Sun-sized Hybrid Conure

[Navre]

A kind-of local mom and pop pet store took in a Hybrid Conure this week. She (probably) is about the size of a sun conure, and is dark green with orange patches here and there.

They didn't know much about her yet. She was dropped off by a family member of the former owner. She is closed banded with a 1995 band. She is fully flighted. The sex is just a guess by me. (male birds try to bite me, female birds try to go home with me....come to think of it, it's the same thing with people)

The guy at the store said that they had recently had some Sun-Day conures, and this bird did not look like one of them.

My main question is, how long can a bird like this be expected to live? She is already 20, which is both way above and way below the life expectancy of a captive conure, depending on what you read.

I was honestly thinking about taking her, but I don't want to take a bird in, and have my conure possibly get attached, if the bird is in her last year of life, or something. My bird also has some sort of infection which has not yet been rectified, but that's a different problem.

[Navre]

I didn't take a picture. I should have taken a picture.

[Pajarita]

How long the bird will live depends on the care it received in the past and that's impossible to judge accurately because people lie through their teeth and always portray themselves as much better owners than they really were (a super complete physical is the only way to know how healthy the bird is and we are talking about $400 - $500 worth). Personally, I would seriously doubt a bird that is given to a petstore for reselling at 20 years of age was well-taken care of because if they had really cared about the bird, they would have looked to rehome it to the right place. Abandoning a poor old bird to a petstore is pretty much the worse thing you can do to it!

You seem to be very actively looking for a second bird and I think that's great but I would strongly suggest you postpone the search for when you know for a fact the health problems of yours are taken care of for good.

[Navre]

I agree. Introducing a new bird into the house before I am sure of the health of Ocean is not fair to either bird.

I am supposed to bird sit a cockatiel for 2 weeks in June. I hope things are straightened out by then.

[Pajarita]

Mind you, it's not only a matter of fairness, it's a matter of potential contagion (always more acute when the immune system is overworked) and stress (inevitable when a new bird comes to the house and which would affect negatively his recuperation).