(Part 2) Top products from r/Conures

Sounds like you've already read up a bit on birds, and that's a great start! I'd recommend checking out rescues in addition to breeders. Birds are NOT the right pet for everyone, and tons of people give up perfect parrots because they can't deal with normal bird behavior.

As for your questions:

1. Cage size: as big as you can afford, as long as it's got the correct bar spacing so your bird can't fit its head between the bars. I'd say 0.75 inch spacing is the absolute max for a GCC, 0.5 inch would be better; however, my bird is bigger than a GCC, so I'd consult with an avian vet on that to make sure.
   
   
2. Do not use T-Fal titanium nonstick cookware around birds! It has PTFE in it, which is toxic to birds. T-Fal advertises as PFOA-free and "nontoxic," but both PTFE and PFOA nonstick coatings are toxic to birds. Make sure your cookware is both PTFE and PFOA free. I use ceramic, cast iron, and stainless steel cookware only.
   
   
3. Cheap bird-safe cleaners: mix equal parts vinegar and water, put it in a spray bottle, and use it to wipe down countertops and anything that needs a little cleaning. Baking soda is also a great, cheap bird-safe cleaner - Google how to clean with baking soda, you'll find tons of tips, including how to clean an oven with baking soda (the self-cleaning feature on ovens is deadly to birds). For cage cleaning, I love Poop-off.
   
   
4. That feeding schedule sounds great. You can do meal times, or - well, I stick a bowl of pellets in the cage, and my bird does just fine.

These are my top three that I personally used. :D

A) This awesome foldable travel cage. I love this because it folds and it is an easy travel cage when I take my flock with me on vacation, to the park, easy way to take them outside sunbathing with me, or to the pet stores ..etc. I also have used it during vet visits as well.

B) A simple, basic, plastic extra small dog/cat carrier. Sorry for the photo quality but I kindof wanted to give you a better idea. This is super light. It is easy for me to get my flock member and put them in there. I probably use this carrier the most for vet visit. You can drill a hole on the sides and insert a perch . You can get a mash for the front of the carrier so their heads don't get stuck between the bars.

C) A bird carrier backpack. This is worth the money. This is super study . It has a steel bowl holder, small animal water bottle holder, and slide tray for easy cleaning. I love this. You can use this for the vet visit and take your bird for a hike afterwards. Here's one of my birds using it at his vet visits

Well it sounds like he is getting plenty of time with the family so he isn't in his cage for very long. So that might be part of it. This year I quit my job and have been home pretty much all day. I started leaving the cage door open all the time so my bird could come and go as he pleased. The main thing I noticed was that he pretty much stopped playing with all the toys in his cage because he'd rather be spending time with me or waiting around till I came by his cage. I started shutting the cage door for a few hours at a time just to make sure he wasn't getting too clingy and dependent on me. I don't know if my schedule will always allow me to be with him all day. After a few days of this I noticed he went back to playing with his toys.

After having him for 4 years I'm sure you've bought every toy under the sun. Mine goes through phases of toy types. So maybe just experiment and offer a variety of types at the same time. Also, it takes a few weeks for mine to even play with all of his toys. I was rotating them more often, but I noticed he wasn't really touching any of them. After they were in there for a few weeks he'd finally start chewing on them. If you find that your bird doesn't like any store bought toys I suggest going on Etsy.com or just buying toy materials yourself and make toys out of the types of things your bird is into. My bird really likes to shred finger traps, pick the plastic spines off those little spiked balls, bang around plastic chains or strings or other hard plastic toys and any type of very soft balsa wood. I find Planet Pleasures offers a lot of toys that are easy to poke holes in and stuff little seeds and stuff into them to entice your bird to forage and destroy the toys to get to the goodies.

Lastly when your family has your bird out with them, bring a toy you want your bird to play with along too. Show them how you pick it up and play with it yourself and encourage them to interact with it as well. Sometimes birds just need to be shown that a toy is fun.

I ended up making my own for my GCC. In order to avoid any territorial issues he may get regarding his new found love, I made it something he can't "snuggle-love".

Simple solution for me? I made it into a tunnel! I just took some cardboard, cut it into rectangular pieces, fastened them together, and then lined the inside and outside with fleece-like old (and clean :p) dish clothes! Tied some butchers twine around it and fastened it to the top, and it's a toy he loves to death!

The best part is that it works as a means of travel, a snuggle-like buddy, a place to sleep, a toy, and a perch all in one! If you need a point of reference, it's like those triangular happy huts.

I was lucky because my conure instantly loved the pellets I put her on, she is also really young. Other than that though she only likes sunflower seeds (or whatever I am trying to eat of course!). I'm working on getting fruits and veggies in her diet more. This is the brand I use if you want to give it a try. Also, I never allow sunflower seeds to be freely available because those are her treats for training, I want them to remain special. But i do keep everything else from a seed mix in her travel bag and I take her for walks a few times a week.

No problem! I did miss the note that she is housed separately from the other. In that case, separating them could be less of an issue (and you could make up for it by playing music or something in the background when you are gone so the house isn't too quiet).

If it does end up that she enjoys the company of other birds however, a Tiel wouldn't be a bad option. Especially if she already knows the individual Tiel. They are actually about the same size as a green cheek so there is less risk of injury if bickering does occur. In fact, the GCC we bird-sat lives with a cockatiel, and the two get along great.

As for the cage, I can assure you it is very sturdy. Light for sure, but the bars are not too thin (not flexible except under serious pressure). The King's cage has 2mm thick bars and these look to be similar? But I can't find an exact measurement online. The same GCC + Tiel pair (used to be a trio) I mentioned above is in one of these cages. And our aracari is in the XL size. While the locks for the front doors are not amazing (and the side doors are spring loaded) I've never had an issue with a bird escaping, or even trying to escape. For me the space is really what sells this cage. For $130 you can get over 2x the amount of space than the King's cage you link. And a measly $155 gets you 4x the space. Especially if a bird is being left alone for long periods of time giving them plenty of stuff to do and space to exercise is essential! And our birds use every square inch of it. We've had our oldest cage for 3+ years now and it goes through a lot of abuse, so I would happily get more in the future.

But I do know some people prefer cages with nice thick bars or sturdier locks. So if that is the case with you I just recommend going bigger than the cage you were originally looking at. A 17'' depth is just really pushing it for any tiel/conure sized bird. We have this cage as well and really like it! It's 38"H x 32''L x 21''D and we use it for a Senegal.

I picked up a few new toys and then another water dish. I recently broke his dish plastic dish and it’s a perfect time to grab another metal one. So far he’s been bouncing all over his cage with excitement :)

Booda Byrdy Bush

Rope Perch

Shaggy Kabob

Few additional, important items to consider:

• cover for the cage, to provide enough "dark hours" for sleep,
  
• self-locking straight forceps, in case you ever need to deal with blood feather, could save a life ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001HBNFLM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_zRAgDbCH26N22 )
  
• corn starch, to stop bleeding if your birdie ever gets injured,
  
• smaller travel cage, for vet visits,
  
• dumny eggs, to discourage further egg laying if you have a female,
  
  And it's great idea to set up a small first-aid kit for parrots. You don't want to have to use it, but if you ever have to - it's important to have it ready.

Same as u/darisafari, my GCC has that Prevue, too. He's 20 and his older cage was getting worn out, so I actually purchased it off amazon recently for his bday - here you go. You have to put it together, but it's not difficult to do. He took to it immediately, and it's really solid and well constructed. Just be aware the wood perches that come with it are a bit too big for a GCC to grip. I don't use those.

This one is the cage that I have for my two budgies and my two Bourke's. This thing has a good enough space inside that they have lots of room to play and much cheaper.

This is a non toxic natural biodegradable and pleasant smelling concentrated all purpose soap. It's been safe for my birds when I wipe poopsies off of their feathers

Sierra Dawn Campsuds All Purpose Cleaner, 2-Ounce https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000TTL8GC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_R0.xCbWGA9C6M

I know you probably don't have it laying around, but for future knowledge I thought it'd be pertinent

Birds love destroying keyboards I've found. I just dont let my conure on my keyboard. Whenever she goes on it I just move her. I have one of these those, so that makes it easier. https://www.amazon.com/Fellowes-Office-Underdesk-Keyboard-9140303/dp/B0002LD0ZY

I bet you could get a short rope perch like this and screw each end through the holes in the backpack like they did with the perches in this post.

what type of Conure?

Are you planning on keeping Him flightened or clipping his wings?

You have to train and discipline him like a small child.
He will require love and attention daily. Respect his space, but handle, and pet him as much as he will allow you to.

Make sure he has plenty of things to chew on. And get lots of bird safe bells that he can wack around. Conures get wound up, and can be aggressive at times. They need toys to be aggressive towards.

Get a sanding perch to keep nails trimmed
http://www.amazon.com/Pollys-Sand-Orthopedic-Perch-Medium/dp/B00176IDZA/ref=pd_sim_199_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=31%2Bdw7k2vdL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=0X6KNQ77TGF5M8MJZQ1J

Keep your toilet seat closed and bird proof your house. Do not use chemical cleaners, poison, candles, perfume, teflon pans in your home. These things will kill the bird.

Buy the bird the largest cage you possibly can.

Always put your hand in the cage to take the bird out to established shared territory. If bird shows aggression to an object put it in his territory (onto of cage/playstand)

Feed him harrison bird food pellets fine
http://www.amazon.com/Harrisons-Adult-Lifetime-Fine-5lb/dp/B0009ZFDA8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458183844&sr=8-1&keywords=harrison+bird+food+fine

Give him lots of safe fruits and veges daily, and occasional cooked meat. Make sure he get 10-12 hours of sleep a night. Keep him on the same routine. Establish how much attention you can give him from the start and the bird will expect that from you daily. I spend most of my time with my bird in the morning and evening, and he is okay being alone during the day because he was raised on this routine.

When putting him to bed at night ignore him if he makes noise, or screams. Ignore him if he screams during the day and he will eventually learn not to.

Leave music on for the bird when you leave him alone.

If you have bitting issues:

If bites you tell him no, and do a bunch of step ups with him
if he bites again tell him no and put him in the cage.
if he attacks you tell him no, grab him with a dish towel,and put him in the
cage.

Only feed the bird where you want him to eat: my bird only gets food in his cage or play stand.

You can PM me with questions. The quality of the bird you raise depends on the owner. I have a 3 year old green cheek conure. I got my conure when he was 3 weeks old, and hand raised him. I have no issues with my bird. He doesn’t bite, or scream, he doesn’t try eating my food when I’m eating, and is potty trained.