| CodeMasterChrelan | Date: Tuesday, 2011-07-19, 12:14 PM | Message # 1 |
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Egg
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| Sun Conure Facts.
The Sun Conure bird is a small, beautiful parrot similar to the macaw in features yet very distinguishable in its own. Their bodies' hold a yellow to orange hue resembling a deep bright gold overlayed with brilliant blends of green and red which definitely outshine most birds in the sky. A baby sun conure's feathers are mostly olive green, but at around six months of age, its plumage will slowly begin to change in coloration to the gorgeous yellow orange hues that sun conures are known for. After about a year old, the sun conure will possess its full color. This includes their wings and tails which range from dark blue to green. Their eyes are gray and their beaks and feet are always black.
Sun Conure Lifespan.
Sun conure birds are more or less 12 inches in length. The average lifespan of a sun conure is about 15 to 25 years which makes them great loyal pet birds for a long time. They are easy to raise and maintain plus they will bring hours of joy to you and your family because of their cuddly, lovable and charming personalities.
The origins of a sun conure bird start in the Amazon River from the eastern parts of South America. Typical environments for these vibrantly colored birds, also known as the Aratinga Solstitialis, are the open forests of the Northern Amazon, Northeastern Brazil and Southeast Venezuela. Though they were originally found in these other parts of the world, many people would travel to these lands just to capture these wonderful creatures only to sell them at a high profit.
Sun Conure Activities.
Sun conures are very lovable and friendly birds. They are really peaceful and seldom fight each other when living in flocks in the wild. When captivated and kept as pets, a sun conure needs lots of exercise and distractions inorder to resists loneliness and boredom. Climbing and nibbling are excellent activities for this. Since sun conures are gnawers by nature, they will pretty much chew on anything made of wood. So be sure to fill their cage with fresh twigs and natural perches for them to chew on. Sun conures also love shiny unbreakable objects and such as bells and mirrors. Other toys that make sun conure's day go by are swings, ropes, ladders and chewable objects. Both playing and exercising are important for a sun conure's liveliness and physical well being and also contribute to the psycological health of your pet bird.
Sun Conure Breeding.
In order for a sun conure bird to be ready for breeding, it must first adapt itself to its environment. However, once this happens, sun conures become rather easy to breed and once they do breed, they literally will continue breeding year after year. Small conures will be ready to breed at the age of 2 while the larger scale sun conures will be ready after about 3 to 4 years. Nowadays, sun conures are mainly bred in captivity due to the destruction of their natural habitats and to ensure that each species continues to live on.
Though it is difficult to determine the sex of most sun conures by physical characteristics alone, there are DNA testings conducted in avian veterinarian offices that can easily determine what sex these birds are. Testing usually consists of blood samples or a few feathers which are sent to be diagnosed in a laboratory.
Once you have determined the sex of both of your sun conures and are ready to breed a male conure with a female conure, you will need a nest box places up high inside their cage that is filled with soft materials such as peats or pine shavings. It is best to get a metal nesting box because if it's made of wood, a sun conure will be sure to chew it up. After mating, the female sun conure will spend most of her day in the nesting box and once she starts laying her eggs, they will come out once every other day until she has about 4 to 8 eggs in total. Brooding will take place for about a month and once the baby sun conures are born, they will remain in the nest for about a month and a half. The parents will feed them until they are ready to leave the nest, but if you are so inclined, you can feed them with a medicine dropper and its proper conure mix sold at your local pet store 2x a day to ensure a more enriched diet.
Sun Conure Illness.
The majority of sun conure parrots are healthy and hearty birds and while kept under optimal living conditions and fed a nutritious and balanced diet, they will be exceptionally resistant to sickness and disease. However illnesses do come sometimes and what you want to watch out for are symptoms found in most common parrots and conures of all kinds. These symptoms include discharge from the nostrils or mouth, ruffled feathers, watery dropplings, cloudy eyes, and weight loss (noticable when their chest bones stick out.) Some characteristics that can be classified as symptoms of illness also include resting more often than not with their heads tucked underneath their wing, not eating throughout the day, opening and closing its mouth, stops talking or simply sits at the bottom of the cage instead of climbing and hanging at the top. If your sun conure bird suffers from any combination of these symptoms it is imperative that you take him to an avian veterinarian for a diagnosis and medical treatment immediately. It could be that you pet sun conure contracted a cold or eye infection, diarrhea, feather plucking or worms. Though it is not uncommon for your sun conure to have contracted other parrot illnesses such as Aspergillosis (a respiratory infection), Candidiasis, or even Salmonella.
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