Sun Conure Information
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We get a lot of questions about what is the best bird to get for a person who has never owned a bird before. This is a great starter bird, because many people make the mistake of buying a bird that is too big, intelligent or demanding. Without having some experience raising birds, they can quickly be overwhelmed by them.
Sun Conures are the perfect choice. They are very easy to train and handle, and very playful. Their orange/yellow colors make them very attractive. And the price is very reasonable, falling into the “intermediate” range for birds. They are always a curious and inquisitive bird. They are active, and love to play in their cages or play areas. They love to hand from the ceiling of their cages. The only drawback is that these birds are fairly loud. They will scream for attention, or scream over any distractions around them. This may make them a great “watchdog” but it’s not a good thing if you live in apartments.
Sun Conures originate from South America’s northeastern coast. When they are young, their feathers are mostly green. As they grow older, their plumage explodes with bright yellow and orange colors. They are a hardy bird, with a lifespan of 15-25 years if properly cared for.
FEEDING
Since Sun Conures originate from South America, their diet consists of fruits and berries, and seeds. But they like any captive birds, you must supplement their diet with additional minerals that are lacking in their diet. We recommend feeding a good quality pellet diet along with his fruits/veggies.
With our Sun Conures, this is very easy. They are suckers for apples! We would take a whole apple and run it through a skewer, then hang it from the roof of their cage. It’s gone in under an hour! With this knowledge, you can easily supplement their diet by injecting vitamins into the fruit, or by dicing it into cubes and sprinkling supplements over it.
HOUSING
Sun Conures must get some exercise. My preferred method is to let them play on top of their cage in a playgym, or make sure they have an extra large cage. Recommended size is at least 24 inches. Put lots of toys and perches into the cage so they can climb around and play.
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Jean Sherwin said,
March 20, 2008 @ 3:57 pm
Hello, I am Jean from South Africa, we my husband Cyril just reasonly bought a baby Sun Conure, Eli is his name. what I would like to know if you can tell us at what age do they start talking. we got him when he was 6 weeks old he is now 10 weeks. he is really surprising us daily and we love him to bits . I am teaching him every day at the moment, just calling his name an he already knows his name and my voice. I also just say simple word (the same words). I would just like to know the answer, thank you. And God less . regards Jean
Gina said,
March 24, 2008 @ 1:04 pm
Why do you not address the Blood Clotting Disorder in Conures? In fact it’s the main cause of premature deaths in many Conures, due to internal bleeding. Since Sun Conures are high on the list of birds as a favorite, I would have thought you would have addressed this issue in your ways of combatting such a dietary need of feeding foods high in Vitamin K!!
Melissa said,
April 28, 2008 @ 11:44 am
This was very helpful to me as I have just gotten a baby sun conure for my 21st birthday. I was a lovebird owner but unfortantly Pumpkin became very curious 2 days before my birthday and our neighbours have hungry cats. As I am known for being a bird lover, my mother decided to go to the pet store the next day and buy me a new bird… at first she was thinking of getting another lovebird but they all looked like Pumpkin and it felt like I would be replacing her, so decided against it… Then she saw this little sun conure sleeping in the corner of a cage… at first it had no interest in what was going on outside so we moved on… but when I walked past the cage it started screeching and running up and down the cage trying to get out. The pet store owner had no idea what had gotten into this BABY bird, so he took it out to check if it was alright… All of a sudden it flew out of his hands and landed onto my shoulder… My heart was aching so badly after Pumpkin and well, this little thing must have known that.. somehow? So with tears in my eyes and Amara on my shoulder, I paid the store owner and became a sun conure owner… Amara and I are getting along well, she comes with me everywhere… Even to University. I’ve only had her for a nearly a week but there is defintly a connection….
Thank you again for the info! Much appreciacted… Sorry for blabbering on…
Virginia Greenwood-Warner said,
June 17, 2008 @ 8:54 am
Well I rescued a Sun conure almost 1 year ago. At the time it was +-2yrs old and had 5 homes before landing up at my home. Why…..because it is the most demanding affectionate bird.- the problem - it screams and screams which is truly hideous if I don’t play with it all the time. I have 5 other rescued parrots all diff. requirements, I can’t just sit with him for hrs. Any suggestions.
NB! I don’t believe any bird or animal should be a gift - a lot of thought should go into the specific species before purchasing anything.