#ConureCare

[birdsittingtoronto]

Look Who's Back!

Welcoming Cooper the Conure to Bird Sitting Toronto for a month full of fun!

[rosaliewolfheart]

Elements of Conure care that more people should know about pt 2

CAGES! Let's break down cages, what does a good cage look like for a conure? For one a good cage has several different types of perches-dowl perches and sand perches should be used VERY sparingly due to the problems they can cause your bird such as bumblefoot which is when your bird’s feet swell up from being positioned in the same way every single time your bird perches and sand perches can be very rough on the bottoms of your bird’s feet causing cuts and irritation. Natural perches are the safest way to go and offer them a huge variety at many different levels in their cage so they always feel comfortable and have the power of choice which will ultimately lead to a more mentally worked bird.

The size of the cage should be AT LEAST large enough to allow the birds to fly around and accommodate their long tails with a dimension of 18" wide, 24" deep, and 36" high. Then you should thoroughly pack the cage with toys that challenge your bird. Note: Toys are meant to be destroyed so if you opt for toys that are made of plastic or similar material that your bird can’t go to town on you’ll quickly find you have a very bored bird. And as I said in my last post a bored bird is an angry bird. When looking at toys for your bird try to stay away from toys with mirrors, these can cause your bird to hyper-fixate on their reflection and will cause them to be depressed once the mirror is removed, small bells that can catch and cut bird tongues in the middle. Toys made of different shreddable materials and foraging toys should be the go-to, and you should have LOTS of them.

Your bird should have food and water on multiple levels of their cage(if this isn’t possible it’s not the end of the world) and should have lots of foraging toys full of treats, or just forgo the use of food bowls and strictly feed from foraging toys but do so slowly since the birds do have to learn how to actually use the toys providing them with a small bowl of food while they learn is very important. 

And, like I said in my last post, these are NOT cage pets. Conures need to be out of their cage as often as you can let them be, making sure their cage is set up properly is important but also getting them the exercise of being out of the cage is essential.

[rosaliewolfheart]

Elements of conure care that more people should know about pt 1:

They form very deep emotional connections, very similar to the bond you would experience with another human, and as such they need all of the time and attention that you can give them. They also need to be highly socialized or else they will become protective of their person and they could become aggressive towards others, they are naturally shy animals and are very cautious in new situations.

And just like a bond you would have with a human conure personalities vary bird to bird(this goes for just about all animals). If I'm talking about just Jackie I would describe him as curious and very sassy, he likes to be the center of attention and is very needy. He loves to be close to me and out and about and just involved in everything I'm doing. He understands my routine and has even figured out how to get the cats in trouble.

That Bond is not unique to us but it took us a lot of work which is another thing people need to very much understand. Conuers are not easy pets, they are not cage pets like finches or anoles these animals need to be involved in everything you're doing and they need mental stimulation more so than smaller birds because if you do not meet the mental needs of your bird they will become destructive and very antisocial, on days when I'm not able to spend as much time with Jackie as he needs he often is very nippy.

Bringing us to point number three of part 1, Conuers need to be trained. There are several amazing YouTube channels out there that have helped me a ton but they need to be trained because they are essentially toddlers with can openers on their faces and if they are not taught bite inhibition they have the ability to break skin, which is very daunting for a lot of first time bird owners.