Conure noise level

[seagoatdeb]

I'll be honest with you, I don't believe that pois are better at been by themselves. I think that pois usually don't complain as much as other species but not that they suffer less. The reason why I feel this way is that, going by my own experience and for what I've read about other people's pois and their relationship with them, they appear to imprint very deeply to people - so much so that they are considered one-person birds and, sometimes, it's real hard to get them to accept a mate even when it's the same species and age, and of the opposite gender because all they want is their human. Now, if you ask me, no bird that is THAT much in love with its human can be considered 'independent' enough to be OK hours and hours on its own.

I dont know about Sengals because I was only around one, but with Redbellys they can be alone and play independantly for periods of time better than most other parrots. They fly in very small flocks sometimes only 2 birds, and so they are left alone while the other is hunting or nesting and it is natural for them. At the same time they do bond very strongly and love you deeply.

[Pajarita]

Do you have a link for the small flock comment? I've been looking and looking for reputable sources of wild ARB sightings and I can't find any whatsoever! Everything I find is about captive-bred and very little about the wild ones (and there are huge discrepancies on the information given, too!) so I would really appreciate it if you could give me yours.

[seagoatdeb]

There are sources on the internet because I have found them and also in books. in a general sense you can tell some by the birds color. If they are mostly grey, their color is meant to camaflouge them in their natural environment. so grey or brown they are usually nesting in tree cavities or on the ground under foliage. They usually also have small flocks to not attract attention, although in times of famine, even small flocking birds will flock in larger flocks. If they are green they are usually in leaves a lot and tend to be large flocks. But that is just a generalization. You will have to do your own research, I have not saved links or even books since I started researching red bellies 17 years ago when I got mine I rely on my memory and I am lousy at keeping records or maybe just lazy at records...lol

[seagoatdeb]

I have noticed a big difference between my Senegal I used to have and my Red Belly though. My rehomed rescue Senegal was an older bird and my Red belly was young but I could clearly see differences. The Senegal woud talk but never when company was around. The red belly would chat a lot and even say new things in front of total strangers. The redbelly was a much more independant thinker and decision maker. For example, if you hurt the Redbellys feelings by making her jealous, she will be needing more consideration in another way. For example, She will insist you hand feed her a piece of apple rather than getting it from her wet food bowl, and she is so stubborn, she will not eat if you dont get it for her when she shows you thats what she wants. Then you are forgiven. If you made the Sengal jealous you would get bit so you had to be ready to avoid her bites. Another difference is when they where having fights for top bird type of stuff. The Senegal would peck from the top and the Redbelly would come from the bottom. She won all the fight even being younger and smaller. The Red Belly would back the Senegal up until she quit fighting and would catch every peck she launched at her. I am seeing a replay of that. The couple small squablles between my older redbelly now and the meyers are the same. He comes at her from the top pecking and she is comming from the bottom and she backs him up.The Red Belly is very comfortable on the ground and the Sengal always wanted to be higher than that. I was sure both of them played in their cages though if i was out, I could see what was chewed and what was different. Evven now, I can tell the Red Belly is busy while I am gone. A forging toy will be completely destroyed and the almond eaten when I get home.

[Pajarita]

I have been doing research on ARBs for a year now (I do a couple of hours of research almost every day) but found one single reference of the small flocks you mentioned -although they said four birds of the same family- and it wasn't a reputable one at that. That's why I was asking for yours.

I am sure that your observations are correct but, in my personal experience and for what I know about field biologists work, observing a single individual of a species tells us more about the individual bird than the species in general. Parrots have such distinct individual personalities and quirks that one would not know if what one is observing is a generic species behavior or an idiosyncrasy of the bird we are watching. For example, my experience is completely different from yours. I've had four senegals, one male and three females, and although the male was a holy terror when he first came, he no longer bites (he is now on my lap, pushing his head against my elbow asking for head scritches) while the hens were all three the sweetest, sweetest things to me (never a single bite) and they all liked going to ground all the time- so much so that this has become a problem with the male because I have to constantly tell him to get off the floor. On the other hand, I've never ever seen Isis, the ARB, on the floor, her 'thing' is to fly around, up and down the stairs from the first to the third floor and has her favorite 'perching spots' on each floor but all of them are high (the top of the cardinals cage in the living room, the top of the door between the canary room and the kitchen, the top of the fridge in the kitchen, the frame of a picture my husband has in his study so she can chew it up, and, on the second floor, the shower curtain rod in the bathroom, the top shelf in the dressing room and the rail of the stairs). But, in all honesty, I can't really give an opinion on ARBs behaviors because I only have the one female and, again, if I went by her, my conclusions would be the opposite of yours because my senegals seem to be much fiercer than her -especially my female which I have to watch like a hawk or she will pick a fight with the ARB given half a chance -and win even though she is smaller! And my GCC hen would not only confront her but also make her back up whenever she tried to bully Pablo, her handicapped boyfriend... I guess my Isis is a bit of pushover compared to your redbelly

[seagoatdeb]

Your Isis probaly IS a pushover compared to my Red Belly. Red Bellys keep developing character, the older they get, so she will change a lot I have always had my parrots in the living room and they are like family to me. Gaugan has always walked and climbed more than she flys. And she picks hard challenging routes, not the easy ones. She is also variable with what she does. She will often fly to me from certain locations, but other times she will dance and make little vocalizations and wants me to go get her. The Meyers is liking going on the floor, but it is more likely him wanting to copy the older Red Belly. He watches everything she does, and at the next opportunity he tries to copy it. I have made good use of that habit to socialize him and he is progressing in leaps and bounds. His vocalizations which were lovely chirps and songs have now become chirps and songs with a lot of speaking he learned from Gaugan the Red Belly. His vocabulary is amazing for his age, but thats the benefit of having a bird teach you. My Red Belly is very sweet to me, but she is definately one with a mind of her own and lots of attitude. She is a very good communicater and leaves little doubt in any ones mind of what she means...lol... She always shows appreciation to everyone if she likes what they do with a little kiss. (i think she may be training us...lol) She does dances of excitemment if she likes what you are telling her or if you whistle to her. She does dances of her moods. For example I saw her looking at the Meyers cage and I could see she was thinking of going over there, and she knows other birds cages are off limits. So I said to her, Dont even think about it Gaugan and she did a little dance of exasperation...lol When I am spending time with the Meyers and then walk over somewhere she will do a dance following my movements to let me know she doesnt approve. Luckily she cant resist sweet talk and melts if you sweet talk her. She is definatley a creature of many moods. Her playfullnes is also amazing she will play fight with me, flipping herself upside down and right over in my hands, absolutey fearless, and expecting me to catch her everytime. Because she used to just suddenly flip and you could miss catching her I started making a clucking sound when we play to clue her in that I am ready to catch her. She knows how to play you emotionally too. When I am petting her while she is laying on my chest with her beak on my chin, if I need to stop she will say, ...love you.....in a voice that could melt anyones heart. She has always needed a lot of physical contact from the time she was a baby.

[Pajarita]

Well, you also have to take into consideration that your redbelly has been clipped all her life so her walking rather than flying and her liking going to ground could easily be a consequence of her inability to achieve vertical flight while Isis has always been fully flighted.

And, yes, I am fully aware of how much they change as they get older... It's one of the things I tell people all the time.

[seagoatdeb]

Where did you get the idea she has been clipped all her life. She has been flighted all her life. But some times not quite fully flighted depending on conditions. I do a very modest clip right now because it is too easy to get to the kitchen. So she does have lots of ability to fly at the moment, but I dont have to put her back in the cage everytime we cook. She is left out all day usually. I also never towel her when I clip. She offers her wing and I do the smallest at a time. But she can turn corners and she can fly vertically for some distance. I also never clip her nails, but use an emery board and do a little at a time. She is good at flying too, I had to leave her in victoria for a few months. when we moved to Kelowna. I left her with my middle daughter who she knows well. She was fully flighted at the time. It was a 4th floor apartmet. They left a window open one day and she flew out the window. My daughter ran outside to get her but she flew back in when she was ready. Thankfully!!!!! My windows here are all screened so that will never happen!!!

[Pajarita]

Well, I don't mean to contradict you but a clipped bird is not fully flighted. Clipping does take away their vertical flight and, sometimes, when you clip a bird (even when it's a mild one) regularly for years, they simply do not have the strong muscles or mental ability they need for the vertical flight even when you do allow the remiges to grow normally. For example, Codee, my GCC, is not fully flighted even though she is not clipped. She has had all her primaries for years now but, when she was a young bird before she came to me, she was clipped (a mild one, too) so now she doesn't do vertical flight, only horizontal or gliding. Flight, for a bird, is more than just the physical capacity to fly from strong muscles and long and supple tendons, it requires neural paths that, when not built timely, never do.

[seagoatdeb]

Well Gaugan can fly out a side opening window, that is only partially open, fly up to nest in a tree, then fly to another tree and then fly back in that same window. So she is a good flyer. I am just so greatfull she flew back in. They didnt tell me about it untill she was back. I dont think you can generalize either, some birds are more robust than others. I couldnt cotrol their baby clips when they were first brought home, but I make sure the clips the few times I have clipped are very moderate. For your GCC to not have any flight but gliding and horizontal means the breeder never allowed the bird free flight before the clip. That is not right to do, any good breeder makes sure they have flight first and only gives a baby clip when going to a new home. Sorry to hear that.