upatsix.com - Your Source For Pet Bird Information

So as the title suggests, I'm considering adopting a conure parrot, but consider myself something of a novice still and would like a second opinion from people who know more about this kind of thing than I do regarding whether such a bird is right for me.

What do I mean by novice? Well, I've been a bird parent for about a year by now. I got my first parakeet mid-June 09 and my second about six months later. At the time I didn't have a job so I was home all the time and I think I did a pretty good job with my babies. Alas, one of them died a couple of months ago. All told everyone else seems to think he was just sick for a long time and didn't show the signs so as not to worry his mate, or maybe I just didn't pick up on them. I don't know. I have a job now, but only working part time so I'm still home, all day, four to five days out of the week so still plenty of time to spend with a pet that needs so much lovin'. *I* think so anyway.

I live in a pretty average sized house. Three beds, one den, two bath and a living room plus kitchen. Plenty of space for a bird, though I'd like to keep it out of the kitchen for obvious reasons.

The conure I'm considering adopting is a green cheek. The reason being that, while I don't live in an apartment, I DO live with other people. They're not too picky about the noise, but still, one would have to consider how it might grate on them and I know greenies are much quieter comparatively to sunnies. Another reason is pricing, I won't lie, I know how much Sunnies cost and as much as I love them I couldn't spend that much on the bird alone.

Now I've been asked this once before so I might as well say it right now. Why do I want to get another bird? The answer to that is, admittedly, a little selfish on my part. My departed baby's mate, after months of doing my best to console her, still wants nothing to do with me and even though she's perked up considerably since losing her buddy she still prefers the company of her toys and staring at her shadow over interaction with me. I love my albino baby, I love her to death and have no intention of ignoring her when I do get another bird, but the fact still remains that I did get birds to begin with for the companionship, not for a cutsie centerpiece. I want a bird that I can interact with and who will WANT to interact with me.

That's about all the information I can think off off the top of my head. What I'd like is input, pros and cons to consider, general input from more experienced lovers of these fine avians. Feel free to grill me with questions to get the information you need, I will gladly answer them if it means educating myself about the potential of owning my very own conure.

I almost didn't read your post b'c I've never had a conure. And I've not had budgies in years. But I'm compelled by love of birds to respond with a few thots that you can treat however you will. I thank you of asking our advice, and I offer mine.

First, I think it's kinder to keep captive birds in pairs, as they would choose to live in the wild, if they could. There they would do the choosing while, in our homes, we pick partners for them, but I still feel it's kinder to offer a mate than not. My suggestion, if you must buy another bird, is that you find another budgie and keep your two separated for 4-6 weeks to see if the new one seems healthy. During that time, you can form a bond.

I presume lack of funds is still a huge constraint. Otherwise, you'd have taken the budgie's body to an avian vet to learn why he died. If he died of something contagious, the couple months since his death is long enough for many types of avian threats to die off and no longer be a threat to his mate or a new bird. However, I must say that I consider it irresponsible to have pets if we cannot afford to get care for them when they're sick. I know you didn't realize your budgie was sick, but now you're planning to bring home another bird. For purchase price to be a determinant in which type conure to get says very clearly that you cannot afford vet care. Which, to me, means you cannot afford a bird, any bird.

You asked for advice and mine is to get no more pets until your financial situation has recovered. If you were to apply to adopt a bird from a rescue, they would be very quick to reject you for this same reason. Please think about the birds and what's right for them.

"Why do I want to get another bird? The answer to that is, admittedly, a little selfish on my part."

Fair enough. I do appreciate that you did take the time to offer your opinion whatever it may have been. Truth be told, I myself have no bills to pay, so it's not really so much that I can't afford to care for the bird as...well I suppose the fact that I have to save up for a vet visit is just about the same as not being able to care for the animal at all, is it? The fact that I didn't take the body to the vet however is that...I honestly didn't know where one was. When I bought my first bird the closest seemed to be a three to four hour drive from where I live in my tiny little town in California. No excuse, I know, and I probably shouldn't even have gotten a bird if that was the case, but there you go.

You can always ask us to help you find a vet in your area. Many small towns in California have vets that will see a bird if they aren't a specialist. I even found one in Clearlake, CA which is a town of 13,000 only.

I live in a town called Yermo in California, it's sort of a suburb of Barstow. Everyone passes through it on the way to Vegas.

There is a vet in Barstow, but he's strictly a dog and cat guy as far as I know.

I know exactly where that is. I'm searching right now to see what I can find near you.

ETA:
I found one listed online in Victorville. I have a few email messages out as well and will let you know what they say.

VCA Mesa Animal Hospital Call 760-927-3096
Hours: M-F 7:00am - 6:00pm, Sa 8:00am - 12:00pm

Services: Animal Boarding, Animal Daycare, Animal Flea Control, Animal Grooming, Animal Microchipping, Bird Vet, Exotic Animal Vet, Reptile Vet, Small Animal Vet, Spaying/Neutering, Veterinarians, Veterinary Dentistry, Veterinary Euthanasia, Veterinary Medical Specialties, Veterinary Surgery

We're more than an animal hospital! We're the place where pet parents know they can bring their pets for superb veterinary care that sets new standards for quality and kindness. For pets and pet parents alike, a trip to our clinic is an opportunity to see how our neighborly, welcoming staff cares for your pet as if it were their own, and treats you with the friendliness and respect you'd expect from an industry leader.

We are a full-service veterinary hospital offering orthopedic and soft tissue surgery, internal medicine, doggy day care, complete radiology, preventative medicine, puppy and kitten packages, senior pet wellness packages, and more. We have been serving the community for over 27 years and we look forward to serving you!

14643 Palmdale Road, Victorville, CA 92392
Call 760-927-3096 Now To Make An Appointment

Here is one for sure that does see birds. I got this reply via email. This may be the same place listed above, but the phone numbers are different.

Yes, our sister hospital. VCA Mesa Animal Hospital on Palmdale road in Victorville, the number is 760-245-0109. Good Luck.
Ann Clark Victor Valley Animal Hospital #670 11696 Hesperia Rd Hesperia CA, 92345
(760) 244-8022 phone
(760) 244-0741 fax

I know a 50 minute drive isn't ideal, but it is still better than nothing.

Not at all. I drive that far once a month to buy parakeet food at the Petsmart in Victorville. Thank you very much, I really appreciate you looking that up for me. Now I can take the one I still have and get her a checkup. Many thanks.

You're welcome.

Parakeet essentially means any small parrot with a long tapering tail. Unfortunately, this includes cockatiels, conures, ringnecks, rosellas, grass 'keets, and some other species. The correct name for 'parakeet' is budgerigar, or budgie for short. Here in America, we differentiate between the "normal/pet/wild-type/american" budgies and the "english/show/exhibition" budgies simply by calling the smaller one "parakeet" and the larger ones (english) budgies. The English Budgies were bred for their size, feather structure, and maybe temperament as well.

Not everyone can afford vet care, and even if you had lots of money, it wouldn't mean that you are a great owner. Parrots are often bought for their looks, colors, "decour", etc with no real interest in the birds personality. There's Pet Healthcare, opening up a savings account for your pets only, and even CareCredit if you have it or can get it. If the vets office doesn't accept CareCredit then simply call CareCredit up and let them know, they might be able to work something out. If you don't know already, Carecredit is like a credit card for peoples health, and their pets as well.

Do you have any pictures of your budgie that you could share?

Necropsy's are often an easy $100-$200 at a vets office, but you might be able to find a local state agricultural department, and the necropsy's there may be $5 and up. I've done two this way, one was under $20 and the other ended up being $56 but only because I wanted to double check the results of the findings. Both done on budgies.

Birds can actually be sick for weeks/months with no signs of being ill, and even if you get a fecal and bloodwork done, it doesn't always guarantee a healthy fid, unforunately. Some illnesses are only detected via more extensive testing. Fecal/gram stain may be $15-$60, blood work may be $60-$200 or more, depending on the tests and vets. A basic bloodwork at my vets office is $90, with fecal being $30 or so.

Check out this thread... I can include more if you'd like.
budgie/topic95839.html


Green cheeks are great little birds, very popular, come in a few different mutations, and aren't generally known for being loud... however, they are known for being very nippy. I haven't owned a pyrrhura so I can't say from first hand experience.


Even though green cheeks are small conures, they still require a large cage. A&E or HQ Flight cages are often recommended, and these are usually good sized cages for their price. You could also look into getting a used cage and cleaning it up, but the bar spacing needs to be 1/2 to 1/4". No rust. If you go the used route, be sure to disinfect the cage well. The recommended size cage for many conures is usually about 20"x20" or 24"x24" although these cages often tend to not be very big when you include perches, toys, dishes, etc. Having said that, if you are home most of the time and don't see yourself being busy very frequently, then a smaller cage may be "ok" - not ideal, but not terrible either, if he/she spends a lot of time outside of the cage.

Many parrots are kept clipped. Clipping a parrot doesn't make them safer from escape, and there are pros and cons to both clipping and being flighted. I would suggest you look up the pros and cons of both before choosing if you want your GC to be clipped or flighted.

A seed diet is inadequate for any species, even budgies. The diet should include a good pellet (Roudybush, Harrison's, TOP's, Foundation Formula, La'Febers... to name a few...), preferrably a pellet without food dyes. A good seed mix, sprouted seeds, and fresh foods. The fresh food portion of the diet would be ideal if you could provide about 15% healthy cooked/sprouted legumes, 30% healthy cooked/sprouted grains, 45% veggies, and 10% fruits.

Here's a list if it may help.... and try to stay away from the bean mixes and do not feed kidney beans.
grey/topic106064.html#p147242

Your budgie should be eating about 50/50 seeds and pellets with fresh foods available, and a green cheek should be eating about 75% pellets to 25% seeds and other foods - although the correct/proper diet is controversial. If you can find an avian vet, then ask them suggestions on diet.


Plastic perches aren't that great, nor are wooden dowls for that matter. Natural perches and rope perches are often best, and there's some other types that are fine to use as well. If you get sandy perches, only have one inside the cage. There's also platform perches made out of a variety of materials that may be of interest to the birds as well.

Toys are essential! Toys that make noise, noise that can be destroyed, foot toys, etc. The more variety the better.

Look into positive reinforcement or clicker training. It's not about teaching tricks so much as it's about learning about your bird(s), and how to communicate with them in a positive manner. It can also be a great way to teach birds to interact with people, play with toys, and do good behavior over bad behavior.


Do you have any particular questions?

Green cheeks are great little birds, very popular, come in a few different mutations, and aren't generally known for being loud... however, they are known for being very nippy. I haven't owned a pyrrhura so I can't say from first hand experience.

That's pretty true from what I've experienced. Last time I was at Petsmart I did get to handle to type of bird I was hoping to adopt one day, a green cheek. He did chew me up pretty good, but all while climbing all over me like I was the coolest thing it had seen in its entire life. Naturally it hurt, but neither did I flinch or show any signs of discomfort. My albino budgie used to draw blood regularly when I first got her so I'm used to being bitten by scared birds. This conure though? It was more of a "Hmm, I wonder if I can get away with this" kind of nipping like he was evaluating the level of threat I represented.

As for pictures, no. The only electronic device I own that takes pictures is my cell and...well, it's just a cell. It doesn't even have texting. She's an albino though, all white, pink/red eyes and all that. Very anti-social though. For all my efforts the most she'll ever do is take a bath in my hands in the kitchen if she's hot enough.

Umm...questions...hmm. Well, lemme explain a little about how I keep my bird first while I'm thinking about it. She has a big cage, yes, but she also spends a lot of time out of it. When I get up the first thing I do is greet my girl with a hearty hello, open the cage door to change her water and I leave it open for her to come and go as she pleases. Her wings are clipped, but she can get to the other end of the room. Mostly by climbing things. She loves to climb.

The conure I'm interested in I would treat much the same. I probably won't buy a ten foot high cage because the cage is really just somewhere for the conure to sleep and be safe when I'm away at work (a total of twelve hours a week). It'll be the bird's bedroom, more or less, and MY bedroom the equivalent to its cage. That's the kind of bird owner I am, very interactive, or at least I really try to be. My home is their home and their more than welcome to share in everything I do. While at Petsmart I did scope out cages and asked questions. The one suggested to me as a minimum was 22lengthx15witdhx22height. It looks good to me because, again, unless I'm gone I don't intend to have the bird cooped up if it doesn't want to be. The food I intend to be basically the same as what they're fed at petsmart, same as I did with my budgies because it worked there and they know better than I. The food I was shown was this cockatiel mix that includes your basic seeds, sunflower seeds, various grains and supplement pellets. Sounded good to me. I naturally plan to feed it fresh fruit if it will eat them. I never could get either of my budgies to do more than stare at the fruit I gave them.

Speaking of, I spoke with the clerk at the store for a while about how my male budgie died. He never ate the fruit supplement pellets mixed into his seed. He'd just pick at the seed and then eat millet. The person I spoke with believes the cause of death may have been illness brought on by low immunity because he wasn't getting his vitamins. Doesn't make me feel any better, though, but it makes sense.

My only question, really...I guess if you have any opinions about what I just said. I did do my research. I've been reading one article after another since I even started considering this adoption and speaking with all the knowledgeable people I can find. My posting on this forum has really just been another branch of my researching.

My budgie's name is Beatrice, by the way. Her mate was Dante. After Alighieri, not that stupid parody video game.

EDIT: Actually I do have one question that just came to mind. I don't think gender especially matters in conures as far as behavior goes, but I'm curious nonetheless. Is there really no way to gender a conure as I have read? I mean, other than if it tries to mate with you. :p

Found another one, this one is about 2 hours away, but it is handy to have another one on file.

Chaparral Pet Hospital
915 West Foothill Blvd
Claremont, CA 91711
(909) 625-1561

Thank you once again dear Christie.

One more reply from a vet with good info.


My name is Kaela, and I am a receptionist at VCA Mesa Animal Hospital. We are pleased to inform you that we DO see/treat birds, however, of the three great veterinarians that we have here, only ONE of them specialize in Avians. This makes scheduling a bit tricky, so if you and your friend are interested in having his/her bird examined, please feel free to call ahead of time to schedule an appointment. We would feel bad if you both drove all the way from the Barstow area, only to find him not available. We are open Monday-Friday 7:00am-6:00pm, and Saturdays from 8:00am-12:00pm. Our phone number is: (760)245-0109 ex.2



Christie, if you have any more questions, or concerns, please don't hesitate to call, and ask for me. I am more than happy to assist you.



Thank you for your interest in VCA Mesa Animal Hospital, we look forward to speaking with you soon!



Sincerely,

Kaela

VCA Mesa Animal Hospital

Good advice Monica. The only thing I have to add is the fact that in LA most of the pet stores are no good. It took me years to find a store that I will purchase from. He does feed his birds a better diet, but personally I would still improve upon it.

I feed a mix of Roudybush, locally purchased seed, fresh and dehydrated fruit and veggies, and fresh food I make here. I feed sprouted seed when I can, but sometimes I don't change the water enough so I have to throw that batch out.

I say learn more about the different species of conures and their caging and dietary needs. The cage the store reccomended to you is one I wouldn't house a single cockatiel in, it is too small. Even if you plan on having the bird out most of the time, they need to have a cage that is of a good size for times they can't be out, like when your budgie is out. I will never trust two different sized birds out at the same time together. It is too easy for a playful nip to kill a smaller bird.

I never trust what a petco or petsmart employee says. There have been several times I go in, just to get an idea of what kind of cages they can order that my local store cannot. I have seen many sick birds that are not treated in these stores. Many birds with overgrown nails and beaks (a sign of lack of care or disease) and the fact that they still recommend "bird protectors" be purchased, or that all finches need to have a nest to sleep in (which they don't.)

Not that you won't find the odd person who really does know what they are doing, but don't take their word for it.

Nice, roomy cages can be purchased online and shipped to your house for less than one of a similar size would cost in a local store. If you want help finding cages, let us know, along with your price range.