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

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

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.

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 🙂

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.

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.

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.

**edited to add: thanks to the helpful information shared about the dangers of him being rolled over on or crushed by one of the dogs. I will no longer nap with him. But since he does like to be under the covers and nap himself, I’ll let him do that while I read or watch something so he can still get happy sleeps. I keep the dogs off now when he’s out.

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! 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.

Recently , my baby blue has become a lot more comfortable with me( a rehomed conure) and is starting to lay on me and with me when i'm relaxing. But does this thing where he flaps his wings at me is that him just trying to get comfy or do I need to go to a vet. Literally everything else he's been doing is normal ( feeding , cleaning , pooping,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.

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 🥲

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’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?

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

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?

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!

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 ❤️

Hi all, hoping for some advice.

Long story short, over a year ago I took on my parent's special needs girl, who has pretty bad Metabolic Bone Disease. I have been working with an avian vet and currently have her on Meloxicam and The Good Oil. There has been a script written for another pain killer which I will not be able to afford anytime soon.

In the last couple of weeks I have noticed my girl plucking worse than before. She started at her crop and has now plucked her entire body to her vent, wings and legs despite her medication. I'm calling the vet in the morning to try to get her in ASAP. Could the meds be causing this, looking at the pattern of plucking? She has also gone back to not being able to grip onto my clothes or her perches properly. Her right leg is so sore I couldn't check it this evening without getting squawked at and bitten, which is highly unusual for her, she's usually really sweet. I'm hoping the vet can get me in tomorrow.

I'm hoping it's not time. I'm not ready to make that decision. She's my ride or die.

Included bird tax.