upatsix.com - Your Source For Pet Bird Information

HI,
I own Congo African Greys, Alexandines, and Cockatoo's. A friend of mine at work asked me if I wanted to buy her Sun Conure, (Friend just had baby number 3) and don't have time to take care of the Conure, she is letting me have it at a steal I do believe, the SunConure, Big Cage for actually a Big Parrot, a carrying cage, books and all the toys for only 200.00. I actually really only wanted the cage since it is as big as the cage I have my CAG's in and costed this lady over 400.00, but after seeing pics of the Sun Conure I really enjoyed looking at all the Beautiful Colors... But I need info on this Bird... How old do they normally start breeding at since I am planning on buying her a mate. This one is 1 1/2 years old. She said it will say a few words. Do Conures talk alot if you work with them?? Any Info will read carefully.
Thanks
Jackie

Well, darn, Jackie, I had such high hopes for you. This is a disappointment to read. Unless you're dripping in money, bringing in 3 new birds are one time will be quite a financial hit with all the well-bird vet exams, bloodwork, testing for liver disease, etc. You'll need to quarantine the conure for at least 30 days or as long as your avian vet recommends, considering the bird's source.

I thought we'd persuaded you against breeding birds. Growl, grumble ...

Paca

This bird is currently a pet? Why do you want to turn it into a breeder? I admit I'm more than a bit disappointed. It bothers me to see people buy other people's cheap pets that may need a little work only to turn them into breeders. If you really want a pair of breeder birds, there are plenty of them out there. And do you realize how expensive it is to keep a pair of "breeder birds"? Just because you put a male and a female together does not mean they will like each other or lay eggs. And if they do, it doesn't mean that they will be good parents.

I have a pair of Sun Conures. They are beautiful and sweet. They are also perhaps THE NOISIEST of all conures. It seems like they are the ones I most often see for resale.

You just got two of the noisiest cockatoos commonly available. Now you want to add Sun Conures. I hope you have a BIG house and understanding neighbors.

I love those replies. I cant add another word.----Yogi

Hey All,
I just got back up after sleeping from a rough night at work, got on here to see if I had any replies to this Conure posting, and whamo....boy did I get smacked..LOL.
I was just (asking), only (asking) at what age do they breed. This girl has been asking and pleading with me to take this bird along time ago, while she was still pregnant, now that she has had the baby it is just too hard for her to take care of her new baby plus her other two. She bought this bird before she became pregnant and now has her hands full. The reason she has been begging me to take it from her is for only one reason, she know's it will be taken care of.
I really only wanted the cage, I couldn't go and buy that cage alone for 200.00, it's over a 400.00 cage, and I did need another one, only thing is that this bird comes with the cage, toy's and books as well. So I am getting a really good deal that I can't pass up.
Now about getting this bird a mate. Well I am just assuming that eventually it may want a husband, don't we all want a spouse at some point in our lives.... and then again it may be happy and content just being around my other birds, in it's cage of course, not out flying around to where it may get attacked or attack, I do need to add comment just in case I get smacked again...LOL.
Now guy's, don't go getting disappointed in me before you really get to know me.
Now I do want to ask a question, just how many birds do you all own? Do you breed any of them or have you bred any of them to sell? I'm just curious to know.
To whichever posted that they have a pair of Conure's, Why a Pair?? Do they mate? Have they ever mated? Do you discard the eggs? Just curious, that's why I am asking.
Like I said, get to know me first. I about 75% know of what I am getting myself into, and if I don't know it when I get these birds, then I'll just learn the other 25%. I am not alone in this, I have someone here to help me with my Parrots that has just as big of a heart as I do.
As for the Conure, I may not even get her a mate, but if I decide to eventually do then I may do it, and I may let them mate, and I may raise a baby or two from them, and if I do then I'm not planning on selling them, to be honest I have alot of neice's and nephew's and family that loves my birds, and are very resposible, and I may give them a bird one of these days, and I know that they'd keep it, and they'd love it, and they'd take care of it, because they are all like me, they come with big hearts when it comes to birds, animals, etc.
As for the large house, dripping with money, no I don't have a large large house, but plenty big enough for me and my birds, I'm not dripping with money but I do work.
Okay guys, I gotta get off here now, got to feed my babies. And I'm not slapping anyone back, I just wanted to let everyone know, get to know me first and the story behind getting another bird. This girl takes very good care of the Conure, she just has too much to take care of right now, she don't want to sell her or give her away but she has no other choice, so she picked me, only because she got to know me.
Talk Later,
Gotta Feed,
Jackie

You can see my birds in my sig. Sinbad was a rescue I have had for over 18 years and will be 23 years old later this year. My quaker who died from liver disease this last year was the result of an accidental breeding from some birds I was baby sitting for a friend. I raised him from day two because the parents were killers and attacked him. He was my buddy for 13 years. I dont breed my birds nor have I ever sold one. The rest of my birds are rehomes except Carly who fills the cage left by tiel Peter --another rescue who died at age 18 . Well socialized birds do very well without mates. I dont think a small breeder can make much profit selling birds---not if they are properly cared for and vetted. If you paid yourself $2.00 an hour while they were babies and socialized them properly and paid the vet bills I bet you would have to sell your birds for way over $700 to make a profit. I know how many hours it takes to handfeed and social functions I left early to feed the babies. It's not something to be taken lightly.

When you ask questions about breeding we assume that is what you intend to do. There is no way we can get to know you on a personal basis so we answer on the basis of what's best for the bird.-----YOGI

jwcdl wrote:... How old do they normally start breeding at since I am planning on buying her a mate...

That didn't leave any doubt in my mind about your intentions. I'm glad the communication was, uh, skewed. Many of us who have been on Up at Six for years are very opposed to breeding because we know how few rescue facilities there are across the country, how overflowing they are with abandoned birds, how hard it is for every facility to find the funding to keep operating, how incredibly ignorant many people are when they purchase birds, and how FAST breeders continue pumping out babies with no regard to all the above.

Nine of the ten birds who've found their home with me since 1997 are rehomes and rescues. I paid purchase money for most, but not because I wanted another bird -- only because the bird needed another home -- fast. The tenth was a just-weaned baby bought as a companion for a lonely, disabled bird. He wanted no part of that, so my plan was thwarted, but I love him dearly anyway, of course.

Unless you're retiring soon to stay home and handfeed babies every 2-4 hours, or have a boss who welcomes babies in the workplace, you might want to rethink that plan to raise a few babies. The parents don't always parent the way you might think -- as in Yogi's situation -- and you can have a wee tiny baby or three to keep alive.

Paca

I hope the fantasy wears off, and a reality check sets in.
First, you were excited about getting babies from your new cockatoos, without realizing that (a) the male is not going to be a pet anymore, for sure, and the hen might get protective and nippy (b) there really is no market for the hybrid babies, and in fact the larger cockatoos are too demanding to be good pets, unless you have lots of time and outdoor space, and (c) you haven't heard the evening chorus yet !

Then, you start thinking about getting a mate for a young sun conure, when you still have a few years to enjoy her as a pet.

If you really want to get into bird breeding, do it with just one thing at a time, and do your homework first.

Everyone means well but our replies don't always come out nicely. This is a subject I feel strongly about so this will be long! But, if you really care, I urge you to read it all!

Something you need to understand is that breeding birds is nothing like breeding dogs.... you can't put two birds together and expect offspring, let alone for the two birds to get along. Even in breeding dogs its best to ensure that both parents are healthy in all respects. Not only that but breeding two different SPECIES (an umbrella and a moluccan cockatoo) of birds is NOTHING like breeding two different BREEDS of dogs (i.e. a german shepherd and a labrador). Breeding two different species of birds is like breeding a lion and a tiger together. There's a big difference between breeds and species.

Discluding cockatiels I do not own any cockatoos... however, from the reading that I have done, males can become so aggressive that they could possibly kill their mate. Therefore, you would most likely no longer have them as pets. There IS a market for hybrids, although not necessarily for cockatoos. However, at the rate we are destroying the earth, we should really try to preserve each species.

IMO, if you honestly want to handraise a baby, buy an unweaned baby from a breeder! Be sure you are prepaired for handfeeding and all the issues that come along with it. I've heard of a few horror stories from inexperienced people trying to raise young chicks... likewise, even well experienced breeders have problems with chicks.

I don't really recommend for people to breed their pets, considering the amount of unwanted pets already out there... and of course the amount of rescues out there, many of which usually don't last more than 5-10 years due to the overwhelming amount of birds needing homes and all the tests needed in order to ensure all the birds are healthy. Truth be told, it seems to me that we have the most amount of rescues of any type in the United States than anywhere else in the world... and what does that tell you?

However, it's really non of our business as to what you do with your pets... so long as you are not abusing or neglecting them. Therefore, if you so wished, go right on ahead! But think seriously first, about the amount of animals out there already in need of homes... if one is filled up with breeder pets then that leaves less room for shelter or rehomed pets.


As for your questions.... well conures can breed at 2 years or younger, however a responsible person should not allow their conures to breed until they are at least 3-4 years old (to ensure the hen is mature in all ways possible, both mentally and physically).

Aratinga conures are also quite known for talking.... although my 17+ year old cherry headed conure doesn't say a word, and my 13 year old mitred conure has a small vocabulary.


As for getting birds friends... well let me share with you my experiences... I currently have 6 cockatiels (1 male, 5 girls), 5 budgies (1 male, 4 girls), 1 bourke (female), and two unsexed conures (mitred thought to be male, cherry head thought to be female). Out of all these birds, I only bought two (both budgies). One was a gift (one of the tiels). The rest of the birds (11) are rehomes. I can tell you that at least 9 of those 11 birds came from bad situations.

The budgies, bourke, and five of the cockatiels are cage-free in an 11' x 14' room. One of the cockatiels is the offspring of the pair. Another one of the cockatiels is very introverted and seems to prefer being alone. She has not bonded with any of the other birds here. All the budgies do fine together without any major issues, but this one tiel doesn't really accept any of the other birds.

I got the mitred in hopes that he may get along with my cherry head (although before I met him, I was told he was a cherry head as well). Of course, I didn't EXPECT them to get along, therefore I haven't really been dissapointed. These two conures are complete opposites literally. They do not get along, and considering that one may very well have brain damage, is quite the special needs type of bird and easily gets upset (therefore mutilates). These two conures cannot share a room during the day. The mitred also has the tendency to upset the other birds therefore he must be caged in a room by himself (well, my bedroom, so he's not really alone during most of the day).

Generally speaking conures tend to get along well with at least one other conure, but proof enough is out there that they dont always get along together. My cherry headed conure is actually bonded to Casey, one of the tiels... however, Casey tends to try and befriend everybody if possible... she's just a sweet bird like that! She's very caring of the others! Of course, I am NOT recommending you go out and get a cockatiel to go with the conure, as chances are, the two may not get along and the conure could seriously injure the cockatiel.


Now I do want to ask a question, just how many birds do you all own?
I own a total of 14, currently.

Do you breed any of them or have you bred any of them to sell?
I once tried breeding.... and that was before I realized the amount of pet birds already on the market and how many need homes due to neglect. It's the reason why I haven't really bought any birds in several years now.... If there were not so many birds on the market, and if they were valued more than just an object, then I'd probably have a lot less birds than I do now!

And for all the birds that I did set up to breed (3+ pairs), I only ever got 2 offspring from one pair, and I never did sell them (although I no longer have either one now).

To whichever posted that they have a pair of Conure's, Why a Pair?? Do they mate? Have they ever mated? Do you discard the eggs?
I don't have a pair of conures (so to speak), however I do have a pair of cockatiels (bred before I got them), and a very flirtatious male budgie who has a mate. However, I do not encourage any of the birds here to breed. Of the birds here, I've only gotten egg from 3 of them. Eggs from two of the hens were definitely infertile, and one egg from one of the other hens cracked so I'd never know anyway.



Now, I'd like to share something else with you.... I know of a family that had two whiteface cockatiels. They moved to another home and were given a second pair of normal cockatiels. The hen from the second pair laid an egg so they gave them a shoebox and COLORED paper ads (for grocery stores) for nesting material. After that clutch they were given a budgie/parakeet nestbox. Thankfully, none of the eggs were fertile or they broke before being able to develop. Well, the hen from the first pair died (I suspect either dehydration or starvation) so I was given the male.

He was a gorgeous male that I ended up keeping for only 6 months because he did not fit into my flock back then
Click to Enlarge


The next year, the male from the second pair died, and they decided to keep the hen (although they considered giving her to me). The part that disgusts me about this is that they claim the male died due to mice (mice don't attack or eat birds, therefore he most likely died from starvation or dehydration, among who knows what else). The male was dead in the cage for several hours, and it was a friend of one of the kids who noticed he died. I had to go over to that house, get a plastic bag, and remove his poor body from the cage because no one who was currently there would dare do it themselves.

Here's images of the normal pair and their cage (quite disgusting if you ask me) before the male died
Click to Enlarge



And most recently, over a year after the male died, I was given the hen... and here is her most recent picture.
Click to Enlarge




I'd also like to introduce you to Tomi Girl. She was found in someones yard and named Tom and stuck in a "finch" cage. The original cage was 3 times smaller than you see in the below image
Click to Enlarge

If you look at that image, almost everything Tomi Girl had then was from myself.

Minus all the items in her cage this is the condition in which I got her in... at around 56 grams, give or take


And in these pictures below, this is 12 grams later...



Quite disgusting if you ask me. And the excuse given to me for why she was so thin? The *owner* "sometimes forgot" to feed her.

Mind you, this doesn't include the situation she came from... a house full of chainsmokers, probably up to 2-3 packs a day, countless amount of cats, and of course marijuana and who knows what else that may have been smoked around her.... or the fact that she became a chronic egg layer in that home and they repeatedly removed her eggs. Nowadays, Tomi Girl has been keeping a weight of 80-85 grams. She still feels/looks thin but she hasn't gained any more weight but I'm fine with that.




That's only 3 cases of neglect out of 10 (include the whiteface male tiel who was rehomed). Now, if you've read this far, and you can see where all of us anti-breeders are coming from, then you should be able to understand why we are against you allowing any of your birds (or future birds) to breed.


And since it really isn't any of OUR business as to what you do, then my best suggestion is that if you ARE going to breed your birds, then do so responsibly... make sure you have the time, the money, and the effort to put into breeding birds, as well as all the pros and cons of breeding. Make sure you have 1-2 good avian vets on hand, as well as one emergency avian vet (for after hours), and maybe some avian breeders, too, who could help you out in an emergency... as well as all the necessary supplies to breed and handfeed... and do all the reading you can on breeding and get a couple of handfeeding books. Also, be sure you put same species together that are unrelated.

I would just like to ask you to look at all the birds in the rescue's before you think of breeding. Many of the mollucans and umbrella's will never find new homes, mostly due to their neediness and screaming. It is so heartbreaking and unfair for those beautiful creatures to live out their life in a rescue. Many of those birds were held and cuddled as babies and then when the novelty wore off or their owners lives got busier, they scream for attention. They don't understand why the people they love and trust don't have time for them any more.

Three of my birds were taken in from a person who was going away for 3 - 4 days and had no one coming to feed them. When I went to get them they had no food or water and their cages were disgusting. I would not even bring the cages into my house til they were totally cleaned in the driveway and disinfected. Their toys and perches were junk and strings, so they were all thrown out. A caique and sun conure shared a cage. They were and still are friends but the caique has little hormone surges and would chase the conure around the cage while the conure was frantically looking for a safe place to get away and he couldn't. I had to get him into a new cage immediately. They still love to preen each other when they are out, but he is not trapped in a cage where he can't get away now. That little sun conure is the brother to my sun conure (from the same clutch) and I finished hand feeding him as a baby, so he is very special to me. And when the owner returned from his weekends of drinking and partying, he would give them bread because there was nothing else in the house to feed them. Bread is still one of their favorites (I give them 12 grain bread) but not their whole diet. The little sun conure dumps his food out of the dish every day, so that meant that he and the caique had NO food in their dish for 3 - 4 days. That makes me so sad to think of them left alone with no food because of an irresponsible person who was supposed to be their caregiver.

Neither of my sun conures say any words but they are loud when they scream.But the amazon will sit downstairs and yell "mom", just like a kid and I never taught him that. He has learned so many new phrases and cute things that he says that I am so pleased that I was able to be his new mom.

My birds all got less time alone with me and out of their cages because of the addition. I thought it was a temporary arrangement until I realized that he didn't want them back. That was over two years ago and I will provide them with a home and good food, water and love as long as I can.

Okay, this is going to be long...

I have a pair of Sun Conures. I bought them and a pair of Green Cheeks as proven pairs. The woman said she was retiring because her arthritis made it difficult or painful (can't remember which) to feed babies. When I went to get the birds, I couldn't believe the amount of poop and seed in the bottom of their cages. I was appalled at their living conditions. Sadly, I was also appalled at her living conditions. I've NEVER been in a house like that before.

She was also selling a male Peach Front that had lost his mate. I bought him to get him out of there. I feel so sorry for him. Being a single breeder bird has got to be the lonliest existence on the face of the earth. I have searched for a female friend to keep him company. I could care less if they ever had babies. I would just like for him to have a companion since he will have nothing to do with me. Female Peach Fronts are hard to find. I have bought two. The first female was supposed to be a breeder bird. He fell in love at first sight. She wants to be my pal. I had to separate them because she was so naughty to him. I felt that she had made her decision so now I have another pet that I hadn't planned on, but I do adore her. Now he HATES me. The jury is still out on the other female, but I'm not that optimistic.

The woman also offered to give me a female Green Cheek that she had planned to use as a breeder in the future. I took her too. I couldn't leave her there in the tiny cage that was too small for a budgie. After getting her home, I felt she was a nice bird and had pet potential. She was only one year old, and I ended up giving her to a friend as a pet. She is living the good life.

You cannot believe the amount of money I have spent on these birds since I brought them home.

Their cages were disgusting - small and rusting. When I had the cash, I bought them new cages, which are 3 times the size of their old cages. The old cages went in a dumpster. They weren't worth saving, and I didn't want any other birds living in them.

They had maybe one toy and a dowel perch. I bought a variety of perches - wood, rope, and concrete. Now they have several toys in their cages.

If you do have babies, you will need a brooder. I bought two, just in case I had babies from both pairs at the same time. I also thought one of the brooders could be used as a hospital cage if I ever had a sick bird.

My Suns are sweet and beautiful birds, but they can be terrible parents. I've had some heart breaking experiences with them, and I've shed some tears. I figured out that they were probably overbred. She pulled the babies immediately upon hatching and fed chicks from day one. I feel it is best, if possible, for the parents to raise the babies for 2-3 weeks; however, I've had to pull babies earlier. I took the nest box off just a little over a year ago to give them a break because they layed eggs immediately after I pulled the babies. That can be hard on a female. I've heard of so many females that have died after becoming egg bound.

Then there are the worries about the babies' futures. I don't want them to go from home to home. Conures, particularly Sun Conures, can be very loud. I've only sold two babies. One went to a family in Wisconsin. The couple drove all the way to South Dakota to get it. I talked on the phone with the man for three hours, answering his questions, asking some of my own, basically making sure he understood birds and the potential noisiness. They were dedicated pet owners, and I felt good about them, especially when they showed up with a book they had bought about parrots in a store along the way. The other bird went to a friend and his wife. He'd always wanted a Sun Conure. We keep in touch so I get to hear how "Jet" is doing.

As I said, conures can be noisy. One Sun Conure may not be TOO bad if you are a parrot person, but two Sun Conures seem to be exponentially louder. They feed off each other. I noticed that when I brought my second Grey home. (Both are pets.) I don't consider either of them noisy birds, but it was different and noisier in some ways. They will now make sounds back and forth, talking in their own language. This is just my opinion/theory, but I think having two different subspecies (for example, a Congo and a Timneh or a Sun and a Peach Front) may make for a quieter household than having two of the same subspecies.

Taking the Sun Conure only because you want the cage is not a good reason to buy the bird. Were you planning to use the cage for one of your birds? That would be cruel to take away the cage from it. The Sun should be able to keep it's cage, which is it's home. It is hard enough on a bird to lose it's home as it is. For a bird, that is like losing it's flock. It's cage is it's safe place and the only thing he knows if it comes to live with you. If you choose to take the bird, it should be because you like it and want to give it a good home.

Conures breed good at 1 1/2 yrs of age, loves to make noise. and eats more than a too, I sell my handfed babies out for 250.00. But i do pull the nest box away, or she will breed about two to three weeks after i pull the babies.

Why do you NEED another cage? And if you NEED this cage, what happens to the bird who resides in it?!!!

Just to throw my two cents in. I am the owner of a single cockatiel hen. She has been around other birds(my boyfriend has two tiels). She has no desire to be with them whatsoever, and is completely happy with me being her main source of companionship.

If you take this sun conure, make sure you are willing to build a relationship with her and be her friend. Don't just take her because she comes with "all the goodies". Maybe a better solution would be to buy her and give her to the niece or nephew that is able to have a bird.

Renee