Andrias Scheuchzeri posted:

I think I already covered that he does not.

Honestly, as much as I joke about cockatiel supremacy, I absolutely see the appeal of conures--I'm just agitating for people to make some more bird/species profile posts in the first pages of the new thread. I know conures were covered in the OP but the more info the merrier.

Deadly Chlorine posted:

Indeed, when I saw his picture my heart just melted and I needed to have a blue throat conure. So adorable

My friend keeps several lovebirds and they entertain each other pretty well, maybe you could look into keeping more than one small parrot? Though in your situation I would advise finches though. They can be tamed to like scratches and all that, my other friend has a bulbul and a canary and a whydah that will just chill on his hand, eat food and let him rub their heads.

EDIT: Oh my god I cannot stand the adorableness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvRzAUNlXt0

I swear to god all ringnecks are born adorable and stay that way. They'll eat your finger, but still.

Sweet CupnCakes posted:

My boyfriend and I have been visiting the birdy store and we both want birds in the future. We are looking for a place right now so maybe in the next year or so. A couple of birds I have fallen in love with at the store were Cacique (Spelling?) and a very pretty Eclectus bird. Would anyone be able to give me more information on those?

Also, I am really worried about spending a ton of money on a birdy only to have it hate me one day. Are all birds into only guys or only girls or is it just dependent on the bird? I just hear people say 'oh he hates girls so be careful' and that makes me nervous. The lady at the bird store says most birds pick a sex but I am wondering if that is true.

Also, this whole bird puberty thing....it scares me. I already am getting used to bird beaks. They scare me cause I think they can take a finger or eye at any moment. So any bird we get will go through this and possibly want to skin me alive? Or is it different intensity depending on the type of bird?

Thanks for the info!

Sweet CupnCakes posted:

Sweet CupnCakes posted:

Thank you everyone for the information. I think I am sold on the green cheek. Like I said though, we have many many months before I will even be ready. I just now have a better idea of what kind of bird to do much more research on.

I luckily have good skill with not reacting violently to bites. With snakes you can tear their teeth out or make a wound much worse if you jerk back after getting bit. I was bit during feeding time by my 8 foot burmese python and was very proud of myself for standing there and calmly grabbing her head to make her release me. I was a bit bloody and it hurt pretty good but I think it makes me cut out for other types of animals that may bite. Don't react!

Again, thank you. Maybe once I get everything set up in a few months I'll do another thread to make sure I am doing things right.

Andrias Scheuchzeri posted:

Serious answer: this is true, Poicephalus are really interesting birds with many of the appealing qualities of greys but so much less likely to self-destruct. They don't live a hundred years, they're less prone to neurotic behavior, they're an extremely "parroty" parrot...

Opera Bitch posted:

I'd say putting the hut in there right before you put him to bed would be a good idea since it give extra protection against drafts, he is already used to sleeping in it, and you are controlling when he gets it. He may be so used to sleeping in it that it might take a long time for him to learn how to sleep without it. He'll get used to the routine of taking it in and putting it back soon enough.

The Doctor posted:

e: I hesitate to remove the nest box because...well...she loves it. She is in it right now and I don't want to take away something she loves.

The Doctor posted:

I will get rid of it if it is really going to trash her behaviour. It's not in the cage itself though, it just sits on the top. She is already defensive about it when she's in it but she doesn't stay in it long and goes back in the cage. Is there really no way to give her a little hidey spot like this even outside the cage? Back when they had a smaller cage she would always burrow under the newspapers and tear them up to make a nest, she was defensive about that too but would behave on her perch, she just hated to be approached underneath the newspapers.

The Doctor posted:

Well, no, I only bought the box a couple of days ago and she has been very aggressive for over a month. I bought it because I thought it would help, but if it is going to be a contributing factor instead then I will get rid of it.

BeepBoopBatman posted:

Hi there, got some questions for you bird crazies regarding a recent addition.

We adopted a six year old male lutino Indian ringneck this week, and are starting to notice some significant behavior problems that need to be addressed. The most pressing is a biting habit - anytime he is sitting on your arms or shoulders, he has an almost neurotic tendency to chew his nails and then immediately bite the surface he's sitting on (in this case, skin. ouch.) He also chews clothes to the point that they form holes... When he was adopted, he had very overgrown nails which have since been clipped, and we thought the chewing habit might have been a side-effect of that, but even after having his nails trimmed, the problem continues.

What would be the best way to address the issue? We'd like to recondition him so that he's not constantly nipping and chewing on our skin and clothes, but haven't had much luck so far. For a little background, we are not first time bird owners (there's eight birds between us, ranging from finches to cockatiels), but this is our first ringneck.

Thanks in advance!

Deadly Chlorine posted:

Hi, it was time for my weekly/biweekly bird outing again! Today's turnout wasn't that good because there was a Responsible Pet Ownership expo by AVA which a lot of other people went to instead, I didn't go because there were dogs and cats there and all my birds are tiny.

Select pictures:



Yes, that is the parrotlet riding on the conure's tail. Wasn't able to get a video though.
(Linking straight from my Flickr isn't hotlinking, I hope! If it is just tell me and I'll rehost them on imgur. )

And here's the rest of the album!

SaNChEzZ posted:

I think he's broken, he never plays with his toys while I'm at work, but instead just sits on his perches, napping or preening, but as soon as we're home the toys get mangled. Birds.

uglynoodles posted:

I really just wish this guy would give us our £90 back so that I can go to a pet store and try again and forget this whole mess.
He says he will ask around his other breeder friends to see if they have a bird they can replace mine with for free, but I'm not really satisfied with that. I only had him a day but I loved him.

Thanks everyone for your comments. I really, really appreciate it.

mikerock posted:

The vet says that Scout either has The Clap or TB. Both of them treatable but will take a bit of time.

Scout, what have you been doing at night? <>

Battle Pigeon posted:

May be a bit harsh sounding, but it doesn't sound like the guy has tried to make this right at all. He would have given you your money back if he wanted to do that-even if he interrogated you about the circumstances of death first. Instead he's making excuses and now avoiding you. He may not have even gone to Liverpool for the 'tiel like he said, he could have got it from one of his friends if they have an aviary. Not cool, breeder dude.

Do you have enough for another bird? If you were to get another sometime soon, would you like any of us to help you look around for a new breeder/etc?

I'm sorry this happened to you.

mjs6643 posted:

Charlie has discovered a new class of sounds to make. He now sometimes make moaning noises that sound like some wild crazy Poicephalus sex noises whenever I'm in the room and he wants my attention.

uglynoodles posted:

She's only like 6 months old at most, the guy in the shop said she'd been there for 3 months, and they were young when they got them in. I'd think she was too young for this? But... She's doing the whole 'mate with me' thing, so I don't know!
I am making sure she gets 12 hours of darkness every day, she has no nesty places in her cage, and I only rub her on the head and neck, the chest is only if I need to touch her to get her to step up. Poor thing. Since she was hand-raised, she's all peoplesexual, and I can't help her with this problem.

Fart Puzzle posted:

Oh man, it's happening! Yellowsided GCC female incoming in the next week or two. Turns out the xmas spirit isn't so bad after all, and I also have an awesome family!

I know conures tend to like to have a nestbox or a happyhut in which they can sleep, but I do not want to encourage nesting/mating behavior in my bird, would a happyhut cause that?

Tasty_Crayon posted:

have you had any trouble at all with her?

Cmdr. Shepard posted:

Thanks guys, I figured it was nothing to worry about. I'm hesitant to try pellets because the breeder I purchased her from was adamant about not feeding a pellet diet. I will do more research on it, however.

VVV - She gave a number of reasons that I unfortunately don't remember and didn't understand at the time, just made notes of. Should I mix pellets with seeds or serve only one at a time? I'm sure this has all been discussed here before but I don't have search so I'll have to spend some more time on my own reading up on this.

Joe Don Baker posted:

Are Nutriberries acceptable? I'm trying to get Hannah off seeds but he didn't really dig the Zupreem pellets. I've bought some small bags of Nutriberries for treats and he loves them. Apparently they can be used to 100% replace seeds. Good idea?

YarPirate posted:

Ooh, sunflower seeds sound great. Do you use shelled or whole?

YarPirate posted:

Are birds like dogs at all in that switching their diet even a tiny bit can produce noticeable behavior changes? My initial thought is (assuming I'm able to find the right bird from the rescue) to simply use the same diet that it was receiving from the caregivers there... I'm especially interested in what vehicle for protein they'd be using (before reading this thread, it didn't really occur to me to give a bird meat), because I have to admit I'd feel a little bad feeding my bird some chicken (yeah, I know), and would have to substitute something else. I couldn't find much information on what is probably a stupid question, but I'll ask it anyways: Would protein powder be acceptable in any form? Obviously the artificial flavoring, sweetener, and coloring would be bad, so assume the powder in question wouldn't have any of those.

LITERALLY A BIRD posted:

Kenshin beat me to it, but yeah, don't feed the bird protein powder. Beans are your best way to go, and -- here's the secret -- if the bird is stubborn about trying them, let it eat them off your plate so it thinks it's being super slick and stealing your food. Amadeus looooves my homemade chili and munches away on the beans he "steals" from me.