The Complete Guide to Keeping Conures as Pet Birds

Conures have been gaining favor as pets thanks to their charm, though preparing to meet their mentally and physically stimulating needs takes dedication upfront.

In this thorough guide, I will detail all the core considerations of owning one of these active parrots so you can make an informed decision about whether adopting a conure is the right choice.

Whether you’re researching your first-ever bird or an experienced owner seeking a new feathered friend, you’ll find the key facts and answers here to set you and your potential conjure up for a happy lifelong relationship.

How Big Do Conure Birds Get?

Conures range in size from the small green-cheek conure at around 9 inches long to the majestic Patagonian conure nearing 15 inches.

Most species fall somewhere in the middle, averaging 12-14 inches in length from head to tail.

Their overall size and weight can vary slightly between males and females with males sometimes being marginally larger on average.

But plenty of individual variation occurs, so size is not a definitive indicator of gender in conures.

While not as giant as macaws that can reach over 3 feet long, conures are still considered a medium-large parrot species. Their compact bodies are packed with huge personalities and energy.

When getting to know a conure, you’ll quickly realize they have a mighty presence contained within a moderately sized frame.

• Make sure you have enough physical space in your home for a conure to spread its wings without restriction.
• Ample room for climbing, flying, and playing will help keep your bird active and healthy.
• Restricting their movement too much can lead to frustration and aggression.
• Allowing reasonable flight time daily in a safe room under supervision is ideal for conures.

What is the Lifespan of a Conure?

With proper care, nutrition, housing, love, and attention, conures can live 25-30 years or even longer in some cases.

Some of the larger conure species like the sun conure regularly exceed 30 years in captivity when their needs are met fully.

• Proper preventative veterinary care, a balanced high-quality diet, mental stimulation, bonded relationships, and an adequately sized cage are all key factors that can maximize a conure’s longevity as a companion parrot.
• An indoor conure living in a clean environment, fed a species-appropriate diet, given room to exercise and play, and socialized frequently with a devoted owner is set up for a very long, healthy, and happy life.
• Monitor your bird closely for any signs of illness or injury, and provide veterinary care quickly when needed. Stay up to date on all regular wellness exams and vaccinations as prescribed by your avian vet. With diligent care and preventative medicine, your conure could remain vibrant and with you for decades to come.

Conure Types

There are over a dozen conure species commonly kept as pets. While their size, appearance, and personalities show some variation, all conures share core traits typical of the group.

This includes their high intelligence, playful nature, strong bonding instincts, loud vocal expressions, and tremendous longevity when properly cared for.

Some of the most popular conure types kept as companion parrots include:

• Sun conure – brightly colored with vibrant yellow plumage accented by orange patches. They are extremely loud and gregarious.
• Green-cheeked conure – a smaller species with primarily green coloration featuring black scalloped patterning. Usually calmer than sun conures.
• Jenday conure – brightly hued with mostly yellow and orange, plus a vivid red patch on the wings. Highly affectionate and cuddly.
• Blue-crowned conure – vivid green overall with a distinctive blue/black cap on the head, and bold orange “cheeks”. Very active and nimble.
• Patagonian conure – one of the largest conure species. Mostly green but featuring gorgeous grey scaling accents. Lots of power and energy.

While the looks of the various conure breeds may vary wildly, at their core all conures share common natural behaviors as active, curious members of the parrot family. Their care needs and ideal living conditions will be quite similar across the conure group.

Personality nuances may make one variety mesh better than others with a potential owner’s lifestyle. But their fundamental requirements for housing, diet, enrichment, and bonding won’t differ too significantly between the types.

Do your research to choose the conure breed that best suits your visual preferences, noise tolerance, and experience level as an avian caretaker.

Are Conures a Beginner Bird?

Conures can make an excellent starter bird for first-time parrot owners because of their typically affectionate, cuddly personalities once bonded, and their moderate care needs compared to some other parrot species.

However, conures do need lots of focused attention, interactive playtime, and mental enrichment daily to thrive.

A new conure owner must be fully committed to spending ample time regularly handling, training, and socializing these highly intelligent birds from a very young age.

Forming a close bond and trusting relationship takes concerted effort and patience in the beginning. But the payoff is an amazing lifelong friend!

When starting your journey with a new conure, joining local birding communities or online discussion groups is tremendously helpful for gaining wisdom from seasoned conure owners, breeders, and vets.

Scheduling some hands-on sessions interacting with adult conures before bringing your baby bird home also helps enormously with preparation.

The more you familiarize yourself with proper parrot handling and socialization techniques in advance, the greater success you’ll have in sharing your life with a conure.

Do Conures Like Being Touched?

In a word, yes!

Conures are extremely tactile, affectionate birds, and most love being touched and petted once they are comfortable with a caregiver.

They crave physical interaction and bonding with their human flock.

A properly tamed and socialized conure will often beg for petting, cuddling, scratching, massaging, and other hands-on attention.

Many conures enjoy gentle strokes on their heads, cheeks, the areas around their eyes, under the chin, on the back of the neck, down their wings, over their chest and belly area, and on their feet and legs too.

Introducing touching slowly and in limited sessions at first is the proper technique to get conures fully accustomed to positive physical handling.

This allows them to come to see human touch as an enjoyable bonding activity, rather than a threat.

Never force interactions with a new bird.

Always allow the conure to step up onto your hand or arm willingly before attempting to stroke or pet them. Gain their trust first. And pay close attention to their body language.

If they tense up, back away, puff their feathers, nip, or make distressed vocalizations, respect their boundaries and cease touching them immediately.

Try again gently at a later time once they have resettled. With time, patience, and the right approach, the majority of conures learn to seek out and relish cuddling and petting as precious flock bonding rituals.

Do Conures Recognize Their Owners?

Yes, conures can recognize and form very strong bonds with their human caretakers.

Conures are highly social, intelligent parrots with advanced communication abilities.

Their wild counterparts form tight flocks in nature, and conures see their human families as their flock when raised in captivity. You’ll notice a tame, bonded conure will often chirp, whistle or call excitedly when their favorite person enters the room.

They frequently rush to the nearest corner of their cage begging for that special someone to open the door and interact with them. Conures exhibit preferences for the people who spend the most time focused on them, handle them daily, and caregivers who interact using positive reinforcement techniques.

Some conures may become protective or territorial around their chosen person. Others might begin displaying nesting-type behaviors with their primary human friend. Both are signs of a strong social attachment.

Do Conures Only Bond with One Person?

While it’s true many conures will choose one primary human companion and form the tightest bond with that person, they can still form close bonds with multiple family members given the right conditions.

Conures are flock animals by nature after all, so they can accept and connect with more than one caretaker when handled properly.

The key factors to help a conure successfully broaden its scope of bonded humans include:

• Starting young before bad habits or insecurities become ingrained
• Rotating who handles and feeds the bird daily so no one person is seen as the sole provider
• Maintaining consistency across all caregivers in terms of expectations and training
• Requiring the bird to step up for each person before giving food or taking them out of the cage,
• Each family member investing ample hands-on time to build familiarity and trust.

Settling into exclusive bonds with just one owner happens most often when a bird is added into an existing family and not everyone makes the effort to engage with them consistently.

Putting in equal time and effort from the start maximizes the chances your conure accepts multiple people into their flock as trusted companions.

Do Conures Do Well with Dogs?

In most cases, yes, conures can co-exist successfully in homes with dogs when the proper precautions are taken.

Early and ongoing socialization between species is key to preventing territorial issues from developing down the road.

• Introduce pets like dogs slowly to a new bird, and never leave them alone unsupervised.
• Reinforce commands that keep the dog at a distance from the bird.
• Provide separate spaces for each pet to feel secure when needed.
• Remain hypervigilant about monitoring all interactions between the two.

With training, supervision, and respect for their differences, many conures live harmoniously with dogs under one roof. Some may even form sweet interspecies bonds and friendships!

Do Conures Get Jealous?

Yes! Conures have very complex emotions, and jealousy is certainly among them.

Since conures are highly intelligent yet instinct-driven flock animals by nature, they can become quite possessive and jealous when they see “their” favorite person giving too much focus to others.

Common jealous behaviors in conures may include screaming demands for attention when their person is focused elsewhere, biting or lunging toward someone who gets too close to “their” human, or aggressive displays toward perceived rivals.

Conures may also react angrily to seeing their owner petting or cuddling other housemate birds or animals.

The best way to prevent problematic jealousy in conures is to work regular one-on-one bonding time into your daily routine with your bird.

Set aside periods devoted solely to direct interaction with them. Also avoid scolding or overly reacting to jealous outbursts, as this can inadvertently reinforce the behavior.

Instead, stay calm, and gently redirect their focus to a more positive toy or task. A firm routine including both social flock time and exclusive bonding spells will defuse jealousy issues effectively.

Do Conures Need a Friend?

The question of bird companionship is a common one for conure owners.

In nature, conures form large, highly social flocks, so they certainly enjoy and may benefit from having one of their kind as a cagemate.

However, with consistent focused interaction, training, and playtime daily from their human caretakers, a single conure can do very well on their own too.

There are pros and cons to housing conures in pairs that warrant careful thought either way. The interactive companionship between two birds can be fun to watch and very enriching for them.

But conversely, fighting could occur, so owners must be vigilant about monitoring for any aggressive or bullying behaviors between cagemates.

If choosing to add a second conure, introduce any newcomers very slowly to an existing bird’s environment.

• Never simply place two strange birds together immediately.
• Follow a careful acclimation process over weeks to set them up for success in sharing space harmoniously.
• Be sure each bird gets individual daily bonding time with their human flock outside the pair dynamic.
• Feed, handle, train, and interact one-on-one with each conure so they both retain close relationships with you.

Consistent effort focused on each bird as an individual will lead to a healthy, happy flock dynamic both between the two birds, and with you their trusted caretaker.

Do Conures Recognize Faces?

Extensive research has definitively shown that yes, parrots including conures can recognize both human and bird faces with remarkable accuracy.

Facial recognition abilities enable them to distinguish individuals within their flock and to predict expected behavior based on each bird’s status and personality within the social hierarchy.

This key adaptation serves wild conures well in navigating their complex social structures.

If you’ve noticed your pet conure staring intensely at certain people from their cage, or reacting differently toward some individuals than others consistently, facial recognition is likely playing a role.

The ability to distinguish faces and associate them with past experiences explains why our conures remember us even after long absences, or why they may grow upset when a family member changes hairstyles drastically!

Their communication skills and cognition truly are incredibly advanced.

Are Conures Smarter Than Cockatiels?

Both conures and cockatiels are highly intelligent avian groups with unique cognitive strengths.

Conures show particular cognitive talents like advanced problem-solving skills, complex vocal communications, high curiosity motivated by play, and the ability to mimic sizable vocabularies.

But cockatiels tend to excel when it comes to quickly deciphering human speech patterns and cues. They are whizzing at bonding closely with people.

So in a sense, conures may have higher reasoning intelligence, while cockatiels are more adept emotionally.

Different styles of cognition can make certain birds a better personality match with some owners compared to others.

Meeting prospective birds in person and following your intuition about the best fit often makes the most sense when deciding between parrot species and individual birds.

While comparisons may be interesting, look beyond generalizations to find the perfect feathered companion for you!

Conure Cost

The purchase price for a pet conure can range significantly depending on the specific breed, region, bird’s age, and source.

Some factors impacting costs include:

• Less common conure species are typically pricier than those more readily available.
• Hand-fed baby birds usually range from $200-$600 higher than parent-fed juveniles.
• Boutique bird shops and breeders often charge premium rates compared to major chain pet stores.
• Adopting an adult conure from a rescue or rehoming situation usually costs between $50-$350.

In addition to the actual purchase price, prospective owners must thoroughly budget for the necessary cage setup and accessories, high-quality diet, enrichment toys to rotate out, routine wellness vet visits, and an emergency medical fund.

Never obtain any pet before being prepared to cover all the associated care expenses. Owning conures or any parrot is a significant commitment!

With some smart shopping though, exquisite pet conures can still be found for under $500 in many cases.

Focus more on personality and health than prestige in your selection process. Search for birds needing homes through rescues or postings by owners who can no longer care for them. Provide lots of TLC, and even an older bird still has so much love left to share!

Are Conures High Maintenance?

Compared to other pets like dogs, cats, rodents, or fish, most parrot experts do consider conures relatively high maintenance overall.

There are a few factors that increase the care effort and responsibilities associated with properly maintaining these active, intelligent birds:

• Conures require substantial regular interaction and focused mental stimulation from their owners to stay happy – at least 3 hours per day is recommended. Without adequate bonding time, they can become hostile and destructive.
• Loud, frequent vocalizations are innate to conures. Their screaming can become a nuisance to neighbors in close quarters. Soundproofing cages may be necessary.
• Chewing, chewing, chewing! Conures love to shred wood, papers, and anything else they can get their beaks on. Managing and redirecting this tendency takes effort.
• Multiple cage cleanings weekly are essential to control mess, bacteria, and odors. Their high-nutrient food is messy. Droppings accumulate quickly.
• As prey animals, conures startle easily. Loud noises, unfamiliar objects, quick movements, etc. stress them out. Their anxiety takes patience and planning to prevent.

The extra effort does come with huge rewards for the right owner. There are substantial responsibilities, but the payoffs balance them nicely.

What Temperature Do Conures Like?

In general, conures do best at average room temperatures between 65-85 degrees Fahrenheit. Avoid exposing them to drafts, and monitor closely for any signs of chilling or overheating.

Ideal humidity levels range between 30-50%.

Conures have higher body temperatures than humans at 100-105F normally.

Their feathers provide insulation, but cannot fully regulate radical temperature swings. Be alert to signs of overheating including panting, wing extension, dripping saliva, or skin flushing.

Offer mist baths and shade while moving them somewhere cooler immediately if noticed.

Likewise watch out for symptoms of chilling like extensive feather ruffling/fluffing, shivering, lethargy, and ankles pulled in close to the body.

Relocate the bird somewhere warmer and consider a heating pad under the cage in these cases.

Can You Potty Train a Conure?

Yes, it is possible to potty train a conure with time, consistency, and patience.

The keys to successfully training your bird to relieve themselves in specific designated areas or containers rather than randomly around their cage are:

• Carefully observing when and where they typically tend to poop after eating or waking up. Make notes of their bodily rhythms.
• Placing perches or cages higher so the waste falls into desired collection spots more easily.
• Moving the bird quickly but gently to the target potty zone when showing imminent signs of needing to go, like backing up and squatting.
• Offering strong positive praise immediately when they do use the correct area. Treat rewards help tremendously too.
• Ignoring minor lapses and accidents instead of scolding to avoid deterring progress. Gently redirect toward the proper potty place instead.
• Accepting the process takes many weeks or even months of solid repetition before it becomes a habit. Remain as consistent as possible.

Not all conures take to targeting training for defecation purposes. For some birds, it clicks while others resist.

Have realistic expectations of an imperfect process, and know that their small bodies cannot physically “hold it” for as long as humans.

Patience paired with persistence is the key to the best potty training results.

Do Conures Come Back if They Fly Away?

Unfortunately no, a conure allowed to escape outdoors and fly off will rarely find its way home again on its own.

Their natural survival instincts and abilities are simply not adapted for dealing with the multitude of perils present outside the controlled environment they have been raised in.

A lone pet conure loose outside faces huge threats including starvation, dehydration, predators, vehicles, weather extremes, toxins, lack of proper shelter, and more.

Their likelihood of surviving any significant time is extremely low. That is why responsible conure owners must take every precaution to fully prevent escapes right from the start.

• Invest in a quality cage with secure latches.
• Clip your bird’s wings regularly to limit flight power.
• Always close doors and windows before allowing them free roam time.
• Consider having your conure microchipped just in case.

Taking safety measures seriously reduces heartbreaking risks.

Do Conures Mate for Life?

Within wild conure flocks living freely, most do choose a single lifelong monogamous mate once sexually mature.

Mated pairs will stick together from one breeding season to the next for many years. Their loyalty in the flock helps propagate the species best.

In captivity, the situation becomes more fluid if one mate dies.

Conures do mourn the loss of their partner deeply when a bonded relationship existed. But once they have processed the grief, the surviving bird will often accept and embrace a new mate introduced gradually.

So while wild conures are programmed for lasting monogamy, captive adjustments can happen.

Can Different Types of Conures Mate?

While conure hybrid crosses are not entirely impossible, it is quite rare for two different conure species housed together to successfully mate and reproduce.

Even within sizable flocks, most stay within their breeds when choosing partners. The discrepancies in size, appearance, behaviors, nesting habits, and reproductive biology between varieties tend to isolate them reproductively when living in close quarters.

Experienced avian breeders can occasionally achieve hybrid pairings by providing customized environments catering to the complex needs of the specific birds. But for companion conures living as pets, focusing on same-species pairs is the recommended route for their wellbeing.

Certainly, conures of all types can become close friends and flockmates. But urges to bond as mates across types likely won’t be fruitful. Yet their loyalty and affection toward each other across breed lines can still be touching to witness.

How Long Are Conures Pregnant?

The average incubation period from the point a conure’s eggs are fertilized to fully formed hatchlings emerging is approximately 24-25 days.

The mother begins sitting on the eggs and brooding as soon as the first one is laid.

If you calculate from the day the first egg is laid, the total nesting process often extends 6-8 full weeks by the time the young fledge and leave the nest.

This is why breeding conures must be monitored closely and supported with extra nutrition for such an extended taxing process.

The mom especially needs ample recovery time between clutches.

Do Conures Feed Their Babies?

Yes absolutely, parent conures play a very intimate role in directly caring for and feeding their hatchlings until they are ready to venture from the nest at 5-8 weeks old.

Conure adults eat nutritious foods then regurgitate the meals back up partially digested to drop directly into their begging chicks’ mouths.

This messy but effective feeding technique ensures that rapidly developing babies get all the calories, protein, vitamins, and minerals they need without the risk of choking on whole seeds or produce.

As the hatchlings grow bigger, the parents gradually mix in more whole foods and teach the young how to crack open seeds and nuts to wean them successfully.

But from hatching through fledging, the parents’ regurgitated offerings sustain the demanding chicks.

Their devotion as caregivers is remarkable given their small size.

Do Conures Need a Nest Box?

In most cases, no, you should not provide a next box or enclosed sleeping chamber for a non-breeding pet conure.

The dark, intimate space can overstimulate hormonal surges and reproductive behaviors that are unhealthy for solitary birds.

Some exceptions where a nesting area may be needed include a confirmed male-female pair that the owner intends to breed responsibly, or a female proven to be a chronic egg layer where a proper box may help contain the mess.

For general day-to-day housing, it is safer not to include any small enclosed bed, box, coconut hut, or other cavity-like space that may be seen as an inviting nesting spot by your conure.

These can prompt problematic egg-laying. Instead offer open platform perches, tents, hammocks, or bowls as safer sleeping space options.

Position multiple roosts at higher elevations in the cage to dissuade egg depositing. Removing stimuli that trigger their natural nesting drive is the healthiest.

Why Do Conures Eat Their Eggs?

In the wild, parent conures often eat their eggs shortly before they hatch for a couple of key reasons.

First, consuming the calcium-rich eggshell fragments right before having very demanding chicks helps replenish some of the nutritional stores the mother lost producing the clutch.

They also eat eggs as a way to eliminate visual evidence of a nest that could potentially attract predators. Their babies’ survival hinges on keeping the nest location as discreet as possible.

In our pet birds, continuous egg-laying and eating can form an unhealthy cycle.

Make sure to have a vet assess your conure if egg-laying behaviors persist beyond an initial clutch or two, as fertility issues or physical problems may require medication.

Getting to the root cause helps break the pattern.

Can Conures Lay Eggs Without Mating?

It is quite common for lone female conures to lay small clutches of eggs even without the presence of a male conure to fertilize them.

While the eggs will of course be infertile, the solitary hen will still often sit on the clutch constantly as if trying to incubate babies.

This bond-driven hormonal breeding urge serves an important purpose in helping wild conures propagate.

In pet birds separated from their mates, it can quickly become hazardous to their health. Egg-laying leeches have crucial calcium and other nutrients from their bodies.

Extended incubation behaviors also prevent eating, drinking, and exercise. Left unchecked, chronic egg-laying often progresses to severe malnutrition, fatigue, and binding which can be fatal.

Do Conures Sleep All Night?

In most cases, healthy conures will sleep soundly through the night without issue for around 10-12 hours straight.

Their active waking hours align naturally with dawn through dusk as they would experience in the wild.

Allowing this day/night cycle to continue benefits their health and happiness. Make sure you provide a sufficiently covered, quiet, and peaceful environment overnight. Eliminate ambient light and distracting noises.

Many owners place their bird’s cage in a spare bedroom to avoid disruptions. Greet your conure cheerfully each morning as their active time begins. And stick to a regular sleep schedule year-round.

Maintaining their innate circadian rhythms through consistent lighting and habits prevents exhausting your bird and inviting behavioral issues.

Proper nightly rest keeps your conure mentally and physically at their best!

What Are Conures Scared Of?

Given conures are essentially prey animals by nature, many stimuli in their environment may startle, stress or frighten them.

Reactions vary between individual birds, but some common fear triggers include:

• Sudden loud or crashing noises like pots/pans banging, dishes breaking, screaming, etc. can incite panic
• Unfamiliar people getting too close to their cage space abruptly or making direct eye contact
• New objects introduced to their area before they have had time to gradually acclimate
• Fast, jerky movements that seem predatory, like hands swiftly reaching toward them
• Being chased or cornered with no escape route
• Getting misted or sprayed with water directly to their face/body
• Seeing visitors or animals near their cage, which they view as their territory

The key as owners is observing what specifically seems to scare your bird, and implementing controlled exposure techniques to gradually help them build confidence and overcome those phobias.

With time, patience, and positive associations, you can reduce their fearful reactions substantially. But it does require diligently avoiding triggers until your conure is ready to tackle each successfully.

How Many Hours a Day Should a Conure Be Out of the Cage?

To meet their needs for exercise and engaged interaction, most conures should spend a minimum of 3-4 hours per day out of their cage playing, bonding, and exploring supervised in a bird-safe environment.

Young, high-energy conures and larger species may even benefit from up to 6-8 hours out of confinement daily.

This substantial time investment is a key commitment owners must be prepared to provide consistently.

Chirping, screaming, boredom and problem behaviors often arise from inadequate “flock time”. Make sure their cage itself is sufficiently large and enriched when they are confined.

Allow them out-of-cage time in a variety of locations like play stands in main living spaces, screened porches, etc so the scenery stays interesting.

Schedule both lively flock play sessions and mellower cuddle times. Balancing their active explorations with adequate rest, you’ll have a thriving conure!

Do Conures Need Beds?

While separate sleeping huts, bowls, or hammocks are not essential if ample perch space is already provided, many conures do enjoy having designated cozy spots to retreat to inside their enclosure.

Some popular bedding options bird owners provide to satisfy this natural nesting urge safely include:

• Textile hammocks or cradles made of bird-safe natural fabric like cotton that can be washed weekly
• Plastic bowls or pods with side cut-outs they can snuggle into
• Soft woven grass mats affixed to cage walls or ceilings
• Natural wood nest boxes with adequate ventilation

Be sure to position any bedding high up in the cage to prevent droppings from soiling inside. And swap fabric ones out regularly to limit bacteria.

Having a few different nesting choices to switch between keeps their exploratory minds engaged. Just take care not to overcrowd their space.

Offering restful retreats fulfills healthily flocking instincts!

How Can You Tell If a Conure Is Male or Female?

Accurately determining gender in young conures can prove tricky even for experienced owners.

DNA testing by feather pulp analysis or blood sampling provides only 100% definitive results.

But some helpful visual clues to gender include:

• Females typically have a more rounded, wider pelvis and abdomen suited for egg laying. Their hips may appear fuller.
• Males frequently have larger, broader heads and necks, with more vibrant coloration in these areas.
• Upon reaching maturity, males often begin regurgitating food-courting behaviors.
• Females generally act a bit reserved, nibbles or moody during breeding cycles. Males strut more.
• Size is not reliable, but males are sometimes marginally bigger on average.

There will always be exceptions among individuals of course. But watching for these subtle hints can provide a good guess until DNA testing confirms gender if it is important to know.

How Often Do Conures Bathe?

In their natural tropical environments, conures have the opportunity to bathe nearly daily when fresh water sources allow.

As pets, we should aim to mimic their wild bathing habits as closely as feasible to keep their skin, feathers, and plumage in optimal condition.

Most conures greatly enjoy bathing opportunities 2-3 times per week at minimum.

This can include misting their bodies with a spray bottle, providing wide shallow dishes for splashing in or installing a bird-safe shower perch.

Signs your conure is ready for a bath include acting itchy and ruffling its feathers, picking at skin flakes, or producing excess powder-down.

Watch for them fluffing feathers, sidling up to water sources, and slapping wet surfaces joyfully when finished! Then just gently towel dry.

Keeping baths readily available prevents problematic dry skin.

Do Conures Like Sunlight?

In nature, conures native to tropical regions bask frequently in ample warm sunshine.

So our captive birds also often enjoy controlled exposure to direct natural sunlight streaming into nearby windows. The UV rays provide beneficial vitamin D and heat.

Just be sure to carefully supervise time in direct sun outdoors in an aviary or travel cage. Their dark, flat feathers absorb heat rapidly.

Monitor for overheating symptoms like panting, skin flushing, and saliva dripping. Offer misting and shade until they can move somewhere cooler if noticed.

With prudent sun safety, most conures delight in feeling the rays on their backs. It likely reminisces time spent foraging in their ancestral tree canopies back in their homeland regions.

Let them enjoy the warmth and brightness in moderation.

What Do Conures Like in Their Cage?

An enriching conure cage setup focused on promoting their health and happiness should include:

• Several appropriately-sized wood perches situated at varying heights and widths to exercise feet
• Rotating selection of interactive foraging toys to shred, toss and problem-solve over
• Multiple food and water dishes kept clean and filled with fresh pellets, vegetables, and fruits daily
• Wide, heavy bowls for splashing in during bathing sessions
• Natural wood branches, swings, ladders, and platforms to climb, chew and roost on
• Ample room to spread their wings fully without obstruction
• Hideaways like tents for privacy and security as desired

Make sure to customize their housing further with a few safe personal favorites like mirrors, bells, lights, and more.

Appeal to your specific bird’s interests to keep their curious minds engaged and happy inside when not with their favorite flock – you!