Sun or Green Cheek conure?

[Marie.C]

Last year I lost my beloved orange fronted conure, and I'm finally ready to incorporate a new bird to my home, I would love another orange fronted, but they are now illegal where I live, so after a lot of reading I reduce my options to a Sun conure or a Green Cheek Conure, but still can't decide which one will be a better fit, so I am asking for advice.

It's only me and my husband, and four dogs used to my orange fronted being the boss, I used to have him clipped because my house is very open and I was always scared that he will flight away, also, he loved to be in the terrace in his "tree", so for my peace of mind he was always clipped, and he never made any attempt to fly.

I used to have him free in the house while I was home, but he was perfectly happy to stay in his cage when he had to, but he loved to spend time with his favorite dog, they were best friends (don't worry, they were never alone or unattended).

I'm looking for a bird that may adjust to this living conditions, I don't expect him/her to be best friends with the dogs as, but one that may live with them without terrorizing them, and that gets bonded with people, but capable to go into boarding when I have to travel (not very often) and don't get too homesick.

My doubts about are:

- Sun conures being to noisey, compare to what? I was never bothered by my orange fronted screams, but he only screamed once a day, when he was excited to go I the terrace, and once settle won't scream again, only small chirps to call the dogs.
- Green Cheek conures being nippy, I would love a bird that loves to snuggle, or at least that is comfortable hanging around me.
- Green Cheek conures being able to fly even with clipped wings, as I can't change the architecture of my house, and I want to my bird to be able to roam around and don't be cage bound.

Thanks in advance for reading me and for any advice you may give me.

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome to the forum. I don't have conure experience but suns can be loud. Perhaps go on youtube and search for a video of a sun screaming and see what you think of the noise level. I'm no sure what you mean about a green cheek being able to fly with clipped wings?

@webchirp ?

 

[webchirp]

Any bird with the right wind or motivation can fly. I would recommend enclosing the tree or harness training but not tied to the tree.

Sun conures are very loud but from my experience, snuggle bugs. Not all green cheeks are nippy. It just depends on the personality. And again as far as terrorizing, depends on the bird. But birds shouldn't be out together with dogs in general. It only takes a split second for an accident to happen.

 

[Marie.C]

Thanks for your input, I'll keep reading as I haven't made a decision yet, and since birds are a long term responsibility I want to make sure I make the best one

 

[LSA]

This is my opinion as a conure liver, too. Go to the app store and listen to each, then decide.

A female GCC will make very little noise. A male GCC may feel the need to make his presence known. On the other hand, any gender Sun is noisy.
My favorite Sun quote is
Don't assume no one's home.
I'm here to scream for 911!
A Sun will scream anytime it sees you, it wants your attention or just because it can.

Although a GCC is considered nippy, it rarely draws blood. A Sun is a wrestler. Additionally, Suns tend to be more destructive, while GCC's want more AND noisier toys.

Something to consider is memory and intelligence. GCC's tend to be puzzle- solvers with a long memory. They need the stimulation of "figuring things out" this tend to come out as more independent and self- entertaining. Suns tend to be more affectionate but also demand more attention. They would rather have you solve their puzzles. The result is a more "trainable" GCC but a cuddlier Sun; a quieter GCC, a louder Sun.

Discounting color, an Orange- front (look up Half Moon) tends to be a quieter version of the Sun.

Unfortunately, a Half Moon doesn't live as long as a Sun and will live about as long as a GCC. They are just about as messy though.

Only you can decide what's more important to you. If you don't mind the noise, a Sun would probably be closer to what you're used to.

Remember though, every bird is it's own creature, an individual and may not perfectly fit your expectations! You get out what is out in!

Good luck!!!

 

[LSA]

BTW, GCC's are cuddly birds. They tend to be moodier but less hormonal than Suns.
Are you planning on getting an adult or a baby? From a breeder, a store, a fair or a sanctuary? It makes a big difference!

 

[Feathered up]

Everything LSA said. I have a Blue Crown Conure I fostered a sun for six months and the greenie is my daughter’s and moved out with my daughter when she grew up but was here for nine years.

Of the three, there is nothing louder than a sun. They can come very close to macaw and goffin volume and they just love to hear themselves make noise. It’s very easy for them to be one person Birds and they seem to need constant attention if you don’t set boundaries early on. The one I had here was a cuddly bird. She was nippy on occasion and it hurts when they clamp down.

The greenie is delightful. He talks pretty well and sings songs and will entertain himself all day if he has to. He sleeps on his back at night in his Snuggie which I find hysterical. He is a cuddle bug until he wants to play then is happy to play with you or alone.

No bird isn’t an adept flyer, wing clip or not. Many clipped birds escape every year. The only bird I ever grounded with a clip was my POW. After having my BCC spend 48 hours in a forest and being the luckiest person alive to get her back, mine don’t go out unless in an enclosure.

They are both great parrots. If you have neighbors close or others in the home, they will probably prefer the lower volume of the greenie. If you’re looking for color mature suns are hard to beat. For entertainment and speaking abilities, greenies. For companionship and a quieter bird, nandays are worth a look.

 

[LSA]

Hey, @Feathered up, a BCC is moving in on the 18th. Any ideas?

 

[LSA]

I forgot to mention that the BCC is a rescue, can fly, 23yo based on her band, a DNA'd female(Thanks, Dr. Jim.), named Miss Bird and will be in quarantine 45 days.

 

[Feathered up]

They are loud. Lol. Not as cuddly as some more cuddly than others. They can be great talkers and they can definitely associate words with objects or actions. They have all the good of the smaller conures but they have traits of the larger parrots as well. BCC’s are a win win and I will NEVER not have one. I have had three. Skyy was the youngest. I acquired her at a year old. My others were older and I was much younger and they have since crossed the bridge.

Skyy was very nippy when she came to me. I had to use a chop stick to skritch her but she adapted FAST. BCC’s bond STRONGLY. For their size they are very gentle with smaller birds and tend to just use that big beak to shoo them rather than attack. Skyy’s true love is a Fischer’s lovebird.

More than my other conures the bcc’s Have been destructive. They love to tear stuff up. Balsa wood kabobs has always been a favorite and any grass type toys that they care tear up. And keep them away from any natural clothes hampers or laundry baskets lol.

Very intuitive birds. I’ll try to make this brief: I was having to travel a lot because of my sister’s illness. I had been gone a month, had been home just a week when I got a call she was going on hospice and they needed me to come back. I sat down on the bed and cried. Skyy climbs off her gym, walks across the floor and climbs up to my shoulder. Leans over and WHISPERS in my ear “it’s okay, it’s okay, give me a kiss”. She gives me a kiss and then cleaned up the tears. Then just pressed herself into my neck and stayed until I was ready to get up. That’s a bcc. You’ll love her!

 

[LSA]

Yours sounds great.
A Sun moved in at the end of June. Am I going to have the loudest house in town?
The Sun is SO messy while the GCC is not. The Sun is messy for the same of being messy. All the conures are moving into my living room. Should I plan on the messiest house, too?
I've had a Fiery, some Pearlies, several GCC's, some Jendays, a Nanday and some Pats before, but never a BCC. Right now a Sun and a Yellow-side live here. Like most members, mine typically have been rescues. She and I have met before, but I wasn't sure what to expect especially given her age.
The Sun and Yellow-side bonded quickly with me and look forward to free time. The Sun is much slower but cuddlier than the GCC. Miss Bird will have my full attention during quarantine, but probably not after. They each get private training time (15 minutes) with me. Do you think that will be a problem? The Patagonians seemed okay with it. She seems to act more like they did than anything.
My Pineapple loved to hang and eat with my ill mother. Chloe tried to comfort me, too. The birds were regularly loaded up for the weekend at her place until we moved down there. If it weren't for my conures particularly, I doubt I'd have survived. So your story is especially poignant. That she understood your sadness is even better.
I like the tip about the chopstick for scritches!

 

[LSA]

He sleeps on his back at night in his Snuggie which I find hysterical.

A GCC story:
When I was moving to a new place, my mother stayed with my fids. She'd never had a GCC before. I told her that when she looked in the cages like no doubt she would, the GCC would be on it's back in the bottom of cage. She wasn't to hurry to the ER, that's just the way GCC's slept.

 

[Feathered up]

Yours sounds great.
A Sun moved in at the end of June. Am I going to have the loudest house in town?
The Sun is SO messy while the GCC is not. The Sun is messy for the same of being messy. All the conures are moving into my living room. Should I plan on the messiest house, too?
I've had a Fiery, some Pearlies, several GCC's, some Jendays, a Nanday and some Pats before, but never a BCC. Right now a Sun and a Yellow-side live here. Like most members, mine typically have been rescues. She and I have met before, but I wasn't sure what to expect especially given her age.
The Sun and Yellow-side bonded quickly with me and look forward to free time. The Sun is much slower but cuddlier than the GCC. Miss Bird will have my full attention during quarantine, but probably not after. They each get private training time (15 minutes) with me. Do you think that will be a problem? The Patagonians seemed okay with it. She seems to act more like they did than anything.
My Pineapple loved to hang and eat with my ill mother. Chloe tried to comfort me, too. The birds were regularly loaded up for the weekend at her place until we moved down there. If it weren't for my conures particularly, I doubt I'd have survived. So your story is especially poignant. That she understood your sadness is even better.
I like the tip about the chopstick for scritches!

Yep, loudest house in the neighborhood!!!!! BCC’s can be very prolific talkers and they are great mimics so you likely won’t know if it’s the bcc or the sun yelling. I had my older two when I got Skyy. They wasted no time forming a flock. They were hysterical together!! I’m not making this up; the three would sit in a circle and whisper what I called goblin speak to each other and then sneak off onto some mischievous mission. I had to run out of my house one day emergently as a limb had fallen on my fence and I had horses in the road. I was in fight or flight mode and panicked and just ran out. Half way through capturing them all it dawned on me I had left the musketeers out. There was no way I could stop to go back in as I was home alone. When I got back in those tyrants had eaten a hole in the drywall above the closet door, and two were hanging out inside the wall! The other had tunneled into the attic. I was outside 45 minutes......too long but c’mon!

BCC temperament is very similar to a Pati but they are more inclined to make noise. Lol. I don’t find them particularly messy as birds go. They didn’t change their bond with me as a trio at all. And that strong bond is what allowed me to talk Skyy out of a tree 60 feet high when she escaped.

They can handle tons of attention or time alone. Very adaptable to schedule changes as well. Mine all hated pellets except golden feast and preferred fruit over green food. Prickly pear and pomegranate all three would eat first. And nuts. Any old nut will do. They are confident by nature and so are generally accepting of training. You’ll probably find she finds it fun and could go all day at it if you’d let her. I find the BCC’s to have extraordinary reasoning abilities. In the morning when sky here’s the sink water come on she’ll say “what are you doing, making coffee?” or if she sees me pull out a mop she’ll say “cleaning the floor” for the broom she says “cleaning up my mess”. Brilliant under rated species!

The one caveat to you situation is that if she hears the other birds during quarantine, she is likely going to end up on the more vocal end. But parrots are loud and we know what we’re signing up for. Lol. It will likely subside once integrated and a schedule is formed. Right now you wouldn’t know I have a bird in my house.

They love to use those beaks. And when females are hormonal they use them like we use clinching our fists and gritting our teeth. If Skyy gets particularly beaky, I’ll give her a harder wood like hold a chop stick fat end to her so she can just unload on it and it works. She also understands biting is painful and if I say OW she lets go. When she went through puberty, I had some serious bites. If the do get aggressive, they mean to saw off whatever they grab a hold of. I doubt you will have that issue with Miss Bird due to her age but do be aware that even with a well groomed beak, the upper mandible has a needle point and take appropriate precautions. They tend to have a big wind up before a bite (unlike a certain lovebird or princess parrot I know) with eye pinning and several bluff swipes so it’s pretty easy to avoid them.

 

[Feathered up]

A GCC story:
When I was moving to a new place, my mother stayed with my fids. She'd never had a GCC before. I told her that when she looked in the cages like no doubt she would, the GCC would be on it's back in the bottom of cage. She wasn't to hurry to the ER, that's just the way GCC's slept.

Yep. It will scare you silly the first time you see it!

 

[LSA]

I have a U rope perch (See my avatar.) and the GCC holds sideways and pushes on the Sun to sleep. HAHA Only once they been apart and they were so nervous that they made growly "GPS" noises until they were back side-by-side. Sir Lancelot is the Yellow-side and is definitely the boss!
The conures currently sleep in a dark room like Sherman, WCP. The budgies and IRN get covered in a dark rooms. This weekend, the conures move into the living room and will share a covered night cage in the master bedroom. Will she be okay in a dark room or does she need a covered sleep cage? With the WCP and IRN as exceptions, the conures will get covered and sleep in my/master bedroom. I'd like to do the same with her. The Pats knew it was bedtime and got in their own night cages and were covered. Miss Bird currently sleeps uncovered in a dark room.
BTW, not only will she hear the Sun, she'll hear the IRN occasionally and the budgies, too! Sherman is the ONLY quiet one around here!

 

[Feathered up]

Hahaha. Mine sleep covered or uncovered depending on where they are and time of year.

If I have to relocate Skyy to the bedroom, I do cover her because she will night fright if I roll over in my sleep and she sees the covers move. my other two never did but I covered from habit more than anything. In the bird room I never cover unless power goes out in winter.

I really think you’ll enjoy her!

 

[LSA]

I'm excited! I have MBS but luckily also can say no if necessary. Just like people, if a bird and I don't hit it off, it's no for BOTH our sakes. That's why Sherman was such a surprise to me! But Sherman needed somewhere fast and she needed out.

 

[LSA]

Sorry we hijacked your thread, @Marie.C.
I still think of the two, the Sun is the better choice assuming you can live with the noise. They're so sweet!

 

[Feathered up]

We have totally hijacked the poor OP’s thread. (Maybe we have inadvertently talked her into considering a Blue Crown Conure). WCP’s are so awesomely quiet! But did I get one? Nooooo, I added an IRN.....

I think she’ll adapt well. All of my species are in the same room and mingle freely with supervision. But if not, your correct, it’s best for all considered for her to be in the right place.

 

[M_Riddly]

Any bird can fly wings clipped or not. They can go REALLY far too if they have a good gust of wind helping them. All of the birds I have right now have been clipped at some point. Only my three GCC's and goffin cockatoo are clipped at the moment. Yoshi, my oldest GCC is my best flier and he is slightly clipped. He can fly like nobody's business. Decending, ascending, long, short, you name it. I would never leave a clipped bird out, especially a small one. Why? Because it only takes ONE second for something to happen. A cat comes by and scares your bird, a hawk decides it hungry. Really, you should get a large outdoor cage for your bird. It's safer for them and will give you some piece of mind.

Sun conures are not only LOUD, but they are chattery in their loud voice. I personally cannot handle their noise and could never have one. It hurts my ears too much. My GCC's were nippy but they seemed to have chilled out quite a bit. Yoshi is better, but that is because he is smaller and I've had him longer. He is also older. Just spend some time teaching your baby what is too hard. Yoshi really only nibbles unless he gets over stimulated when we are playing. If your worried about GCC's not being cuddly then let me tell you it all depends on the bird. All three of mine are but it depends. If they are all out together, then only Yoshi is really cuddly (and only if he isn't wanting to play) but if I get one of them out, then that one will be cuddly and it dosent matter which one I get out. Just spend time with them and it should be just fine. Checkers and mochi are really cuddly, but yoshi (when not in play mode) is as cuddly as my cockatoo. Just depends on the bird and how much time you spend with it. If you can handle the noise of a sun, kudos to you, if not I suggest a GCC. Know that you were just super lucky that your bird didn't fly away because any bird can fly even with their wings clipped. Even if there isn't a breeze, they just need the right motivation. Hope this helps!