Patagonian Conure I met

[echobird]

A couple weeks ago I was in Fresno and my mother dragged me to the flea market to get some fruits and veggies.
I absolutely hate flea markets! And it's entirely because of the way the animals are treated.

While there we obviously went past the animals and it broke my heart to see them in such crowded, dirty cages. What caught my attention though was a specific call. It was such a sad little sound. The bird kept on making that call so I followed the noise until I came upon this little guy.
He was in a pretty small cage for his size. His tail kept rubbing up against the cage bars and he looked miserable.
I talked to him and he quieted down and just sat there and watched me.
He really seemed to enjoy my attention even though he wasn't very trusting of humans.

If I had the financial means and space, nothing would have stopped me from bringing him home.

I recently found a video I made of him. It's supposed to say Sad but I was typing too fast lol. He makes the call the he was doing non stop in the video once.

Beside him was the most depressed cockatoo I have ever seen Poor baby was so quiet and would just stare at the ground the entire time. So unlike the bubbly, excitable 'Too behavior that I normally see. I don't have a picture of him because I couldn't look at him without feeling absolutely terrible.

It broke my heart to walk away from them

 

[jmfleish]

Patties are awesome but should be kept as far away from dusty birds as possible...they are very susceptible to PHS. I had a female for a few years and nearly killed her. I had to give her to a friend in order to save her life. They are also very loud! The one you took video of is adorable!

 

[echobird]

I didn't know that! I know dusty and non dusty birds should be kept separate but I thought the complications were more severe for macs.
He was so cute. This is my first time seeing one in person and I can't get over how cute and beluga whale like they look.

 

[jmfleish]

Conures are very closely related to the Macs...hence the problem! I didn't know it either until it was too late. I'm very much a dusty bird house, so rehoming her was the only thing I could do. I will never, ever own a Mac or a Conure after that experience...it was awful! She was a totally awesome bird though and went to a really good home with a friend of mine who loved her more than I could have ever hoped for. She had a great life for another five years. I just hope that by telling my story, other people can learn from it.

 

[echobird]

I can't imagine going through that! We live and learn. It's good information for future and current bird owners.
I remember when we were looking into getting a second fid, some dusty birds were on the list.
I'm glad we stuck with green cheeks!

 

[Donna turner]

Excuse my ignorence , but what is PHS and what is meant by a dusty bird ?

 

[echobird]

Excuse my ignorence , but what is PHS and what is meant by a dusty bird ?

PHS is Pulmonary Hypersensitivity Syndrome. It's a respiratory disease in birds.
This is a great article on it: Winged Wisdom Pet Bird Magazine - Respiratory Diseases in Macaws - Pulmonary Hypersensitivity Syndrome

Dusty birds are "old world birds", which are birds from Australia, African and other climates that are dry and hot. These birds produce lots of feather dust.
Cockatoos, cockatiels, African greys, and I believe Indian ringnecks are some of the dusty birds. Some birds produce more dust than others.
Indian ringnecks, though dusty, do not produce as much as let's say a cockatoo or teil.

Non dusty birds are new world birds. They produce oil instead of dust. South American birds are non dusty. For example, macaws and conures are oily birds rather than dusty.

Non dusty birds are much more sensitive to dust than old world birds. Because of this, it's best to keep them separated.
That being said, if you have a well ventilated home with a high quality air purifier and you give your birds daily baths, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.
But some birds are much more sensitive than others, especially macaws, so it's best to keep them separate.

 

[Donna turner]

Thanks for the info. I love learning new stuff and that was interesting and informative . I may need to know that one day .My little gcc never saw a fresh water bowl she didn't like. just dives in head first like a seagull. I never noticed my tiel had more dander .