Would you ever consider getting a bird for a pet? Well in our household, we have had at least one bird and more over the last 30+ years. It all started off with my daughter wanting a budgie for her 16th birthday. We already had cats, dogs, rabbits, turtles, fish and more, so why not a budgie?
Well that love of our little blue feathered friend turned into years of caring for birds of almost every color. Budgies do come in lots and lots of different colors. But somehow in all that time we always gravitated to budgies and never looked further afield.
This year that changed. Oh we still have budgies (2) Snowball and Sweet Pea. Both are very cute and loveable, but I was always drawn to the larger birds in the pet shop. What stopped me was the cost of the larger birds. Cockatiels were over 500.00 for one bird and the Conures (small parrots) were even more expensive.
That was when I started to look for a breeder who I was sure would not have the overhead that most pet shops have and therefore should be a little more economical.
Well at the beginning of May, we finally bit the bullet and contacted a breeder who had Pineapple Conures that were ready to go to their new families. We went for a visit to her compound and were impressed with the number of birds she and her husband were breeding. All seemed very healthy and loved. So we settled on a little male Pineapple Conure and promptly named him Benny!
Now to bring him home and introduce him to his new brother and sister (we are still not sure if the budgies are males, females, or one of each). But we are home now to our own Benny and the Jets!
All the birds are quite friendly with each other and while the budgies tend to spend time in their "room", Benny is much more social and loves to come out into the house proper and spend time with us.
The biggest difference we are finding between these two species is the interaction we have with Benny. He wants to be with us and his personality is HUGE! We are learning to train him, so that he comes when he is called, steps up when asked to, or takes a bath when you are washing your hands.
Birds are a messy lot but that is not too hard to take when you have a cordless vacuum to take up the crumbs that are dropped. Plus light vacuuming daily has become the norm at our home.
He is a lot of fun and loves to entertain us. Hanging on a hanger upside down is one of his favorite tricks. He will also let you love him with scratches to his neck and head. He gets very quiet when the love is being given out so freely.
So far, it is a learning curve, but we are enjoying Benny so much that we ask ourselves why it took us so long to look into a different bird species.
If you are wanting an animal that you can have lots of fun with and still have a manageable time with them I would definitely suggest a bird from the Conure family. They are about 10 to 12 inches in length and live about 20-25 years. Not as long as some parrots, but still a nice life span. And did I tell you they are a lot of fun?
We are using treats to train him and this works very well. So if you are looking for a new pet, consider a Conure, and go to a reputable breeder.
Like any pet, be responsible and do your homework on what they require and make sure you have a vet that will look after birds!
We are certainly enjoying our new role as Conure parents and highly recommend this type of bird for anyone who loves to have a special friend for themselves.
