How to List a Conure for Adoption in the United States

Pet for Adoption6 min read

To list a conure for adoption in the United States, describe the bird honestly, including its species, age, noise and nipping, set clear adoption criteria and a modest fee, screen applicants with questions and a home visit, and sign a written adoption contract with a return clause. Matching the species to the home matters most: a green-cheeked conure can suit a careful apartment owner, while a sun or Patagonian conure needs neighbors who will tolerate loud calls.

This guide is for rescues, foster carers and owners placing a conure through an adoption listing.

Key points

Name the species and describe its voice honestly; Merck calls Pyrrhura conures relatively quiet and says Aratinga conures have a piercing scream.
Set criteria for cage, time at home, noise rules and avian vet care before you read any applications.
Rescue fees give a benchmark: Phoenix Landing charges $300 for a conure and Foster Parrots a $200 placement fee.
Use a contract that asks for the bird back if the adopter cannot keep it and forbids releasing it.
A trial or foster period, such as Phoenix Landing's two months, lets both sides confirm the match.

What should you include when you list a conure for adoption?

Species: name it, or say it is uncertain and show photos of the back, wings and tail. Pineapple and yellow-sided are green-cheeked color mutations, and a young sun conure still has green on the crown and back (World Parrot Trust).
Age and sex: hatch year or estimated age, band number and any DNA sexing certificate; VCA notes that males and females of most conures look alike.
Voice: when and how loudly it calls, with a short video.
Behavior: whether it nips, plucks, steps up, fears hands or bonds to one person.
Health: date of the last avian vet exam and any results, such as PBFD, avian bornavirus or psittacosis tests.
Diet and routine: what it eats, bedtime and favorite toys.
What comes with it: cage, perches and toys.
Terms: the adoption fee, your criteria and that the adopter collects in person.

Keep your phone number and home address out of the listing text, and ask applicants to message you first.

How do you set adoption criteria for a conure?

Decide what the bird needs before applications arrive, and judge every applicant against the same list:

Adoption criteria by kind of conure (cage minimum from VCA; voice from Merck and the World Parrot Trust)
Need	Pyrrhura (green-cheeked, maroon-bellied)	Aratinga-type (sun, jenday, nanday)	Patagonian
Cage	At least 2 x 2 x 3 ft	At least 2 x 2 x 3 ft; larger is better	Much larger; the Trust suggests a walk-in aviary
Noise	Relatively quiet, still vocal	Piercing scream; no thin shared walls	Very noisy; detached home ideal
Time	A moderate amount of daily attention	A moderate amount of daily attention	Daily time out of the cage
Lifespan to plan for	Up to 25 years (Merck)	Up to 30 years (Merck); nanday 35 to 45 (Trust)	Up to 35 years (Trust)
Experience	Suits a careful beginner	Some parrot experience helps	Experienced keeper

Be clear about deal-breakers, such as smoking indoors, keeping the bird in a kitchen, or a lease that bans loud pets. Foster Parrots, for example, will not place highly vocal parrots with renters or people who share walls.

What adoption fee should you charge for a conure?

A fee filters out casual takers and helps cover the bird's care. Benchmarks:

Phoenix Landing charges $300 for quakers, ringnecks and conures, and says its fees do not begin to cover its costs.
Foster Parrots charges a $200 placement fee toward vetting costs.
The Vet Desk gives a typical conure adoption range of $25 to $1,000 or more, against breeder prices of $200 to $3,000 or more.

Include the cage in the fee if it meets VCA's minimum, and take payment only in person at the handover. If you are an owner who would rather sell, see how to sell conures; if you want no fee at all, how to give away a conure for free without risk explains the extra screening needed.

How do you screen people who apply to adopt your conure?

A rescue volunteer on a home visit, looking at a large bird cage with a couple

Ask for a written application: household, home type, lease or HOA rules, other pets and birds, and hours at home.
Ask about experience: which parrots they have kept and what happened to them, or any class or volunteering. Phoenix Landing asks all applicants to take a free core parrot care class.
Talk by phone or video, then do a home visit in person or by video to see where the cage will stand.
Ask which avian vet they will use; VCA advises an exam within the first 7 days.
Ask what they will feed. PetMD advises pellets as at least 60 to 70 percent of a conure's diet.
Ask who would take the bird if they could not.

Stop if an applicant wants the bird shipped, will not meet, asks mainly about breeding or what it would sell for, or sends an overpayment and asks for change.

What should a conure adoption contract include?

Both names, contact details and the date.
The bird: species, age, band and microchip numbers, sex if known, and the health and behavior information disclosed.
The fee and what it includes.
Care commitments: an avian vet exam within the first 7 days and yearly exams after that, as VCA advises.
A return clause: if the adopter cannot keep the bird, it comes back to you. Foster Parrots, for example, requires placed birds to be returned.
No selling, breeding or passing the bird on without your agreement.
No releasing the bird outdoors. The World Parrot Trust reports feral nanday, mitred and blue-crowned conures in Florida and California, and Florida, for example, makes it illegal to release nonnative species.

How do you hand over a conure and follow up?

Hand over in person, with the bird in a secure carrier.
Give the vet records, a care sheet and a week of its usual food.
Transfer any microchip registration.
Consider a trial or foster period first; Phoenix Landing uses a two-month foster period before an adoption is final.
Check in after a week, a month and three months, and offer advice if the bird screams or nips while it settles.

You can post your conure for adoption free on PetzLover, and applicants message you there. Your listing appears among conures for adoption, and adopters who have read how to adopt a conure will expect an application and a home check.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much should I charge to adopt out a conure?

Rescue fees give a guide: Phoenix Landing charges $300 for a conure and Foster Parrots charges a $200 placement fee. The Vet Desk gives a typical adoption range of $25 to $1,000 or more. A modest fee filters out casual takers.

Should I let a beginner adopt my conure?

It depends on the bird. A calm Pyrrhura conure such as a green-cheeked can suit a careful beginner who has taken a care class, while a loud sun or Patagonian conure is better with someone who has kept parrots before.

Do I need a home visit to adopt out a conure?

It is strongly advised. A visit, in person or by video, shows you the cage, the room, other pets and how close the neighbors are, which matters for a loud bird.

What if the adopter cannot keep the conure?

Your contract should ask them to return the bird to you rather than pass it on. Staying in touch makes it easier to solve problems before they become a reason to rehome.

Can I list a conure for adoption to someone in another state?

You can, but hand over in person and ask the adopter to check their state and local rules on keeping birds. Never ship a conure to someone you have not met.