# Thinking about rehoming a conure (green cheeked)



## sailor

Hi All
I have been thinking aout rehoming a pet bird for a good 6 months now and altho I have seen many advertised, many in shops etc etc nothing has really got my full attention, intil today.

I have found a little young conure (green cheeked) that is needing a new home, because its present owners don`t have enough time to give it enough attention basically.
Which for such happy bright and curious bird, I think it is an awful shame.

Altho I haven`t given a definate YES, I have shown my interest and said I would consider homing the bird and sleep on it, before I make a decision.

I think I have actually made my mind up and can`t wait to go collect our new feathered friend... but its always best to sleep on such decisions and think again with a fresh and clear morning head 

I have only ever owned budgies in the past, so this will be a first for me, altho a friend of mine is very knowledgable in birds, so Im sure i can get plenty of advice if needs be.

But still a broad base of advice is never a bad thing 

So I was just wondering if there are any Conure owners/breeders/showers.... or just anyone with Conure knowledge etc to give any bits of advice, or hints and tips on Conures in general, so when... i mean if lol ... I bring our new family member home, I will be all clued up and prepared.

One thing I`m a little worried about is, I was told Conures have a high pitched screech ... is it as bad as I imagine it to be  ??
I assume it be similar to a budgie when its screeching for attention of when it gets spooked... only thats a conures happy sound lol 

I am not overly fussed, I can put up with a noisey bird... I mean, I have kids and a demented dog... I can put up with anythiing !!!

i look forward to any words of wisdom you can share with me


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## Angie2011

Hiya!  the only advice i can give you is!


















GO GET HIM! GO GET HIM! GO GET HIM!!!!


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## sailor

LOL Angie 

I would love to , but must stay level headed and think about it, make sure I know what I`m letting myself in for.....

I`ve been reading about conures for ever, or so it seemss.... they do sound like ideal little birds to own


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## Angie2011

sailor said:


> LOL Angie
> 
> I would love to , but must stay level headed and think about it, make sure I know what I`m letting myself in for.....
> 
> I`ve been reading about conures for ever, or so it seemss.... they do sound like ideal little birds to own


Haha! (just kidding)  to be honest i don't think if they where noisy ALL day i could listen to them! we had a cocktail and certain adverts would kick him off screaming ! it really hurt our ears!  haha xx


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## poohdog

Go get the bird...Greencheeks can be very noisy,but only for short periods when they're spooked.My Robbie here kicks up hell when I turn the vacuum on,but most of the time he's quiet as a mouse.Provided you're not getting a Nanday conure they ARE noisy.

I got Robbie from someone else when he was a year old,he repaid the favour by drawing blood at every opportunity.I really considered getting rid once or twice,but I stuck it out,now he's a teddy bear.

They're not hard to keep...I have two who unfortunately won't live together as they fight like hell.The other one, Nena, is cuddly too, and unfortunately I lost her mate last year who flew off.She and Robbie have been next to each other three years but they fight if let out together.

I'll give you a tip...if you put them outside on a sunny day like I did last year...*secure the doors with wire first* pushing the cage over the doorstep with a bump,the ruddy door catch jumped and the door flew open...that's when Nenas' mate flew off 


















*
Nena (Left) with her mate...I still miss him.*


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## poohdog

Angie2011 said:


> Haha! (just kidding)  to be honest i don't think if they where noisy ALL day i could listen to them! *we had a* *cocktail* and certain adverts would kick him off screaming ! it really hurt our ears!  haha xx


Serves you right for boozing...


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## sailor

hawksport said:


> The last breeding pair of conures that I had were so noisy I kept them at liberty so they could go over the fields and not upset the neighbours. They never shut up all day.


Yes, this is my only worry really.

With it being a single bird, I hope it wont sound as loud atleast.

I don`t mind the noise, I could sleep through an earthquake... it is more of the length of time it makes a noise for.

Would plenty of stimulation/interaction keep the noise levels down do you think ?
Or are they the type of bird to make noise in play also... is it a no win situation ?
I am just thinking about transporting it home and also what type of foods they eat and hhow easily available it is in my area, and if I can get that sorted and be satisfied, I will be collecting it next Saturday.

....

Please don`t say they talk in their sleep too


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## sailor

Thanx for that Poohdog, sounds good... you have redeemed the conure of being noisey 

Here is a photo of the conure, looks cute... but I musn`t go on cuteness alone


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## poohdog

For heavens sake go get it...

Cockatiel food is available anywhere,but ask the last owner what they fed it.Best not to change the diet quickly.
Mine are fed a fruity parrot mix and a seperate bowl of mixed millet.One shells peanuts the other doesn't ...depends on the bird.They all like millet sprays and a slice of apple.A small amount of grated hard boiled egg is a treat mine like.


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## sailor

lol poohdog... you sound like my heart... go get the bird... shut up and go get the bird... 
your birds are lovely by the way  I like the pic of the little one having a bath 

I decided I would take the bird and have tried to contact his owner, but not had reply yet, so sent messages instead,for them to read and get back to me later.

I would love to just go and get the bird today, but I have to wait intil next Saturday to collect it regardless.

But fingers crossed, the birds still available and the owner hasn`t changed their mind. just have to wait forever for a response now :blink:


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## sailor

ooo I didn`t have to wait forever, they were quick to phone me back 

The little Conure is all mine and I will be collecting him next Saturday 

Really looking forward to meeting the new addition and him settling into family life


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## poohdog

What's your location Sailor?

PS...If you're transporting any distance I suggest a SECURE cardboard box with holes in.


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## sailor

poohdog said:


> What's your location Sailor?


I`m in the North East, Darlington


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## sailor

poohdog said:


> PS...If you're transporting any distance I suggest a SECURE cardboard box with holes in.


Already thought about that.
It will be an hours journey roughly,and I have been searching for a decent sized cardboard box.... I looked online and it states these type of conures are about 10", so I`ve been measuring shoe boxes this morning 

Will be doing some furniture re arrangements over the weekend, find an ideal spot for its cage, where he can watch us all while his settling in.


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## poohdog

sailor said:


> I`m in the North East, Darlington


Ahhh!...Bandit country...

I was going to give you one or two addresses for seed etc. but you're too far off.


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## sailor

Well thank you for the thought atleast poohdog 
The owners have told me what they have been feeding him and he will come with the rest of his food too, so thats fab.

I`m not sure what bandit country means... but so far no armed bandits have robbed me on my travels  

When I first moved here a few years back, I was told endless times.... ahhhh where all the hawkers are ... I thought, oh brilliant, lots of people with birds of prey  D`OH  lol 
I have since been edumicated and now I know what a hawker is


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## sailor

hawksport said:


> When you put the air holes in the box put them near the bottom so he won't jump up to the light.


hey good tip  thank you


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## Jess2308

I have a green cheeked and a black capped conure (very similar to a GC) and I barely hear a sound from either of them, they are the quietest birds i've ever known! If you give the bird plenty of attention and toys in the cage he shouldnt shriek 

They are fab little birds, I would go get him! 

Thought i'd share this pic of my two, CJ the black capped on the left and Ziva the green cheeked on the right


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## sailor

Thanx Jess 
Your pair look and sound lovely.
I have been looking at vids of conures and their behaviours etc they do look very comical and affectionate.
Not sure how tame this one is, all I was told was he is lovely and can be tame, so fingers crossed he just needs abit of patient consistancey with the training/handling to get his tame affectionate side out. I don`t mind tho... would still take it on and love him even if he turns out to be a nipping shrieking maniac  ( planning for worse case scenerio )


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## Jess2308

Ziva I bought about 6 months ago and she was completely unhandled, had been raised in an aviary as a breeding bird. She is now doing really well with handling, loves to be out and about with me and loves a cuddle! As long as the bird is steady around people and doesnt attack or panic when you go near/in the cage I would give him a chance. Lots of tiime, love and patience will win him over


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## sailor

Hearing about your experience with Ziva makes me even more reassured, I just worry about everything I think 

Only 5 n half days to go  wishing the week away here


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## Angie2011

poohdog said:


> Serves you right for boozing...


Hahaha! i have only just realized my spelling!  oh dear! 

Must of been the water in the whiskey! : haha!
I have no excuse really as i don't drink! 
Ooh! yes i do, i need new glasses!


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## sailor

Put that cocktail down Angie... or is it a cockatiel ??? lol

I`m counting down the days til the little conure is here, still thinking about how best to win his affection if his not tame.. what the best diet for him would be etc etc  I feel like a kid waiting for christmas.

4 more sleeps


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## sailor

Well "billy" is now here with us 

Was a long and rather eventful journey back (for the conure atleast,not sure if his ever been on a train before), but he coped well and seemed to really enjoy listening to other birds and calling back to them when we was outside.

Anyhow, his sat in the living room now, watching us potter around.

No mad screeching yet, but lots of little purring sounds, especially when I gave him a raisin to chew on ..isn`t it cute how they hold their food like that and dunk it in water 
I purred back and he raced over and screeched at me and took great interest in my purring ability.... I must be a natural 

When he settles doown abit more and I can get some decent photos, I will upload them later.


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## charlio223

I'm a big fan of conures, I got six of them! I say if you can stand the noise just go get em.. they're so easy to keep


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## sailor

This morning I swear I heard Billy rattling on to himself downstairs... the birds were all singing outside (5am) .. but there was whistling and tittering going on too and I aint heard the wild birds do that before.

But as soon as I went down stairs to give Billy a bath and beakfast... the cute noises stopped ..... he must be soo shy, bless.

I put a bowl of water in the base of his cage, as his old owners used to do ... and he stared at it for sometimee, but didn`t go near it... then I handed him some food from his bowl and left him to it, but he still wasn`t in the mood to bath infront of a stranger  so I took the water away and gave him his breakfast, which he dived right into.

Here is the little chap tucking into his breakfast... I can`t believe he actually posed for this one ... clearly a natural


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## sailor

Thanks for that hawksport, I was just thinking on the dog walk I should take some branches back for Billy, but had no idea which would be safe for him and so I was going to put a thread up asking what was best to use ... I guess willow is the answer... now without sounding like a botanical looser... what is willow, and how do I know what I`m looking for :001_unsure:
I don`t want to poison the poor thing 

( right now his tucking into a variety of fresh fruit and veg, I want to know what his favourites are.. looks like broccoli and banana are winners at the moment  with carrot sticks being best, but I think thats because they are better for him to hold )


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## poohdog

Many hedgerows have saplings of ash and sycamore growing in them now...ideal for perching if there's no willow available.Any wood from fruit trees is safe too..apple etc.
The bird will enjoy stripping the bark too.Wash the branches before you put them in...it's not hard to wedge them between the bars with a bit of fiddling.

You'll notice in my signature all my birds are perched on natural branches.


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## sailor

ahh yes, willow, I kept thinking of tiny hangy trees in peoples front gardens that I keep seeing.
But I think what I`m actually in need of is the massive hangy trees down by the river... I walk past them atleast once a week, so Billy will get spoilt with those.

After looking online, it seems like all the trees in my garden are also safe.
Ash, hawthorn and the Alder... but I can`t tell if the Alder is white or black, it would seem white is safe, black is not... so I might just avoid the Alder altogether.


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## petzplazaUK

he is gorgeous sailor and he will come round to you in time, ive a rescued african grey that i had never seen bath in the 2 years hes been here but the last few weeks hes been having a good old wriggle in the water then flapping in front of me, of course i praised him and now its a game,sometimes they like being sprayed too and will stretch their wings right out.

parrots training works on the same theory as dogs- reward training ,reward and praise for good behaviour , bad behaviour say no firmly then ignore them.
clicker training has worked many times and they soon realise that if they do somehting good they get a reward even if its a bit of fruit, some of them love pine nuts (u can get them in most supermarkets where the nuts are) and theyre good for training (i thought id try one myself out of curiosity and they taste gross, they really taste like the smell of pine disinfectant but the birds do like them, so dont reccomend trying them yourself lol)
as hawksport and others said natural branches are good they have different thicknesses throughout them so the foot gets excercised , with plastic perches the birds foot is in one position and can permanently stay like that and disable them.they will strip the bark off as thats their natural behaviour and they can be chewers anyway so better the branches than your wallpaper/walls, furniture etc

to build a bond just talk gently and offer treats you can put the treats further away from you and then gradually move it closer so your not a threat but something nice, as i said its early days for him to trust you but he will and he will be your best friend, make sure his diet has lots of fruit and veg (love how they hold their food too its too cute)as well as seed.

i have two of the larger conures here (a nanday and a blue crowned)and boy can they make a noise but also fostered a marroon bellied conure (smaller conure) and she was really cute , not too noisy, comical and very intelligent, they do natter to themselves sometimes, once he settled he will come out of his shell and stop being shy .

good luck hope all goes well for you

ps. he posed like that for you so you would draw his picture lol:wink5:


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## sailor

Thank you for that petzplaza 

We just gave him some dandelion leaf and he loved it, just sat there scrunching it up in his foot devouring it. His not done anything to the ash branch... I think his never seen a branch before.
Sailor not wanting to be left out, also had a dandelion leaf and a twig ..... hmmm, his soo desperate not to be swapped for a bird I think

I understand about the perches, altho not to the full extent of how it can develop foot sores... it is a new one on me !!! ButI will take that bit of advice. I will leave plastic and natural in for the tiime being, intil he realises natural is best  
He is soo tame already, I have had his cage left open literally siince we got here and he hasn`t been shy to explore and gets really close, but if you try to touch him, he takes a few steps backwards lol 
He loved the warm boiled egg... as did sailor.

And because I am now obsessed ... here is a photo of Billy sampling some veg 









And helping me to carry out vital research :idea:


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## sailor

Yay Billy had a bath earlier 
Just after tea we left a bowl out, because he had raisins all over his beak and no perch to wipe it on... he dived right in the dish of water and soaked everything 
Wasn`t aware birds could catapult water that far  I will be better prepared tomorrow !!! with a brolly and towel


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## petzplazaUK

lmao tell tell sign is when u have water everywhere, wait til he does it when your knelt down doing something and u suddenly feel water drips lol, and look around to see a birdie having a good old sploosh


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