Conure Husbandry

Abstract

Conures are from Central and South America. They are the most numerous genus with the widest distribution of all psittacine birds. There is a great range in color and size from 8'' characterized by the crimson bellied pyrrhura to the largest Patagonian conure which measures 20''. The conures are characterized by large heads and beaks, long slender bodies and long, tapering tails. Conures are similar to the macaws, which they are closely related to, the basic difference being the size of the bare eye ring-larger in the macaws. In addition, the 8" to 11" pyrrhura have a broad bill with a notch in the upper mandible, with a very prominent naked cere. Conures are long lived, hardy, and extremely intelligent birds.

The purchase of a conure for breeding rather than as a tame pet forces us to consider much more than the bird's health and tameness.

 

Starting with healthy stock should be uppermost in your mind. Check the bird's droppings and general appearance before you even approach the cage, then do the routine physical; not just looking but handling the bird. Check the weight, nostrils, eyes, legs, feet, and the entire body. There are four things to consider beyond the routine examination: l)Know the age of the bird, 2) Is it a domestic or imported bird? 3) Is it a virgin or proven breeder? 4) How well does it do in your climate and aviary accommodations?

Let's go back and consider each question separately. 1) The age on imported birds is impossible to tell except in some extremely old birds you can tell by the feet and the general appearance of the bird. You want to try to avoid these specimens. 2) Which is better, a domestic bird or an imported bird? It is going to take approximately two years for an imported bird to settle into a captive situation, and it will take two years for the majority of the captivebred Pyrrhuras and Aratingas to mature to breeding age. There are advantages, however, to domestics. You do know the genetic background of the bird and you do automatically know the age of the bird. Plus, in a breeding situation, especially in checking the nest box, domestic conures are less stressed and will probably be less likely to destroy eggs or damage chicks as some imported nervous birds will do.

3) Virgin or proven breeders. I would rather start with a virgin bird because they have not developed bad habits. It is rare for a person to sell a proven breeder. Let's face it, if you had a bird that was proven and that was raising babies you are not going to sell it. Some of the reasons they are sold are, they kill their mates, or they are carriers of various viruses or diseases and several mates have died mysteriously. Or they are very bad parent birds, they kill their ckicks or don't feed well. I am not saying that people are dishonest. Some people do get out of birds and sell their stock, but check very closely the history and breeding situation of the bird plus the reputation of the seller.

4) Check on whether the bird species is going to do well in your climate. I check with people before purchasing new conures. If it is a new species I am going to work with, I check with other local aviculturists to see if they have done well with it. If it is producing in good numbers then I will go with the species. If it is a bird that doesn't do well in the humidity of the tropics, I will try to avoid the species. For example, the scarlet chested and turquoisine parakeets outside, in Florida, do not do well. My ego caused me to kill several pairs of these birds before I realized that the wet, tropical climate wasn't conducive to good production in this bird. I also believe that some of the conures, for example the Pearly conure (Pyrrhura p. perlata) and the Hoffmann's conure (Pyrrhura h. hoffmanni), would do much better in the tropical areas as opposed to the dry desert climate where some are kept.

Unfortunately, none of the conures are dimorphic. We have all been told '' I can tell the sex of these,'' and my friend or my veterinarian says that by looking at the bird it is a female or a male. Some of the means used are: 1) The head or beak size. 2) The vent width, and 3) a group of birds where two are paired off. I do use these indicators when I buy but then I have the birds surgically sexed. I firmly believe that you are wasting your time if you don't have your birds surgically sexed. My production increased at least 85 % when I had them all surgically sexed by Dr. Susan Clubb. As one example, I once had seven pairs of caiques. When Dr. Clubb surgically sexed the 14 birds, only two of them were females and I had the two hens caged as a pair. Surgically sexing monomorphic birds pays.

 

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