Post #64639 by purple jade on Fri, Dec 12, 2003 10:00 AM

I got this from the avian specialist at my vet's in regard to my friend's evil conure. Keep the bird's perch below your eye level. If he has to look up at you, it establishes dominance. Also, when training or correcting the bird, make sure you use crisp, short sounds, as in "SHUT UP, YOU EXTREMELY LOUD AND ANNOYING DEMON BIRD! (another thing to consider, some of those birds are ear-splitting. I dearly love cockatoos, but the one next door to me sounds like a pterodactyl!). Long "o" sounds, something like "Nooooooo, biiiirdie, noooooooo", apparently sound like sweet talk to a bird and signal approval.
Tropical birds are highly susceptible to respiratory diseases, and need proper climate control.
They can be a bit dangerous. Nels from Tikizone told me about finding a mouse bitten in half (yikes!) in his conure's cage.
And Tikifish is right, they can easily outlive you. My friend inherited hers when her father passed away, twenty years ago.