Need a bit of information on zebra finches and sun conures

[alishabusch]

If you do in fact get two zebra finches, make sure they are both the same sex unless you ARE wanting to breed.

If that is the case, just to let you know, finches lay anywhere from 5-8 eggs. I bought a male and female and they laid 6 eggs. All hatched, one ended up being pushed out of the nest. 5 babies and let me tell you, that does start to take up space, because then I had to separate sexes for a while.
That would be cool though for the 13 year old to get to watch these babies grow. Unfortunately, there may be times that those babies need more help than what mommy or daddy can/will give.

I haven't got to have any conures to know about them personally but I would like to have one.

I would figure cockatiels would be better anyway. The best thing to do if you get the bird and you want it hand tame is to make it a point to get a very young bird. The best bet would be to talk with your pet shop owner and have them try to find you the youngest they can. Sometimes you come across a pet shop where the people don't know much about aging or sexing birds so for this, I would do research to make sure you have an idea of what you are looking for.

 

[ElizabethAz]

I am a little baffled by some of the 'info' in these responses....

First off, to say that its okay to let a first time pet owner have an animal because it is less expensive..or less intelligent than another type because it will be easier for you to 'replace it' and to justify its death is disgusting! Pet ownership shouldn't be based on how much you can afford to spend 'replacing' the animal after it dies--if it is properly taken care of in the first place IT SHOULDN'T DIE prematurely.

ALL animals no matter what their size or intelligence level REQUIRE a DEDICATED owner. Is the child in question actually wanting a pet? Have YOU spoken to this child about his desires of pet ownership, or what HE is interested in? There is no use in getting him a pet that he will not be able to take care of, or that his PARENTS will not want to take care of once/ or IF he gets bored.

All birds make some level of noise, they all make a HUGE mess with their seeds, they can all be trained to be handled, they all have different flock social structures, and all require ample space.-- FINCHES especially need LOTS of space to fly, they are designed for long distance flight. Zebras in the wild will fly 15-30 miles a day between water holes and feeding grounds (in captivity they are lucky to fly 24 inches one way).Where as parrots, and the like, are designed for climbing through the trees to forage... Parrots, Parrotlets, Cockatiels, Parakeets, would all be far easier to house because they don't require alot of floor space-- and they LOVE interaction with their human flock.. the cage can basically be the birds 'bedroom' and can have full roam of your house, a spare room, and any 'jungle gyms' that you can image to make/buy to extend/expand on your birds 'houseing'..

Finches, on the other hand are small. Easily startled, and generally do not want to be held, and HATE being stared at. BUT they do require a flight cage, 24" is the MINIMUM length for a PAIR (2) zebra finches. Zebras need other members of their species to keep them happy. It is possible to house same sex pairs together--but just like some other animals.. alot of times when two males are together they will and do fight. Fighting doesn't always involve feather plucking..it can include mounting behavior, intimidating, chasing.. and other behaviors that create stress.. stress is a major killer of small birds. Males and females can be housed together, and guess what.. if you don't want them to breed..do NOT include a nest in their cage. Some birds will get inventive and use a feed dish as a nest, simply remove the eggs if they do...Zebras form very strong bonds with their mates, and are delightful to watch.

On the whole-- Finches are more economical for a teenager and his parents.. their feed is cheaper, their supplies and cage setup is cheaper, and if the child decides he is just too busy to handle his birds--no worries, they don't like being held anyway.

Hookbills are HIGHLY social, like some one else mentioned they are like having a small child (a child perpetually trapped in its terrible twos) if he gets busy with school, a girl friend, sports, or whatever..the parrot will ultimately suffer, and may become aggressive (no one likes to be bit!) which in turn will result in the bird getting rehomed because the inexperienced owner will most likely NOT want to brave the screaming and bitting to get his friend back.--I can not tell you how many birds I have rescued and rehabilitated for aggression because their owners weren't compitent enough to consider the mental health of their parrot.

Also ALL hookbills will 'flock call' if they become attatched to their owner and he leaves the room--if he lives in an apartment, are his neighbors going to want to hear this ALL day while he is at school?

When I was 13 I had two pairs of Zebras in my room, and their soft 'mechanical' beeps drove my mom nuts--she said it sounded like a scratchy record....luckily for my birds I worked for all their feed and care--so my mom was willing to endure the noise as long as I was taking care of them.

Bottom line-- pets are a TERRIBLE gift, if the Boy is willing to work to buy/help earn supplies for his new pet and his parents are just as excited to welcome a bird into the home...THEN I think you have a winner; such action would indicate that he is truly interested in having a bird as a pet. Talk to him about HIS interests and see what HE wants (don't forget the parents, have them research these birds too so that they are familiar with their care). Then help guide him, this will require BOTH of you to do some internet searching-- learning about where the birds are naturally from, their care requirements, cage space, intereaction needs-- this will help him make one of his first grown-up responsible decisions, and feel closer to his pet since he will know what he is in for (as far as ownership is concerned).

** Conures are not a good choice for a first time bird owner.. they can be difficult. Cockatiels are good pets, but also require a great deal of interaction to keep them from becoming ''mean''.. Parakeets are very cute, small, colorful, require less space than the other two hookbills..but again-- require a dedicated owner to keep them happy. Ultimately the choice is going to fall on how dedicated, and how much TIME this boy wants to dedicate to his pet for the next 10-20 years of his BIRDS life...OR if you are willing to take the bird if he finds he is unpreppared to take care of it.

 

[C&Rman]

If I was this kid, I would go with the zebra finches they are very easy to care for. I personally have never had any conures so I can't judge them. I myself would go with some lovebirds. They are peaceful, and pretty. They are also very entertaining to watch love on eachother. Although they can be noisy at times, I have found them the easiest most loveable pets to have. Thats just my opioin.

 

[featherfinder]

Ok well I am the owner of 2 sun conures and they can be alot of work. Yes the do scream. They also tend to favor one person so if the owner does have to go away they get very upset. Mine will not let anyone take them from the cage except for me or my BF. They like alot of attention and when we do not give them attention that they want they are sure to let us know but usually they are always around me or him and there is no need for them to get loud. They are very smart and can be trained. Mine know a few things and I am always working on more with them. With them being so much work and wanting alot of time I would not let a 13 year old get one. I would be afraid he would get bored of his bird and in turn the bird would suffer or have to be re-homed.

 

[alishabusch]

I am a little baffled by some of the 'info' in these responses....

First off, to say that its okay to let a first time pet owner have an animal because it is less expensive..or less intelligent than another type because it will be easier for you to 'replace it' and to justify its death is disgusting! Pet ownership shouldn't be based on how much you can afford to spend 'replacing' the animal after it dies--if it is properly taken care of in the first place IT SHOULDN'T DIE prematurely.

ALL animals no matter what their size or intelligence level REQUIRE a DEDICATED owner. Is the child in question actually wanting a pet? Have YOU spoken to this child about his desires of pet ownership, or what HE is interested in? There is no use in getting him a pet that he will not be able to take care of, or that his PARENTS will not want to take care of once/ or IF he gets bored.

All birds make some level of noise, they all make a HUGE mess with their seeds, they can all be trained to be handled, they all have different flock social structures, and all require ample space.-- FINCHES especially need LOTS of space to fly, they are designed for long distance flight. Zebras in the wild will fly 15-30 miles a day between water holes and feeding grounds (in captivity they are lucky to fly 24 inches one way).Where as parrots, and the like, are designed for climbing through the trees to forage... Parrots, Parrotlets, Cockatiels, Parakeets, would all be far easier to house because they don't require alot of floor space-- and they LOVE interaction with their human flock.. the cage can basically be the birds 'bedroom' and can have full roam of your house, a spare room, and any 'jungle gyms' that you can image to make/buy to extend/expand on your birds 'houseing'..

Finches, on the other hand are small. Easily startled, and generally do not want to be held, and HATE being stared at. BUT they do require a flight cage, 24" is the MINIMUM length for a PAIR (2) zebra finches. Zebras need other members of their species to keep them happy. It is possible to house same sex pairs together--but just like some other animals.. alot of times when two males are together they will and do fight. Fighting doesn't always involve feather plucking..it can include mounting behavior, intimidating, chasing.. and other behaviors that create stress.. stress is a major killer of small birds. Males and females can be housed together, and guess what.. if you don't want them to breed..do NOT include a nest in their cage. Some birds will get inventive and use a feed dish as a nest, simply remove the eggs if they do...Zebras form very strong bonds with their mates, and are delightful to watch.

On the whole-- Finches are more economical for a teenager and his parents.. their feed is cheaper, their supplies and cage setup is cheaper, and if the child decides he is just too busy to handle his birds--no worries, they don't like being held anyway.

Hookbills are HIGHLY social, like some one else mentioned they are like having a small child (a child perpetually trapped in its terrible twos) if he gets busy with school, a girl friend, sports, or whatever..the parrot will ultimately suffer, and may become aggressive (no one likes to be bit!) which in turn will result in the bird getting rehomed because the inexperienced owner will most likely NOT want to brave the screaming and bitting to get his friend back.--I can not tell you how many birds I have rescued and rehabilitated for aggression because their owners weren't compitent enough to consider the mental health of their parrot.

Also ALL hookbills will 'flock call' if they become attatched to their owner and he leaves the room--if he lives in an apartment, are his neighbors going to want to hear this ALL day while he is at school?

When I was 13 I had two pairs of Zebras in my room, and their soft 'mechanical' beeps drove my mom nuts--she said it sounded like a scratchy record....luckily for my birds I worked for all their feed and care--so my mom was willing to endure the noise as long as I was taking care of them.

Bottom line-- pets are a TERRIBLE gift, if the Boy is willing to work to buy/help earn supplies for his new pet and his parents are just as excited to welcome a bird into the home...THEN I think you have a winner; such action would indicate that he is truly interested in having a bird as a pet. Talk to him about HIS interests and see what HE wants (don't forget the parents, have them research these birds too so that they are familiar with their care). Then help guide him, this will require BOTH of you to do some internet searching-- learning about where the birds are naturally from, their care requirements, cage space, intereaction needs-- this will help him make one of his first grown-up responsible decisions, and feel closer to his pet since he will know what he is in for (as far as ownership is concerned).

** Conures are not a good choice for a first time bird owner.. they can be difficult. Cockatiels are good pets, but also require a great deal of interaction to keep them from becoming ''mean''.. Parakeets are very cute, small, colorful, require less space than the other two hookbills..but again-- require a dedicated owner to keep them happy. Ultimately the choice is going to fall on how dedicated, and how much TIME this boy wants to dedicate to his pet for the next 10-20 years of his BIRDS life...OR if you are willing to take the bird if he finds he is unpreppared to take care of it.

The no breeding with no nest thing is actually false. I had to switch feeders to something not so bowl shaped...she used it and the water bowl as a nest. So if you house two finches of opposite sex than be sure to not have something that COULD be used as a nest.

 

[alishabusch]

The no breeding with no nest thing is actually false. I had to switch feeders to something not so bowl shaped...she used it and the water bowl as a nest. So if you house two finches of opposite sex than be sure to not have something that COULD be used as a nest.

Might want to also make sure, if you do this and keep removing the eggs, your female will keep laying because he will keep breeding her if they are aware of the feed dish being a possible nest.

This will lead to a dead female because of malnutrition. Never good.

 

[ElizabethAz]

Everyone will have a differnent experience-- I have personally owned/bred Zebras for 14 years and have never lost a bird due to complications of having opposite sex pairs housed together with/without a nest. So I would say he is pretty safe starting out with a male/female pair... he might even find sometime down the road that it would be really cool to let his birds have a nest and watch his baby birds grow up.

Yes I agree that some birds are pretty determined to lay their eggs--and will even resort to laying on the floor of the cage. But on the whole these behaviors I have found are not too common-- I am not saying that such situations are not unheard of/ don't ever happen (because yes as you pointed out a female can become depleted), but they are just not the gold standard to Zebra ownership--not all pairs will lay eggs non-stop. Also so the OP isn't confused.. The female bird doesn't lay because there is a male present, she lays because she is sexually mature-- just like chickens, the hen will lay eggs periodically through out her life cycle (rabbits on the other hand do only ovulate when they breed). Plus if he gets a pair of birds that are bent on proliferation, there are many different things that he can do as a pet owner to over come this issue that are pretty cheap and easy to do; like putting a couple of those small fake eggs you can get at a craft store in the nest so she thinks she has a clutch. And always making sure that the finches are fed a varied diet, have clean water, grit, and access to a cuttle bone