Sun Conure Breeding
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Have you ever though about breeding pet birds? Or did you think it was just too complex of a project? It can be very easy, given the right breed of birds and just a little education.
When we started out, we had a lot of success with cockatiels. When my wife and I decided to move on to the next “level” of breeding, we purchased our first pair of Sun Conures. These birds are slightly larger then cockatiels, just as hardy, and their babies are much more in demand. Young Sun Conures can be sold for $300-$600 very easily.
Breeding is fairly simple to do. First, make sure you have a pair of mature parents. They must be at least 2 years old. You will want to have them professionally sexed using DNA blood testing, as they are hard to visually distinguish. One method of making an educated guess is to look at the head. The female conure will have a smaller and rounder head then the male. Males tend to have a flatter forehead. But note that even experienced breeders do not rely on this method. Get the test!
Once you have a pair, the next step is to give them a good breeding environment. This will take some experimentation. Simple things like not having the cage high enough can upset them and prevent breeding. Distractions in the room, or even other birds, can also upset them. If they don’t breed, try moving them around and change the environment.
Conures are a breed that like to nest in tree cavities. To duplicate this, you will need a “nesting box”. This is nothing more then a wood box with a door in the side for you to inspect and monitor the birds. The size should be at least 8×12 inches. They do not like oversized boxes, so don’t get one too big. This box can be hung from the side of the cage.
You will need to put some material on the bottom of the box for nesting. We prefer pine shavings.
>>In my e-book The Easy Parrot System , I discuss how to build a proper nesting box, and go into detail about the different nesting materials. Some materials can actually be dangerous to the parents and the chicks, and should NEVER be used. I strongly recommend that you research this before selecting a nesting material.
Once you have selected your cage and box…just wait for nature to take it’s course. Be sure they have a proper diet. It’s very important to make sure they get plenty of Vitamin A, E, and calcium in their diets for proper egg production and fertility.
>> My e-book also goes into great detail in feeding and nutrition, and explains which foods are loaded with these important vitamins and minerals. The Easy Parrot System – Nutrition will help you a great deal with your Sun Conure breeding.
Sun Conures will usually produce a clutch of four to five eggs. Make sure the parents have lots of food, and keep a water dish available for bathing at all times. Their breeding season is generally between December and March, but it’s not unusual for them to breed outside of this period, or even all year round. After the eggs have been laid, they will hatch in about 23 days. Don’t mess with the eggs, move the cage or disturb them in any way. Let the parents do the work!
Sun Conure babies are fairly easy to hand feed, but unless you have experience doing this we recommend you let the parents do all of the feeding. After a month, you can begin feeding from a syringe or spoon, but get some training first!
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lisa said,
July 13, 2008 @ 12:44 pm
could u please help me? i have a 4 yr old who overnight pulled out her chest feathers and have mutalated her chest. she was trying to lay eggs and used her feathers for the nest.She has laid one egg and i threw it away . I have a collar on her and i live in the middle of nowhere. how do i stop her from wanting to lay and how long does it take for her to stop? please if u can tell me what to do…thank u lisa
laura said,
September 23, 2008 @ 1:32 am
we have a pair of sun conures that had got toghther and some how they ended up getting themselfs in a bit of a bind so one might say ,,, me and my husband had always thought we had a girl and our friend had a boy well were we wrong and found that one out after our spike man was no man he was a girl and our sunny girl wasnt a gilr he was a boy and now we have eggs but they were sepearated and we didnt even know that they mated as he was house sitting and i guess he wasnt watching them closely as not long went by and he had advised me that his bird had egss forst one she laid and than had laid two more so now she is sitting on them and wont let any one near the cage and its been almost 35 days for the first egg that was hatched what should we do let the bird do all the work and it will be ok or should we take the eggs away from her and wait to see what they do how long is too long for them not to hatch properly ?
Tammy said,
October 11, 2008 @ 10:35 am
Hello,
I need some advice. I have 2 conures. 1 sunconure and 1 Jenday conure. The Sun Conure is a Female But not sure of the Jenday. The Sun Conure goes into the nesting box for a good amount of time out of the day. And the Jenday stays on the Perch But sometime goes in with The Sun and stay in for a while together. Does it sound like the Jenday is a Male? They are so bonded together Most of the day they will not leave each others side for a minute. They clean each other all the time. How old does a male have to be to breed? I am not sure how old the Jenday is. I adopted him from a woman that could not keep. Could 2 Female be that close and bonded? And the Sun Cone is in the nesting box moving the pine shaving around all the time. I have my Birds in the living room. Do you think they need to go in a more quiet room to breed. My Living rm is sometime noisy because of the kids. Hope to hear from you soon!