I've got one! Say hello to the aptly named Larrikin:
Lark is my baby boy - although he did turn 5 in August. The cage you have looks like it'll be nice for a sun conure. You just have to make sure you get a variety of different perches - maybe a rope one, a wood one, a stone perch, etc. Also get different diameter perches so all the muscles in the feet get used. It keeps the feet healthy. And you'll have to fill it with toys! Also, the bar spacing has to be correct. So let's go through the questions here:
1. They can be extremely nice, and they can be extremely mean. It's all in the bird's personality. If you get one from a breeder who handles the babies, I'd expect him/her to be nice. And if they want to, they can bite really hard. Lark came from a pet store, whose owners thought it was funny to chase him around with a towel until he flipped onto his back, which is a parrot's last defense. Needless to say, when I first got him he was terrified of people, and I lost a few chunks of finger while working with him. If you're asking if they can draw blood, oh yes, they can, and then some.
2. They're just as messy as any other breed of parrot. They'll fling food, they'll poop wherever unless you want to 'potty train' them (I taught Lark to fly back to his cage whenever he needs to poop) and they'll splash their bathwater everywhere - just like any other larger bird species. There are bunches of ways to contain the mess, and a cage with wings is a good start. Having them on a proper pelleted diet helps, as you won't get seed hulls everywhere.
3. They're very smart little birds and like to please, so if you know what you're doing and you stick with it, they're not hard to train. Lark does a few tricks himself. He was clicker trained.
4. They're not the best talkers. Their voices are pretty muffled and they don't talk as well as, say, cockatiels, but some can be pretty accomplished. Lark says a few things, like hi and puffball (his nickname), but he likes to mimic sounds more. He blows his nose, gives kisses, whistles, laughs, and does a bunch of other sounds.
5. This is all dependent on the bird's personality. All birds are different. Sun conures do tend to be pretty outgoing, but others are shy. Lark is mostly a one person bird due to his early life experiences. He does like my mom, though, and is okay with my father. He's neutral about my brother. In general he likes women more. Like I said, all depends on the bird. Socializing at an early age helps, though.
6. Loud, loud, loud, loud, LOUD. They are the loudest conures, hands down. If one screams right in your ear, forget about it. Your ear will ring for at least half an hour. Keeping them busy with lots of toys and things to do keeps them quiet, though. Lark only screams when I just arrive home to get my attention. It's his contact call. The rest of the time, though, he's pretty quiet and likes to use his human noises to communicate to me.
They're little snuggle bugs. Lark likes nothing more than to curl up under my chin. They can be very comical and mischievous. But like with every parrot species they have their pros and cons. If you're looking for a snuggly, sweet, smart bird and can put up with the noise level, go ahead and get one. Otherwise, get a cockatiel. They can be just as sweet and are much quieter in general. They're also much less expensive and they can't bite as hard if they get annoyed
Edited by Pyxis - 8/20/12 at 5:36pm
