Newbie looking into her first bird (conure)!

[Ladyeclectic]

Hello everyone!! My name's Sarah, I live in California and I'm looking into purchasing a conure (my first bird). I've always wanted a bird but never really considered them "cuddly". Well, one of my friends who works at Petsmart let me hold a Sun Conure once, a real sweet little baby, and now months later the bird-bug has officially bitten me hard and I'm looking into purchasing one (a conure, not necessarily a Sun).

I'm considering a Green-cheek Conure as I live in an apartment and have heard that the Suns are far too loud. I've been researching on the internet and will likely be purchasing "Parrots for Dummies" this afternoon, and am looking into finding a good first cage (they can get pricey but I don't want to scrimp on quality and end up with an injured bird).

Any advice to the newbie would be greatly appreciated! Look forward to getting to know you fine folks.

 

[bogo1]

Welcome from another conure Parront. I have had conures for about 30 years (four different birds over that time...first cared for 9 years when it died of old age then one who I got as a rescue at age 9 who lived 21 years until this Spring and now two young birds, a green cheek (Sam) and a crimson belly (Gem). I have fostered a Sun, a CAG and a Hanhs Macaw during that same time and while I enjoyed each of those birds a lot, I love my conures. Mine are generally quieter then some (although the Sun I fostered for two years wasn't extremely noisy except when really really wound up). Either a crimson or a green cheek would be good for an apartment depending on setup and personality and amount of time you would be with it.

 

[Spiritbird]

Welcome to our forum and the world of liking conures.

You will find lots of support and education here. Parrots for Dummies is an excellent start.

 

[Ladyeclectic]

The store only had "Birds for Dummies" so skipped that and got a book on conures themselves. My cage is now all set up too! I've got a cuttlebone, a thicker twisty wood perch, a rope pearch that winds around the bottom, a twine-connected bunch of little soft wheels made from something totally shreddable, and several little toys strung up around the ceiling. Hopefully whoever I bring home likes bells!!

UPDATE!! (wow I thought I'd posted this already!)

The Dude, knowing I'd already gotten a cage and was busy researching about GCCs, started doing some research of his own. He picked me up this afternoon, drove to a nearby town petshop, and when we went inside he told me I could pick out a conure and he'd buy me one.



Guys, I'm now the mama of a very scared, very unsocialized 6 month old Green Cheek Conure. I about came out of my boots when the lady at the store nabbed the bird from the cage with a net, then proceeded to chase it around the store through displays etc as it struggled to get away. She said they'd tame right down quick, just tire them out first then hold them securely, keeping your hand over the head to keep them from biting you.

Yeah, I wasn't amused. Partly thetransaction was because I wanted a bird and partly because I wanted that bird out of that store. She gave it to me to hold and once it was in my hands it calmed down immediately - even started exploring me with it's beak and tongue very gently... Until I made the mistake of trying to keep it from flying away whereupon it started biting me. Hard. It started out as fairly gentle nips but quickly escalated to actual "ow" level.

Looks like I've gotten more than I originally bargained for, but I'm up for the challenge! Spent an hour sitting by the cage eating apple slices and talking softly, only to have it stay on the bars furthest from me: typical, I didn't expect anything else. Now that I'm not close though it's exploring so hopefully within the next couple days I can spend more time with it.

Any tips on trust-building? I realize this won't be overnight, sadly enough, but I don't want to ruin a potentially 30-year commitment with a horrible first impression (although it's going to be hard to top that net thing ).