Birds as pets

I have a pet conure, he can fly, he is a loud but great pet.

So you let him out to fly around? Does he poop around the house? Does he fly outside at all?

He (Fred) does not like to leave the room his cage is in so he only flies around in that room and yes he can poop everywhere although they prefer to have a spot where they poop. I never let him outside but other people I know clip the wings of their conures so they can go outside and not fly. They are very sociable, in fact, they go insane if they don't receive enough attention. Fred loves to sit on my or Lady Diane's shoulder while we puter, he also loves to play kissy-face but they can be NOISY although they sleep from sundown to sunup. They are also sensitive to cold and must be kept in a warm environment but away from direct sunlight. Should you decide to get a conure (or any other parrot) be sure to get a young one that has been hand fed.

I don't plan on getting one any time soon - it was just this bird seemed so friendly and social.

I felt bad if they couldn't fly as it would seem a natural thing for them to do. I also didn't know how "social" and domestic they actually are. But this particular bird seemed to really like people and responded so well. The noise I could deal with as long as it wasn't at night.

By the way, the name Fred is great.

Some of us other a2kers have met Fred. Fred IS great, and he's a happy bird. (Hi, Fred!)

Perhaps, you could persuade the store employee to open the cage to see how the bird reacts to you up close. If it sits on your shoulder or hand without nipping then it's a good sign.

Also, find out the species--latin name if possible--and do a check on google for its status in the wild and how they become captive. Just general information to ease your conscience. Many birds are smuggled in illegally and die in the process.

I stay away from birds in pet shops because I'm always tempted to get one, and I've got two cats that love birds so it's impossible.

I have two cats too. But they are so wimpy that they would probably run away from the bird.

I have a sun conure named Oscar. I love him dearly, but he can be VERY noisy. He will sit on my shoulder and play with my hair and just generally nibble on everything. At sundown he gets noisy (noisier!) and restless, thats when I cover him with a black sheet and after a few low murmurs he is off to dream land.

When we got him his wings were clipped but we let them grow out and he would fly all over the place (NEVER outside). We built a perch for him in our breakfast nook when we had our house and he would have breakfast with us in the mornings. Besides his bird kibble he loves dried bananas, dried pineapple is his all time favorite, he would eat a little of what we ate- eggs pancakes waffles-but he would go nuts for a sip of orange juice. Fresh fruit was always a big treat.

He would poop all over the place, especially mid-flight, but it is really easy to clean up. I feel badly now that we are in the apartment and he isn't able to come out of his cage hardly at all. I am never home to work with him anymore and Bodhi, our dog, would like nothing more than to eat Oscar so they cant be out in the same room. The cats never had a problem with Oscar, in fact they would play together.

I lived with a Green Amazon. This website would have been a GREAT resource back then.
http://www.tgpa.com/

He was a great bird but, he had his issues and I think now it perhaps because we didn't do the nighttime thing well enough with him.

He DEMANDED attention. He didn't care if he was supposed to be sleeping. If that TV or radio was on he was going to mimic it or talk loudly over it in any way that he could. He was funny because he spoke both Spanish and English and would put them together REALLY loud to get your attention.

He messed with people all the time too. If anyone knocked on the door he would do this silly "Hello...Hello.. is anyone there?" thing even if no one else was home. Friends said it made them nuts.

He didn't poop all over the place but, he did poop here and there and I never really did like cleaning up bird poo. It was a constant thing to be on top of.

He did like flying around the living and dining room but, not much further and if a bunch of friends were there playing cards or whatever around the table - he was getting in on the action. It was hysterical.

He also had a tendency to bite though. Which made us get rid of him in the end.

The person who took him made the mistake of leaving him alone and with the run of the place all day. He got bored and started chewing on everything and eventually died of lead paint poisoning. Sad.

We lost two Cockatiels due to an unsecured cage and an open front door. That sucked. They were just about to get their wings reclipped.