Contemplating a Conure, worried about hormones?

[Animalfarmville]

Hi all.

New to the forum here, but I've been doing a lot of reading on it the last few days about various species of parrots that I'm looking over. I think I've come down to choosing between a cockatiel or a conure of some sort. I've owned cockatiels and budgies in the past, but something about conures seemed to catch my eye. They seemed like not too difficult a species to commit to, but from reading through the forum, something has worried me, which are bird hormones when they reach maturity.

I don't know if I never noticed this in my previous cockatiels, (I had gotten pretty accustomed to bites, and I usually assumed the bird was cranky if it was overly nippy), but it seems like a conure can get pretty vicious when it grows up. I did more reading on hormones with parrot species, and some of the anecdotes I've read make some of these creatures seem like real terrors. If I decide to get a bird, it won't be for another year or so, as I'd like to learn a little more about certain species and get things thought out a bit more, but I thought joining this forum would help me figure these thing out.

Which brings me to my main question, which is more information about hormones in parrots, conures specifically. I read up on keeping down protein, maintaining good levels of darkness and exercise, but I'm still unsure on some things. Like, how does gender affect them when they begin to go through hormonal changes? Do some people recommend one gender over another? What are general tips and things that some of you more experienced owners do when birds begin to get hormonal? Is a certain species of conure generally more mellow or are all these questions not applicable due to the individuality with parrot species?

Apologies in advance if I posted in the wrong forum/made some other new guy mistake!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,

[shiraartain]

Hello! I have a conure myself, but just like you my previous experience is mainly with cockatiels and budgies and he is my first conure. He's going through his first moult and is approximately 11 months old. So far, things are going smoothly for us, but my conure's personality (so far) is that he is not a one person bird. While he preferred my father in the beginning, he will greet and cuddle with everyone as they come home and then after greeting you he will go to whomever he is in the mood to hang out with. He has a very strong personality, but he is sweet as long as he is content. He gets nippy when he's hungry and that's when he goes to his cage for food. Houseguests are 50/50. Sometimes he will be fine and like them, and other times he will hate them.

Different conure species are very different!!! I can tell you this for certain. A friend of mine has a sun conure who is very loud (gives me headaches. There are always exceptions to every rule, of course) and definitely a one person bird. He only likes her mother, and will come out to bite you if you sit on the couch next to his cage. Another friend of mine purchased a blue crown conure a few months ago that was too much for her to handle. The bird figured out how to unlock its cage and was extremely willful. My friend was on the fence about reselling her, then in the end realized she was allergic to the bird and had to give her away anyways.

Adoption is always the best option, and if you adopt a bird it will have passed puberty- its personality will already have developed and you will be able to see its "fully developed version", if you will.

[Wolf]

I agree that the best way to go is through adoption and you get to look at probably more birds and allow the right bird to choose you. Although you may find some behavioral problems in and adopted bird to begin with, many are only there due to the original owners not knowing enough about their bird when they got it and are perfect just as they are. And the feeling that you get from the bird that chooses you and wants to be with you surpasses my ability to describe.
Your questions are valid albeit somewhat difficult to answer. These answers are dependent on a lot of factors beginning with the birds personality and then the list grows based on what the bird has already gone through and then there is the matter of your husbandry skills and practices. So the answers are somewhat variable.
I don't have any conures and the closest that I have is a Senegal parrot. The differences that your husbandry and their own personality can make are illustrated by the fact that although Senegals are know to not like other birds with their chosen human, my Kiki allows my parrotlet and my Grey to both perch on me with her at the same time. This is not a thing that is very common with this species of bird.
I don't know if this will help you or not , but I hope it will.

[Pajarita]

Conures are like any other bird, if you keep them the way Nature meant for them to live, you have no problems with hormones. The problem with most pet birds out there is that they are not kept right (strict solar schedule with full exposure to dawn and dusk, good quality full spectrum light, fresh food diet, reduction of protein during the resting season, etc). They might get a bit more feisty during breeding season but a bird who loves you will not bite you during this time, quite the contrary, it will become more affectionate. The 'feistiness' shows in the fact that they are more jealous of your attentions than the rest of the year. It's only overly hormonal birds (sexually frustrated) that bite the owner during breeding season. And who can blame them, poor things!

[Animalfarmville]

Wow, this information has been absolutely awesome. Thanks so much for each and every response, all! Also, I didn't know much about bird adoption, but that's something I'll definitely look into, especially since I won't be getting this bird for some time. Also, I'm glad to see that husbandry and routine seems to be a bigger factor than anything else.

Anyways, more learning to do, but again, can't thank you all enough for the wonderful responses and information.

Cheers,

[Wolf]

One of the great things about adopting from a bird rescue is that if you have enough time you can volunteer and gain some valuable hands on experience with these birds. It is a great way to learn and prepare for having a bird living with you.