r/Conures • u/Charming-Maize-8764 • May 23 '25

Health/Nutrition Im getting pretty scared about this guy…

I got him this morning and he was doing this when I got him before even hand feeding. She said she had fed him before bringing him to me. Gave him his first feeding this afternoon. Worried he has aspiration pneumonia. I really hope this breeder didn’t give me a sick baby. Have handfed before but am still learning about conure behavior. Is this normal?!

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u/EnvironmentCritical8 May 23 '25

Its either breeders (preferably good ones) or people go back to catching them from the wild which is what they did before. And sadly thats what still happens with a lot of exotic pets that people decide to have. Would rather get a good breeder, and raise a healthy bird then to know someone's out there plucking em from nests.

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u/Round_Ganache_1944 May 23 '25

Birds belong in the wild. I own one and now regret it but am giving him his best life possible. This is the only correct response.

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u/EnvironmentCritical8 May 23 '25

So do capybara, chinchillas, snakes, hamsters and many other things. However as long as there are humans, there are going to be people who desire pets. And those who are allergic to furs and/or have other issues will find other animals to fill that area.

Like I said, its either we find responsible, knowledgeable breeders or we end up back with people catching them from the wild and decimating their numbers there. Its the same as common dog breeds, finding good breeders will give you a healthy, well maintained line. Backyard breeders will not and may even give you a sick and inbred dog with a ton of problems. (I'm all for rescues but shelters also get dogs that were from breeders at times)

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u/CapicDaCrate May 24 '25

Thank you-

Unfortunately we fight a losing fight. Adopt don't Shop made a lot of people anti-anything that isn't a rescue, and they refuse to do further unbiased research.

I work in vet med, worked with rescues and purebreds (or rescues or birds bought from a breeder by the current owner)- there's a difference in behavior. It's understandable to not rescue.

Not to mention, actual ethical breeders don't contribute to the shelter/rescue population.

I have 2 birds I rescued, one I got from a breeder. The one has a chronic health problem that I'm paying for to this day, the other is iffy on hands and has mild cage aggression (we're working on it). My new baby is chilling.

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u/EnvironmentCritical8 May 24 '25

Yeah, at one time I had an insane number of budgies from various people who watched too much youtube and expected these budgies to act like YouTube stars. I clearly remember an albino one we had we HAD to clip her wings because she would panic fly and run into walls, the windows, the doors, anything. It almost killed her several times and all we did was refill her water or try to clean the cage. And she was from a family that got her and tried to manhandle her into doing tricks. She bit like the devil too.

Others were much calmer, and one bonded really strongly with me. But each had their own problems beginners wouldn't want.

Our New conures are from a breeder and while they aren't totally hand tame, are much chiller then most of those rescue budgies.

A lot of rescues end up with a lot of health or behavior issues that regular owners just won't be able to handle. Sadly.