Green Cheeked Conures

[Kogo Shuko]

Who owns one? Do you enjoy owning one?

I have owned budgies all my life and now that my last budgie passed away (out of the blue... he was happy and singing in the morning when I left, a few days ago, and then I came home to find he had passed), I'm considering owning a larger bird with a larger lifespan and better socializing.

I keep hearing GREAT THINGS about green cheeked conures, on all the sites I'm checking out, but I'd love to know what current owners think of their birds.

Are they worth it? (a fancy budgie is about 40 dollars, but where I am green cheeked conures come with a minimum price of 300)

 

[Disneychick75]

We had a Green Cheek conure. Peppy was so cute and playful! He was also definitely LOUD. We had him for about 15 years before he died. One of his favorite snacks was home made muffins with veggies baked inside.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I hand fed one from a hatchling when I was 12 and had him until I moved out. My parents still have him. We're a big bird family(well in my parents' house).

They are my favorite conures. I think they are the quietest(which isn't saying much considering it IS a conure ) and the most affectionate. They are very loving and playful and can be more of a family bird compared to some other bird breeds that tend to bond with one or two people.

I love Ollie. He's a little cold to me now that I moved, but he adores my parents and strangely enough my kids. He holds a grudge I guess.

It's worth looking into an actual breeder as opposed to a pet store so you can get a hand fed baby. If you're willing to learn you may be even be interested in being a part of the process.

 

[Kogo Shuko]

I've found a breeder, and incidentally, she's even cheaper than the pet store!! She breeds different kinds of conures, with the cinnamon and green cheek conures being the cheapest. She's a bit far away, but she guarantees that all her birds are hand raised, and also offers to do the DNA test so I know what gender I'm getting.

I keep getting different opinions on how loud they can be. Some say they're loud, others say they're very quiet. But the majority do say that they'd do well in an apartment, so I guess it can't be TOO bad. Our bedroom is on the second floor and the bird cage would be on the other side of the house on the first floor, so I just wonder if that's enough distance that if he or she woke up early he or she wouldn't disturb the whole house.

It sounds like a conure's personality would be perfect for my household. My boyfriend's son is seven and loves animals, and I think a conure is a good compromise when the son wants a cat but we have other pets that cats wouldn't get along with. (fish, gerbils, previously a budgie, etc)

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Breeders will always be cheaper. It's like paying wholesale as opposed to retail prices.

Any conure can be loud, but in the scheme of things they are fairly quiet. I'd say they're not as vocal as others, but close in actual volume levels. Make sure you socialize the bird a lot with the boy because kids can make birds nervous. You guys will get bitten... It happens to everyone(I never believe anyone who says their conure hasn't at least nipped them). They test boundaries and go through almost a teen phase where they can be just jerks, but it passes They get bored easily too. I used to have a bin of toys that I would rotate about once a month. It was like they were new each time!

 

[Disneychick75]

We bought ours from a breeder. As far as the noise conures make, I think it's a personality trait. Just like some people are louder than others. Supposedly giving a Green Cheek a lot of attention makes them less noisy but we gave ours attention all day long and that made no difference.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

My green cheek conure wasn't as loud or vocal as my Quaker, but these are birds we're talking about so it's all relative. They all have the capability to be loud if they choose. Fortunately, my conure didn't often choose to be an obnoxious little twit. The Quaker on the other hand...sigh.