Conures VS Other Parrots

[Faraaz]

Hello Everyone,

I am debating if to get a new parrot or not but before I do I am trying to figure out what species I want to get before. So far my heart is set on a Conure but I want to be open to other parrots such as Greys and Capes. Does anyone have a Conure? What are your opinions? Are they playful animals?

[marie83]

I've had 2 conure, my first was a peach front, very playful, very loud at dusk, dawn and random intervals in the day, he never bit me once in the 6 years we had him, not even a nip. He was a rehome given up because his prev owners kid developed allergies. George wasn't affectionate at all though he hated to be touched. His personality was so steady, he was exactly the same from day to day- no mood swings not even at breeding season. He died young from an accident with a toy He was a chewer so we went through quite a few toys despite him being a small bird.

Our green cheek Ollie is a complete cuddle bug though and wants 24/7 attention, we had to teach him to be independent. He can also be very very nippy at times but we have mostly trained that out of him now, when he does bite it can really hurt and sometimes draw blood. He can be pretty temperamental, you never know from one minute to the next what kind of mood he will be in, he can be pretty hard to read with his body language but if I'm paying attention I can read him pretty well now. He is mostly quiet, or chatters quietly to himself but when he does go off on one he can be very loud- it never lasts long though. Ollie rarely ever chews, he will tear up paper occasionally, he chews soft wood at breeding season but leave it alone the rest of the time so he is fairly cheap toy wise since I have a good supply I can just rotate them round.

Both birds were social with anyone, I found they switch loyalties quite a lot depending on who is paying them the most attention lol.

**edit** Just to add I saw you have budgies- keep them well apart at all times and don't let them perch on each others cages, the conures can be bullies and are a lot stronger than the budgies despite their small size.

[Faraaz]

I've had 2 conure, my first was a peach front, very playful, very loud at dusk, dawn and random intervals in the day, he never bit me once in the 6 years we had him, not even a nip. He was a rehome given up because his prev owners kid developed allergies. George wasn't affectionate at all though he hated to be touched. His personality was so steady, he was exactly the same from day to day- no mood swings not even at breeding season. He died young from an accident with a toy He was a chewer so we went through quite a few toys despite him being a small bird.

Our green cheek Ollie is a complete cuddle bug though and wants 24/7 attention, we had to teach him to be independent. He can also be very very nippy at times but we have mostly trained that out of him now, when he does bite it can really hurt and sometimes draw blood. He can be pretty temperamental, you never know from one minute to the next what kind of mood he will be in, he can be pretty hard to read with his body language but if I'm paying attention I can read him pretty well now. He is mostly quiet, or chatters quietly to himself but when he does go off on one he can be very loud- it never lasts long though. Ollie rarely ever chews, he will tear up paper occasionally, he chews soft wood at breeding season but leave it alone the rest of the time so he is fairly cheap toy wise since I have a good supply I can just rotate them round.

Both birds were social with anyone, I found they switch loyalties quite a lot depending on who is paying them the most attention lol.

**edit** Just to add I saw you have budgies- keep them well apart at all times and don't let them perch on each others cages, the conures can be bullies and are a lot stronger than the budgies despite their small size.

Thanks, this helped me a lot. Anyone else have anything else?

[KimberlyAnn]

I also have a Green Cheek Conure and she is just like Marie's. The switching loyalty thing is so true and you can't give them enough attention. In fact, they are Velcro birds. It's not enough to be near you, they want to be on you. Which means they need a lot of out of cage time with your attention. Thankfully, I have long hair so Emmi just hangs on to my pony tail while I do what I need to do around the house. Lol

They are little hams. They will do anything for attention and know exactly how to melt your heart to get what they want. From rolling over to hanging up-side-down to dancing...Emmi dances a lot and sings her name to a beat. She will do this for attention or just because she hears a song that moves her.

Emmi is a pretty good talker and has said well over 20 phrases, but she seems to forget some and move on to others. So I would say she says more like 10-12 things. She seems to use short cuts too. "Are you ready?" Has turned into "Ready?" Also, their voices are very small, quiet, and robotic. I'm positive she can say more, I just can't understand her. They do speak in context. If she needs to go and we are not near a perch, she looks around and says, "Go potty! Go potty!" Before taking off to find a perch.

Emmi is very eager to learn tricks. She gets so excited when she masters one. All I need to do is touch her treat jar and I can see all her tricks without asking. Lol

They are FAST! Emmi can run really really fast. She can fly even faster. She is very very good at getting to something she should not have, before I can even comprehend she's there. Lol

Watch out when they get mad. They bite to kill. Lol It can draw blood, but they are very small compared to a bigger bird. They can be trained out of it and we have trained her somewhat. They give good signs they are about to bite though. Emmi gets low and fans her tail a little to a lot. I've static shocked her a few times by accident and she's gone into attack mode and won't give up. She has chased me around the room for this! I don't blame her! Lol

Emmi is pretty quiet, but we do give her a lot of attention so no need for contact calling. In fact. She's learned to use a bell to call to us (we taught her that by coming to her when she rings it. I've heard that they can get loud, but it's still not as loud as a Sun Conure.

But if you are looking for a bird that loves to cuddle, is friendly with everyone in the house, and who can be a constant buddy...a GGC is the way to go. They really are a big bird personality in a small package. But I agree with Marie. Emmi would attack Parakeets if annoyed too much. They can be bullies with small birds I've heard. I totally believe it.

Edited to say: Please see my responce on your other post, "My next bird!" I was not aware you were having trouble with your parakeets and I do hope you give them a chance before you get another bird. I'm sure you will very happy with them if you try a little harder to gain their trust. Good luck!

[Faraaz]

I also have a Green Cheek Conure and she is just like Marie's. The switching loyalty thing is so true and you can't give them enough attention. In fact, they are Velcro birds. It's not enough to be near you, they want to be on you. Which means they need a lot of out of cage time with your attention. Thankfully, I have long hair so Emmi just hangs on to my pony tail while I do what I need to do around the house. Lol

They are little hams. They will do anything for attention and know exactly how to melt your heart to get what they want. From rolling over to hanging up-side-down to dancing...Emmi dances a lot and sings her name to a beat. She will do this for attention or just because she hears a song that moves her.

Emmi is a pretty good talker and has said well over 20 phrases, but she seems to forget some and move on to others. So I would say she says more like 10-12 things. She seems to use short cuts too. "Are you ready?" Has turned into "Ready?" Also, their voices are very small, quiet, and robotic. I'm positive she can say more, I just can't understand her. They do speak in context. If she needs to go and we are not near a perch, she looks around and says, "Go potty! Go potty!" Before taking off to find a perch.

Emmi is very eager to learn tricks. She gets so excited when she masters one. All I need to do is touch her treat jar and I can see all her tricks without asking. Lol

They are FAST! Emmi can run really really fast. She can fly even faster. She is very very good at getting to something she should not have, before I can even comprehend she's there. Lol

Watch out when they get mad. They bite to kill. Lol It can draw blood, but they are very small compared to a bigger bird. They can be trained out of it and we have trained her somewhat. They give good signs they are about to bite though. Emmi gets low and fans her tail a little to a lot. I've static shocked her a few times by accident and she's gone into attack mode and won't give up. She has chased me around the room for this! I don't blame her! Lol

Emmi is pretty quiet, but we do give her a lot of attention so no need for contact calling. In fact. She's learned to use a bell to call to us (we taught her that by coming to her when she rings it. I've heard that they can get loud, but it's still not as loud as a Sun Conure.

But if you are looking for a bird that loves to cuddle, is friendly with everyone in the house, and who can be a constant buddy...a GGC is the way to go. They really are a big bird personality in a small package. But I agree with Marie. Emmi would attack Parakeets if annoyed too much. They can be bullies with small birds I've heard. I totally believe it.

Edited to say: Please see my responce on your other post, "My next bird!" I was not aware you were having trouble with your parakeets and I do hope you give them a chance before you get another bird. I'm sure you will very happy with them if you try a little harder to gain their trust. Good luck!

Thanks for your response! Emmi sounds like a very nice birdy.

Edit: I have responded to your post on the other topic.

[KimberlyAnn]

Thanks! I do understand now. It's very hard to see what people are trying to say when they only write a few sentences lol.

So parakeets are not the type of bird you were exactly hoping for, I'm sorry for that, but I see you do love them. Take your time researching parrots and keep spending time with your keets. In a few months to a year, you will make the best decision for you and your home. Just remember with another bird, it will be more time sucked away from your life. That's my thought anyway, if I got a bird that I could not have around Emmi. That's why I'm taking a long time to get another bird. I just don't have the time for two, if they don't get along.

[AnarchoBoxer]

I actually think GCC bites are scarier than the African grey bites I've received. Take that however you want to. lol