Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been doing research on Cockatiels and noticed how beautiful Conures are. I actually got to see and interact with one in person.. oh no, I love him!! Can anyone here compare Cockatiels and Conures for me, would they be able to interact with each other? I know Conures have a loud voice, that seems to be all most people talk about, but do they stay sweet and tame as they age? The one I saw was about 6 months old and a true love bug, he even lays on his back.

What you want to know can depend a great deal on which conure you've fallen in love with.

The most common (i think) is the grean cheek & it's also the quietest.

One (not the loudest) of the loudest is the sun conure (I have one). They also seem to be one of the most popular because of their colour. Then people don't realize just how noisy they really can get so they're also one of the most re-homed because of this.

Then there are many more species of conures in between. I have a re-homed, noisy at times sun conure.

Conures in general are very lovable, extremely playful parrots. They require MANY chewable toys. They go crazy with chewing anything they can so chewable toys will save your furniture & things it shouldn't be touching.

They can be rather stroppy. But what I have found with my sun conure is her bark is worse than her bite. She's all threats & doesn't carry through with them.

They're stuborn. They will go to lengths to get what they want!!! When it comes to being naughty or trying to get what they shouldn't be having, you need to be VERY stuborn yourself.

They're velcroe birds. Again they will go to any length to stay on your shoulder 24/7!! They LOVE human interaction more than other bird interaction & like my re-homed sun, they will become screamers if they don't have enough attention.

They are NEVER afraid to express themselves in any way. They're not shy.

For a small parrot, they require big parrot human interaction, play time & larger cages.

They are hyperactive by nature. They cannot sit still. I'm sure my sun has a battery up her backside!!!! They're quick & continually on the move.

Getting along with cockatiels depends on the indevidual. My sun had a tiel as a mate in her first home (I am her 3rd). I have a tiel & she hasn't bonded with him at all. She tolerates him but they're not interested in one another at all.

The one I fell in love with is a Sun. Since this one is so young (almost 6 months old) I doubt its a re-homed bird.. but you just never know, most people here take their birds to local shops to re-home them. I have been in twice to see him, I feel so silly, I don't buy anything.. just go in an visit him.
I just want to make sure he wouldn't be an impulse purchase, so I am giving it lots of thought first. I would love him to get along with my cockatiels, that would be fun.

If he's young he'll easily adapt to anything.

I have heard young suns are quiet. If this is the case & you raise him to communicate with minimal noise & give him the attention he needs daily, you shouldn't have much of a noise problem however, other birds do set them off too. So if your tiels decide they wanna be noisy for a while, your sun will most certainly join in!!

Oh I nearly forgot, they seem to like joining in conversations when people are talking too LOL

If you decide to the sun, by ear plugs because there will be time (it won't last for ever) when he will try you out to see how far he can push you before you tip. When this happens putting in his cage sometimes may not work & he will become deafining, so using ear plugs during this time will help your sanitiy LOL

Thankfully, my tiels are pretty quiet as of now, but adding a new bird will probably come with more birdy laughs and chit-chat between them. Would you recommend moving his cage for those times when he gets noisy, then if he sees that he gets moved away from the flock it will work like a kid in time out? With the tiels, all I have to do is put my finger to my lips and give a shish (lol that looks funny written) and they quiet down, could I try using that with the Sun? He really is the sweetest bird I have ever met, but I don't know if my bird skills are strong enough to keep him friendly, if that makes any sense. I don't like to be bitten, which makes me a bit skittish, I am better now that I have the tiels, but I bet the Sun nips much harder, and people seem to act rougher when dealing with them, almost being mean. I just want to feel sure in my skills. I don't want to ever have to re-home a bird that I get. Which is why I am going to visit him, a lot until I decide, I also compare him to other Suns in the area.

Different strokes for different folks. Try everything you mentioned & you will be able to see which works best for the sun. I do the time out for my sun & it worked well for a while. They're very intelligent so it didn't take her long to realise all she had to do was be quiet & she'd come back out!! So I had to try other things. Also they are guard dogs. If they see someone walk past, drive in or come upto the door, they will let you know. I don't think there is anything that can be done about that, what I do is sure who ever turns up, says hello to her before they do anything else, this keeps her quiet (baring in mind, mine is a noisy rescue, yours will probably not be so bad).

My tiel & ekkie when making too much noise I threaten them with putting them to bed LOL that works so I'm hoping in time it will work for my sun too, she's still new to the house.

Because the sun is only a baby I doubt the bitting (if any) will last long at all. I have an ekkie who is currently going through puberty so I know what you mean about being skittish, my guy can really hurt & I always, no matter how hard I try not to, react!

Suns do nip harder. One thing I have found out is never allow them to play with or nibble fingers. Replace fingers with toys when they do this imediately. Apparently all conures are nibblers, just to check things out & if you allow them to nibble (this doesn't hurt, it's like tasting) your fingers & play with them, it can teach them to bite.

Also stick training is ideal for those stubborn times when they refuse stepping up for time out or bite your fingers while stepping up.

I would never act rougher with my sun, or any sun. They're no different than any other parrot in treatments. They are highly intelligent so they do learn very quickly. They're also VERY unforgiving if treated rougher or badly, unlike some parrot species can be forgiving very quickly.

Thanks so much for all of your help!!
I wish you and I lived close, you're awesome.. no puns.
You are a true asset to these boards, we all can tell how much you care.

thanks

I know there are others here that are really good too.

they are awesome little buggers! what kind did you meet? i've had jendays and suns and i have to say, past my current addiction to caiques, conures are the next in line! especially the suns, they are sooooo beautiful, and every one of them i've ever had has been nothing but sweet and funny and loving! personally, i wouldn't ever even consider getting a cockatiel...i fostered one for about a year, and they're just well, kinda personality.less.... sorry if there's any 'tiel folks reading!!! i haven't met that many of them, but the ones i have, i haven't been too impressed with!!!
and as for the screaming? the only time they get a case of the screamies is when they need you, or you're ignoring them - A LOT. mine have never been screamers. ever. and i think it's because i treat them more like dogs than birds, and they are constantly getting attention, new toys, new foods, and time out of their cages.
they are definitely not the kind of birds you can leave in a cage for 30 years and just peer in at them. they have to be treated like family. just like most birds should be! but get one! they're absolutely awesome!!! just not from a pet store.... =]

I've never owned a tiel...although I have interacted with them. I don't find them very interesting, but I'm sure once they know you, they are nice enough.

Personally I love my two suns. Everyone tells me they are the noisiest bird. But I have to disagree. The noisiest bird is the ignored bird.

My two girls are both in my living room, so they always get to at the very least be near me. And my wife and I both give them alot of attention. If you play with them alot and talk to them alot, they really aren't THAT noisy. They can be loud, don't get me wrong, but typically they only get super loud when someone unexpectedly drops by (I ALWAYS let them know if we are going to have company), when my wife or I talk about something with great excitement they just HAVE to join in the conversation), and especially when we get home from work or just get up in the morning. They seem to love yelling "HI HI HI!!!!" in aratinga dialect for a few minutes to celebrate that we're together again...

And personality-wise, these birds are amazing. While I often have real trouble telling the two apart at first glance, I ALWAYS know who is who once they start interacting with me. They are sooo different and unique.

My girl Charlie (named before I got her...OR found out she was a girl) is very dominant. She loves being in high places as acts as the "look out" of our family. She LOVES to chew on things. I've seen her strip a tongue depressor stick to splinters in minutes. In fact anything she can chew up and destroy is alot of fun for her. Unfortunately, she's also not that great of an eater. I'm pretty sure she was raised on nothing but seed and is a sunflower seed junkie (thus I feed her very few in her mix). She is VERY picky about trying new foods, but she loves Sally Blanchard's "Glop" recipe. Charlie is a super show off. She loves meeting new people and fluffs up or does a Stevie Wonder impression and gives lots of kissy noises and giggles. She can say, "Step up" and "NO!" (I used no quite a bit when I first got her...she was not very well behaved at all). When I lay down in bed, she'll actually just sit of my chest very contented.

Petiout (pronounced Pee-too) is a real sweetheart. I'm almost sure she's only a few years old. She has some 'young bird' tendencies. She is VERY inquisitive and loves to chew on cloth and towels (although I get kind of nervous when she does that). She loves playing in little caves and crevices in those towels or whatever. She giggles when she gets really excited. She loves taking baths splashing around in a large shallow dish and loves getting a blow dry afterwards. She is a REALLY good eater. She'll try pretty much anything once, veggies (she grabbed a whole baby carrot last night from 'mom'...it was really cute), any fruit, you name it, she'll try it. I also think she was sort of abused as large objects (like brooms or any long white object) make her very scared and she screams a warning when she see them. She's a little afraid of men (except me) and will actively bite them. Girls however, what can I say but once she gets to know a girl, she wants to be with her as much as possibly including flying off her perch or cage to get to you. She's a real sweetheart.

Both girls go CRAZY for honey nut cheerios (organic generic brands) and ice cream.

I consider both of my girls my children, and I'm really rather happy with them as my 'kids' and don't really feel the need to make any human versions.

I'd wholeheartedly suggest a conure...if you're up to it that is. If you got the time and patience and wallet, go for it