Conure was much older than I was told

[Greenhouseparrots]

Back in 2020 I got what I thought was a three month old crimson bellied conure. I just got around to checking her leg band (I didn't know how to read it before) and I found out she was born in 2016. So she was four years old, not three months when I got her. She was in pretty poor condition as well, which makes sense if she was four years old. What's heartbreaking is that there was another crimson bellied conure in the cage with her. I thought they were siblings, but they were probably mates. I've had so many problems with her since I got her, and the fact she was 4 years old as well as my first bird probably didn't help at all. I feel awful for her. Where I got her from had great reviews which is why I went there, but it was an awful place with hundreds of birds in cages, mostly just with perches and food in there but no toys or anything else. I didn't really know any better but I did ask how old she was and was told she was three months old. I wish I would have got them both, poor Tequila.

Here are some pictures of when I first got her, she needed a beak trim and her feathers were really tatty. She also has a scar on her head just above her eye which I thought was a birth defect but who knows how she got it if she was an adult when I got her.

 

[LaManuka]

Back in 2020 I got what I thought was a three month old crimson bellied conure. I just got around to checking her leg band (I didn't know how to read it before) and I found out she was born in 2016. So she was four years old, not three months when I got her. She was in pretty poor condition as well, which makes sense if she was four years old. What's heartbreaking is that there was another crimson bellied conure in the cage with her. I thought they were siblings, but they were probably mates. I've had so many problems with her since I got her, and the fact she was 4 years old as well as my first bird probably didn't help at all. I feel awful for her. Where I got her from had great reviews which is why I went there, but it was an awful place with hundreds of birds in cages, mostly just with perches and food in there but no toys or anything else. I didn't really know any better but I did ask how old she was and was told she was three months old. I wish I would have got them both, poor Tequila.

Here are some pictures of when I first got her, she needed a beak trim and her feathers were really tatty. She also has a scar on her head just above her eye which I thought was a birth defect but who knows how she got it if she was an adult when I got her.



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Tequila's such a beautiful girl, and a very lucky girl too that she has you. I hope all those poor birds found good homes, it's SO awful that places like that exist that treat birds as no more than a soulless commodity with no thought for their welfare. My little purple crowned lorikeet Lilly who became my heart bird came from a breeder who kept his birds in the filthiest tiny cages imaginable and I almost walked away from the deal, but the moment I saw her I couldn't possibly have left her behind. The birds unfortunate enough to end up in places like those Tequila and Lilly came from are all deserving of loving homes too, yet I hated the fact that I had perpetuated his operations. I'm so glad Tequila has a loving forever home with you. 💖

 

[hiriki]

For what it's worth, I'm not sure the 2016 on your band necessarily indicates birth year. I have a dove with a band that says "06" on it, and I have kind of worked on the assumption that it indicates he was born in 2006 since I got him in about 2013, but if that's true he's quite old now and I've also been told by multiple vets that bands dont really have any kind of standardization. My vets have told me that bands don't usually include birth year on them, but that it might be birth year, because there's just no rules about the numbers they throw on bands lol so it could mean anything.

Either way, your conure is lucky to have found you. ❤️

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

Tequila's such a beautiful girl, and a very lucky girl too that she has you. I hope all those poor birds found good homes, it's SO awful that places like that exist that treat birds as no more than a soulless commodity with no thought for their welfare. My little purple crowned lorikeet Lilly who became my heart bird came from a breeder who kept his birds in the filthiest tiny cages imaginable and I almost walked away from the deal, but the moment I saw her I couldn't possibly have left her behind. The birds unfortunate enough to end up in places like those Tequila and Lilly came from are all deserving of loving homes too, yet I hated the fact that I had perpetuated his operations. I'm so glad Tequila has a loving forever home with you. 💖

I wanted to leave when I saw the conditions the birds were kept in, but unfortunately I didn't know where else I could get parrots (I do now and have rescued quite a few but at the time I had no idea and thought it would be better to start with babies and not rescues since they were my first birds). I wanted a green cheek conure but all they had were two crimson bellied conures and when I saw them I couldn't walk away. I only wanted one but I really wish I had just got both of them.

I wish that places like that didn't exist. It's the equivalent of puppy mills, yet because they're birds no-one really cares that much. I'm really glad you could give Lilly a loving home too ❤️

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I wanted to leave when I saw the conditions the birds were kept in, but unfortunately I didn't know where else I could get parrots (I do now and have rescued quite a few but at the time I had no idea and thought it would be better to start with babies and not rescues since they were my first birds). I wanted a green cheek conure but all they had were two crimson bellied conures and when I saw them I couldn't walk away. I only wanted one but I really wish I had just got both of them.

I wish that places like that didn't exist. It's the equivalent of puppy mills, yet because they're birds no-one really cares that much. I'm really glad you could give Lilly a loving home too ❤️

I know it seems wrong in principle to "support" the businesses of bad parrot breeders by purchasing on of their unfortunate birds, but I think it's more important to rescue a bird from their fate than to stand on that principle. As they say, you can't change the world, but you can help, one rescued parrot at a time. That individual rescued parrot deserved a chance despite it's breeders poor practices.

Thank you, on behalf of all parrots, for rescuing Tequila and Lilly.

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

For what it's worth, I'm not sure the 2016 on your band necessarily indicates birth year. I have a dove with a band that says "06" on it, and I have kind of worked on the assumption that it indicates he was born in 2006 since I got him in about 2013, but if that's true he's quite old now and I've also been told by multiple vets that bands dont really have any kind of standardization. My vets have told me that bands don't usually include birth year on them, but that it might be birth year, because there's just no rules about the numbers they throw on bands lol so it could mean anything.

Either way, your conure is lucky to have found you. ❤️

I do think it is the year unfortunately. I'm in the UK and this website is what I used to look it up https://theparrotsocietyuk.org/site/index.php/members-only/parrot-rings/parrot-rings-types-colours/

The year matches the colour and also what it says on the band. She was also definitely not three months old when I got her. The red belly isn't supposed to come through until after the first moult, and she doesn't look like a baby at all in the pictures of when I first got her. Plus her behaviour has always been that of an adult. She was incredibly hormonal right from when I got her, and very fearful and distrusting of people and has mostly stayed that way until this year when I sorted her hormones out. She still doesn't like me much though, and I'm not surprised really after finding out how old she really is! It makes sense that she's older too as she's always looked after my other birds, and acted as a mum to my three month old cockatiel when I got them at the same time. She also tried to help feed my budgies babies, and when they fledged she would follow them around and look after them. They used to follow her around a lot too.

Here are some pictures of her and the babies, I promise she wasn't trying to eat the baby in the last picture, she was trying to preen it!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I do think it is the year unfortunately. I'm in the UK and this website is what I used to look it up https://theparrotsocietyuk.org/site/index.php/members-only/parrot-rings/parrot-rings-types-colours/

The year matches the colour and also what it says on the band. She was also definitely not three months old when I got her. The red belly isn't supposed to come through until after the first moult, and she doesn't look like a baby at all in the pictures of when I first got her. Plus her behaviour has always been that of an adult. She was incredibly hormonal right from when I got her, and very fearful and distrusting of people and has mostly stayed that way until this year when I sorted her hormones out. She still doesn't like me much though, and I'm not surprised really after finding out how old she really is! It makes sense that she's older too as she's always looked after my other birds, and acted as a mum to my three month old cockatiel when I got them at the same time. She also tried to help feed my budgies babies, and when they fledged she would follow them around and look after them. They used to follow her around a lot too.

Here are some pictures of her and the babies, I promise she wasn't trying to eat the baby in the last picture, she was trying to preen it!
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Awww- I just can't resist baby birds and it seems that neither can she! Those baby budgies are PRECIOUS!

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

Awww- I just can't resist baby birds and it seems that neither can she! Those baby budgies are PRECIOUS!

I have sooooo many pictures and videos of them