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Please Share Experiences

claudreese

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Within the next year or so I'm looking to get my first personal bird within a year, so no rush. For a long time I was dead set on lovebirds, because they are so sweet and I love the sounds they make. But after spending a few hours on some different threads I'm really drawn towards conures. What really catches my my eye about the conures is how much of a velcro pet they can be, how trainable, how goofy and fun they are, and their long lifespan. I do not mind nipping at first, and i do not mind the occasional screeching, but generally speaking I was hoping they would be relatively apartment friendly. Another important thing is that the bird would have to be ok being home alone while I'm at work 8-5 on weekdays (i can come home for an hour midday on my break). I see a lot of people raving about how awesome their Green Cheek Conures are, but i was wondering if there are any major differences between them and other conures and which would be a better fit? I, of course, would be spending time with different individual birds to get a feel for them before making any choices. I would love to hear about your experiences with different types of conures, and what you think their pros and cons are. One last question, generally speaking do you find males or females to be easier going? Thanks!
 

Mizzely

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The top of the Conure Court has several stickies with experiences with various conures: Conure Court

There are two main sets of conures: Pyrrhura and Aratinga.

Pyrrhura are green cheeks, maroon bellies, roseifrons, etc

Aratinga are suns, jendays, gold caps, etc

Generally speaking the families are quite a bit a like. Pyrrhura are smaller and quieter (in comparison). Aratinga tend to be loud and are larger.

@webchirp has some of both and may be able to help :)
 

DoubleTake

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Personally I call greencheeks the little jerks of the conure world. They are cute and silly but I find that they are generally nipper than their larger cousins. Volunteering at a bird store I run into a variety of conures species. Every year I see and interact with baby greencheeks, sun conures, gold caps, painted, halfmoon and golden conures. There are many more species but these are the ones this store breeds. Out of those conures I would say that the golden conure(Queen of Bavaria Conure) the most playful and cuddly of those species I've named. The goldens are the 2nd largest conure. That being said they can be quite loud but not as high pitch than suns/jendays/gold caps, they are definitely louder though. These are major velcro birds and have the ability to talk easier than the others conures species. The downside to having a velcro bird is that they can be pron to plucking which is well noted for the golden conure species. They are also pretty expensive compared to other conures because they are rare and boarder line endangered. Even though painted and green cheeks are both in the Pyrrhura group, I've had better interactions with the painted conure. They seem a little bit sweeter in my experience and they are also smaller than green cheeks. I havent intereacted with too many halfmoons or peachfronts but most I've met have a tiny bit of an attitude. Suns/gold caps/jendays are all pretty similar just different colors and can be quite loud and pitch. The make good watch dogs but always want to be by your side or line of sight. I believe the gold cap is slightly louder than the other two. All 3 can be pretty silly and cuddly and very social birds. These are just my experiences, others may have had different ones.

generally speaking do you find males or females to be easier going? Thanks!
I had 3 sun conures, 2 males and a female. I don't see a huge difference between males and female suns. Out of the 3, my female was the sweetest(miss you). Since she has passed away, her mate who was always a little clown has been a little sweeter especially with women. He was never mean, just got sweeter. Their son , the other male, is a bit standoffish but is not mean. Just over protective of his dad due to how he was raised and never separated from them. I raised Apollo and Lily when they were a about 2 months old and they were great, sweet, cuddly and all around good birds. As they grew up they had each other so eventually I became the third wheel but still had a great relationship with them. They would want to be on me, give me kisses and just hang out but they had each other so they were a bit more independent. I do have a peach faced lovebird and she is the most velcro bird I have. She always wants to be on me, receive pets and wants cuddles. She is almost 2 years old now, I have plenty of videos of her in the lovebird section. I have a few videos of my suns on here in older posts if you do a search.
 

claudreese

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Goodness, so much information, thank you! Here you go reigniting my love for lovebirds :p ill definitely have to track down those videos you mentioned. The main thing I'm looking for in a bird is a lot of interaction and love. My heart melts for animals that are willing to just sit with me and be loved on. I would love to hear more about your little lovebird,and what your daily interactions are like. Would you recommend a female or a male?
 

webchirp

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They are all so different based on personality. I wouldn't recommend an Aratinga for an apartment. Mine are loud and can be heard from our driveway...if the windows are open...up to a block away. But again, each bird is unique. You do see a lot of sun conures getting rehomed...many times for their voice. I always tell people that suns are so beautiful because it balances their voice. My sun and gold cap have been together for so long that they sound very similar. Happy is just a touch deeper (gold cap). But both are prone to screaming fits for unauthorized visitors (those older children using the washer/dryer) and other visitors or alarms sounds. And you can hear the green cheeks trying to keep up sometimes.


That being said, my sun conure is a velcro bird...my girl cheekies all seem to be much sweeter than my males. My males are all nippy but they are also my best talkers...fun and quirky where my girls will often just snuggle up and nap.
 

DoubleTake

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Goodness, so much information, thank you! Here you go reigniting my love for lovebirds :p ill definitely have to track down those videos you mentioned. The main thing I'm looking for in a bird is a lot of interaction and love. My heart melts for animals that are willing to just sit with me and be loved on. I would love to hear more about your little lovebird,and what your daily interactions are like. Would you recommend a female or a male?
Here are all my threads I think. The older ones of the last pages are probably about my sun conures. The more recent one are mostly my lovebird.


My suns can be loud and I live in a townhouse with attached walls. It's a newer townhouse, 8 years old, and has good insulated walls. I just realized my neighbor had a dog. I heard him while I was outside, as soon as I got in my house I couldnt hear him. I have lived here for 4 years and for 2 years I had 3 sun conures and no complaints. Still not complaints with 2 suns and a lovebird.
 

webchirp

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Some of my older videos and I have lost a few babies over the years. webedz

I've been a really bad AA neighbor lately since I haven't posted as often...


I do have a little guy coming up for adoption but I will be using assistance from Soft Landings Parrot Rescue for checks for those people I don't actually know....must have a vet, proper diet, cage, care etc.
 

claudreese

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That being said, my sun conure is a velcro bird...my girl cheekies all seem to be much sweeter than my males. My males are all nippy but they are also my best talkers...fun and quirky where my girls will often just snuggle up and nap.
[/QUOTE]

How do you think your girl cheekies compare in "velcro-ness" to your sun? Do you have any experiences with lovebirds? Like i mentioned in another comment what im most looking for in a pet bird is a lot of love and interaction.
 

webchirp

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How do you think your girl cheekies compare in "velcro-ness" to your sun? Do you have any experiences with lovebirds? Like i mentioned in another comment what im most looking for in a pet bird is a lot of love and interaction.
Most of mine are paired so they aren't as attached to me constantly as they used to be. Zia was an absolute velcro bird before and my other yellow sided girl, Giggie, is an absolute love...to the extent that she gets separation anxiety. She is a plucker and is on meds. Every bird I have is different so if you're looking for a specific personality trait, you should visit rescues or rehomes several times before deciding. And once puberty hits if you buy a baby, your bird may be completely different.

Chya had regressed at the petstore when I bought her. I had to hand feed her all over again for several weeks. So I think that also attributes to the bond we have. She would prefer to live inside my shirt so I'm not sure she is as interactive as the cheek girls. Chya just likes her heated napping spot. Although she does blow kisses and raspberries in my shirt.
 

DoubleTake

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As far as lovebirds go, a male would probably be easier than a female. Female make great pets but can be hormonal monsters. If you want more than one lovebird I suggest all males as females can be territorial and want to kill. Loki is female but a pretty good bird. She has a girlfriend that you will see in the videos that lives in a different house. Daily interaction is me working and her pacing back and forth until I let her out for pets. I work from home and go into the office. She is usually out with me from 4-7 pm and I put her to bed. She sits and snuggles with me while I watch TV during that time with the occasional pets. Weekends all my birds get out of the house time and visits the bird store I volunteer at, been doing that for 7 years. Pretty much whenever I am home, all bird cages are open and when I am in the living room they are on separate play stand and do whatever they want on it.

Here is my youtube channel where I upload all the videos for my avian avenue posts. Think if you hit play all you can see the complete list.
 

Shelli

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I only have one green cheek conure. He bites, a lot. Trying to change the fact that he bites typically creates more bites. He is clownish, funny, adorable, cuddles when he feels like it... he is not velcro but is insanely jealous of my husband and the dogs. I belive that he thinks he is one of the dogs. If I had to do it over again, I would not get a conure. He is quiet for a bird, but that is still loud at times. He's an a hole.. but he's mine so...
 

DoubleTake

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I only have one green cheek conure. He bites, a lot. Trying to change the fact that he bites typically creates more bites. He is clownish, funny, adorable, cuddles when he feels like it... he is not velcro but is insanely jealous of my husband and the dogs. I belive that he thinks he is one of the dogs. If I had to do it over again, I would not get a conure. He is quiet for a bird, but that is still loud at times. He's an a hole.. but he's mine so...
Yeah I personally would never own a greencheek. He sounds like a stereotypical gcc to me but ever bird is different.
 

BrianB

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I have two blue crowns and a green cheek that share my home office. The green cheek is the quietest. All three of them are fairly independent and can entertain themselves without being demanding on me. They love the attention when they get it but when I’m busy they are fine with each other or themselves. The real velcro bird is a gold capped. He was originally supposed to be a breeder but he developed a bacterial infection and I’ve spent a lot of time with him. He’s happy to curl up under my chin and just nap. He’s not loud at all. The real loud ones are the golden conures. Think of seagulls on steroids screaming right in your ear. Their screaming causes physical pain for me and when they get started I have to leave the room.
If you’re going to be out of the house for hours at a time during the day then they are going to need lots of toys. I use an amazon echo to play music for some of my birds. It helps keep the noise down. Oddly enough they seem to enjoy jazz music.
 

Nobirby

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I have four GCCs. Each has their own personality. Faith, a male, is cuddly and doesn't nip or bite.
Only Beau can be a little loud, but he spent two years in a rescue the size of a barn, surrounded by all types of birds. He picked up some bad habits.:rolleyes:
Hope, the only female, is lovable, when her mate Jesse will let her come to me. Jesse is just spoiled and onry.
 

tka

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My heart melts for animals that are willing to just sit with me and be loved on.
Bear in mind that this is not typical bird behaviour. Most parrots are busy, active, curious birds. It's a good idea to encourage that independence: your parrot will be alone for much of the day, and a truly velcro bird would be terribly lonely.

In addition, most forms of touch are intensely sexual to a parrot. Stroking a parrot's back, running your hand over their wings, stroking their belly etc is basically courting behaviour or even gives the parrot the impression that you are having sex with them. As most parrots are intensely monogamous, they will not take kindly to you being affectionate with anyone else and may even attack other people or animals if they perceive them as rivals for your affections. As human with a job, you simply cannot provide the 24/7 devotion that a parrot would expect of its mate. Cuddling and stroking a parrot is basically setting you both up for unhappiness, hormonal behaviours and a high chance of aggression.

Appropriate areas to touch on a parrot are its head and its feet. Most parrots enjoy headscratches and it's seen as a friendly, non-sexual kind of touch. As a parrot companion, you have to live with that restriction and accept it.

If you want a pet to cuddle and stroke, please don't get a parrot.
 

Davi

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Bear in mind that this is not typical bird behaviour. Most parrots are busy, active, curious birds. It's a good idea to encourage that independence: your parrot will be alone for much of the day, and a truly velcro bird would be terribly lonely.

In addition, most forms of touch are intensely sexual to a parrot. Stroking a parrot's back, running your hand over their wings, stroking their belly etc is basically courting behaviour or even gives the parrot the impression that you are having sex with them. As most parrots are intensely monogamous, they will not take kindly to you being affectionate with anyone else and may even attack other people or animals if they perceive them as rivals for your affections. As human with a job, you simply cannot provide the 24/7 devotion that a parrot would expect of its mate. Cuddling and stroking a parrot is basically setting you both up for unhappiness, hormonal behaviours and a high chance of aggression.

Appropriate areas to touch on a parrot are its head and its feet. Most parrots enjoy headscratches and it's seen as a friendly, non-sexual kind of touch. As a parrot companion, you have to live with that restriction and accept it.

If you want a pet to cuddle and stroke, please don't get a parrot.
This is a great reminder! I mean, imagine if a big giant started running its fingers all over you while talking sweetly to you. Yes, very WEIRD indeed. :lol:
 
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