I came across this forum by accident and just had to join up so I can share my own Conure story.
My baby Mordi is now just over 9 years old, and I've had since a few days after she was weaned and as such she is the most cuddly, human-like parrot I've ever seen. She loves nothing more than snuggling in under my chin and falling asleep, or perching on my knee whilst watching TV - she is currently quite taken with the series Arrow!
For the first number of years, she was a one person parrot, I was Mum and everyone else was horrible according to her, but she took a surprising change when I started taking her to Board Boarding in Kinglake, and she was exposed to other birds and lots of new people. When I went to pick her up a week later, she didn't want to come out of her cage and had to be bribed out! Since then, she loves meeting new people, especially men with beards, they always get treated to a special beard preen if they sit still for long enough.
It is interesting though, as she does not talk and hates fruit and veges, other than corn and the occasional greenery. I keep trying, but at the end of the day, she is a healthy bird, if not slightly on the tubby side. The one thing I have trained her to do though is to go to the toilet (in the actual toilet) each morning. I was sick of the mess her morning poops made of the cage, so I decided to do something about it. She is reward with an almond each time she goes, which is her favorite.
It hasn't always been smooth sailing though, like all Nanday's she has a very loud scream, which has tested my patience more than once. She now has an effective time out, where she gets covered up for a little bit and has a bit of quite time. It often sounds like she is swearing at me when this happens, with a few growls chucked in, and I'm glad she can't see me, because more often that not I'm laughing at her.
Mordi also has issues with self harm, which started at around age 6, she would bite into the skin under her wings and rip huge holes into herself - once she nearly bled out. The Vet said if I'd taken another 30mins to get her to them, she wouldn't have made it.
She now leaves under her wings alone, and has moved onto her claws, and groin area. It's a common occurrence to uncover her night cage and find her claws all bloody, so much so that I've now got taking care of them down to a fine art, and only take her to the Vet when it looks deep. She is currently in a double layer collar, a foam one to keep her from moving her neck to much, and the wide satellite dish that is to stop her from getting to her claws. It sounds mean, but she gets along okay, and it's only until her claws are completely cleared of any scabs.
She is also going to be a big sister at the end of the year - I have my name down for a male Blue Fronted Amazon who will hopefully keep Mordi company during the days when everyone is at work.
To anyone who is thinking about getting a Nanday, and can handle the noise, I'd say go for it. What you'll get is a medium sized bundle of affectionate fun that you can never stay mad at, because the have the puppy dog eyes down to a tee!
I've attached a photo of Mordi in her dual layer collar, I hope it works!