How to introduce conures?!?

[Terry57]

Haha, that's the one thing we can always count on...conures will be conures.
I hope they get used to each other so they can be friends.

 

[kme3388]

Charlie is perching now! The conures are preening, and eating at the same times.

 

[Terry57]

Charlie is perching now! The conures are preening, and eating at the same times.View attachment 42880

That sounds promising! Sounds like friendship may not be too far away

 

[kme3388]

Conures really don’t know what personal space is…

 

[kme3388]

We just invite ourselves right on in… 🤦‍♀️

 

[kme3388]

The Conures are no longer getting along. My Jenday is being a bully. Her cage & toys are hers, and Charlie’s cage & toys are hers. Everything is the Jenday conures… Charlie is a bit scared I can tell. He does run from her. I’m hoping with time this gets better.

They have gotten into a few scuffles now. I am assuming these things have to be worked through?

 

[Cottonoid]

I obviously don't have any experience building a flock, but I think you can help shape their dynamics a little bit. Maybe someone who's done it with good outcomes will pipe up

 

[HeatherG]

I think Charlie needs to establish his place in your home, so I guess i would try to keep the jenday away from him until Charlie is feeling and acting confident. Because he’s so new he’s probably not doing that and the jenday can walk all over him (and his cage).

 

[Terry57]

I would suggest not allowing Kiwi to get into Charlie's cage. Charlie needs a place that he knows is his, and where he feels safe.
When I got my GCC, Jax, his cage was right next to my CBC, Phoe. They were allowed out at the same time, but I was watching constantly. Jax wanted to be friends, and Phoe did not. Phoe would chase him every time he got close for several months. Finally, Phoe stopped chasing him, and allowed Jax to get closer and closer. From the day that they started standing side by side, they were inseparable.

This doesn't always happen, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it happens for Kiwi and Charlie.

 

[HeatherG]

I would suggest not allowing Kiwi to get into Charlie's cage. Charlie needs a place that he knows is his, and where he feels safe.
When I got my GCC, Jax, his cage was right next to my CBC, Phoe. They were allowed out at the same time, but I was watching constantly. Jax wanted to be friends, and Phoe did not. Phoe would chase him every time he got close for several months. Finally, Phoe stopped chasing him, and allowed Jax to get closer and closer. From the day that they started standing side by side, they were inseparable.

This doesn't always happen, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it happens for Kiwi and Charlie.

Exactly. Charlie needs to establish a territory and maybe later they can become friends. Right now your home is the jenday’s territory. You want it to be more equal or someone will get pushed around.

 

[kme3388]

My husband let out the conures together. He said they behaved a little better. The Jenday sat on my husbands finger, and she was calm. She didn’t chase, dive at, or grab the Sun’s tail. The Sun even defended himself instead of running from her. Once he did that she left him alone for awhile. I don’t get why she flys to his cage, and picks at him. It would be one thing if he was bothering her, or something. This is not the case though, she is going to him.

 

[kme3388]

Charlie was on a seed mix diet. I have introduced Roudy Bush pellets to him as I was informed they don’t have any additives to them, and are a good pellet to offer a parrot. Charlie has screamed all day long because he is upset about not having seed. It makes me feel horrible.

I watched a video on YouTube stating that birds will not starve to death. That eventually they will eat what is offered. I will attach the YouTube video where I learned this information. It is a veterinarian who is making these statements. Is this the right way to go about things?

 

[ravvlet]

No, it is never safe to deny a bird the food they will eat; they can and will starve themselves. My cockatiel died after a diet change, and after a necropsy and lots of testing they determined he literally just wasn’t eating enough - we were also trying to eliminate seed.

Several forum members have done this method with good success so I feel comfortable recommending it - you can instead make sure he has pellets all day, and offer his old seed mix in two 15 minute periods in the morning and in the afternoon. That way he’s definitely eating, but most of the day it’s pellets that are available for him.

Roudybush is ok, but I think the preferred pellet around here tends to be Harrison’s or TOPS. Sammy’s previous owner was trying to get her to eat Roudybush without success but she took to Harrison’s almost immediately; perhaps it’s more palatable? Ultimately, barring added sugars and such, the best pellet is the pellet your bird wants to eat!

Please also remember to weigh your bird when attempting any kind of diet change. It’s the only way to know for sure what they’re eating.

 

[kme3388]

No, it is never safe to deny a bird the food they will eat; they can and will starve themselves. My cockatiel died after a diet change, and after a necropsy and lots of testing they determined he literally just wasn’t eating enough - we were also trying to eliminate seed.

Several forum members have done this method with good success so I feel comfortable recommending it - you can instead make sure he has pellets all day, and offer his old seed mix in two 15 minute periods in the morning and in the afternoon. That way he’s definitely eating, but most of the day it’s pellets that are available for him.

Roudybush is ok, but I think the preferred pellet around here tends to be Harrison’s or TOPS. Sammy’s previous owner was trying to get her to eat Roudybush without success but she took to Harrison’s almost immediately; perhaps it’s more palatable? Ultimately, barring added sugars and such, the best pellet is the pellet your bird wants to eat!

Please also remember to weigh your bird when attempting any kind of diet change. It’s the only way to know for sure what they’re eating.

I learned a lot in that video about parrot diet. Now it’s debated amongst vets if pellets are even good for parrots. They prefer fresh especially sprouted things. I feel like I’m always 10 steps behind on things.

 

[ravvlet]

I learned a lot in that video about parrot diet. Now it’s debated amongst vets if pellets are even good for parrots. They prefer fresh especially sprouted things. I feel like I’m always 10 steps behind on things.

For most parrots, pellets provide a good base that is nutritionally complete. Because parrots do not exercise nearly as much in captivity as they do in the wild, it’s important that they eat a well balanced diet that isn’t too high in sugar or fat.

I have found my parrots are like my kids in that they tend to pick things they like and ignore the rest. Unlike my kids however, I can’t really talk to them or convince them that they need to eat the stuff they don’t like too! That’s kind of where pellets become useful.

And then of course there are birds like Ekkies for whom that doesn’t really apply. But by and large I think a pelleted base with lots of fresh foods throughout the day and a small amount of seed is the norm.

 

[BirdyBee]

Charlie was on a seed mix diet. I have introduced Roudy Bush pellets to him as I was informed they don’t have any additives to them, and are a good pellet to offer a parrot. Charlie has screamed all day long because he is upset about not having seed. It makes me feel horrible.

I watched a video on YouTube stating that birds will not starve to death. That eventually they will eat what is offered. I will attach the YouTube video where I learned this information. It is a veterinarian who is making these statements. Is this the right way to go about things?

I can't believe they said it's fine to leave the food out until they eat it. That's how my bird Grumpy passed(that's what I think at least. Sunny also almost died that way.)

Now for the pellet vs whole foods debate, it honestly depends on the bird. My birds eat all the food, but not all birds do. In which case a high quality pellet is better. My birds currently don't eat dry mix but I plan on making it again.


Can you share the time stamp where he said that withholding food is fine?

 

[kme3388]

Yes, 15:19 is when he starts talking about tough love, and birds not starving. He said if food is there they will eventually eat it.

He also mentions that we should only be feeding our parrots twice a day. Time stamp 18:06. He doesn’t recommend leaving food in all day long. He said we are causing fatty liver disease.

It’s a very educational video. It was a lot of information to take in.

 

[HeatherG]

I do wonder about only feeding birds twice a day. I think that is one possible way to decrease parrot obesity and FLD. Another is to leave your bird flighted and make sure bird has flying time outside cage. Or to do flapping exercises with your parrot if the bird is reasonably ok with that. (Lucy thought that was terrifying so we didn’t do that.)

 

[BirdyBee]

Yes, 15:19 is when he starts talking about tough love, and birds not starving. He said if food is there they will eventually eat it.

I don't think that's healthy, even if it works. Like, if you force your child to eat something by no feeding them anything else, of course they'll eat it, but do you think it's healthy? No? Then the same goes for parrots. Sometimes, they don't even know something is food so they won't eat it.

He also mentions that we should only be feeding our parrots twice a day. Time stamp 18:06. He doesn’t recommend leaving food in all day long. He said we are causing fatty liver disease.

I don't think that's fully true. I do think three smaller meals a day may be better for some bird.

For example, my budgies and cockatiels get very hungry if I only feed them two times a day.

It’s a very educational video. It was a lot of information to take in.

Yes, there is a lot of other good info! I don't think we should fully focus on the bad things.

 

[kme3388]

In this video it goes over feeding parrots meal worms as it provides good vitamin d. Dr. Jason Crean is very educational. I have been doing stuff all wrong.