Hello

[The_StewieB]

Hello I'm new to the forums and to owning a parrotparrot. I do not currently own one as of this moment I'm still looking. However I had a cockatiel in the past and I was lost on what I was doing, my mom helped me out so much and I still felt like a bad owner. Now being much older and more mature I'm ready to take the time to do it right. My original plan was to go back to cockatiel's as they are usually friendly and fun birds. Recently I have found a beautiful conure or what I think is a conure. The only problem with this conure is I found him/her at a petco miles from where I live although he looks healthy and properly groomed ( no discharge from nose or eyes, eyes look normal, nails have been clipped, feathers are nice and neat, playful and lively). I would like to know if its worth it to even bother or still just worth the wait to find a breeder. Last thing since I'm still learning about parrots what are the best ways to tell the age and the gender of a conure/cockatiel. Second last thing which do you guys recommend cockatiel or conure. Thanks please reply to any question you can answer, it would be a huge help.

[Pajarita]

Well, I would never recommend buying from a petstore or a breeder, I will always recommend adopting, especially for people who has no prior experience. As to conure or cockatiel, it depends on many things. A conure needs a lot of time 365 days a year, they tend to be quite noisy and become nippy, bitey and/or screamers if not treated right while a cockatiel is mild-mannered and usually quiet but it needs to be with another cockatiel instead of been a human pet.