Sun Conures??!
 

I have a quick question. I would like to get a male bird..preferable a parrot of some sort in the future but i am debating on which one to get. The only type of birds i've ever owned are lovebirds, cockatiels and budgies. Anyway i was in Petco today getting fishfood and happened to stumble into the conure display LOL No seriously, they had 2 baby Sun conures in this big cage in the middle of the store. I was surprised that the employees were actually very knowledgable, i was asking all sorts of questions. But NEway they said they handfed them there, i think they were brother and sister, about 3 mos old. I believe them that they handfed them cause they were very very tame and friendly, the guy even took them out and let me hold them and they were the sweetest things ever!!! I am interested in getting a male...i know all about Petco tho so i am not looking to get one from there...but prob. from a breeder...but my ques it..does anyone here own one? They seem very sweet...can you tell me about yours...do they learn to talk? Are they very noisy, etc? I dont know anything about them...are they similar to parrotlets and amazons? srry im completely clueless about them..i really am doing my research now cause i just want to own one parrot that will become attached to me and at first it used to be a cockatoo but i read up on them and don't think i want to own one anymore. So im still trying to decide...i would like one that can mimic words and are very smart but not super loud ..thanks!

We babysat one for about a month. His name was Apollo. He was very loud. Very very loud. He was so playful. I can't remember is Apollo talked. Unlike my cockatiel, he was very agile. He loved to do acrobatics more than our lovebird. He loved to be held, and have his belly rubbed. We were going to adopt him (from his military family), but we didn't have space for his large cage.

I love sun conures and wish we could have kept Apollo. Good luck with your decision!

They are so loud! Whenever we visit a local bird store, they are always going nuts and their sounds are ear-piercing.

oh man you're right...i just looked them up on youtube and saw some videos of them screaming...very ear piercing! When they are not screaming they are cute...but i dont know if i can deal with that noise. I hated when my lovebirds squeeled, it really gave me headaches but they seem louder and very high pitched

Hey...I own 4 birds..an african grey (who can get loud, but generally doesn't) also she is pretty much a one owner bird. These (to my knowledge anyway) are the most vocal of the parrots, having a vocabulary of 2000+ words. She is very good and mimicking sounds, but is not talking as of yet. (she's 2yrs old). I also have an umbrella cockatoo that we raised since he was 2wks old. He is what the books call "a love sponge" and has never been much of a problem. We take him to the local nursing home to visit the residents. I have a cockatiel--no problem at all there. And last I have Homer...an extremely loud nanday conure. He's green, blue, and black instead of the sun colors. He was given to my family from a friend of ours because they worked split shifts and was unable to sleep because of his shrilling chirp. It seems the louder his surroundings are, the louder he gets. (I can hear him from the end of my driveway about 1 acre from my home. He is in the house and I still hear him!) I hope I have helped you in any way.

Most conures are very loud, actually birds for the most part are loud. We have 10 birds right now. We have one of the conures that are not loud, in fact he only makes little squeaky noises, he's a green cheek conure. Not as colorful as the suns, but he's a nice little bird. I don't think conures are known for talking much. Although, they are not legal in every state, I think a quaker makes a good pet for a novice bird owner. They can be noisey, but don't scream like some birds do, and mine is very sweet, she is the only bird I have that has never bit me, lol.
Right now, all my birds are being very vocal:) My greys are whistling and barking, my parrotlets are chirping away, it's never quiet here!

If you want a talking bird, and not so noisy.. save up for an African Grey. They have the intelligence of a 5 year old. Just like a Yorkie, they become one of your kids! Conures are really, really noisy!!

wow i cant imagine....i love birds...if i had the space i would have several im sure...i just need to pick that right one. I love cockatiels and ive had them all my life but i wanted to try a different kind of bird because none of the cockatiels ive owned were ever like my very first cockatiel..now he was something else..he was like a dog...verrrry smart and soooo attached to me. i miss him..so i wanted to get a diff. one...maybe bigger than a cockatiel..vocal that can mimic words, etc. but not one that just sits there and screeches all day..im stuck. there is this place near my house, its a bird store but its not like any petstore ive ever known...they have several parrots, not even in cages but in a big glass room in the middle of the store and they're all free. They handfeed them there and touch them a lot, so they are very tame and they dont let anyone inside unless it's an employee or unless someone has already bought one of them and wants to spend time with them. i think i want to volunteer there. i know when i visit i sometimes see ppl volunteering, its a very nice place, they really love the birds. i think that should help me learn more lol

yikes thats a lot of birds!! i love how greys can mimic words so easily..my neighbor has one

ppl keep mentioning an african grey..but they scare me. idk what it is...i think its cause my neighbor/godmother has one and he stares at me like he wants to bite my head off. im not scared of birds at all...just him and since then i was like i dont want an african grey. He's super smart...everytime i walk by her door i can hear him ringing or barking or w.e. lol but his eyes scare me..when i visit and hes in his cage he looks raging mad and fluffs up

If I had been born a bird, and was made to live in a cage, I would be raging mad too. :(

I wanted a bird and if I had the chance to get one I would get an african grey. They are very intelligent and talk alot. I have alot of fish 2 yorkies and a cat. Thats the only reason I havent gotten one yet

Yea, I do have alot of birds, my friends and family think I'm crazy, :D
I only have the 3 larger parrots, 2 greys and a macaw, my others are smaller, the green cheek, quaker, Indian Ringneck and 4 parrotlets.
Greys are awesome birds and can be great pets, but they are also known for being more phobic than say like a macaw or a cockatoo, that are more friendly I think and as someone said theirs was a love sponge. I love my greys they have learned to say lots of words and also pick up household sounds, phone ringing, smoke alarm beeping etc. I got my greys when they were just a month old and finished handfeeding them. One turned out to be very sweet and is in perfect feather. The other is very skittish and picks at feathers so she looks not so pretty:(
Before you decide what kind of bird you want, you should read up on all different kinds. You should also check out upatsix.com it's a bird forum kinda like this one, and you could talk to others that have birds.
Good luck with finding the perfect one:)

Also if you get a bird make sure you dont cook with teflon pans. The fumes will kill them. Thats another reason I havent gotten one. Every pan and baking dish I have has teflon

My birds all have nice size cages and are allowed free time out of the cages every day. They love to go back in their cages at night, none of them are raging mad,:( they have a great life, lots of fresh fruits and veggies, along with thier regular food. I do agree some people get birds and once the novelty wears off, the bird gets neglected and ignored, but mine are treated very well.

i know i agree...i feel very bad for birds that are kept in cages all day long. every bird i've ever owned i always leave their cage open...thru out the day they were either on top of their cage, on their branch perch or on my shoulder. Seriously it affects the bird's personality very much...they are used to being free and able to fly wherever they want in the wild and then they are made to live in tiny cages...its not right. i never locked mine in a cage....my cockatiel that i had as a child was so tame i would take him to the park with me...he never even wanted to fly away. some bird owners just are afraid to deal with and touch their birds so they keep them locked up...its sad. oh btw tho my godmother doesnt keep him locked up...the thing with him is he is very attached to her and only her. so when guests come over she does lock him in the cage, otherwise he will fly at you and try to bite you. He almost did that to me once lol but other than that she always has him with her..hes really sweet..only to her. i think they are one person birds...im not sure

ok omg guys i have to share! i think i know which bird i am getting...im so excited! So i went to the bird store downtown...its not even a bird store really...a mother and son run the business and most of the birds there they are boarding for their customers but anyway i initially went to look at the baby cockatiels cause i was thinking of maybe getting one..depending on how they acted with me. But they were way too skittish. They are handfed there but i dont think they handle them too much. I held this one male and he kept flying off my hand and eveywhere soi didnt really want to get him. So then i was looking around, they have every kind of bird in there, even a macaw, gosh it was so big. He was just chilling outside on the cage, very sweet. So im looking at the conures...there were 3 baby ones and in their cage was a PIONUS! I never even heard of a Pionus before!!!! Omg they let me hold him and he was sooooooooo sweet! I really want him! They said they are like the quietest and most laid back birds they have, all the staff said he was their favorite. When i held him he just looked up at me and loved being scratched on the head. They are very observant the guy said. And he even turned him on his back with his feet in the air and he stayed there...its so hard for a bird to do that. So they gave me a magazine about Pionus so i can read cause i was interested and have never heard about them and they sound like the type of bird for me. He is 6 months old and i think i am going to get him...has anyone heard of one before or have one? It was a white capped Pionus...very pretty. He was green with blue growing on his chest...they are a parrot...similar to an amazon but not loud like them or as big...they more often make little noises thru out the day like cockatiels but not screech like other birds. Oh and they want $650 for him. :rolleyes: They can live 30 years tho so that is not bad actually but this place charges more than breeders but there are no breeders around here..what do ya think? All i need is a cage....too bad i gave all my cages away..now i need to get another one

That is actually how my favorite cockatiel died....i was in my room doing my homework and my mom was cooking something in the oven and there was smoke in the air...my dad told me he was eating and just died:( i was 9, so im all awayre about that now...never happened again with my birds

I looked up pionus parrots and they look like a really neat bird. I love their colors and the fact their not so noisy. I hope you get him

That's great news, I've heard of them, don't know much about them, but it sounds like a sweetie. I understand they are not a real loud bird, I think lots of people end up rehoming birds because the noise can be too much, so that's a plus!
Hope to see pics soon!
Martha

yes thats def. a plus..im so excited if i do get him..they seem so laid back. The one i went to see today was raised and handfed with african greys..so he gets along with all birds basically. its just so funny how he was looking up at me, like studying my face...i love when they do that and he loves kisses too! One thing tho...i heard they smell..i didnt smell anything at all but when i was reading the mag. i heard some ppl dont like their smells and some ppl do...i wonder what that smell is..i personally love how all my pets smell, every one ive owned so im sure ill prob like it anyway

They have very loud voices.

I am happy that you may have found your birdie :D I just wanted to throw in my two cents and say that the Green Cheek Conures are perfect little birds that can be little clowns but also little cuddle bugs. They are not loud at all like the other conures and are so much fun. I used to take Puck shopping on my shoulder and he'd just sit on my shoulder and nuzzle in my hair. He passed away last year and we have no clue why...I still miss him. We have Demri now and she is just as sweet. Just wanted to let you know in case the Pionus doesn't pan out. Good luck!!

What!!!I have a Green Cheek Conures and he is so loud. And Sun Conures are louder. They are lots of fun and can bark like a dog and talk so much but I cant sugar coat this, they are very loud if you are not giving them your total attention.You need to clean thir cage every day. Papi is about 9 years old now..I do love him but I'm just being honest. As a matter of fact he is flying around my den torturing the Yorkies. lol

They do make noise, like any bird, but compared to all the other conures their noise level tends to be lower...they are not screechers. I have also had an African Grey and a Green Wing Macaw (the BIG red one) and in comparison to many other birds, the Green Cheek's noise level is much lower. Now Demri does tend to make more noise than Puck did, especially when she knows it is time for the household to be awake or when someone comes in or out of the front door (she chimes in when the dogs are barking....LOL!) but she still isn't overly noisy...they don't tend to be screamers and are known to be the quietest of all the conures. I would go nuts with a Sun Conure...I think they sound like monkeys...:eek: I wish I could let Demri fly around the house like you do, but with two cats, it's impossible. Papi sounds like a riot!!:D

We had to rehome Haans, an Umbrella Cockatoo. Talk about a loud voice. He loved my husband and hated me. He bit me and flew at me. He was very jealous.Has a great home with a very nice family. I think they have about 10 birds.

yes i heard cockatoos usually get rehomes a lot due to the noise they make. They are very loud and like a toddler...very active and veryyy jealous...if they get attached to one person in the house forget it...they clain them as their mate...unless that person trains them somehow. they are very cute and sweet though.

Anyway i went to see the parrot today again to interact with him some more. He is a little unsure cause he doesnt know me....very observant also like i said. He also was playing with my hair, grooming me, it was sweet. One cool thing about them, you know how i read that they smell? i read that they either smell musky or sweet and ppl love it or hate it and this one def smells sweet! omg he smells like flowers, its such a nice smell! i am still deciding tho and am going to return tommorrow again..i already got the cage, toys.

I love the smell of Pionus! :) They are wonderful birds and should be handled by everyone if you don't want them to bond to one person.

He is very pretty!!! Yes they smell sooo good!! Like flowers!! Does yours talk or anything?

I'd say from what I have read the green cheek conures are much more quiet then all their fellow "conures".

I live in an apartment and I have had mine for a year now, we got him when he was a baby and we got him from a breeder. he was handfed and tamed. He is still very tame. I can't say he is too noisey, he does get his moments but if you spend enough time with him he is not loud at all. Before we got our big dog he was out most of the day, now we need to be a bit more careful so he isn't out ALL day but he gets lots of time out of the cage. We keep his cage in the kitchen and I am usually in there doing something so I am always talking with him. He is really good doesn't scream much, he will yell if he gets bored and he will call me. He knows how to said "hi", "kiwi" ( thats his name ) and do a little weird laugh lol He also knows how to dance when you say " Kiwi dance! " He knows how to give kisses, he loves to have showers and most of all he just loves to cuddle and hang out on my shoulder! If I am in another room and I call him he will fly to me. He had his wings clipped but I've let them grow back in. If you don't decide on a cockatiel I say get one of these, they are great, I've had cockatiels and I have to say I love these way better, we are actually thinking of getting him a new friend soon. They are extremely smart and funny!!