When ending up being a bird parent, the sun conure is bound to rank on the “best beginner birds” for its character. Sun conures stem from South America and are likewise referred to as sun parakeets. In the wild, they are formally thought about threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Strikingly orange and yellow with accents of dark blue and green, sun conures stay a dynamic and vibrant parrot sure to impress any visitor with their mimicry. As an animal, sun conures bond well with people, have a curious nature, and delight in continuous enrichment.
Learn more about keeping a sun conure as an animal, discover its character, and comprehend how to look after these charming birds.
Temperament and Personality
©Yatra/Shutterstock.com
Overall, sun conures are excellent very first birds for their characters. They’re curious, enjoyable, and caring to their keepers.
Understanding the Lovable Traits of Sun Conures
Sun conures are amongst the most entertaining parrots and parakeets kept in aviculture. With a quick intelligence and relatively unlimited energy, a sun conure will keep you hectic for its long life expectancy. Termed “clowns,” they have strong characters to match their plumes.
Physical Appearance and Vibrant Colors of Sun Conures
Sun conures have a single plumage pigmentation: yellow and orange functions throughout their body, with white rings around their eyes and a black beak and green or dark blue mottling near their wings and tails. In the wild, these colorings are utilized as a defense reaction to mix into the trees; juvenile sun conures even have duller colors to camouflage themselves till they grow more powerful. In captivity, keepers can merely delight in and groom the sun conure’s intense orange and yellow plumage.
The Playful and Social Nature of Sun Conures
Sun conures are energetic, spirited birds with a requirement for near-constant engagement. Unlike other birds, sun conures don’t have a pickiness when it pertains to the color of their toys. They’ll utilize a play health club regularly and produce their own techniques, as long as they have a spacious enclosure in which to check out.
Sun Conure’s Ability to Mimic
Sun conures can simulate noises with the very best parrots out there and are infamously loud birds. Did you understand that sun conure squalls can strike 120 decibels? That’s a greater pitch than an orchestra, bike, or chainsaw! Sun conure will sing to express both fear and enjoyment, so they’re not the very best option for home living.
Care and Maintenance
©iStock.com/Ae11615
Caring for a sun conure resembles care and upkeep regimens for other birds.
Housing and Cage Setup
Sun conures aren’t small birds — they can mature to a foot high! As such, the tiniest your sun conure’s cage must be is 30 inches large by 30 inches high by 24 inches deep. While it doesn’t require to be enough time for flight inside the cage (as you’ll be letting your sun conure out typically inside), it must allow your sun conure to spread its wings. If you have a little sun conure, think about a flight cage. Flight cages allow small birds (believe finches and canaries) to fly the length of the enclosure securely.
If you’re selecting to adopt numerous birds, be it 2 conures or a conure and a comparable types, think about selecting a double flight cage. While the birds probably won’t attempt to fly within the cage, it offers your conure adequate room to ruffle their plumes, check out, spend time, and play.
Nuanced Needs of Sun Conures
Though they’re loud throughout the day, sun conures require a peaceful location to sleep during the night. The room your conure cage remains in must not have stunning sounds (like a kitchen area or utility room for dishwashing machines, clothes dryers, or cleaning makers). Sun conures are completely happy to be in the corner of a peaceful room out of direct sunshine from a window. This method, your sun conure won’t fear storms, family pets, or other external forces they see outside, or need to withstand the oscillating temperature levels from a window. Speaking of temperature levels, ensure you understand where the heat and air vents in the room you select are — putting the sun conure cage too close or far from those vents will produce an unequal environment for your bird.
Because sun conures are so social, pet moms and dads must make every effort to keep the cage in a room where they can typically see what’s taking place around them. Sun conures like to be part of the action, even if they’re still in their cage.
Activity Level of Sun Conures
Sun conures stay spirited and active birds. Keeping a sun conure captivated and happy varieties from having the appropriate toys, to motivating workout, to diversifying their cage environment.
Most bird cages feature perches — when was the last time you saw a bird laying on its side? Perches allow your sun conure to sit, stand, groom themselves, play, look after their foot health, and bite. Most of the time, bird moms and dads must think about perches non reusable products they’ll change.
Toys for a sun conure variety from ropes, to foraging practice, to ladders, to bridges, to wicker balls, and more. The essential consider both perches and toys stay their product and engagement level. Choose things constructed out of a product your sun conures either can’t break off and swallow (and therefore make themselves ill) or that was created to be taken in. Furthermore, alter the orientation of the toys, sets down, and design in your conure’s cage regularly to provide more to check out.
Diet and Nutrition
Sun conures consume a fairly basic diet plan of pellets, fresh fruit, and fresh veggies. Pellets can comprise most of your sun conure’s diet plan. These professional-grade mixes will supply your bird with the nutrients they require to keep growing. If you’re embracing a sun conure for the very first time and questioning what to feed it, think about the following:
- Are they relocating to this diet plan from a mainly seed-based diet plan?
- Do they reveal interest in food?
- How simple is this pellet shape for them to consume?
Pellets are the ideal diet for a sun conure, however it can be challenging to move a seed-eating fully grown conure to pellets right now. If you’re embracing a seed-eating conure, make certain to wean your conure gradually to the brand-new food.
Fresh vegetables and fruits can comprise the staying 20 to 25% of your sun conure’s diet plan. Just like any other animal, they are worthy of a treat every so often! Steamed sweet potatoes, broccoli, fig, and cucumber are simply a few of the lots of fresh fruit and vegetables sun conures can delight in. Give these foods in small amounts, however, as a tablespoon of them relates to a dinner-plate sized serving for people.
Treats for sun conures run the range of seeds, nuts, and human-grade fruit and vegetables noted above.
Your sun conure must constantly have fresh water available — preferably in more than one space. When serving food, use your bird fresh water each early morning. It’s likewise essential to clear out your bird’s water and food bowls every day. Leftover veggies or fruit might begin to ruin, and merely disposing out the refuse and filling up the bowl enables germs to grow.
Foods and Treats to Avoid
Contrary to the fresh vegetables and fruits your sun conure can delight in, some foods exist you must prevent at all expenses. Some prevail sense, like chocolate or caffeine, while others may amaze you.
Birds are lactose intolerant, so prevent offering your feathered friend any sort of dairy — like greek yogurt or cheese. Avocados are possibly poisonous to lots of birds and must never ever be provided to a sun conure as a treat.
When offering your bird fruit, guarantee you get rid of any pits or seeds. These, specifically in fruits like cherries and apples, include a percentage of cyanide that can seriously hurt or adversely impact your sun conure if they consume it.
Exercise and Enrichment
Sun Conures are active birds — a lot more so than a few of their bigger equivalents who stay content to hang out in their cages the majority of the day.
Sun conures flourish on activity and engagement with their environments and family. What does workout appear like for a sun conure? It may consist of:
- Cage climbing up.
- Swinging.
- Hanging upside down on ropes.
- Biting at their perch.
- Supervised out-out-of-cage flight.
If you select to take your sun conure outside, keep in mind to position a harness on them, unless they’ve been effectively trained at flight school to remain on your side and return when called.
Remember that sun conures like other birds and will value extra friendship, however lots of bird specialists advise you get among the exact same gender so regarding not inadvertently breed or crossbreed types.
Toys, Perches, and Play Gyms
As for toys for your sun conure — the more interactive, the much better. Sun conures are naturally curious and love to destroy things, so the signal of a good toy is a destroyed toy! Toys not just supply psychological stimulation; it likewise uses down their beaks, which keeps the beak looking trim and minimizes the discomfort of a nibble or bite.
Perches and play fitness centers must fit the bird’s size, so a little- to medium-sized perch and health club setup will succeed for a sun conure. Toys made from natural woods and fibers are primarily constantly winners over industrial ropes that might shed little threads or deteriorate into netting that inadvertently catches your sun conure. Remember to switch out toys and alter around cage environments every now and then to prevent your sun conure getting tired.
A couple of hours of flight time beyond their cage will do a sun conure, and its state of mind, marvels. Because they’re caring birds, they’ll wish to hug you and play. Or, they’ll select to nap near where you are.
When letting your conure out for monitored play, watch out for open windows, fans, and wires — anything that might hurt your sun conure, or vice versa.
Health Care and Maintenance
Outside of the yearly veterinarian inspect up, conures don’t need excessive veterinary care unless something is incorrect. Beyond anything, these yearly tests evaluate the existing state of your conure’s advancement, from diet plan and workout to grooming. Vets will carry out a health examination and any laboratory tests that require buying.
An unhealthy sun conure might be difficult to identify, so monitor your bird for any of the following signs and seek advice from a veterinarian on next actions:
- Missing spots of plumes.
- Beak swelling.
- Favoring one foot.
- Drooped wings.
- Discharge in eyes or nose.
- Any color or consistency modification in stool.
Lastly, ensure to deep tidy your sun conure’s cage a minimum of as soon as a month — however tidy any feces or old food out everyday (in the early morning or night). Use a mix of vinegar and water or bleach and warm water to clean up the bottom of the cage. Never mix bleach and vinegar, as it develops a poisonous service. Before reestablishing your bird to the cage, ensure to clean down all toys and surface areas once again with plain water.
Grooming
Some kinds of sun conure grooming must take place every day, like a bath. Ensure your conure has a bath meal with tidy water different from where they consume. Birds that don’t shower every day can get misted with warm water a minimum of a couple of times a week to guarantee their plumage stays healthy and unmatted. Did you understand some sun conures even delight in entering showers with their owners?
Sun conures require their nails cut and their wings clipped regularly — both of which a veterinarian can do for you. Intervals differ by private bird and way of life.
Health and Wellness
©iStock.com/Thirawatana Phaisalratana
Sun conures have a long life expectancy if looked after well. They’ll outlast almost every dog and cat; their life expectancy varies from 8 to almost thirty years. As such, understand the dedication you’re making when embracing a bird that might be with you for a 3rd of your life.
A sturdy bird, sun conures still has some typical health problems consisting of chlamydiosis, diarrhea, plume plucking, and Polyoma infection. Because these birds are thought about unique, every local veterinarian might not be skilled in conure care. Before you adopt your sun conure, determine and develop care with a skilled veterinarian who comprehends the special health requirements of a sun conure.
When your sun conure has chlamydiosis, or “parrot fever,” they’ll reveal indications of an anorexia nervosa, have actually lime green feces, and sport an inflamed abdominal area. If you presume your conure has parrot fever, the very best thing to do is speak to a veterinarian right away. If your conure is pestered by diarrhea or plume plucking, consult your veterinarian. The diarrhea might have a basic repair of moving your bird’s food — or it might show underlying health problems if it’s paired with another sign. Feather plucking almost constantly indicates dullness or a poor diet plan. If altering your bird’s environment, toys, and food doesn’t work, it might signify an underlying disease.
Finally, if your sun conure appears to have weight loss, anorexia, or bruised skin, call your veterinarian ASAP to prevent unexpected death of your sun conure.
Sun Conures Make Great Pets
Sun conures are beautiful, amazing animals that make terrific family animals. They’re caring and caring, they’re quite low-maintenance in regards to food and health, and their ridiculous shenanigans keep pet moms and dads captivated —and on their toes — for hours.
When selecting a bird to adopt, think about a sun conure. They’re excellent choices for newbie bird owners and households, specifically if somebody works or remains in the home most days. The just family scenarios these birds don’t fit are apartment-dwellers or hectic households who spend much of their time out of your house.
Up next: learn more about the very best kinds of conure birds, the most gorgeous parrots, and how to choose the very best bird toys.
