Conures

[Chrissy]

I'm new here and was wondering if any of you have Conures. My parents and I are thinking of getting one in the near future. I have read up on them and they seem like a good bird for my family.

I have 2 younger sisters, 10 and 6, a dog, and a guinea pig. My dog is a small bichon/maltese mix who would never be near the bird unless someone was there with her. She is very gentle with my guinea pig, but I still would never trust her. My sisters have grown up around animals and know how to handle them. My 6 year old sister would never be allowed to take the bird out without my mom, dad, or myself there. But I trust my other sister since she is older.

I would have a lot of time to care for them, it would be given time out of his or her cage every single day. The cage would most likely be in my room. I read somewhere that different kitchen fumes can kill birds, so thats why he wouldn't be there.

If any of you have conures, I would love to here your opinions on them. Are they good 'family birds'? The ones I have met have all been very gentle, loving, and playful. Would my home be ok for one? I would love to hear all your opinions, even if you don't have Conures.

Thanks!

-Chrissy

[Lynjupiter]

I have five conures. Two nandays, a bluecrown, a sun conure and a brownthroated.

Each one has a special personality and way about them. Each bird will differ counting how it is raised. But they are fun , sweet , loving, smart birds and I adore them.

The one downer is the noise. The sun conure, the nandays and the bluecrown can be very noisy. Nandays are known for screaming problems. You can find many nandays in rescues just because of the noise they make.

Lynda

[Monica]

Try and find a handraised conure that is young when you buy him or her. They can be very needy, but if taken care of properly, with lots of fresh foods, they can be lovely pets! They will need a large cage though, one that a grey or cockatoo would fit in, but the bar spacing appropriate for a conure (if you are thinking of getting a large conure), or a cage that could fit atleast 2 cockatiels comfortably for a smaller conure...

I only have one conure, my cherry head conure, Noel. Little is known about her history, except for a ferret attack, but she is my baby and hates just about everyone else (because of her past, she doesn't care for humans much). Try getting a young conure and socializing him/her with the whole family, and even strangers. Just be carefull if you have any friends over who are unaware of how to treat a bird. Just be warned that there are a lot of people who think of birds as throw-away pets and that getting one is only for decoration or prize to have, and later find out otherwise...

[Chrissy]

The Conure that I have been looking at was hand raised. My uncle has a cockatiel cage that he used for his bird, Mikey, but on her 18th birthday he decided she deserved a new cage. He said it was actually a small parrot cage, and would fit a Conure perfectly.

Thanks for all your help!

[Laika]

Hi! I have a sun conure. They are beautiful, loving, but very noisy.
My conure is very affectionate, but I also got a couple of painful bites. They have very strong beeks! I got my conure because the lady that owned her for 7 years got married and her new husband did not like the noise.
You are doing the right thing - get as much information as possible before you get the bird. Good luck!

[LtlWngdAngl]

I have a Peach Front Conure. He's so cute and very sweet...most of the time. He's not quite the "companion" my quaker or 'zon is, but he is a wonderful pet. He's quieter than most conures but still can get VERY LOUD, and always at the worst times for him to be noisy. He's also VERY temperamental. Though I love mine very much, If I were you I'd research other birds also...just so you know what other types and breeds there are. There's a lot of birds out there that are about the same size as a conure but are, typically (every bird has it's own personality afterall), quieter, or posess other qualities that a conure may not. I'm not saying that a conure isn't right for you, but I like to encourage doing research on different species and breeds just so you know, for sure, that it's the bird for you, especially if you're a first time owner.
GOOD LUCK!!

[Chrissy]

Thanks again for all the info!

I went back to where the Conure is (I've decided to call him Tiki) this was my fourth tiime visiting him. This time I was able to take him out, play with him, and make sure he was healthy. I *might* be getting him, its up to my parents, though. But my mom was there with me and fell in love with him all over again! I found out he is a Jandaya Conure (sp?) and is about 4-5 months old. The lady that I talked to was really nice and said that he was probably the sweetest that she has ever had there. She said that he is learning to talk a little bit, too. He seems healthy, but I'm no expert. His eyes and nose are clear and seems very alert to what is going on around him. For now I'm going to read up on them and hope that soon I can bring him home!

Any links to helpful Conure sites would be appreciated!

[LindaRose]

A Jandaya Conure is very noisy . I have a Sun conure. She is 3 years old. Her name is Bella Rose. She loves to cuddle. She loves to get down in to my shirt and she quacks like a duck when she is contented. I spend a lot of time with her. she talks. Says "mere mama ,"Whats up, gimmie kiss kiss and I am trying to teach her to say "I love you. She lays on her back and plays with a ball.She spends most of her time out side of her cage, on me. But They can be noisy. You have to spend a lot of time with them.I could tell you more if you are interested,.I could also send you pictures.I learned a lot about the Suns. Mine is spoiled rotten, but I love her. I take her out for walks with me. We go to the lake or to the park and people just love seeing her. She is in full color. People can't understand how I dare walk around with her on my shoulder. She loves to walk in the grass.

[mjkaferle5]

There are basically two families of conures (or the two main families, there are more).

The Aratinga conures are generally larger with brighter plumage and are generally the noisier, more outgoing, more demanding of the two. This is the family that the Jenday Conure belongs to. Sun Conures are in this family as well.

Pyrrhura is the other family of conures. These generally greenish conures including the Green-cheeked Conure. Usually smaller, duller-colored, and quieter than the Aratinga conures.

By the way, Pyrrhura, is latin for "fire-tail". I think that is pretty cool. My Green Cheek has a pretty, dark red tail that you can clearly see where the term "fire-tail" came from.

Another cool thing I learned is that macaws are so similiar in makeup that they could almost be considered conures as well. Ok, enough cool facts! LOL

My green cheek, Hops, can be quiet. But he can get noisy at times as well. So just realize that all conures (actually all bird, lol) can be noisy. The Jenday baby you are considering will definitely become noisier than he is now. A lot more volume than a budgie or a cockatiel. So just know that going in. Sure sometimes he is going to drive you a little batty with the noise, but he will also more than make up for that in the amount of love and happiness he brings you!!

[Irish]

I have an adult Sun Conure, Petey McSweet. Compared to the racket kicked out by 5 macaws, and the neverending chatter of the lovebirds, the sounds Petey makes are hardly noticeable. It's all a matter of relativity, I guess :-).