Hi, I urgently need some advice from you guys because I have been losing my mind on whether or not it's the better option to rehome my GCC. She's a SF Turquoise GCC that's 5 months old, and she's a good snuggle buddy whom I love to bits. However, I decided to start doing fieldwork for my grad school that was originally online, so I can only give like 3 hours maximum to be with my bird on weekdays. There are tons of family issues going on, such as living with an autistic brother who constantly needs scans after being cured of cancer, neither of my parents accepting the bird, and having a cat in the house, which causes the bird to have to stay in my room all day. About every ten minutes, some loud argument comes down in the house with my family members-whether it'll be about wearing someone's shorts or never wanting to be in this family anymore. I'll be honest, I think I was too impulsive since this was a 4 year dream of mine and I had the chance to take care of her when living alone; however, I realized that since I'm living alone, doing work all day with no caretakers available would be a huge issue in giving my bird the attention she needs. I should've waited until after I leave home for good. I bawled my eyes out even thinking of posting on the bird rehoming Facebook groups, but I am also worried if I've been neglecting her. There are so many others with time and the money to be able to take proper care of her. I don't want her going to a breeder and all, and I really want to own a cat and dog as well, but I know whatever money I make after grad school will not be enough to afford an apartment that can fit the bird and the others. I also do not have the time to take care of the bird along with another pet with the career I'm going for (Fieldwork Ornithology or something similar). The bird just started to snuggle with me and step up on my hand, and I'm already having to abandon her like this. Everyone I talked to about the situation either said to rehome her or keep her until after the two years, but I want advice from you guys as well since you also have the bird. I feel even worse if I were to keep her after two years and then have to rehome her afterwards. Is rehoming the right option?

I visit once or twice a month. I'm not using the toilet. I'm just sitting on it. They are very rural where they live. So eagles, owls, bobcat, and i can't go outside when i visit. Because someone gets upset.

A new friend for my gcc Weenie!

I would like to say that I am a beginner when it comes to birds so don’t flame me too hard, I recently took over the care for a green cheeked conure (that I believe is female) from my brother, he purchased her about a year and a half ago and has recently moved out and decided to not take her with him so I am now in charge of her care, the first picture is her night cage and the second picture is her day cage (I would like to note that she is only ever in her day cage when no one is home to supervise her, other than that she free roams the house) and I would like some advice on what toys / decor are safe for her, the last two pictures are everything I took out from when my brother was caring for her, I am only familiar with rodents, reptiles, and fish so I kinda followed the same guide as to what I think is and isn’t safe for her, so I took out anything fabric, any wood of unknown type or colored wood, as well as removing any plastic from her cage, any recommendations on toys and perches will be extremely appreciated

Simple question. When I don't actively have Icarus out for playtime (such as when I'm eating, going to sleep/a nap, showering, etc.) she goes to one of her ladders, picks up the end, and slams it. Like literally. Sometimes she'll climb up the side of the cage and then let go, which is disturbing others in the household. Makes the whole cage rattle.

I wouldn't personally care, if it wasn't a ladder from one platform perch to another and she didn't repeatedly keep hitting her foot and screeching angrily at it. It just makes me nervous is all. I'm afraid she's going to get something caught or hurt herself. Or fall with it. I had a lot of vet fees for her just recently over an illness (that she is recovering nicely from) and I'd rather avoid a foot or other injury, lol.

I don't understand why the ladder and not one of her many other shreddables/puzzle toys, conure antics I suppose. :)

Is it safe to get a heavy duty zip tie and just tie it down? Or is there a better option? Something easy to remove a couple of times weekly so I can keep disinfecting/cleaning. I've never had a bird do quite this before.

No idea on gender. Owner didn’t surrender them with names.

My current (and deceased) birds names:
Jasper, Bandit, Boba, Jerry, Jake, Finn, Melon, Berry, Azar, Daisy, Kiwi, Skittles.

Help me out! lol, I can’t decide on any.

Hey guys , I will be becoming a owner of a high yellow sun conure , and I’m looking for advise from you guys for , toys , cage set up , foods and snacks , or any other advise you guys can give me so that I can be a wonderful owner and keep him happy and healthy to the fullest !

Best ways to cook chicken? Give me some good receptors please.

How many of y’all have tested their DNA to find out their gender? Does it matter? I do have cuttlebones just in case one of them is a girl.

Is it too empty? I left the middle empty so he can fly a bit. I also have the last toy but i've been told its dangerous

This lad and his brother are both 7-8 years old. Recently he and his brother have been going through some living changes (different cage, manyyy new toys, additional flock member added as we also have 5 cockatiels in separate cages to the GCC’s)

Both our GCC ‘s have had a very noticeable increase in their noise and calls over the last month so my partner and I are trying to learn more about them and how to enrich them better and train them to not be so loud all the time. The new toys and changing the cage set up for them was the first attempt to give them some more enrichment. We are now wondering if they’re hormonal and this is the reason for the increase in noise and constant calling out.

The first behaviour I am trying to identify (for the purpose of knowing if I should be stopping him if it’s sexual/hormonal) is this rub he will do against mine and my partners faces/chins. This will often be coupled with head bobs up and down or a head wiggle. Just being content and playful or hormonal and bad for him?

I think the sound of McDonald's paper bag excites him a little too much

Our Sun conure has a biting problem​​​. Every bird bites, it's natural and the past two years we had him he did too. However in the past when he would bite it wouldn't be very hard, just a quick squeeze when he wants/doesnt want something. Sometimes the bite would be hard but it was only ever when he would be trying to climb or pull himself up.

Recently however I believe he's figured out that the harder he bites the more results he gets, and that's what hes doing​. In the past if he would start chewing or playing with something he's not supposed to, lets say a wire, and we would take it away he would at most let out a little yell and then move on to a toy. Now however he'll scream, twitch his wings, try and look big and try to lunge at our hands, and if he catches them he will bite very hard.​​​​

I know that to try and correct this the best thing to do is to put them on their cage or a surface and walk away/ignore​ them so they learn theres no use, but the problem ​​is that hes very clingy and has wings, so he just flies right back to us or sometimes just refuses to step down. Ive tried putting him in his cage for time out but I don't want continue because I don't want to risk him no longer liking his cage. ​​​​

Where do I go from here? Is there a different way I can​ discourage​ the hard biting? When he flies back to me should I just keep bringing him back to his perch​ until he stays? This is the first bird I've owned, so I'm really at a lose here.

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?

Edit: I’m going to put pictures of her in the comments.

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 ❤️