A big parrot in a little body
Are you one of the many people who has dreamed of owning a parrot one day? Did you fall in love with the big, boisterous personality of a friend’s macaw or cockatoo? Do you look around your living room and say: “There’s no way I can make room for a cage bigger than my car”? If so, a conure might be the perfect bird for you!
The conure is a lively, charm-packed parrot that can make those dreams come true without over-taking your house. A conure has everything the big birds have – but in a smaller package.
You should know, though, that just because a bird is small it doesn’t mean that you can toss food in its cage and be done with it. Small birds need the same level of care, socialization and training as do the big guys. So if you are looking for a small bird with the expectation of it being easier, think again.
For small birds, many conure species can be surprisingly loud. Even though they can’t match the decibel level of a cockatoo or macaw, they make up for it in persistence. Their normal vocalizations might be present throughout the day. For many people, conures are too loud.
They can be territorial and nippy, especially around their cages, and they have a tendency towards being what we call “one person birds”. These birds often take a preference towards a single member of the household.
It doesn’t seem like a big deal, especially when you are that preferred person, but it becomes a problem when the bird refuses to interact with anyone else but you, sometimes biting others who want to play with them. Worse, they often start to think of you as their mate. During breeding season, they will occasionally try to run off a family member or house-guest who gets too close to you.
To keep this from happening, the conure owner needs to understand the vital role that proper socialization with all family members plays in the raising of their bird. Training is the easiest and most effective way to make that happen and it can solve your conure problems with just a few minutes of one-on-one time a day.
Is training worth the effort?
Think of it this way, I’m sure you know that when you have a parrot it needs out of cage time every day. It would just be cruel to leave a bird in a cage for its entire life, right?
You have a choice… you can spend that out of cage time chasing your unruly conure around the house, as it dive-bombs dad and bites little Timmy’s finger, or you can spend a small fraction of that out of cage time with a quick training session (3 minutes is all it takes!) and the rest of the time enjoying each other’s company.
There are over 40 different conure species. They vary greatly in size, personality and appearance giving you a lot to think about before you make your final decision on which bird to take home. The best thing a perspective conure owner can do is to educate themselves by researching any species they have an interest in before they get one. The best teacher will be an owner of the parrot species you are considering.
Below is our recommended training package if you own or have decided on adopting a conure:
49 comments
I would love for my bird to do the tricks but……….he refuses to pickup anything even for his favorite treat! How do you get them to start?
First you guys are GREAT! Second, I just wanted to share how WONDERFUL my Sun Gold conure is. He was bred by Catherine in San Diego, CA where she sadly seems to have run out of time crossing Gold Caps with Sun Conures to create a VERY colorful bird, calmer and less vocal than Suns with the Gold Cap easier personality. Being disabled he gets more time out of his 4 story cage, and understands more English, but speaks and counts to 5 along with answering questions he likes: “Do you want out of your cage?” “I WANT OUT” Then always a polite “Thank You” afterwards along with TY post treats or sharing dinner. Ferdie is 8 now and I would love to continue Catherines work, but costs are prohibitive. I just wanted to share my special and unique conure with your Easter sale. Hoppy Easter to BIRD TRICKS!
I brought a green cheek conure home from a pet store 1 week ago. The bird is very skittish of hands. S/he has always been toweled against her will to be moved. She will not come out of her cage and she will squeak and run/fly to the back of the cage if a person comes near. I feel like I cannot start any training or bonding because she is just so afraid.
Im getting a pineapple conure, should i care for it just like a sun conure? Im really not shure. His name is mochi and he has been on a horrible diet, how to i transfer him to the birdtricks diet?
Looking for a aviary to put in my court yard lookinyjag thought maybe you could give me a phone or web address. thank you Lizzy MCcue
I have a GCC that is 4 months old. He is a good boy most of the time and thinks everyone is a friend. Today, I was barefooted and he attacked my toes! I pushed him away and he came right back with his wings up and every intention of attacking again. I put socks on and he’s fine. What is it about toes that could be upsetting him? Any insight would be really awesome. I live in Houston and hot,humid weather calls for bare feet! I just ordered Birdie Bread and pellets so I can get him on a healthier diet. Also wondered if he should have a seed mix for small or medium birds. Thank you for all the information you have put out. It has helped me a lot! Carolyn F
I have ordered a meeting with you in the past with my ex. You are responsible for all our birds now eating RoudyBush, very good. One Conure is feather plucking after I tried to control and shaved beak because he was biting, next day no feathers. Getting worse, won’t stop, has now a bonded mate but he has chewed almost every feather he could I wonder if you could help? Bacterial home remedies I wonder if it has progressed to an infection from a dirty baths after having no feathers, and even chewing sores, very concerned very upsetting I know not really what to do. How much does a consultation cost, are you capable? I have an Online Bird vet consultation picked out but they charge anywhere from $60-$100 a half hour, and wondering if you could help??
Thanks for your knowledge, I have been through the loss of my Marley a pineapple conure and it’s been real hard for me to deal with, it was my fault so everyone please take advantage of this site and get the intel as you can so you don’t have a broken heart as I. I pray for forgiveness.
Hi, I’m thinking to get a Patagonian conure. Do you have any video that can help me to know them better. Thanks
I just lost my GCC yesterday, 11/11/22. I’m not exactly sure what happened either. She was fine then she wasn’t. We had a pet sitter that watched the 2 birds and 2 dogs when we went out of town. This has happened many times. Have never had an issue before. This time, Miko was fine until just before we were to pick her (them) up. Then she wasn’t. She was gone before we got to her. I don’t know if she was sick prior to this and I just didn’t catch it or what. But she seemed to be fine. I am just heartsick! I feel horrible. Did I do something wrong? Did I miss something? Or was it just a matter of “it was just her time”. She was 16 years old. So for a captive conure, I am told that is a pretty long life. (??) Just trying to look for some imput if anyone has any. Thanks
Hello how are you, do you conure available for adoption ?
Bonjour, We bought the seasonal feeding books for our 2parrots! (Africain grey and yellow head amazone)They love it! We recently bought a pineapple conure and we are wondering how much gram of food would be a good average by day. We realized our daughter was treating him too much with sunflower seeds and it was affecting his meal. Hopefully we figure fast but we don’t know how much give it to him and it seems craving during the day since we correct the situation. Thanks for youre help.
I have a sun conure named Sunny! He will be 2 in march.whats you take on harnesses and leads for taking them outside?
Hi Jamie and Dave, First of all, thank you guys so much for a ll the help and info you make available to all of us bird owners, and even though we have owned birds for the past 20 years, I still have learned so much from you guy’s! We just purchased a Green Cheeked Conure, who is very cute and adorable. He also plays with everybody in the family and loves training. I have one worry though, which is his sleeping habit. It is very weird, as he is the first bird I have seen hanging on to the top side bars of his cage, and sleeps like this all night long. I can not see how he would get a proper nights sleep in this position. I read on some bird chat boards that Conures like to sleep in the top corners of their cages and like to snuggle/ lean into something soft while they are sleeping, so we ordered him a corner shelf with dowels. I am not so sure about ordering him a snuggle blankie that ties to the side of the cage, as he might chew on it, although he does not seem be the too destructive kind of bird, as he has barely touched his toys yet either. Do you have any advice on sleeping habits of Conures? Any help would be very much appreciated! Maggie
I bought a 10 week old GCC from Petco a Week ago …. Sweet, Wonder Bird … Attached to Me Day One and has just been Perfect …
I have been watching u guys for a really long time. And think u are absolutely awesome.. I am getting my 1st parrot a turquoise green cheek conure hand tame baby!!! Super excited
I have read the question s and concerns above and I get so excited for the relationship s forming between people n their new pet bird! Please educate yourself as much as possible on dangers .These sweet birds are seriously like 2 year olds.must first think safety! Its cute , its fun to snuggle your bird but please never fall asleep with them.make sure ceiling fans are off. Hair spray. Paints,lysol, do much more can be deadly .just .safety saftey.then comes the fun and the unforgettable truly unbelievable experience uou can have growing together! May all of you have a wonderful life together!
May i know the exact feeding schedule of a baby conure 4 weeks old. Normally i let her eat 4-5 hours or when the crop is near empty, whichever comes first but normally the crop will empty first. And it is getting fast during her 4th week, it became 3 hours only. Also, her last meal is 9pm for dinner, what is the max hour for her to be still safe to feed in the morning? Because there are times i wake up so late like 8am. Thanks!!
Hi I have a maroon bellied conure. I’ve had her for 3 months now, and she hasn’t stopped biting. I try to show her my hands aren’t harmful when she’s out the cage, but she still tries to bite. I don’t care that she bites me, but I’m on blood thinners and I’m a bit afraid she’ll bite me where I start to bleed. How do I get her to stop biting?
Jamie I’m bringing home 2 green cheek conures (a mated pair) and we have a sun conure right now who is already very attached to me. Do you have advice on how to acclimate them to each other? Thank you! Shannon W
Do you sell the cages?
For all of you guys, she’s done videos on pretty much all of those topics-biting, rushing, flight training, how to make you parrot like your mother, the ten year old kid, I think you oughta go to a bird rescue stat, and watch YouTube, she’s done food conversion with mixing in the preferred food with the veggies, anmd take the bird to a vet.
First off I want to say thank you so much for all the work and effort you’ve done to make all of this content to help other bird owners have amazing relationships with their feathered babies. I have a sun conure named Mango. She is a little over a year old now and we are learning together. We are at a stage where I feel comfortable teaching my children how to handle and care for her. Especially how to pay attention to her body language. I’d dearly love to be able to train her for free flight but I am super worried she just won’t come back to me. We have been working on training to fly back and forth for a while now among a few other tricks. I’ve been taking it a little slow as she was very young when we got her and this is my first time with anything bigger than a budgie. I believe Mango and I share a good bond now and I wanted that established before I tried any sort of training. I most recently have been getting her feeding food from your cook books. My question would be how do you as the human get over the fear to free flight train?
Hi Jamie plz email me back I don’t know what to do my bird won’t stop biting me
I have a baby GCC and I loveeee him. He’s the cuddliest little man with a lot of attitude.
-
1
-
2
NextLeave a comment