Can’t decide on a bird species

[ztuiasoa]

Hi my name is Zion, I’ve been thinking about getting a bird for a while. I’ve had parakeets for 12 years and am ready to try a different breed. My boyfriend had a dusky conure and he’s the sweetest. 8 months old and is already very attached to him. I’m trying to find a companion bird. I’ve been looking into getting a sun conure or ringneck. I know they’re both very different birds. I’m looking for a bird that’s more on the cuddly side but also very intelligent. I’d like a best friend that bonds to me. However I’m having trouble deciding between the two breeds. I know every bird is different. Is there one breed that would be easier to bond with and train? What’re your thoughts on this?


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[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Hello Zion and welcome to PP
I cannot help you choose because I only have experience of our Amazon parrot but I wanted to suggest that you check out any rescue centres near you. There are many birds who's guardians are no longer able to care for them for various reasons like illness or infirmity and it would be wonderful if you could give one a new loving home. Just make sure that you are not persuaded to take an unsuitable bird that you would have to return.

[Dragonlady2]

Welcome to the forum. What you want in a bird is everybody’s dream bird. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that the bird you choose will have the characteristics you desire. As babies, birds can be pretty compliant. However, as they go through puberty, their behaviour often changes. My suggestion is to visit rescues, pet stores etc, that have a variety of older birds. You will be able to see for yourself how they behave and find out why the birds are for resale/rehoming. You might also find that a different bird suits you. :th_smile:

[ztuiasoa]

Hello Zion and welcome to PP
I cannot help you choose because I only have experience of our Amazon parrot but I wanted to suggest that you check out any rescue centres near you. There are many birds who's guardians are no longer able to care for them for various reasons like illness or infirmity and it would be wonderful if you could give one a new loving home. Just make sure that you are not persuaded to take an unsuitable bird that you would have to return.

I’m planning on getting from my local rescue as I don’t like to buy from chains and pet shops but all they have right now are younger birds.


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[ztuiasoa]

Welcome to the forum. What you want in a bird is everybody’s dream bird. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that the bird you choose will have the characteristics you desire. As babies, birds can be pretty compliant. However, as they go through puberty, their behaviour often changes. My suggestion is to visit rescues, pet stores etc, that have a variety of older birds. You will be able to see for yourself how they behave and find out why the birds are for resale/rehoming. You might also find that a different bird suits you. :th_smile:

All the birds at my local rescue only have younger birds because people buy out the older birds as we have a lot of bird lovers here. Do you have any suggestions on how to choose a fitting bird despite the breed and more based on personality? I’d like the bird to choose me over me choosing the bird but it seems a little harder when they’re so young. Thanks so much for your replies :) happy to be here


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[Dragonlady2]

For starters, what drew your interest to a sun conure or ringneck?

Even babies have the ability to choose a person they like. See if you can get some experience handling some young birds. You will be able to see the different responses to you.

[rivx]

I don't think any species has a guaranteed behavior but to my knowledge, IRN are not known for being very cuddly (though they are great companions when not bluffing, you don't need to cuddle your best friend!), but I'm not sure how true that is. I only met one and he was very outgoing and playful, great company. A lot of people say let the bird choose you -- within reason, of course, make sure you can afford to care for their species -- and I think that could be a good idea. I'm sure they can connect you with a bird that suits your household if you tell them what you're looking for and you can meet them and see who you connect with :th_smile:

[ztuiasoa]

For starters, what drew your interest to a sun conure or ringneck?

Even babies have the ability to choose a person they like. See if you can get some experience handling some young birds. You will be able to see the different responses to you.

I’ve been doing a lot of research on different kinds of birds other than the ones I’ve always had. The conure Interests me because my boyfriend has one and he’s very cuddly and really silly. Very sweet but a little feisty. Ringnecks seem very intelligent which draws me to them. Those are just the breeds I’ve been looking at but I’m completely open to any other breed. I’d just like to have a bond and connection with the bird which is my top priority. I’ll go to my rescue this week and play around with their feather friends they have there to get a better idea. Thanks so much for the tips :) very much appreciated


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[ztuiasoa]

I don't think any species has a guaranteed behavior but to my knowledge, IRN are not known for being very cuddly (though they are great companions when not bluffing, you don't need to cuddle your best friend!), but I'm not sure how true that is. I only met one and he was very outgoing and playful, great company. A lot of people say let the bird choose you -- within reason, of course, make sure you can afford to care for their species -- and I think that could be a good idea. I'm sure they can connect you with a bird that suits your household if you tell them what you're looking for and you can meet them and see who you connect with :th_smile:

Very good points! I’ve always seen ringnecks acting very silly and playful which I love but I also like to wind down some days and pet my little birdies and have them be close to me. My personality is very calm and cuddly so I’m not sure if that would mesh well with an outgoing bird or if it would be a good change of pace and encourage me to be more outgoing. The only thing I don’t like about what I’ve read and experiences with sun conures is that they are very loud (of course all birds are to an extent) but my boyfriends bird is pretty mellow as far as screaming goes. I don’t mind the loudness but I also am thinking of going for a more vocally mellow bird


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[rivx]

Conures are indeed very silly. Never met one who wasn't a total goofball, lol. They can pack quite the screech, though, that's true. I don't own one, so I can't say I have any real experience, though... just a little 'tiel here! They've also got quite the character on them, known for the head scratches it seems. I find they're often underestimated. :th_wink: They're all little individuals, though. I hope you find your fid soon. :heart:

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Zion, I applaud your attitude - if only everyone had your common sense when deciding they want a bird in their home :)
If you can manage it and they will let you, spend more time at the rescue getting to know the characters there and maybe helping out a bit. It will be time well invested.

[Dragonlady2]

Sun conures belong to the Aratinga genus of conures. They are more noisy than conures in the Pyrrhura genus. I have heard the screech of a sun and I know I personally could not manage that pitch and loudness. My Crimson bellied conure belongs to the Pyrrhura genus. He definitely is quieter and more laid back.
As to intelligence, I personally think all birds are intelligent and each have their strengths. It depends on what our expectations of them.

[ztuiasoa]

Conures are indeed very silly. Never met one who wasn't a total goofball, lol. I don't own one, though, just a little 'tiel! They've also got quite the character on them, known for the head scratches it seems. Birds are individuals, though, so that's always something to keep in mind. :heart:

You’re right that’s another thing I’ve been having to remind myself of. Birds have their own individual personalities.


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[ztuiasoa]

Zion, I applaud your attitude - if only everyone had your common sense when deciding they want a bird in their home :)
If you can manage it and they will let you, spend more time at the rescue getting to know the characters there and maybe helping out a bit. It will be time well invested.

I will take your advice and do so! Not sure why I hadn’t thought of that before. Thank you so much for your helpful tips and knowledge :)


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[ztuiasoa]

Sun conures belong to the Aratinga genus of conures. They are more noisy than conures in the Pyrrhura genus. I have heard the screech of a sun and I know I personally could not manage that pitch and loudness. My Crimson bellied conure belongs to the Pyrrhura genus. He definitely is quieter and more laid back.
As to intelligence, I personally think all birds are intelligent and each have their strengths. It depends on what our expectations of them.

Yes I should’ve added that conures are as well just as intelligent as all birds are. Hopefully I’ll be able to spend some time with these different breeds and get to know if I can handle the loudness of the sun conure or not


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[ILoveBirbs]

I don't have one, but I think green-cheeked conures are kind of cuddly and nice? I've only seen them on Youtube videos, like Jontron's Jacques and JaidenAnimations's Ari. It might be how they're trained though, because I've seen a video where Jontron says his other green-cheeked conure (Cinnamon) isn't like Jacques. Like, Cinnamon would be mean to both Jon and Jacques at times, biting and nipping at them. He said he trained them the exact same way, but she turned out different haha (But he's said that the two birds get along, so I guess Cinnamon is the dominant one??)
And idk too much about Ari, but from what I've seen of him, he seems pretty nice ^^ Jaiden loves him, but she says he's a brat at times. But I think all birds can be like that. I know mine (a Cockatiel) can be! lol

I hope you find the perfect bird for you soon! :)

[ztuiasoa]

I don't have one, but I think green-cheeked conures are kind of cuddly and nice? I've only seen them on Youtube videos, like Jontron's Jacques and JaidenAnimations's Ari. It might be how they're trained though, because I've seen a video where Jontron says his other green-cheeked conure (Cinnamon) isn't like Jacques. Like, Cinnamon would be mean to both Jon and Jacques at times, biting and nipping at them. He said he trained them the exact same way, but she turned out different haha (But he's said that the two birds get along, so I guess Cinnamon is the dominant one??)
And idk too much about Ari, but from what I've seen of him, he seems pretty nice ^^ Jaiden loves him, but she says he's a brat at times. But I think all birds can be like that. I know mine (a Cockatiel) can be! lol

I hope you find the perfect bird for you soon! :)

Thank you so much for the input! My boyfriends dusky conure is sweet but he’s going through bluffing rn so he’s such a brat to me. But it could also be the fact that he’s just bonded with my boyfriend [emoji23]


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[ztuiasoa]

Hey everyone! I called my rescue to ask questions about their birds but nothing seemed fit. I even went in a few times to see their birds. But yesterday I got lucky. I’ve found a really awesome bird online. He’s an Eclectus Parrot, a bit older. He might just be the perfect fit. Found him on ksl and I’ll be getting him next Friday. He’s really timid but I think with a lot of love and training and trust he’ll turn out to be an amazing companion! They say he’s really healthy which is great to hear! I want to thank everyone for the help, tips, and information. You’ve all been so awesome and I really appreciate you all taking the time. Will be back with more updates on the little guy :) [Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]


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[Dragonlady2]

Congrats. Looking forward to hearing more about him. How old is he?

[ztuiasoa]

Congrats. Looking forward to hearing more about him. How old is he?

She said she wasn’t quite sure but she said over a few years old


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[Casper's 2nd best friend]

How cute, I bet you are excited :)
But you also need to be prepared.
Have you sorted the locality out your nearest avian veterinary clinic, it is best to be one step ahead in case of accidents/problems and a general health check up for him once he has settled in would be sensible. The vet can also advise on diet and cleaning products.
Has the seller given a plausible reason for wanting to put the bird up for adoption? They may not be telling you the whole truth and there maybe medical problems that they do not wish to finance.

When Casper chose to live with us we were not sure of his age so tried asking at the vet clinics near his previous home if they had any records... and bingo, we were amazed that after a few seconds clack clack clacking on the keyboard we had his hatch date :)

[ztuiasoa]

How cute, I bet you are excited :)
But you also need to be prepared.
Have you sorted the locality out your nearest avian veterinary clinic, it is best to be one step ahead in case of accidents/problems and a general health check up for him once he has settled in would be sensible. The vet can also advise on diet and cleaning products.
Has the seller given a plausible reason for wanting to put the bird up for adoption? They may not be telling you the whole truth and there maybe medical problems that they do not wish to finance.

When Casper chose to live with us we were not sure of his age so tried asking at the vet clinics near his previous home if they had any records... and bingo, we were amazed that after a few seconds clack clack clacking on the keyboard we had his hatch date :)

Thank you, yes I am prepared to take him to the vet once he settles.
The seller has 5 kids and just had a brand new baby. She doesn’t have the time the bird needs from her so she’s selling him. I trust she’s telling the truth but will also be ready to make sure he’s healthy!


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[Casper's 2nd best friend]

I would have sold some of the kids :pinkgrin:

[ztuiasoa]

I would have sold some of the kids :pinkgrin:

Hahahahah right?! Birds are so much better than kids


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[rivx]

How beautiful! I hope all goes well!! Best get some frozen chop ready, ekkies eat a ton of veg to my knowledge. Absolutely lovely birds, fantastic choice. :th_biggrin:

[ztuiasoa]

How beautiful! I hope all goes well!! Best get some frozen chop ready, ekkies eat a ton of veg to my knowledge. Absolutely lovely birds, fantastic choice. :th_biggrin:

Thank you! I brought him home last night. He’s been very timid but LOVES to get super close to my face and just stare at me. He will let me know he doesn’t wanna be touched by saying “no bite” or “no thanks”. He nips a little. Not very hard but I’m still trying to teach him not to bite. So far he’s let me pet his head feathers a little but we’re still gaining trust. His first owners abused him and didn’t feed him fresh foods so it’s gonna be a trial and error teaching him to eat veggies and fruits. I mix it with his regular seed and pellets in hopes he’ll grow to like them and try em out. He HATES men but luckily he’s okay with my boyfriend feeding him little treats and being near him.


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[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Congratulations, I hope he settles in soon. They can be persuaded that men can be nice really, it took Casper about six months but it was worth the pain :)

No Thanks! What a polite bird. :loveit:

[ztuiasoa]

Congratulations, I hope he settles in soon. They can be persuaded that men can be nice really, it took Casper about six months but it was worth the pain :)
What a polite bird. :loveit:

Thank you! He seems to be doing better than all my previous birds as far as settling in. Did you ever have problems with nippy birds? If so do you have any tips or tricks you used to help them stop biting and get more comfortable? His previous owners said he would nip all the time and ever really attempted to wean him off of it.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

The beak is a birds way of communicating... either by noise or touch.
Casper knows exactly how hard to bite in order to draw blood. But he stopped doing that when he got us trained properly :)
Fortunately he doesn't bite that hard any more but we will occasionally get a nip if he thinks we deserve it (but for reasons that are not explained to us).
We also get nips when we are not paying attention and he wants neck scritches, or he attacks our hands when we are trying to type, or if he is on the floor wanting to be picked up he nibbles at our toes.
And then there is boisterous play, he loves to bite the webs of fingers.
None of it really hard and if he does hurt us he gets told off and put back in his cage. Which should make him realise we are not pleased but sometimes when he mimics the telling off it is hard not to laugh.

[ztuiasoa]

The beak is a birds way of communicating... either by noise or touch.
Casper knows exactly how hard to bite in order to draw blood. But he stopped doing that when he got us trained properly :)
Fortunately he doesn't bite that hard any more but we will occasionally get a nip if he thinks we deserve it (but for reasons that are not explained to us).
We also get nips when we are not paying attention and he wants neck scritches, or he attacks our hands when we are trying to type, or if he is on the floor wanting to be picked up he nibbles at our toes.
And then there is boisterous play, he loves to bite the webs of fingers.
None of it really hard and if he does hurt us he gets told off and put back in his cage. Which should make him realise we are not pleased but sometimes when he mimics the telling off it is hard not to laugh.

Did you get Casper trained by someone or did you do it yourself? I’d like to train my birb boy but I’m used to training smaller birds and haven’t figured out his specific body language yet. Yoshi only nips me but he bites my boyfriend to the point of drawing blood (his men issues). our conure doesn’t bite he only preens us and I want to get to that point with Yoshi.
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[Dragonlady2]

Please don’t take this the wrong way...be extremely cautious when letting both birds out together. They haven’t had time to get used to each other yet. There is a huge size difference and one bite from the Eclectus can do serious damage to the conure.

[ztuiasoa]

Please don’t take this the wrong way...be extremely cautious when letting both birds out together. They haven’t had time to get used to each other yet. There is a huge size difference and one bite from the Eclectus can do serious damage to the conure.

Yes I do know this thank you. I babysit and watch carefully when they’re both out. They don’t get left unattended. I was very worried about that too. The Eclectus was raised with other small birds and lived in the same cage with a budgie so I’m trying to introduce them slowly by putting their cages next to each other. So far they haven’t shown interest in each other but I’ll keep working with them.


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[ztuiasoa]

I finally figured out why Yoshi was getting so close to my face. He wanted to step onto my shoulder to interact with me. I tried it today and he kept giving my lips a lil peck and making a kissing noise. I thought it would take him longer to warm up enough to get to that point but he already acts very comfortable :) I’m excited about this though still working on full trust always.


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[Casper's 2nd best friend]

There was no actual training with Casper, more a case of getting to know each other. He didn't trust or like male humans because of the situation in his previous home. The epiphany came one evening, he was on Margaret's lap and she was giving him head scritches. He was enjoying it so much that he relaxed and had his eyes shut so I reached over and carried on with the tickles and teasing the casings off some pin feathers. He opened his eyes and realised it was me doing really nice things and from that point on the bites became less and less hurtful as he grew in confidence. I took till about six months after he moved in here.
There is no question of him being a one person bird, he makes sure to spend time with both of us, after a time with me in the armchair he will look across at Margaret and keep saying hello until we both reach out and join hands and he walks across the bridge.

[ztuiasoa]

There was no actual training with Casper, more a case of getting to know each other. He didn't trust or like male humans because of the situation in his previous home. The epiphany came one evening, he was on Margaret's lap and she was giving him head scritches. He was enjoying it so much that he relaxed and had his eyes shut so I reached over and carried on with the tickles and teasing the casings off some pin feathers. He opened his eyes and realised it was me doing really nice things and from that point on the bites became less and less hurtful as he grew in confidence. I took till about six months after he moved in here.
There is no question of him being a one person bird, he makes sure to spend time with both of us, after a time with me in the armchair he will look across at Margaret and keep saying hello until we both reach out and join hands and he walks across the bridge.

He sounds like such a sweetheart! I guess it’ll just take time with yoshi as well. He bit my face last night when I tried putting him back in his cage for bedtime which was so upsetting :( and left me with a large swollen cheek this morning. Time will tell hopefully like Casper with you


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[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Casper did have to be reminded several times about 'no biting' after Margaret had a day out in London and didn't take him :)
She did get some excellent photos of the feral parakeets in central London though.

[ztuiasoa]

Casper did have to be reminded several times about 'no biting' after Margaret had a day out in London and didn't take him :)
She did get some excellent photos of the feral parakeets in central London though.

Yeah I guess birdies will always get a bit nippy. That sounds like a fun day though! I’ve been scared to pick up Yoshi again because I don’t want anymore bites to the face. He left a really nasty gash on my cheek that is still having the right side of my face swollen after several days :(


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[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Try not to startle the bird by making sudden movements, I think that is mainly when M gets nipped :)

[ztuiasoa]

Try not to startle the bird by making sudden movements, I think that is mainly when M gets nipped :)

Okay thank you I will definitely remember that one. Although sometimes I ask yoshi to step up and I sit there for a second very calmly and slowly and he nips anyways. Which is probably because we are still gaining trust and he has abuse traumas


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[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Sort of "I may be little but I can bite so you will be nice to me" birdy logic :)