So many conures, so little time...

[rodeo3113]

Hello there!
I am new to this board as I have been on a mission for some time now to try to research what type of bird I would like to own.
I think I have narrowed it down to conures but there are SOOOOO many!
I have previously owned a rescued Quaker Parrot, a rescued cockatiel and I have experience with my friends Camelot Macaw and Cockatoo.
I have also personally handraised several Jenday, Nanday, Sun, Dusky, and Marroon-Bellied conures when I used to work for a pet store. So I know a bit about those .

Here's what I'm looking for:
1.) Medium-Large sized conure
2.) Very Playful
3.) Beautiful or Unique Coloring
4.) Somewhat easy to care for

If you know of a conure like that......let me know what you know about it so I can do some research. Thanks!!

[Addicted to Tequila]

Ummm... you are aware that the babies are sweet and rather quiet, the ADULTS are opinionated and LOUD... right?

[rodeo3113]

Yes I am aware of that.
The ones I have raised didn't exactly sell very quickly so they were around long enough for their "true colors" to show. It doesn't bother me.

[Bellco]

Well I would suggest looking at blue crowned conures. Mine is very playful and spunky at times. Yesterday he stole my caps key and when I asked for it he said nah. All bigger conures take some work to care for but I would not say its a lot to do since it is done with love most of the time hehe.

[phonelady61]

i would suggest a lilac crown because they tend to be on the quiet side . they are also some more gentle than certain other conures . good luck on whatever you decide .

[Addicted to Tequila]

Aren't lilac-crowned's Amazons?

If I could only own one, I would go for a pineapple green cheek! VERY pretty, not too loud, smaller (I do so love pocket pets!), feisty as anything (my GCC really does think it is a puppy - I swear!), hardy...

[rodeo3113]

I have looked at the Blue Crowned as one of my favorites as they seem to be just what I'm looking for. but without the "pageantry" of , say, the Sun Conure.....I have been looking for one with the size and personality of the Blue Crowned with a bit more...FLARE!! I have never heard of the lilac crowned i'll have to go check it out thanks.

[rodeo3113]

I have been looking at the GCCs...they're a bit small though....What else can you tell me about them from your personal experience?

[Addicted to Tequila]

I have a Sun and a GCC that were raised together. They were rather bonded and came as a package deal.

The Sun is a rather reserved bird. It took her a while to warm up to me. She was never aggressive, just a bit standoffish. She liked gentle scritches, and to be handed a new foot toy... but was not too snuggly or playful. She was hatched on March 28th and I brought her home June 28th. She no longer retreats to the back of the cage eyeballing me wearily, she runs to the door actually... but she still needs to be bodily taken from the cage despite daily training on "step-up". She is impossible to bribe as I have yet (and not from lack of trying!) to find any food reward she cares for enough to do something against her own agenda. She is now more willing to be near me in the evening, and has even started bringing foot toys to me to play with her. She has once or twice joined in wrestling matches on the couch. At "quiet" time, when I dim the lights to watch a movie and let them wind down (we play HARD! LOL) and get ready for bed... she will sit on the back of the couch near my head and grind her beak while watching the show.

Then there is Rexy, short for Conurasuarus Rex... nicknamed Brat. He is a GCC that was apparently somehow infused with Jack-Russel Terrier genes! He assured me the morning after bring him home that there was no reason my hand had to go into the cage... even to change the food and water. I have had Caiques for rehab that were not as inquisitive and tenacious in their demeanor! He is like the Black Knight from the Monty Python film The Holy Grail! He taunts the dog, chases the poor cat, and gets into EVERYTHING. He is not scared of any new toy and if it makes loud frightening noises it only makes something more interesting (he tried to attack the vacuum!). He learns tricks at a truly frightening pace and wrestles upside down on his back like a kitten. He loves to play tug of war. The only problem is that he gets a bit overstimulated and you need to monitor him or you will get a nasty nip (meaning that you look to see if it actually drew blood... which it surprisingly does not most times).

About two weeks after getting them, I really wondered if I had made a mistake. I had one bird that was not bonding much at all... and another that wanted to eat me alive! Then we came to movie time on a fateful evening. They were tuckered out from all the playing and were roosting on the back of the couch. I dimmed the lights and hit play on the DVD. I lay down half on my side with my arm resting along my thigh. Rexy jumped down and proceeded to burrow under my hand with much grumbling and squeaking. I figured we would be playing "Peek", one of his favorite games. It was not to be... he fell asleep, gently purring. BTW - I would advise one to keep their hand still if a GCC is burrowing under it, beds are to remain stationary by decree of the feathered king!

Rexy can still be a bit nippy, and I think he is trying to say "No! Gentle... be nice!" due to hearing it often... but he now steps up from his cage and at least looks chagrined when he pinches too hard. Although Tequila is coming along, Rexy is definitely the more entertaining of the two to watch and interact with. He is the one that follows after me if I need to get up for any reason when we are playing... "Stay" is the one command he refuses to master, and I do NOT think it is because he does not understand the directive. He loves to be scritched and have his tummy tickled. He plays tag, peek, tug-of-war, and tickle-monster-is-gonna-get-you, as well as with any toy you offer. He understands step-up, roll-over, lie-down, come, and knows what stay means (he will stop when you say it... then start toward you again as soon as you are not looking! Perhaps I should teach him "Red light, Green light"? LOL). He knows what the words "treat", "out", "go bye-bye", and "no" mean as well as "good bird". He knows that if you go through the McDonald's drive-through... there will be apples in the bag.

I would say more of the wonderful things about Tequila... but as I mentioned, she is just now starting to come out of her shell a bit.

Oh, note to all... Do NOT try to set up and decorate a new cage while two conures are in said cage "checking it out". It just does NOT work. I finally told them that they had best figure out how to put the darn perches in by themselves if they were so picky about where they thought they should go! One was jumping up and down on my wrist, and the other was playing I'm-gonna-get-you a bit too rough. LOL

[rodeo3113]

hahahahahahaha holy cow what characters you have I haven't laughed this hard in years!!!
----And all of ^ THAT ^ is why I want a conure. I am a stay-at-home mother of three and my oldest two boys have "outgrown" mommy...they just want to play with each other...mom is out of the question. And my daughter is only 4weeks and doesn't want to do much "playing" either...she's a sleeper and an eater and beyond that....nada. Even when she gets older I will still have plenty of free time as my boys are pretty self-sufficient and taking care of one baby girl is easy-peasy after you've had two rowdy boys!