Sun Conures- Guide For Taking Care Of These Beautiful Birds

Sun Conures are beautiful birds. I have had my Sun Conure for about 7 months now and he is an amazing small little parrot. They are South American birds with a mixture of bright yellow & orange along with some iridescent blue. From head to tip of the tail they can get up to 12 inches in length. These birds are amazing because they can imitate sounds and words. Also they make excellent companions. They can live anywhere from 20 to 30 years. These birds require a lot of attention because they are extremely energetic and social birds. So if you are someone who may not have time for a pet then I would highly recommend you skip getting a Sun Conure. If you are going to get a Sun Conure check out the info before you go ahead and purchase one of these beautiful birds.

If you do not have a cage then make sure you get a cage that is not too small or too big for your Sun Conure. Sun Conures need to be able to easily stretch their wings and even flap them inside their cage without any problem. Even though a large cage is better I caution against a large cage because your Sun Conure can fall from a perch and seriously injure itself because of the fall. The shorter the fall the lesser the chances of serious injury. Also cleaning a medium size cage is a lot easier to do than a large cage. We decided to put a small bird bed in our Sun Conure's cage and he absolutely loves it. He sleeps in it every night and keeps him warm as well.

Also be prepared to clean this cage daily. Although you don't have to scrub it down daily, you should change their water along with any food droppings from the bottom of the cage. The water can get mucky and a dirty cage can be invitation for ants and cockroaches if not cleaned regularly.

We all love toys and so do Sun Conures! Sun Conures are easily bored and if you cannot be with your Sun Conure all the time then toys are a great way to keep them entertained. Best toys for your Sun Conure are toys that require forging since these birds do forge for a living in the wild. It is in their nature to search and find seeds. So toys that require effort from your Sun Conure will surely keep the bird entertained and also it will reward them with a treat once they have solved the puzzle. My Sun Conure loves toys with bells because he loves to take them apart. He can spend hours trying to dismantle the bell. However, his favorite has to be a popsicle sticks, he loves shredding them to pieces and that keeps him entertained for a long time as well. Also he loves to chase around a ball inside his cage. You can find popsicle sticks at any arts and craft store. You can find small toys for your Sun Conure at a pet store as well. One thing I to note is that you switch out the toys from time to time just to keep your Sun Conure entertained, otherwise they will get bored of the toys.

In order to have a healthy Sun Conure you will need to make sure your Sun Conure is on a healthy diet that contains pellets, fruits and vegetables and a seed mixture. As long as your pet Sun Conure has a balanced diet they will thrive and live a long age. Just like us they also get bored of eating the same things over and over again, so make sure you are surprising them with fruits and veggies along with treats from time to time. In my household we use treats as a way to congratulate them on doing a trick. I.e. every time our Sun Conure repeats words we will give him a sunflower seed as a treat. Also we give him apples (no seeds), pears (no seeds), peanuts in shell (unsalted), grapes and sugar snap peas as treats from time to time. Of course do not stray away from the pellet food as they contain plenty of vitamins and minerals.

Sun Conures make great pets. They are loving birds and love companionship. If you do end up getting a Sun Conure I would highly recommend you get their wings clipped and nails trimmed regularly. Clipping their flight feathers does not hurt them since they do not carry any blood vessels and clipping their wings also deters them from flying around in house and injuring themselves. Of course it also deters them from flying away. Clipping their nails every other month or so does not hurt them and it also does not hurt you when you are holding your Sun Conure. These nails can get sharp and scratch and do some damage. 

So do you have a Sun Conure or another type of parrot? Have you taught your bird any tricks?