first time conure owner

[sikes]

hi there i'm a first time owner of what i believe is a sun conure, and i've got tons of questions..my main concern right now is about sweet tea????my bird goes crazy when I have a glass..i have given him (or her) a few sips out of a shot glass...Is ther any harm in this....also can anyone direct me to a site where I can find the do's and don'ts????
thanks
sikes:

[Monica]

How old is your conure?

For tea you'd be better off using unsweetened diluted green tea or chamomile tea. It's (regular tea) fine in small amounts (very minute) but the main thing you want to avoid is sugar.

As for do's and don't, I'm not sure if there are any good articles out there... I'm sure there's plenty of warnings and such however... such as no nonstick pans, watch out for portable heaters/hair dryers/toasters/etc that may contain PTFE, don't use candles, don't use harsh chemicals or sprays around the bird, etc... But DO give it plenty of bathes, fresh foods (veggies, sprouts, etc), a large cage, plenty of toys, etc.

[Willow]

http://www.birdsafe.com has some very good info.

[madfamily]

Hi we have a sun conure who is adorable, viscious and asthmatic. she lulls you into a false sense of security, bites then wheezes.
Both our conures love drinking out of glases and cups - love cranberry juice most. we had to stop te occassional stolen sip of coffee/tea a it's the caffeine that brings on the asthma.
do's and don'ts - well first i would recomend teaching her/him to whisper every time she natters - whisper to her and she will start doing it back - it's invaluable later as they can be be very loud!!
I guess I can ony agree with the usual - avoid teflon ect, but 1 thing i would wholeheartedly go for is branches and hideaways conures love chewing and hiding. lie sheets of newspaper over an upright kitchen roll and she will pop in and out for hours. mine loves hiding under bed sheets with me. good luck!

[sikes]

thanks for the reply...as far as age goes i have no idea!!!!!!! is there any way to tell???? also he spends most of his time hanging on the wire of the cage and i noticed his tail feathers are looking ragged, i guess from all the rubbing on the wire, any suggestions on why he'd rather hang on the wire instead of sitting on the perches???? can this be stopped??????

[madfamily]

conures are rock face creatures and are at home hanging on sides. have you got natural branches for him? that could encourage him to use a perch is=nstead of the side - how long have you had him?

[ROYJOY]

My sun likes to lick my lips when ive had something sweet to drink. he spends alot of time hanging up side down, even when he's perched on my finger, he will hang. now he will do it on que, we call it hang 8, or sometimes 4, or play dead. he will hang by his beak only, too.

[sikes]

I dont have any natural branches as of yet but hubby and I plan on getting some this weekend from my sons oak tree(if that is suitable.) I did remove the really worn out perch he camr witk and replaced it with a dowl that i roughed up with my skill saw in order to give him(her?) more of a grip. he has used it a little bit sincr I put it in the cage. We have only had him(her?) 5 days today.

[sikes]

I did replace his worn out perch with a dowl about 1/2 -3/4 in that i cut to fit in his cage. I roughed it up a bit with my skill saw and he has gotten on it a few times. Hubby and I plan on getting some branches from my sons tree which I know has not be sprayed or treated, someone told me that would be fine as long as I placed it in the oven at 250% for about 2 hours in order to kill any mites if there are any.....any comments on this??????. We have only had Simon for 5 days

[2horse]

Hi, I dont think oak is good, maybe just leaves and acorns but I dont think I would chance it. Do a google search "safe wood for birds". Apple, Mullberry, Acacia are safe but there are many more. My suns hang on the wire when they are waiting to be let out the cage. A sun can hang anywhere, anytime by one nail or a beak nothing is strange in the way they can hang. Tail feathers often get messed up by rough play. A sun will have all his colour by the time he is 2 years old. Sugar is not a good idea for a bird as it causes yeast infections. My suns like to sleep in a cardboard box which needs replacing due to home renovations but it does provide a lot of entertainment while it lasts. Anything shredable provides lots of entertainment.
Enough toys if the bird knows how to play, will keep him off the wire a bit. Interesting food will also help, but he really does need a lot of out the cage time. He need to be well supervised as they are very quick to do something they should not.