Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My husband has wanted a conure for awhile, tho he hasn't cared what type. There was a $1300 one he loved, but it got sold before he had the money together for it. THEN there was a really sweet sun that he found, but it got quite ill and it's still recouperating. Now, though, he's found a green-cheek that's a little excitable and crazy, but sweet. He's bringing it home on Friday.

I'm new to the larger-than-budgie birds, so I have some questions.

What food should we get for him? I've seen the finch/budgie/cockatiel/parrot choices at various stores, but what mix is good for them? What is needed in their seed?

What size cage should such a bird have? She'll pry get lot's of excercize out of the cage, and we'll be getting a leash once she's tamed so we can take her out. We do have a HUGE outdoor cage that's 4'x5'x7' that later will be for a cockatoo (we have a friend who will likely have eggs in another few months, and we're getting a baby at half price!), but would a cockatiel cage be big enough for normal cage-time? I'm a stay-at-home mom, so I have the time to spend with it.

Also, would budgies be good playmates maybe? I have a small colony (11), and a couple are hand-tame and I'm thinking the conure might like company...

My home is baby-proof, and the only time I use any fumes or tephlon is when the windows are open in the house (Florida) and the doors are closed to the room(s) the birds are in. Plus I'm going to build a 7-10'x5'x8-10' aviary outside for playtime for the bigger birds with a double door enterence (go through one door, close it, then go through the other door - no bird can get out then while I'm going through a door). Any suggestions?

Also, what companies do you suggest for products - toys, leashes, even diapers (if I do outreach in public, I think I'd rather have the diaper-type thing on the bird if there's one that would fit such a petite sweetheart)?

Thanks for your help!

~Krystie

We're also considering getting either a jenday or a sun conure later. I think we'll only do one of each type we have since we have enough animals to breed (snake and lizard people here, with rodents and crickets breeding to feed them and their babies), and I was wondering how well green cheeks do with other conures too? Or a larger parrot? We'd of course make sure individual cages are available to all, but if two or more birds bond and like to sleep together, is that OK or not? Just curious.

And since any conure can be screaming alot, what have you ppl found to be a good deterant to such behavior? Thanks!

~Krystie

Okay lets see if I can get all the questions answered on here. If I miss some I'll try again LOL! Okay first thing to start with cage and diet. I would suggest larger than a cockatiel cage. Some people use a smaller cage for a sleeping cage and a larger cage for daytime. We usually just use one cage and try to give them as large as possible. Even with a bird being out a lot they need plenty of room to play, climb, and have a lot of toys.

Diet. I would try to get the conure (and any bigger bird you get) onto a pellet based diet. Try something like Zupreem for conures or Roudybush etc. Then you can of course offer some seed and LOTS of fresh veggies, grains, and some fruit. Homebaked birdie muffins are wonderful, you can add many things to them to make them healthy and interesting such as mixing in veggie baby food, nuts, pellets and grated veggies. Also try offering fresh veggies in many ways (diced, fresh, cooked, grated, large chunks on a skewer) be imaginative.

Companionship. Budgies are okay as companions in the same room but not to be out together unless very well supervised. This for two reasons. Conures are larger than budgies and could inflict great damage without meaning to. Also budgies can be irritating and ornery to larger birds, picking at them, plucking their feathers etc which again besides annoying and possibly hurting the conure can make the conure snap and injure the budgie. So same room fine but same playstation or cage no-no.
Adding another conure later is wonderful. It "might" get along well with the one you have in neutral areas. I would not suggest caging together even sleeping but having a playgym/stand where they can be introduced and later play together if getting along would be great. A larger bird again can be a companion at a distance but I would suggest only having them out if well supervised or else vary their schedules so they are not out at the same time.

As far as building an aviary, great idea but be careful what hardware you use. If possible find stainless steel wire or panels to use. Most products are zinc coated which of course is toxic when ingested. The double door sounds great. Make sure it is out of the direct sunlight and if possible even offers shelter or is covered on one side so they can get out of the heat.

They do make birdie diapers and harnesses for birds that small they list several companies in bird talk magazine, I don't have experience with them as we usually don't have our birds outside, unless in cages the weather here does't permit that as much (Missouri).

Noise deterrant. I don't think there is any way possible to deter a conure from screaming completely. They will always have a wakeup, a call to join, and possibly even a greating scream although the green cheek does this less and usually quieter than the others. To help them so they don't do it constantly, do not reward screams by going to check and see what is wrong. Offer treats and praise when being quiet and ignore when noisy. Speak in a whisper when the bird is screaming so it has to stop and will usually become interested in the quieter sound instead of continuing to scream.

Did I answer them all LOL?!

I'm so excited about the new baby jenday... (see above post) He's wanting to keep an eye on me constantly, and KNOWS I'm the close friend - he'll go to my daughter if she asks "step up" and a tiny push, but any time he can get to me he will! He'll even scoot to a certain corner of his cage just to be able to watch me on the computer in the other room!

I've had him with me for two hours so far this morning, sitting with me or near me... We'll see what happens. YAY!

~Krystie