What did you do when you first brought your Conure to your home?

[ConureLover5368]

When ever I think of getting a Conure (still in the process of convincing my parents to allow me get one) I always think of what I will do first thing when I arrive home with my Conure. What did you do when you first brought your Conure to your house? Tell me your experience xD

 

[SilverSage]

Hm, I had many birds before I ever got a conure, when I lived at home with my parents. One day, my mother had had enough of my birds after living with them for YEARS, and told me they all had to be sold by the end of the week or she would give them away with free signs in the yard, and put a free ad in the paper. My mother was usually not so harsh, but years of living with birds when you are NOT a bird person can make someone do crazy things.

So that said, instead of answering your question, I will give a warning. I know it seems like FOREVER until you live on your own, and I hope that if you do get a bird you will use this forum a lot to get info and support, but please do not bring a companion parrot home until you are not just living on your own, but are SETTLED. Maybe that means married, out of college, on a steady career path, own your own home, whatever, it depends on the person, but the heartbreak of rehoming your parrot because your parents have had enough, because you are going off to college, because your girlfriend or boyfriend hates that bird or because the bird hates them, because you lose your job, your car, your housing, or any of the other MANY life changes that go on between age 12 and age 32 (and sometimes much longer) will not compare to the heartbreak your PARROT feels when for no reason that they can see, they are rejected and sent to live with another family. And what happens when the other family experiences the same thing? I have a pair of conures that were hatched only last year - I am their FIFTH home! In one year! Why? There is nothing wrong with them, they do not bite, scream, pluck, nothing! But life changes and people have not waited to acquire a parrot until they are ready. So tragic for the birds.

Maybe I will tell you what I did right away when I brought my first conure home - I dealt with being bitten all the time. Conures are known for being nippy, and mine had some issues from the way her breeder "socialized" her, and yes, it was a breeder with a STELLAR reputation. A lot of people do this when they first bring their conure home - they get bitten.

 

[ConureLover5368]

I am sorry to hear that something like that happened to you Thx for the advice

 

[SilverSage]

I truly hope that someday you are able to bring your conure home - please don't take it the wrong way. It's just that my story is not unique at all, the general state of things really is that minors living at home who acquire companion parrots will NOT be able to keep them for the duration of the bird's life I simply don't want you or your bird to go through that. It is too bad parrot lovers are not all born into the same families to be surrounded by huge happy flocks of parrots who will never have to leave, and always handed down to younger parrot lovers!

 

[Selestine]

On the other side of that.. my daughter wanted a bird badly. She wrote an essay about why a bird would make a great pet, detailed all the care it would need, etc. She demonstrated her responsibility by completely cleaning out her room and getting rid of everything extraneous so that she would have room for a cage. Then she had a cage in her room for a month before we agreed to a bird, and she had to clean that cage daily (even though there was nothing in it to make it messy) and "feed" and "water" her empty cage.

When she finally brought her bird home, we all ended up falling in love with him. Now we have three and a fourth on the way. And daughter is still the one who does the majority of the cleaning -- not just for her bird, but for all three.

I'm not saying you should pressure your parents to let you get a bird if they honestly don't want one, just that you should be sure to show them how dedicated you are to the idea. I think a lot of parents don't want their children to get pets because they know that they will end up doing all the work.

Of course with birds there is certainly the issue of noise. The birds are.. LOUD. When my husband works from home he wears noise cancelling earbuds with his shooting range earmuffs over the top of them so that he can work in peace. It is a compromise for all of us to coexist in the house.

You'll know your parents better than any of us could, so you'll be better able to judge if the noise (and yes, your bird WILL be noisy even if he isn't a screamer) is something that would really be a dealbreaker for them.

TLDNR: I think that kids can make perfectly good parronts, so long as they are mature and responsible and completely knowledgeable of and willing to do the work required. Always, not just when the animal is new. And just because a parent needs to be convinced doesn't mean they're not bird people.

 

[ConureLover5368]

Thank you SilverSage for that information, I definitely see that there is a lot of responsibility and time it takes to own a parrot. Also thank you Selestine for giving me a tip/experience which gave me a bit of a hint on how to convincing my parents to allow me to get a parrot.

 

[RavensGryf]

It's not that we don't want you to have a bird, in fact quite the opposite... BUT like posted above, it is an all too COMMON story of heartbreak when the parents find that they just can't stand your messy, noisy animal in their house any longer.

Waiting til you're on your own is honestly a good idea, however, in today's world, sudden hardship is a reality for many adults no matter what age. Still, IMHO one of the most risky scenarios is a minor trying to convince parents to let them have a bird. Unless you are lucky enough to have bird people as parents, but I see this is not the case.

Ask your parents what the real hesitation is... Is it the potential mess? The noise? Expense? Do birds sort of creep them out? What IS it? When you have a better idea of that, let us know so we can give you more feedback based on what their major concerns are.

Oh, I also need to mention this all too COMMON and super SAD situation... When a seemingly perfectly healthy bird falls ill, which might be no fault of your own, and it DOES happen many times, the bird will NEED to be seen by an avian (bird) vet. Avian vet care is very expensive. Who's going to pay for it? Hundreds, and maybe even $1000+ depending what the issue is. Parents won't pay = poor bird dies. I'm sorry, but just something to think about. Btw, I mention this because we hear about it TOO OFTEN.

 

[ConureLover5368]

I will ask my parents later what the real concern is Raven. Also I will think about the vet bills, I am willing to pay hundreds however 1000+ is definitely overwhelming.

 

[ConureLover5368]

I don't know how this topic got to this, but can I re ask the question I asked in the first place? What did you do with your Conure when you first got it? Did you just leave it alone for few days so he/she can be feeling safe to the new environment? Or something else?

 

[SilverSage]

When I bring a new bird home I "feel out" what the bird wants. Many want to be left alone, many want to be in their cage with you nearby, and some want to be with you on your hand or shoulder or something. In order to see what they want you need to study bird body language and behavior so you can understand what your bird is trying to tell you

 

[Selestine]

When our sun came home we put him into his cage and my daughter and I sat near him. He hung off the bars and looked like he desperately wanted to come out, so we took him out. He was comfortable pretty much from the get-go and just wanted attention.

When we brought our eclectus home we put him in his cage and he sat still like a statue. I don't think I even saw him move for two days. I sat by him a lot and read outloud. He moved over near the side of the cage I was sitting on once and I think he was listening to me read. The first day that I saw him actually moving around the cage, playing with his toys, etc, I opened the door and put my hand in, and he stepped up. It took him longer to warm up than the sun.

Our GCC was a little more in between. When we brought her home she seemed nervous, so she was let be for the night to get settled in. In the morning she seemed more curious than nervous, so my son put his hand into the cage veeeery slowly and left it sitting on one of her perches. After a few minutes she came over to investigate his hand, and then stepped onto it. After that he took her out and she crawled into his shirt, so he just ignored her and let her hang out there while he played a game. Didn't take her long to warm up.

She pretty much lives in his shirt now.

 

[jasper19]

parronts

I am guessing this wasn't a typo? ...haha "parents" + "parrot" = Parronts....nice made me chuckle

 

[SilverSage]

yes, we do refer to ourselves as that also "fids" means feathered kids. I think those are the biggest two words that are basically used exclusively by parrot slaves like us. Oh, and maybe "flighted" which according to every computer I have ever typed on is not a real word...

 

[jasper19]

yes, we do refer to ourselves as that also "fids" means feathered kids. I think those are the biggest two words that are basically used exclusively by parrot slaves like us. Oh, and maybe "flighted" which according to every computer I have ever typed on is not a real word...

Nope its word...

Flighted - definition of Flighted by The Free Dictionary

When i first joined and was reading it i looked it up..it is a real word! means "having feathers"...so its basically used corrrectly, to describe when a bird can fly or not. But you are right...every time i type it it says it is misspelled..that is odd.

 

[Birdman666]

THIS IS ABOUT THE COOLIST LITTLE BIRD WHO EVER LIVED...

AND HE WAS!!! This WAS Papaya's settling in period!

 

[SilverSage]

Cache was similar to the above picture - all snuggles. Though she had other issues.

 

[Abigal7]

It varies on the bird. My mini macaw Captain Jack decided on the ride home he wanted attention. My Green Cheek conure named Clover was nervous and needed time to adjust. The Green Cheek conure (Paulie) I had as a minor enjoyed attention right away but decided to bite everyone but me. I have to agree with everyone's warning about what sadly happens a lot. It even happened to me (in away) except my dad did try to have a lot of patience with the birds. If you sit down and calmly talk to your parents I sure they will tell you what their hesitation is and probably admire you more for asking them and also admire you reading up about birds (instead of trying to just get them to change their minds).

 

[Misty15]

I tried to put Pippin in his cage but he would not let go of my hand so I sat on the floor and petted his head. Pretty much our life since then too. As a minor with a parrot I know what you are going through, make sure you know the work your fid will entail and that you, yourself are capable of everything the bird will need. That includes financial responsibility food, toys, grooming, cage, basic vet. It adds up. And lastly make sure there is someone else in the family who is responsible enough to help out if you are somewhere else and can possibly care for the bird if you cannot find an apartment right away when you leave for collage.

Start with getting a job: babysitting, lawn mowing, fast food, dog walking, whatever, just something consistent. Your parents are far more likely to let you have a bird if you assume complete responsibility for it.

I hope you find your life long companion. They are beyond awesome and a pain in the but.

 

[kalypso123]

I had the same situation I had to convince my parents to let me have a bird. I have to pay for everything vet bills, food, etc. They finally saw how much I was really prepared to get a bird so I got permission. Now my parents are in love with my cockatiel Kalypso. We are now getting a Quaker in the begining of next year. Have you had expierence with other pets? If you have or if you do show responsibility with those pets.

 

[Timothy]

I worked at Todd Marcus Birds Exotic, when i was 17-20. My parents did NOT want me to get a bird. I worked there for 6 months before i told them "Hey guys, i just wanted to let you know, that 4 months ago i bought Maya, my blue and gold macaw, and they wont let me board her at the store anymore. they said she needs to go home." My parents were a little upset at first, but then they fell in love with her. I Do not recommend you do this. My parents have always trusted me because i was always very mature. i never got along with kids my age because they were kids. I had adult friends.

I would write an essay detailing all of your responsibilities for the bird.
Also i recommend you keep your room super clean and do dishes and other chores without them asking from now on. That always gets brownie points.

It may be boring and seem like alot at first but you'll fall into a rhythm and not even notice your doing these things after a while.

As for your initial question - I'd like to echo everyone else. It is different with each bird. I suggest for your first bird you get a hand fed baby and visit him every day while he is weaning, let the breeder/store wean them. dont attempt it yourself just watch. Spend time with him as often as you can. This will keep him super people oriented, really tame, and easy to handle

Plus once he goes home with you, he will be familiar with you, and when birds are exposed to something new and frightening, like moving to a new home or cage, they tend to cling to the most familiar thing in their life - You

This will strengthen the bond and make for an awesome friendship.
They need alot of attention. An hour MINIMUM every day, can be broken up into 15 minute blocks. I play with my birds every hour for 15 minutes all day long (im guessing, i never really times it). sometimes longer

Dont forget conures life for a loooooong time.

Good Luck, Godspeed, and Make them parents proud!