My noisy Sun Conure - help needed please

[benenglish100]

Hi All,

I have a 8 month old Sun Conure that I bought from a pet store around 5 months ago. I really don’t want to but I think I may have to give the little guy away :(

I live in a unit in Sydney, Australia and he has started to make a LOT of noise. So much so that the people in the other units have started to complain, lots... So I think they are going to make me get rid of him.

I'm going to make one last try to keep him, but I need some help.

I work from home most of the day and let Mojo (the Sun Conure) out for most of the day with me. In the evenings he sits on my shoulder and we watch TV and play. He's more like a kitten really. When he's with me he's ok, but as soon as I leave the room, or look like I might leave the room he starts to squawk. Time and time and time again... until I go back in the room and pick him up. I just don’t know what to do!? He's got a big cage with lots of toys, but he just doesn’t like it when I'm not in the room. If I leave him in the other room for a while, he does stop, but as soon as he hears any noise from me walking past the door or talking, he starts squawking again!

As I said I REALLY don’t want to give him up, he has got so used to being out and playing lots, that if he went to an owner who kept him in a cage all day he'd be so upset. I'm not sure I could do that to him :(

I really don’t know what to do, does anyone have any suggestions? Do you know any really good owners who'll give him a good life that will take him in?

Thanks,

Ben

[Murphy]

Hi Ben,

I'm in Gosford, not far from you really. I have noticed that my Green Cheek Conure will do the same thing when I put him down into his cage for "rest" time. Have you tried giving him a designated "rest" area such as a play stand or a cage in the corner of the house with a happy hut? With Murphy, he will squawk for a couple of mins then he will go hide out in his happy hut until he has finished sulking, then he will eventually amuse himself by playing with his toys in his cage. Perhaps you could try this?

I don't mean to sound harsh, but in I feel that you may have taught your bird to do this. By responding to his sqawking in the past you have allowed him to believe that the sqawking will get him attention...And it is by the sound of things...lol. Don't worry, I find it heart wrenching to hear too, but know that sometimes I just have to let him do it and get over it.

Worse comes to worse and you feel you need to rehome him, please, please make sure he goes to a home where they know what they are dealing with. Conures are renound (spelling?) for being little attention hogs.

[Syaoransbear]

Maybe get your neighbors to play with him so they see how cute he is, then ask for a couple months of time to train him to be quieter. If he squawks, ignore it as best as you can. Play with him only when he's being quiet, and leave him when he starts being noisy.

But even if you train him to be quieter you can't silence him. Sun conures just need to get out some squawks every day. I don't want to sound rude but you probably should have thought about the noise before you got the bird since a sun doesn't seem to fit your living arrangements....

[jenseits]

Oh this makes me so sad. This is probably how I ended up with my sun conure (I got him at an animal shelter) - someone didn't think the noise would be such a big deal, and were proved wrong.

I also live in an apartment building, but I only share one wall with a neighbor and that wall is made out of concrete (!) That was the only reason I could justify bringing a sun conure into an apartment.

Before I brought him home I sent a letter to all my neighbors explaining that I was bringing home a sun conure, and that suns are known for being loud. I did try to make him out as sympathetic as possible - telling them that he was coming to his forever home from the pound. I warned them that he was going to be loud, especially at the beginning since he'd be confused and afraid. The neighbors were very understanding.

I don't really know how to help you at this point, and I don't want to make you feel any worse.... but I think this should serve as a real warning to people who think "oh, how cute! I want one" and get a bird on a whim. Sun conures are loud (and explicitly not good apartment pets), yet people always seem surprised.

When I first saw Stewie at the shelter I was appalled to see a parrot there. I thought it was an anomaly. The week after I took him home, there were 2 more sun conures at the same shelter. Never any other birds larger than budgies, except sun conures. It's clearly a common phenomenon.

To everyone considering a sun conure: yes, they are wonderful! I wouldn't trade mine for the world. But they are loud. Your neighbors might complain. Please take that into consideration before bringing one home and then end up having to rehome it.

[LunaRio]

Conures are loud, there's no avoiding it. It's just their nature. I have a jenday and although she's not persistant, she certainly does have a healthy set of lungs. She has about a 5 minute shriek-a-thon each morning and then she's pretty good throughout the rest of the day except for an occasional single shriek now and then.

The last thing you want to do with a yelling bird is reward it by running over trying to quiet it down, and never take it out when it's doing that. As difficult as the screaming may be, do your best to ignore it. Don't even look at him. The bird should learn that it's during the quiet periods that he'll get all the attention and be taken out.

Their voices are near capable of cracking the walls, but you gotta admit that little "grunt grunt" sound they make is adorable.

[limpyduckling]

On Feb. 28, 2007 we found our sun conure. No on placed a add to locate the poor bird. The day our bird was found it was 40 degrees out. It was my hubbys birthday. Some really bad news came the night before. When hubby found the bird it was like the bird flew in from God. Telling us everything will work out. Anyway the bird bit the heck out of my hands out of fear I think. Its been almost a year. The bird was loud at first. We play peek a boo and sometimes we hear a scream. This bird is like a watch dog. When someone comes to the door or pulls into the driveway is the only time the bird makes any noise. I alway know when my hubby comes home from work the bird lets me know before he gets in the house. We really enjoy our sun conure.
Limpyduckling
PS We also have a african gray and a cockateil

[Barbara9]

. This bird is like a watch dog. When someone comes to the door or pulls into the driveway is the only time the bird makes any noise. I alway know when my hubby comes home from work the bird lets me know before he gets in the house. We really enjoy our sun conure.


Our Sunny has now turned into a guard dog also, if he hears the doorbell he seems to think he should warn us of anyone coming into the house now! He can even hear the car coming into the driveway! We can hear him screaming from our car but he soon calms down once we are in the house...

[Oscars Mom]

I feel for you.Ive lived in apts and condos all my lifeand love my pets.I would try hard to talk your neighbors into putting up with him. Brr SUPER SUPER nice ,apologise profusely,explain how much you love him etc. See if theres any specific things you can do to make peace with them.I dont uncover my birds too early and in the weekends i leave them covered til 9 or 10 AM. One of my neighbors gets migraines and I actually borded my bird once overnight when she had a really bad one. That stuff might not work but its worth giving it a try. Suns are so beautiful and they seem so sweet but you always hear how loud they are. I bird sit for a friend with a macaw who sometimes babysits her dads sun and she loves him but says it gives her headaches and is way louder than her bTh macaw that is actually a really quiet bird.Good luck!!!!!!!!

[Bryan]

Hi I have tried to contact this man over his bird, I don't live far and would love to help out, unfortunately he has not replied to my pm, and neither has management can any one help?

[benenglish100]

Hi,

Thanks for your help everyone and thank you Bryan for offering to house Mojo. Sorry I haven’t got back to you sooner, but we (Mojo included) have been on holiday for Christmas.

I've had a chat with my neighbours and have moved him to a room where his squawking will be less intrusive and not wake anyone up. Then I can get him out in the day when I'm home and evenings when everyone is awake.

I may need your help yet Bryan, but I'm going to try really hard to keep him first.

Thanks again,

Ben