The Sun Conure is one of the most popular birds being sold today. They are fairly reasonably priced, making them a great starter bird. They are hardy, and easy to care for. They are playful and easy to handle, and the only real drawback is they are a loud screeching bird. They are not known to be good talkers.
In my opinion, the great attraction is their beauty. Their bright yellow and orange plumage makes them one of the prettiest birds out there!
HOUSING
Sun Conures will need to be given a fairly large cage, as they do need to exercise. When you begin adding toys and perches, it’s importing to have room left for them to extend their wings.
The cage should be at lease 24 inches. There are a number of manufactures that make this size cage, and they will have a play area on top that can be accessed by opening the roof. Sun Conures love these cases, as they can play outside of the cage whenever they wish. They do tend to stay with their case and don’t roam around the house. Keep in mind that they have a fairly long tail. They will damage their tail feathers if the cage is too small or the perches and toys are spread around the cage. They need room to exercise!
They also love to chew! Keep a supply of soft wood sticks and twigs available for them to tear up. If you use branches, be certain that the wood was not treated with sprays that could be toxic. Sun Conures love to rip the bark off these branches and shred the wood. By giving them branches, you will lesson the damage to their cage perches.
FEEDING
Sun Conures are most happy with a fruit, berry and seed diet. But this does not give a captive bird enough nutrition. It is recommended that you feed your conure a good quality pellet diet, and be sure to supply lots of fruits and veggies. They love apples and citrus fruits. If you want their feathers to really shine (that’s why you bought this bird, remember?) be sure to supplement their diet with Vitamin A and orange/dark green veggies.
BEHAVIOR
The Sun Conure has a great personality. They are an inquisitive bird, so keeping them occupied is a simple matter of giving them lots of new toys. They love attention and will play with their owners every chance they get. They will bond with the owners and are very devoted to them. They can also be somewhat protective. If they are happily resting on your shoulder, nobody had better come too close or he will immediately take on a defensive attitude.
Training Sun Conures is very easy, as they look forward to this attention. You should be able to have them finger trained within a few days, and within a short time they will allow you to pet and scratch them. They will actually look forward to this attention.
>>My e-book The Easy Parrot System has lots of information on training your birds. We teach you all of the tricks to tame your bird to not bite, and simple methods for finger training. This and lots more in one great package!
#1 by Joyce Whitaker on March 21st, 2008
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I just bought a Sun Conure and it seems she likes my husband better than it does myself. He had her out of her cage the other night and it was like she flew off of him and flew on me. She went for my hair and he had to take her off. Explain to me why she would do that. This is my first parrot and I really want to be friends with her.
#2 by Toni on May 11th, 2008
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I bought a Sun Conure when she was three months old. She use to like all of us when she was young, but now she only likes my husband and if I want time with her, I have to wait until he leaves then she will be my companion. Sun Conures for some reason like male gender better. For my two kids, once the bird was about a year old, she started attacking the kids and tries to bite them and she also is that way if we leave her out of the cage and we have company, she will fly and try to bite them too. We can only let her out of the cage if it is just my husband & I at home. I don’t know how to break her of her bad habit. I was told that Sun Conures usually have one person that they bond with (unfortunately for us, it is the male of the household).
#3 by Robyn on March 2nd, 2009
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We recently purchased a baby Sun Conure seven days ago and I started to fear that the little bird was unwell. There wasn’t much to go on and didn’t suspect any thing was wrong except that on the sixth day I felt it should have eaten more of the bird rearing mix we had been provided with. From previous experience with handraising baby parrots (from 4 weeks old using a seringe) I knew that when the bird is starting to ween itself it doesn’t eat quite as much. Sunny was usually eating about two seringes three times a day and we were told that she was about 6 weeks old when we purchased her) but on this particular day she only had one and a quarter for breakfast and a similar amount for lunch and she wasn’t flapping her wing during the lunch time feed. She only ever flapped one wing but continuously bobbed her head throughout the feeding process. Throughout the sixth day when she woke up she would climb the side of the bird cage I kept her in when I was at work and I started to think that she was looking for attention. I frequently got her out of the cage and held her and she would continuously move up my arm to snuggle in the crook of my elbow. This made me a little concerned as I felt she was trying to keep warm but as we live in Queensland and at this time of the year, it was quite hot. From the day that we brought her home Sunny was a snuggler and would make her way up onto the shoulder of my son and rest at the base of his neck. She seemed to do some funny (we thought, cute) things as she would fall asleep on his tummy and then roll down to his lap. She often laid down – flat out. Sunny died on the morning of the seventh day that we had her. When I woke up at 6.00am in the morning I took the cover off her cage and noticed that she was perched on the lowest perch with her head drooping / hanging down. I quickly took her out of her cage and noticed that she felt coolish. Alarmed, I called my son in and got him to sit Sunny on his chest in the sunshine hoping this would help but after about 15minutes we decided to make a dash to the vets. Sunny died shortly after arriving. We are getting a new little bird this weekend from the same person who sold us Sunny (we believe it is her sibling) and I would like to know if anything that I have described was unusual for a baby Sun conure. We are a little scared that the same thing might happen and would like some advice from anyone who could help us. We will be paying a visit to the Bird Vet within the first week to assure ourselves that the little bird has no health problems but any advice would be welcome.
Please help us to successfully raise this new little baby.
Thanks, Robyn
#4 by anthony on April 10th, 2009
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i recently bought a sun conure from a bird store it is missing a toe and due to help tame him to my hand he lost his tail feathers jumping around but i love him anyway and i know the tail will grow back he is on my shoulder as we speak trying to learn to talk
#5 by Mindy on April 26th, 2009
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I first met my sun conure at a friends house(her bird). I liked him then. to simplify story, i ended up recuing him(from them, he was in desparate need of a loving home. He has one large problem, HE SCREAMS. I think i have learned to tune it out and i love the little guy but my husband is going crazy. the bird is about 1yr old. he loves to shower with me and eat what i am eating. Since sun conures are a noisy bird, is there a way to train him to not scream? Do they understand words? And a lot of what you have weitten is true to him. My husband loves to build him a bigger and bigger play area on top of his cage. He is always adding challenging toys.
#6 by mark on July 13th, 2009
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I got my first parrot a sun conure 6 months ago he is a funny bird and is a joy when me and my partner are near . as soon as you leave the room for any period he screams . or if he hears us in another room he screams . how do i train him to stop i dont want to have to sell him please help.
#7 by Rhonda on July 24th, 2009
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We have had our 6 month old sun conure for over a week now. I love him or her already. He is not a very noisy bird. Only when we first walk in the room or walk out. He loves to dance. Walks side to side on his perch. and he loves to be scratched.” When you scratch his head, he rolls his head all around and closes his eyes. Havent really let him out of his cage yet, as we have dogs. I have attempted to kiss him. He kisses back. luckily he hasnt bit me, as i have been bitten by many animals in the past. However, i learned to not wear my wedding ring when i am reaching in to pat him. He loves jewelry. He really goes down hard on rings.