 2.5 x 2.5 metres square.
I live in Melbourne Australia so sun conures are not well known over here.
now to get started on the questions!!! What to feed? they have only had seed from the pet shop. I am trying carrots, beetroot, silverbeat, brussel sprouts, grapes, apple, sultanas, broccoli, snow peas. they pretty much just rip them apart and throw them on the floor, dont actually eat anything.
i have 6 different types of "pallet" food all from vetafarm brand. (dont know if you guys get it over there), again they just play with it and throw it around.
i make my own seed sprout which has chickpeas, assorted bird seeds, sunflower seeds, they now love this, but again pick and play with most of it.
they love pistachio, pecans, almonds and their favourite is macadamia. i use these as a treat when i enter the cage, so they have learnt that i am not a threat to them.
my first question is how do i get them to have a balanced diet, how do i get them to want to eat fruit and veges? i dont want them on a seed diet alone. my other birds (budgie, canary, dove) get a balanced diet and i want the same for my sun conures.
my next question is how do i make friends with them. they will take a nut from me but thats it. they had their wings clipped by the shop (arggh) so they cant fly yet, but i need to be able to handle them safely in case of trauma. i also want to be able to let them fly around when they are able, but dont want to unless i can pick them up and put them back in their cage. they wont have a bar of my hand/finger or anything yet. i learnt that when i tried to start training them, and now have a wonderful scar on both sides of my finger and a bit missing. i wasnt forcing anything, i just got a bit too close.
so yes it is a long winded message, however, i really know nothing yet and i want them to trust me, and me to trust them that they wont bite. i am a bit scared as i got bitten already.
They are housed in a large cage indoors because i am surrounded by wildlife and i am prone to floods and extreme high winds. the cage is large, i can stand up in it so its about 7 foot high, about 2.5 x 2.5 metres square.
I live in Melbourne Australia so sun conures are not well known over here.
now to get started on the questions!!! What to feed? they have only had seed from the pet shop. I am trying carrots, beetroot, silverbeat, brussel sprouts, grapes, apple, sultanas, broccoli, snow peas. they pretty much just rip them apart and throw them on the floor, dont actually eat anything.
i have 6 different types of "pallet" food all from vetafarm brand. (dont know if you guys get it over there), again they just play with it and throw it around.
i make my own seed sprout which has chickpeas, assorted bird seeds, sunflower seeds, they now love this, but again pick and play with most of it.
they love pistachio, pecans, almonds and their favourite is macadamia. i use these as a treat when i enter the cage, so they have learnt that i am not a threat to them.
my first question is how do i get them to have a balanced diet, how do i get them to want to eat fruit and veges? i dont want them on a seed diet alone. my other birds (budgie, canary, dove) get a balanced diet and i want the same for my sun conures.
my next question is how do i make friends with them. they will take a nut from me but thats it. they had their wings clipped by the shop (arggh) so they cant fly yet, but i need to be able to handle them safely in case of trauma. i also want to be able to let them fly around when they are able, but dont want to unless i can pick them up and put them back in their cage. they wont have a bar of my hand/finger or anything yet. i learnt that when i tried to start training them, and now have a wonderful scar on both sides of my finger and a bit missing. i wasnt forcing anything, i just got a bit too close.
so yes it is a long winded message, however, i really know nothing yet and i want them to trust me, and me to trust them that they wont bite. i am a bit scared as i got bitten already.
