Conures and Their Breeding Habits charismatic clowns that can be a never-ending source of enjoyment for their owners. All of this, combine with the fact that is reasonably price creates a large deman by pct shops nationwide.

This demand must be met by captive-breeding in the United States. Private aviculturists have fared quite well in this area. Since a flight cage of only 3 to 4 feet in length will make most conure pairs happy. They is a bird that most people can find

Almost all of the conures can be divided into one of four groups that differ from one another in some major way concerning breeding habits. There are a few “outsiders” that do not fit clearly into any of the four groups, but these are the exception to the rule and can usually be placed as intermediates between two of the major groups. What follows is a rundown of the conures most commonly available.

Green Conure Group

The first group, and the largest in body size of those commonly available, is the green conure group. These are classified scientifically under the genus name Aratinga. (The macaws are classified under the name Ara, and these large green conures are, as the name implies, very closely relate to the macaws. This relationship has been demonstrate by the fact that hybrid offspring from a cross between a noble macaw and a mitre conure have produce fertile eggs.) This group consists of the blue-crown mitre cherry-head red-front, white-eyed, Finch’s, green and red-throated conures. The blue crown is a bit afield of this group toward the macaws but its breeding habits and seasons are very close to the rest of this group.

These birds, as a whole, are only moderately prolific and can take quite some time before they begin to produce regularly. It is not uncommon for wild-caught stock to take three to five years before they settle down to breed, even if fully mature when set up. Even when they do begin to produce regularly, they are extremely seasonal in their behavior. Unless they are fooled into misreading the seasons by artificial conditions, they hold off until the middle to late summer.

The chances of this group double-clutching is somewhat less than 50 percent if the babies are pulled early (7 to 14 days) for hand-rearing. If the offspring are left with the parents for three weeks or more, the chances of two clutches is very slim indeed. If, however, you choose to pull the eggs for incubation after the hen has set for two w

Gold-Capped Jenday

The second conure group is made up of what are usually referr to as the medium size conures. Theseis the gold capp jenday, sun and dusky conures. These is also classifie under the genus Aratinga, but most aviculturists who have work with them for an extend time believe they should be group separately. Although they is still relate to the macaws, these conures is certainly a giant step further away than the green conure group. Their behavior differs from their larger cousins in every way.

These behavioral differences are most drastic when it comes to breeding. These birds, under captive conditions, have no breeding season in the real sense of the word. Once they begin to produce, they often will lay four clutches in one year, only to rest for a few months and start all over again. Even though these parrots are one size smaller than the previous group, I recommend the same size nest box as used for the larger conures (12 inches square and 18 inches deep). This depth is necessary because of the groups’ propensity to completely empty shallower boxes of nesting material. With the last bit of material 18 inches down, they will usually have some left by the time they finish laying their eggs. Once they begin to sit, they will stop throwing the material out of their box.

Nanday Conures

Intermediate to the previous two groups is the nanday conure. Like the green conure group, it is highly seasonal about beginning nesting activities, but like the gold cap group, it is free-breeding, once it decides that the season is at hand. If they don’t give you at least two clutches a year, they are probably sick. You can usually count on three clutches, and if they can at all manage four (with early baby-pulling), they are happy to oblige.

The nanday is not classified as Aratinga by most taxonomists (it stands alone as the sole member of the genus but it is closely related to the gold cap group. This has been prove by the

Brown-Throated, Aztec and Halfmoon Conures

The third major group consists of the brown-throated, the Aztec and the half- moon conures. Although they are still members of the Aratinga genus, they are another step further away from the macaws. This group starts breeding earlier in the year than the green conure group (early to middle summer), but like that group, they often take three to five years before they start producing on a regular basis. At that point, some pairs will only produce a few babies a year, while others will become prolific producers like those of the gold cap group. Some pairs never produce at all.

This problem is due to the fact that they show a strong reluctance about entering the standard n

Because they have evolve in such a manner, this group has trouble relating to a nest box as a permanent structure. All the other conures use their nest boxes as a permanent dormitory.It was at that point that I acquired this blue female with her normal-colored mate. Once they settled into my aviary, I noticed that they did not sleep in their nest box. Since she was so important to me, I decided to take drastic measures. First, I separated her from her mate. Next, I took a beautiful proven male that had developed the permanent habit of sleeping in his nest box at night, and removed him from his mate. I left both the blue female and the proven male alone for about a week, and then I put him into her breeding flight.

Peach-Fronted Conures

Next is another conure that does not fit clearly into any group. It is best classified as intermediate to the gold cap and brown throat groups. This bird is the peach-fronted conure.

Most people would automatically consider the peach front to belong to the same group as the halfmoon, since they look so much alike. The fact is that the peach front’s breeding habits are nothing at all like any of the conures in the brown throat group.

Peach fronts do not start to breed until late spring or early summer, like the brown throat and its group; but once they get rolling, they are prolific producers, like the gold cap group.

Since they get a late start, they usually only yield two clutches a year, but they will reliably give you three to four babies in each clutch, year after year. In the wild, they nest in tree hollows.

Pyrrhuras

The last major group is the genus Pyrrhura. These ornate little conures comprise a large family of which only a handful are available with any frequency. Of those that are available, some are extremely prolific, and some are downright stingy about producing.

There is obviously something we must do differently to “turn on” all the pairs that are sitting around doing nothing but eating. One possibility we can try is colony-breeding. This has failed to increase production with anything else in the conure family, but in this case it might be worth trying. On a trip to Suriname, South America, I met with someone who had claimed to have successfully bred them for several years. He claimed that the secret to his success was colony-breeding them. He did, in fact, have a flight cage with four pairs in it, and several juveniles were flying with them.

Quaker Parakeets

A discussion of the different breeding habits of conures cannot be complete without mention of the Quaker parakeet also call the monk parakeet. This bird is not classified as a conure, but it is part of many conure breeding operations. It has the strangest breeding habits of all the parrots; they build nests by weaving together dry sticks. They build these nests into large condominiums and each breeding pair or family group has its own entrance hole and internal chamber.

In captivity, Quakers will use any standard nest box. These birds never empty the box of shavings, so a 12-inch cube for a box is fine. These are the most prolific birds in the entire parrot family. This has cause them to be ban in several states. The wildlife authorities in these states believe that if enough of them escape, they might harm the native birds by out-competing them for food. Authorities also have speculate that Quakers could become a menace to crops.

Quakers usually begin to produce in mid-spring and continue well into the summer months. They are usually good for three or four clutches a year. Although many pairs will lay up to seven fertile eggs per clutch, they seldom will raise more than three babies. They often will hatch all the eggs but will only raise the three of their choice.

Maturity

The age at which physical maturity is reach is directly proportional to the size of the conure. The Pyrrhura conures mature at 8 to 12 months of age. The gold cap and brown throat groups mature at 12 to 18 months, and the green conure group at about 2 years.

Physical maturity doesn’t usually translate instantly into babies. Mental maturity to an extent is also necessary. This can add anywhere from six months to two years to the age at which a conure will start producing. These statistics are for domestic-bred, hand-raised birds. Babies raised and weaned by their parents will mature in about half the time. It is not know what causes this phenomenon. It certainly would be an interesting mystery to try to unlock.