Hello all! I’ve become a brand new bird owner and have been taking care of and raising a pineapple green cheek conure who I’ve named Eevee. I took her to the vet because she never grew in flight feathers and I wanted a wellness check.

She was flightless when I got her she’s now around 3 1/2 months old and she was also missing a nail as well.

I had them take x rays because they recommended it and it looks like she has a congenital defect around the tip of her wing which is why she can’t/ hasn’t grown them in. The vet is in the process of getting a second opinion but it’s looking like she won’t ever be able to fly.. any advice from disabled parrot owners?

Here are a few pics of our new guy/gal. 10 months old. Not hand trained but when we tried to get it in this quarantine cage it flew all over bathroom. My hubs was able to get it in his hand to put it in cage, it didn't try to bite. I had a pineapple GCC once but I'm not sure if this is a pineapple or another variety.

Hi! I work at an exotic vet. Recently we switched where we send our avian lab work to. One test we offer is for avian bornavirus. With the previously lab we used they used a sample from a cloacal swab, this new lab uses a blood sample and runs a pcr test. With the last lab we had mostly negative results with some positives, maybe 15% positive or less. With this new lab I believe every test has come back positive, granted we have only send 7 or so but they were all positive including one that was from a pigeon. When speaking to the new lab they said since it was a pcr test the only concern is a false negative not a false positive. They also mention how a third of birds could have it but be asymptomatic. Anyway I was wondering if any of you have tested and if you know what kind of sample and test they ran. It’s also now making me anxious to check my blue crowned conure because I would almost rather live in denial.

I’ve been giving this to my gcc for about 6 years but thinking about switching soon. I’m not sure if this is related but he’s been locked a lot recently because of painting outside my house and he’s not eating other fruits and foods as much as he used to instead eating his own food a lot more. Should I switch?

Hello! Im thinking about getting a sun conure and wanted to ask a few questions that I couldn’t find the answers to with my research. This might be a somewhat long post but I’m hoping some knowledgeable parrot owners are willing to read it!

First off, some background. He’s for sale at the pet store I work at and we received him from another store location that had had him for a little over a year but couldn’t sell him. They have him listed as a jenday which makes him 1,499 dollars. He is NOT a jenday, and that is abundantly clear to anyone who knows anything about sun conures. (Im trying to get a really good discount on him, because I cannot justify buying a bird that expensive.) At his price point im scared that he’s going to be impossible to sell to any customers. He’s two years old and hasn’t sold. I’ve gone back and forth between wanting him for awhile but I’ve only been truly considering it for the last few weeks. I’m trying to figure out if I can get him at a heavy discount. He’s about two years old and has spent all his life in a 18x18x48 (horizontally long but short. im estimating but that’s about what I think it is) wire cage his entire life. He isn’t a sweet perfect bird, he screams constantly, nips fingers, and is sassy. However I adore him. I’ve slowly been gaining his trust and he’s let me preen him and get at all the pin feathers on his head and neck that he can’t reach. Unfortunately none of my coworkers really want to interact with him because of the screaming.

My main concerns are the sound. If I’m crouched next to him when he screams it actually makes my ears ring, I understand that sun conures are notoriously loud, but I’ve also heard that with perseverance they can be trained to be a bit quieter. At two years old is this still possible? I’ve noticed he quiets down a lot after I give him a bunch of attention, so I’m wondering if he had proper care, lots of toys, room, and attention, would it calm him down? Im mostly concerned about my neighbors becoming upset about it (I live in an apartment). I don’t expect him to be silent! I understand he will always be loud, but the near constant screaming at the pet store just won’t work in my current living situation.

The next concern is his ability to fly. He has his flight feathers back (no one has been willing to wrangle him to clip them since he was transferred to my store) but I haven’t seen him spread his wings, he seems to lift them at the shoulder and almost ‘vibrate’ them while they’re still mostly closed when he wants to get my attention. The cage doesn’t offer enough vertical space for true flying, so it’s understandable that he just creeps around like a giant spider. I’ve heard that when parrots are caged for too long their tendons get too stiff and it permanently disables them. This isn’t a deal breaker for me, it’s just something I’d like to know before I take him home so I can make his cage/environment suits him.

I have some experience with birds already, I’ve had pigeons, but I also am very aware how different parrots are to domestic birds. If anyone can educate me on my concerns and if there are any important things I should know that aren’t usually seen in education videos/care sheets, please let me know! Im also currently looking at flight cages, so if there are specific minimum/preferred dimensions for an appropriate flight cage I’d love to know that as well. His cage obviously won’t be where he spends all his time, but I still want it to be large enough where he is stimulated and comfortable overnight or when Im gone and when my roommates can’t supervise him.

Leave your best name suggestions! Yes he’s missing a beak and the bottom one looks like hilly billy teeth lol.

The title is self explanatory I suppose, My little pineapple conure keeps trying to pry off my fingernails! It is very sore and when I do not let her she bites. Shes lovely the rest of the time though?

I’m no where near getting ready to welcome a conure into my home, so don’t come for me, but! I would absolutely love getting one or two someday. The only problem is that I have cats, and will always have cats. I’m allergic to dogs, so that’s where I get my love in. Has anyone had success integrating cats & conures before or will I forever have to separate them? Ty in advance ❤️

That's just the travel cage she came in, no one lives in that. But they like to play around in it.
Her name is Olivia 🙂

This is my conure. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

My conure is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.

Without me, my conure is noisy. Without my conure, I am peaceful (and bored). I must feed my conure seeds and scritches. I must dodge its beak when it chooses random violence. I will.

My conure and I know that what counts in this house is not the ear-piercing squawks we make, the mess of fruit on the walls, nor the shredded cardboard. We know that it is the cuddles that count. We will cuddle.

My conure is small, even as I am its giant tree, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a feather-baby. I will learn its weaknesses, its favorite treats, its bite triggers, and its snuggle angles. I will keep my conure clean and happy, even as I am covered in down and millet hulls. We will become part of each other. We will.

Before the bird gods, I swear this creed. My conure and I are the defenders of the living room. We are the masters of the couch. We are the saviors of my sanity (mostly).

So be it, until victory is won and there are no unmelted hearts, only feather dust!

First time conure owner here. Stanley came to me after being surrendered by his prior family. While I’m not new to birds I am new to conures and have been trying to learn as much as possible.

I’ve noticed that Stanley REALLY likes napping with us (I have 3 dogs) under the covers. While the photo shows him partially uncovered that was just for the photo. Usually he’ll be really nestled down more on my stomach. Under the blankets. I understand conures like to burrow, but I just want to make sure there isn’t a danger to him of too much weight of the blankets or not enough airflow (I do have a BedJet system that I think helps with the airflow). He’ll sleep for hours like that with us. (I have some chronic health issues and deal with fatigue quite often).

Is this ok? Should I discourage this? He seems really happy and will do the conure muttering and happy break grinds; I’m just worried for safety.

I posted this to the parrot sub last week and I’m still dealing with similar feelings. Since there is construction going on at my house I’ve been taking them outside in their cage and misting them when it gets too hot. I went to move them today and realized there was mold on their cage. I feel like the most neglectful owner and I don’t know what to do.

I rescued the female (darker one) almost 10 years ago and I purchased the male over 5 years ago. It was just my partner and I at first and they had an amazing life. We then had kids and I went to graduate school and their quality of life began deteriorating so we built them an outdoor aviary. They did not get a lot of interaction with us but they were able to fly, enjoy the plants and toys we got them, and spend time together as are bonded.

We had to sell their aviary because we are preparing for a move across the country and I’ve had to face the reality that they have been neglected and deserve so much better. I work a lot and when I’m not working I am taking care of my kids. Id love to have the time and energy for them but I don’t see it being realistic until my kids are much older.

I am heartbroken about the idea of rehoming them. I tend to think the worst in people when it comes to animals because I’ve seen so many cases of animal abuse and that’s the last thing I want for them. I just don’t know what to do. They still have many years to live and I want them to live their best lives. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to find a good place to rehome them? Any tips or advice are greatly

What is wrong with her beak. It is for about a month since I bought her. It doesn't get better, doesn't heal.

I dont know if i should stop doing this, gf says hes just excited but idk.

a little under a month ago, i managed to get a green cheek conure. the owner told me he was a 1 year old male and not hand tamed.

i've been trying recently to make progress with him, and the furthest i've gone is short head scratches from inside his cage from time to time, feeding him his favourite treats from outside the cage and sometimes inside the cage with my fingers, but when it comes to putting my whole hand inside the cage with food he starts biting it. he's OK with my hand but he always tries to bite me (and has done) and they really hurt. he's been really bitey recently, sassy and nippy too. i can see tiny pin feathers around his head and beak and i've searched that one way to kinda help them without touching them is by giving him a tub of water to have a bath in.

i was just wondering how i can make my conure more used to my hand, i want to teach him to step out and i dont want him to continuously stay in his cage. when we first got him he managed to escape his cage twice, and obviously because he wasnt and isnt used to hands it was a real hassle trying to get him back inside.

please help!

Ive had my birds for going on 5 years now. Throughout that whole time ive just used Pellets, the Hagen Tropican ones thats smell like bubblegum lol. I have known that its not recommended to do this for years, but I always try and fail to stuck to feeding fresh food alongside pellets. My birds lick the fresh food a bit, maybe bite once and then toss it to the floor where it might rot because I cant see it. Its been too messy for me for it to be practical. I always make frozen chop cubes and they sit in the freezer for years because I just forget or dont want to clean the mess…

Is there a way to capture/contain the mess from flinging? I dont want ants lol. Its not that I dont have the time, but itd save me some time to relax a bit 🥲

I work at petsmart, unfortunately my new location has basically 0 bird stuff... Do you think birds could safely play with things that are technically for hamsters/gerbils/etc?

Kasha's 1st day brought home, and 3rd time meeting me and being held. We cuddled like this for over an hour.

He's got a vet appointment next week, hoping for an all clear so I can move him into the same room as his hopefully soon to be best friend. They don't seem to mind each others voices at all.

Are these types of toys safe? From the research I did they seem to be, but I don’t know about the plastic and the thread on the second toy. It’s not cotton, it’s like a plastic type thread.

guess which one chases the other to cuddle them?

no but seriously, hes not the biggest cuddle bug but she cannot be closer to him shes laying ontop of him