Rehomed

[crmelson]

I've somehow inherited a Conure from a family friend that passed away. No one knows how old it is. The previous owner was single, a smoker, and also had a indoor cat.

*We've never had a bird, don't smoke, and currently have 2 dogs and a cat that are in and out of the house several times a day. The cat seems to help the bird calm down.

Does anyone have suggestions to help it, and us, with this transition?
*How long should I wait before deep cleaning its cage, or moving it into a bigger cage?
*I don't think it was ever handled much.

 

[cosmolove]

Honestly if they smoked near the bird its probably best to gut the cage. So remove all the perches and toys and trash them. Then I would take the cage outside and take a scrub brush and dish soap to it. (Leave the bird inside like in a box if you don't have a travel cage). Smoking puts a nasty film on everything so getting everything changed out is super important.

I usually don't recommend changing out toys and stuff for about a week so you don't stress the bird out but in this case I think it's better to get everything clean. If you can replace any of the toys with identical ones that would be good but honestly conures usually are pretty calm about change so as long as you put some good toys in after they should be fine.

Get a lot of natural wood perches of various types of wood. I'd try to change out the water 2-3 times a day. Hopefully the bird takes baths in the bowl to get any yucky stuff off him/her.

What kind of conure is it?

 

[crmelson]

Jen. Or Sun?

 

[expressmailtome]

Welcome! You have inherited a Jenday conure.

 

[cosmolove]

Awe what a pretty bird, her feathers look a little rough. Hopefully some time and a good diet can help

 

[iamwhoiam]

Very pretty bird. What was he/she eating? You might have to make some changes in your home: no teflon pots or pans, no air fresheners, use bird safe cleaning products such as vinegar and baking soda.
Good luck with your conure and thanks for taking him/her into your home.

 

[ode.to.parrots]

Your bird is gorgeous!!! What's his/her name?

Since your bird lived with a smoker, I recommend that you find an avian vet as soon as possible. Not to mention that a vet would be able to help educate you more about bird care.

I can tell you for experience that learning how to take care of birds on the fly is challenging, and it can be overwhelming at times. But soon enough you'll start forming a bond with your new feathered friend, and it will all be worth it.

Not to mention you have us on the forum to help make the learning curve a little easier to manage.

Keep us updated. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask us any time!

 

[Fritzgerald16]

He/she is gorgeous!
I second the avian vet idea, getting it in for a check up is priority #1 and also deep cleaning that cage! It probably smells nasty, you can deep clean it with dish detergent then mix vinegar and water in a spray bottle, spray down the whole thing, and wipe it off after the initial deep cleaning. It is still warm enough out you can take a power washer to it if you have one

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome to the forum! We too inherited our first bird, and it was kind of a crash course into bird care. Try to take things at the bird's pace. Spend time sitting with him, talking to him, etc. What is his diet like? His feathers are looking kind of rough. And it's probably too soon, but a bath may help too.

 

[Teckechick]

Welcome to the forum and thank you for taking he/she in!! Jenday's are great birds with tons of character and love to share! Like everyone said a good diet will help the feathers and as always a vet check is a good idea especially since he/she was from a smokers house.

Thanks,
Dawn
Owned by Aries