If you’re wondering why we chose 4 baby sun conures as our new flock members, read this article on why I don’t rescue birds.

We are so excited to welcome our newest flockers, 4 baby sun conures, tonight! That’s right, we get these little rascals tonight from our breeder here in Florida. They are coming from the same breeder we got our blue throated macaw, Jinx, from.

We’ve decided on 2 out of the 4 names for them. The eldest of the clutch will be named “C.J.” which stands for… Comet Junior! Since Comet was the eldest of his clutch AND we call him a giant sun conure because of his hybrid-yellow-dominant colors… we thought it was fitting!

One of the others, depending on personality and mood will be called “Roikey” which is pronounced like it’s spelled “Roy-key”. This is after Linus the umbrella cockatoo featured in our Taming Training and Tricks series. This is something he’d say every so often that meant to us, “uh huh, I agree”. He’d say it so clearly sometimes and we’d have no idea where he learned it.

That, and it’s so original. I don’t think anyone has an animal named Roikey.

As for the two other names, we’d love your help! We plan on video taping lots of our daily interactions with these guys and we should know their sexes in about 7-10 days. So that will definitely help. Some names we’ve been tossing around are “Chaos” for any trouble makers in the group… and “Digit” for the smallest/youngest one possibly but we haven’t decided we like those names for sure yet and would love some suggestions! Watch out for our ConureTV webisodes of raising these little guys and training them for our show in Silverwood, along with of course… freeflight!
- Birdtricks.com

Related links:

• Our freeflight course
• Silverwood Theme Park contract

Blue fronted amazon

Q:  My green cheek conure bites me (or tries to) every time I take her out of her cage. It’s like she’s afraid of my hands. When she is out, she loves for me to play with her and doesn’t mind my hands at all. My sun conure steps right up everytime. What can I do to fix this problem?
-Jennifer S., Billings, MO

A:  It sounds to me like you have a bird that is not fearful of hands at all but is territorial and objects to having hands in (and probably around) her cage. Try to see her envoronment from her standpoint as a bird, remembering that her cage is her nest-site and home.

In the wild, a bird will fiercely defend the nest and its surrounding areas to ward off other pilfering birds that would like to steal her eggs and young, or take ownership of her nest for its own use.  This innate drive to protect her territory keeps her always on guard and she will run off anything that is foreign to her environment.

Mitred conure

Some species tend to be more territorial than others – conures are one of those species. In captivity, this drive is present and can be a powerful trait in a bird as an individual regardless of species. This behavior is further escalated during times when our birds are affected by breeding urges – in the spring, and again in the fall to a lesser degree.

You need to understand that your green cheek conure’s aggressiveness is not directed toward you on a personal level. She is merely carrying out her duties. It is not a “bad” behavior – it is a “bird” behavior. Try to be forgiving and acknowledge that this is her nature as an individual, and it may never change.

Blue mutation amazon

While you must respect that when your hands are in her cage they are regarded as invaders that make her feel threatened and insecure, you have to find a way to retrieve her when necessary without being injured. In the case of a fire, you must know that you can move her to safety.

Some birds will gladly step up onto a hand-held perch or wood dowel from inside their cages. And there is always the old standby: a towel wrapped around the hand the wrist to protect you from the inevitable bite. Be sure that your green cheek is watching as your sun steps ageeably onto your hand. Let him be the role model for desired behaviors.

I know you were looking for a way to fix this problem, but there isn’t really a “problem” to fix. Your bird is simply pursuing what comes to her instinctively. Over time, and with age, your bird might relax her standards and drop the guard dog routine. In the meantime, enjoy her cooperation and pleasantness while she is out of her cage and let her be proud and strong inside of it. I think this is a fair compromise.

Cockatiel

Q: I am thinking of getting a quaker parrot. Can I put him in the same cage with my cockatiel?
–Linda L., Minot, ND

A: This is just not a good idea. I have both species of birds and find that I have to watch the interaction between both closely even when they are in a common play area. Although they appear to be similar in size, the body type of the quaker is stockier, the beak larger and the personality more aggressive. The quaker is a more powerful bird than the cockatiel.

Even in cases where the birds seem to get along well, you have to consider the possibility that one day there might be an altercation between the two. The more delicate of the two birds, the cockatiel, would be the likely loser.  And being confined in a cage, where there is no possibility of escape, things could get ugly, or worse.

It is inadvisable to put two birds of different sizes together in close proximity at all. Never make the assumption that you know your birds well enough to feel certain that neither would cause an incident. I promise you that you do not know your bird that well. None of us do. A bird regards and responds to its environment differently than we do as humans. We don’t now, and perhaps never will, fully understand their nature.

Quaker

When I first came to Orlando, I introduced my goffins cockatoo, Theo, to the Womach’s rosebreasted cockatoos and african grey. Theo is smaller than than the other birds and is a bit timid in personality. Sweet and gentle Theo has never bitten anyone, ever – she’s a total marshmallow, and I expected her to come running to me for protection. Imagine my surprise when SHE was the aggressor with the larger birds and had no issues with telling THEM how things were going to be. The Womach birds just rolled their eyes and went about their business.

Parrots of the same species sometimes squabble, just like humans do, and often will simply opt to move away from each other. Different species have different levels of aggression and territorialism and might always regard another species in its cage as an invader. Just as wild birds run off other species that come too close to their nesting site, so might a captive bird.  It isn’t worth the risk.