Sun conures?

[SpartaDog]

Just talked to mom about it. She said she really doesn't want any more pets (which doesn't make sense to me, because the only one she deals with is the dog. My dad does the fish by himself and I do the 3 reptiles by myself. But whatever), but she's willing to consider. She didn't seem to care about the noise/mess as much as I thought she would. The only point she has against me at the moment is that moving a bird across state boundaries will be hard. But we'll work it out.

[mues155]

Iam not a big fan of sun conures either. I would NEVER own one.
The loud earsplitting single note noise they make is enough to drive me insane!
They can be very sweet and nice but I would rather go with a senegal or any poicephalus family member for that matter. Poicephalus tend to be more "apartment" birds, they talk almost in a whisper tone and their actual bird noise isnt one that makes your ears bleed lol.
Ive fostered many senegals and brown headed parrots and I gotta say, they are sweet as can be.
Just be SURE that you can handle the noise a sun makes before you get him. I hate seing birds rehomed multiple times.

[SpartaDog]

Hmm. After looking into it a bit, I think I might go with a caique instead. Unfortunately I'm having a bit of trouble finding one available for adoption, and I'd greatly prefer to adopt rather than buy.

[spygirl]

I prefer green cheeked conures myself. I've hand raised a few suns and my ears will never forgive me.

But a word of caution with adopting a parrot. Research and ask a TON of questions. Rehomed parrots tend to be extremely hard work and can be very difficult. I've seen a lot of rehomed birds that have found happy endings, but I've also seen a lot of cases that ended badly. Just make sure you know what you're getting into.

Also, if you plan on going to college, make sure that you can either take the bird with you, or that the bird is bonded enough with whoever you leave it behind with. If we left town, we either had to take Dragon with us or hope that my friend that he loved was available for bird sitting. He would refuse food and water, and scream non-stop if he felt he was left behind. It can be very damaging to their mental state if the people they've bonded with leave them.

Man, all this bird talk really makes me miss my green cheek... Sigh... After this kid is born, I'm totally going to need another one...

[musicalKeyes]

My uncle has a conure, and he's great, but I LOVE my mousebird. It's like having a tiny, quiet parrot. You do have to be prepared to feed them fresh fruit and low-iron softbill pellets, but they are awesome. My little guy is constantly on my head or shoulder, or clinging in my hair. He does occasionally make loudish noises, but they're definitely not annoying. They also sleep hanging from the top of their cage, which is hilarious. Super curious, and a ton of personality packed into a bird the size of a finch (their tails are three times as long as them, though). Anyways, if you can't go with the parrot, a mousebird would be an excellent alternative.
There's not a ton of info on them, but the few breeders out there seem to be super willing to answer any questions.
So,
NO seeds, fresh fruit and pellets. They don't have a crop, just an expandable esophagus, so they cannot digest seeds.
they live to be around ten years old.
not super colorful, some are moreso than others (mine's a whitebacked)
they do better in a larger cage, especially because of their long tails
use branches instead of perches. the reason they're called mousebirds is because of the way the scurry along branches, and they're also better for their feet.
they don't generally like getting wet, and can't regulate their body temps very well when they are, so I use chinchilla dust which my guy uses constantly.

Wish I had some pictures, maybe I'll take some tomorrow

[SpartaDog]

Also, if you plan on going to college, make sure that you can either take the bird with you, or that the bird is bonded enough with whoever you leave it behind with. If we left town, we either had to take Dragon with us or hope that my friend that he loved was available for bird sitting. He would refuse food and water, and scream non-stop if he felt he was left behind. It can be very damaging to their mental state if the people they've bonded with leave them.

Yes, the bird would definitely be coming to college with me. My parents already refused to take care of it while I'm gone because they're taking care of the lizard and 2 snakes already. I plan to get an apartment off campus, because not only do I not have to worry about the school's regulations at that point, but apparently it may be cheaper than getting a dorm. Or if I go to Eckerd college, I can just bring the bird with me on campus.

[mues155]

Hmm. After looking into it a bit, I think I might go with a caique instead. Unfortunately I'm having a bit of trouble finding one available for adoption, and I'd greatly prefer to adopt rather than buy.

Caiques are actually pretty hard to find. I know handfed baby yellow bellys usually run around $1200-1500.
And you sure dont hear about them being up for adoption very often.
Go to a local bird specialty store and just tell them what your looking for in a bird. Maybe they can help you.
Good luck!

[SpartaDog]

My uncle has a conure, and he's great, but I LOVE my mousebird. It's like having a tiny, quiet parrot. You do have to be prepared to feed them fresh fruit and low-iron softbill pellets, but they are awesome. My little guy is constantly on my head or shoulder, or clinging in my hair. He does occasionally make loudish noises, but they're definitely not annoying. They also sleep hanging from the top of their cage, which is hilarious. Super curious, and a ton of personality packed into a bird the size of a finch (their tails are three times as long as them, though). Anyways, if you can't go with the parrot, a mousebird would be an excellent alternative.
There's not a ton of info on them, but the few breeders out there seem to be super willing to answer any questions.
So,
NO seeds, fresh fruit and pellets. They don't have a crop, just an expandable esophagus, so they cannot digest seeds.
they live to be around ten years old.
not super colorful, some are moreso than others (mine's a whitebacked)
they do better in a larger cage, especially because of their long tails
use branches instead of perches. the reason they're called mousebirds is because of the way the scurry along branches, and they're also better for their feet.
they don't generally like getting wet, and can't regulate their body temps very well when they are, so I use chinchilla dust which my guy uses constantly.

Wish I had some pictures, maybe I'll take some tomorrow

Thanks, but I'm not interested in smaller birds. If I were, I would probably have surrendered to my lack of funds and went with a budgie or cockatiel. But no, I definitely want a small parrot of some sort. Else I'll get something else for college.

Caiques are actually pretty hard to find. I know handfed baby yellow bellys usually run around $1200-1500.
And you sure dont hear about them being up for adoption very often.
Go to a local bird specialty store and just tell them what your looking for in a bird. Maybe they can help you.

Seriously? That's ridiculous. Online I see PAIRS going for that and individuals going for more around the $600 - 850 range. And Petfinder has 2 white-bellies (which I assume you meant, since there are only 2 species and yellow-bellied isn't one of them XD) for adoption, but they have to be adopted together and I'm having trouble convincing mom on one, nevermind two.

[OtterGoRun]

Be prepared for a lot of noise, mess, and responsibility. Sun conures are NOISY, they are MESSY, and they need a LOT of attention. Especially coming from a different home, you will need to put in a lot of work to build a trusting bond between you guys. Parrots get very attached to owners, and also sometimes decide to hate someone for no good reason. In an apartment setting, I would not ever consider one as it can and will be heard in the other apartments neighboring you - not cool. They can make great pets, but all I am saying is they require a lot of work than many busy people cannot provide. Seed is also an inadequate and incomplete diet, so be ready to spend a decent amount of money providing a fresh and varied diet in addition to seed.

[SpartaDog]

Be prepared for a lot of noise, mess, and responsibility. Sun conures are NOISY, they are MESSY, and they need a LOT of attention. Especially coming from a different home, you will need to put in a lot of work to build a trusting bond between you guys. Parrots get very attached to owners, and also sometimes decide to hate someone for no good reason. In an apartment setting, I would not ever consider one as it can and will be heard in the other apartments neighboring you - not cool. They can make great pets, but all I am saying is they require a lot of work than many busy people cannot provide. Seed is also an inadequate and incomplete diet, so be ready to spend a decent amount of money providing a fresh and varied diet in addition to seed.

Yeah. As I said before, I will probably go with a caique instead (though I'm not going to decide for sure until the time comes to buy; African gray is also on my list), and I will probably be buying a newly-weaned baby as well. Caiques are notably quiet as far as parrots go and from what I've read, many breeders recommend them for people in apartments.

And I buy fresh fruit all the time for myself anyway, so that's not an issue. XD