Frequently Asked Questions
Over the course of two years many caring people have e-mailed their questions to me. Here are my best attempts at answers.
Is
She for Sale?
How much does
Dusty weigh?
Are you sure Dusty is a She?
Does she talk?
Does Dusty bite?
Do you trim her nails and beak?
Don't concrete perches cause foot abrasion?
Is she clipped?
Does she ever pick her feathers?
What's the most important thing in life to Dusty?
How
long do Conures live?
How
do you know if a conure is sick?
What's your take on Spirulina?
Is She for Sale? Believe it or not, I get this question occasionally. Of course, the answer is no. I think some people ask because they think she is one unique Dusky conure. Actually, based on conversations with other conure owners, Dusty's behavioral characteristics are pretty typical of a hand-raised conure kept by people who care for their welfare.
How much does Dusty weigh? She averages around 100 grams (about 3 and a half ounces). I use a jewelers electronic gram scale to measure her weight.
Are you sure Dusty is a She? Yes, on the last visit to the vet we had him do a DNA test. Just like I always thought, she is a she. Besides trying to guess their sex based on behavior there is no physical way to tell a male from a female conure.
Does she talk? Just after her 1st birthday, Dusty began saying her name. Now she says, "Hey Dusty" which is my wife's greeting to her. She also does my laugh. I laugh and then she laughs too. She'll also laugh along with the TV. Females are not know as great talkers (although there are exceptions).
Does Dusty bite? Well (to paraphrase one of our past infamous leaders), it depends on what the meaning of bite is. Conures "mouth" everything. Nearly all their sense of touch comes from their tongue and beak. Since conures are intensely curious they will "bite" just about everything they come across. Dusty has learned how hard is too hard of a bite and definitely backs off when she's around people. She will "pinch" my earlobe if it's time for her to eliminate and she wants to taken to her play gym.
Checking out a straw
Do you trim her nails and beak? No, I haven't had to so far. She has four short concrete perches in her cage and lots of chew toys. They seem to be doing the trick.
Don't those concrete perches
cause her foot abrasion? I use a mix of perches in her cage including
a Booda rope perch, manzanita wood perches (came with the cage) and two short
concrete perches. The four concrete perches are at each entrance to Dusty's
Happy Hut. You can see pictures of the perch arrangement if you look at the Cage
and Play Gym Pictures. I think the concrete perches are deliberately made
short so you won't be tempted to use them as the only perch in the cage.
I have the opportunity to check out the
underside of Dusty's feet everyday since she's a big "waver." She has
absolutely no signs of abrasion.
Of note...I had a budgie for 11 years that had just sandpaper perches to stand on (before I had heard of any concerns about them). He never had any signs of foot abrasion.
Is she clipped?
Does she ever pick her feathers? Fortunately, no she doesn't. Some birds pick their own feathers out because they are either bored or are copying another bird's behavior. Her only “manic” behavior is to chew the paint off of a certain section of her cage. She does this when she knows we (her flock) are around, but she’s not with us. In Dusty’s mind, she absolutely KNOWS that I am a bird. When I’m around she absolutely KNOWS that she is supposed to be with (or on) me. Conure flocking instinct is very high and I think Dusky flocking instinct is even higher than other conures. I’ve read that conures need a minimum of 4 hours of flock time per day. Naturally, I don’t think that means they need your undivided attention for that long. They just want to be “a part of the action” with their flock. For instance, Dusty is happily preening and crawling all over me as I type this (watch out for the mouse cord though, one bite and it’s new mouse time!). She is with us for all our meals (have to work hard to keep her out of the food). Dusty almost always stands on the shower door when it’s our bath time (she really loves running water). I use a “Birdy Basket” so that I can haul her around the house and still have a place for her to poop. It can be hard to find the time to be a “bird” but conures are pre-programmed to be flock intensive. I’ve been remarkably unsuccessful with toys. The one homemade toy that is a big hit is a couple of corks strung together with a cable tie. She makes short work of them, so she only gets to destroy them from time to time.
Her favorite place (the shower door) Her basket with
the cork toy (briefly intact)
What's the most important thing in life to Dusty? To feel safe. Being a prey animal she feels the safest when she's with her flock. In her case that means with me. She spends as much time as possible hanging around (and on) me as she can get away with.
How long do Conures live? I don't think anyone really knows for sure. The oldest conure I've heard of is twenty years old.
How do you know if a conure is sick? Vets have told me that birds are masters at trying to hide being sick and that a decrease in weight is one of the first signs of trouble. I have a gram scale and have found that Dusty's normal weight is 100 grams plus or minus 1 gram. Always look for any changes in behavior such as colder than normal feet, excessive sneezing, fluid from the ceres or lack of normal physical activity. That would cause me to check her weight. If there was a weight drop then get to a vet immediately.
What's your take on
Spirulina? Spirulina is a
blue-green microalgae.
"Spirulina contains concentrations of
nutrients unlike any other single grain, herb or plant. It contains gamma-linolenic
acid (GLA), linoleic and arachidonic acids, vitamin B12, iron, a high level of
protein (60 to 70 percent), essential amino acids, the nucleic acids RNA and
DNA, chlorophyll, and phycocyanin, a blue pigment found only in blue-green
algae. Spirulina is a naturally digestible food that aids in protecting the
immune system, in cholesterol reduction, and in mineral absorption." (from
the Prescription for Nutritional Healing)
Arguably, the best Spirulina is harvested
in Hawaii.
It is not the same substance as Klamath
algae, which is significantly more expensive and has been adopted by the network
marketers.
A drawback to Spirulina is that it doesn't
taste too great. It's kind of like what I would imagine eating grass would be
like. Great if you're a cow, but not so great if you're a person or a conure. To
get by this drawback it's usually taken in tablet or capsule form. There is a
brand of pellets that incorporates spirulina, but it didn't pass the Dusty test.
She wouldn't touch the stuff.
If you're looking for a healthy organic pellet you might take a look at the Harrison's Bird Food site. These pellets have passed the Dusty test. She eats the adult fine formula.
