All of my conures have been rehomes. My first conure was a cherry head whom I adopted back in 2001. He was never a very hands on bird, but then I don't know if he was wild caught or captive raised. What I do know is that in his first(?) home, he was attacked by a ferret which may have caused some health issues and loss of feathers. He was taken to the vets to be put down as the family couldn't afford his vet costs. The vet gave Noel to one of the vet techs who in turn gave him to a friend of hers who had a cockatiel. Five or six years later, she's moving and comes across my family right before Christmas. She notices that we (aka, me!) have birds, budgies and a cockatiel, at the time, and offered us this "red masked" or "mit-red" conure. Noel mutilated his stomach, couldn't fly, probably had slight blindness in one eye, then later on was going blind from cataracts, and had unknown health issues that we could never figure out. He also suffered from seizures? Although Noel never sought human interaction, he did come to enjoy *short* interactions with me (aka 3 mins or less!) and would fumble over his perches to get to me. After many bites he came to enjoy kisses. He *loved* going outside to "his" apple tree (and he didn't always want to go back inside! thankfully, it was a small tree!) and occasionally I'd go on a walk around the neighborhood with him and he would huddle against my head. As friendly as he may sound, he preferred being in his cage vs with me and I came to be ok with that. He wasn't anything like what's described as a conure. He wasn't cuddly, he wasn't goofy, wasn't all that loud, didn't talk or do much of anything else that could be labeled as a 'conure'. I described him as a "bird's bird".
Fourteen years ago though, I didn't know what I was doing! Between my age and the information back then, I did the best I thought I knew! I wasn't even sure what species he was at first and it was several months before I finally decided I knew for sure, because even back then, the information was conflicted!
Charlie, my mitred, came to me in 2006 when he was 12 years old. He came from a member of another forum and she thought he was a cherry head. Probably didn't help that she lives near where there are feral cherry heads! So any green bird with a red head is a cherry head! I went down to pick him up, sight unseen, and knew the moment I laid my eyes on him that he wasn't a cherry head at all! And Charlie has been the complete opposite of Noel! Likes and dislikes! I've said the only thing they share is coloration! Both being green and red birds! Charlie can fly, he's healthy, he hates dogs (Noel hated cats - Charlie is actually far better now about dogs!) and Charlie is a very people orientated bird! He's a "human's bird!" The only thing with Charlie is that he's got one big attitude (I call him "my-turd"
). He wanted nothing to do with me in his foster home, but he's clung to me ever since I brought him home! And he supposedly prefers men over women! I am not a man.... lol So interacting with Charlie has never been a major issue or anything like Noel. Charlie doesn't care for strangers though, he takes a while to warm up to new people, and that's only if they take an interest in trying to gain his trust.
Noel passed away February of 2010, and the same year (not sure when), a red throated conure was born.
Insert Jayde. I adopted her 2013 from a member of this forum who was fostering her. When I got Charlie, I was beginning to understand more about parrot body language and how to *actually* interact with them. (not like how I was doing before!) Jayde is my little red throat and she came to me with a personality kind of between Noel and Charlie. Closer to Charlie, honestly! She did this behavior that I've heard described before but had never seen. She desperately wanted human interaction but at the same time was terrified of it. She was so conflicted and it was sad to see this behavior! Now though? She's pretty different! Still feisty, but she *eats* up attention like you wouldn't believe it! LOL She's always had this, but it's adorable! And so far, she also seems to have a clear preference for women, particularly older women. (I'm younger... as much as she "loves" me, I'm worthless when 'Auntie K' is around!
'Auntie K' is an older women in my local bird club who just dotes on Jayde! And when it's time to go home, Jayde cusses me out all the way home!
You can read more about when I first got her in the following thread.
Jayde Update | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum
And then Finn. He's supposedly around a year old, was sold as a "green conure", but he might be a red throat. He's between Noel's personality and Jayde's, but leaning more heavily towards Noel. He enjoys scritches, doesn't have a big attitude like Jayde and Charlie (seems like baby behavior to me! but an older baby) but he doesn't like leaving the safety of his cage. I really hope that once he "regains flight" (was clipped... don't know if he actually ever flew or not), that his confidence will build and his behavior will change. He's been with me since this September. He does twirl on a rope perch, and I'm not sure if this is excitement or stress, but I'm going with excitement as I've only seen him do this behavior when I'm getting food ready!
