Written by Howard Voren
Conures are colorful, clever, charismatic clowns
that can be a never-ending source of enjoyment for their owners. All of this,
combined with the fact that they are reasonably priced, creates a large demand
by pct shops nationwide.
This demand must be met by captive-breeding in the
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 related to the macaws. This relationship has been demonstrated by the
fact that hybrid offspring from a cross between a noble macaw and a mitred conure have produced
fertile eggs.) This group consists of the blue-crowned, mitred,
cherry-headed, red-fronted, 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 weeks, then the
chances of double-clutching increases to about 75 percent. Pulling the eggs as
they are laid will probably result in the greatest quantity of eggs. In fact,
this is true of all the conures, regardless of from which group they belong. Some pairs
will lay 10 to 12 eggs under these conditions, but inaccurate incubation will
often result in less of a total yield than if the hen were permitted to sit for
two weeks on her two clutches of three eggs each.
The red front is the most difficult of the Aratinga
group. This is due to the fact that in its natural habitat it seeks out nesting
holes in rocks on cliff sides. The two easiest-to-breed conures
of this group are the white-eyed and red-throated (orange-throated) conures. These often will give two clutches per season if
the babies are taken from the nest for hand-rearing.
Red throats are the smallest of the group, but they make up for their lack
of size with one of the best personalities in conuredom.
I found them highly prized as pets in the areas of
Nest boxes for the large conures are usually about
12 inches square and 18 inches deep. I recommend this depth because the birds
don’t seem to settle in as well and sit tight unless the box has a depth
greater than 12 inches. They need to be far enough below the entrance hole to
lose interest in what’s going on outside.
Gold-Capped, Jenday, Sun and Dusky Conures
The second conure group is made up of what are
usually referred to as the medium- sized conures.
These are the gold-capped, jenday, sun and dusky conures. These are also classified under the genus Aratinga, but most aviculturists who have worked with them
for an extended time believe they should be grouped separately. Although they
are still related to the macaws, these conures are
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.
Their desire to empty nest boxes is instinctive and is done for the purpose
of cleaning out the nesting chambers from whatever raised babies there
previously. In the wild, everything from woodpeckers to tree-nesting mice will
use the hollows to raise babies. Many of these other tenants nest at different
times of the year. Each new occupant cleans out the nest before use. It just so
happens that this group is overzealous about house cleaning.
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 Nandayus genus), but it is closely
related to the gold cap group. This has been proven by the fact that hybrid
offspring produced by the crossing of nandays with jendays are fertile and do reproduce successfully. Nandays also enjoy emptying nest boxes of material, and an
18-inch depth is recommended. The interior nest box material that is most
commonly used for all conures is pine shavings.
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 nesting boxes usually provided in captive-breeding setups.
In their natural habitats, they excavate arboreal termite nests to make nesting
cavities. These large termite nests are made of a material that is similar in
consistency to spongy paper-board. The conures will
chew a hole in the side of one of these mounds, excavate an internal cavity and
lay their eggs. The termites close off all openings that lead from the conures’ nesting chambers to the rest of the termite nest.
This separates them from the invading pair of conures.
When they sense that the conures are gone, they fill
back in the cavity. This requires the conures to
excavate a new nest every time they wish to reproduce.
Because they have evolved 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 either all year long or at least
during the entire breeding season. They will play in them during the day, hide
in them if frightened and, most importantly, sleep in them at night. Not so
with this group, however. The moment that the youngsters are old enough to stay
outside at night, the conures no longer return to the
nest to sleep. Nature intends for them to move out. This is necessary so the
termites can make permanent repairs. Cavities like this can fill up with rain
during the rainy season and cause extensive damage to the mound. This is
strongly instinctive behavior and is not in any way learned from the parents,
nor is it caused by the parents “putting them out.”
I have fostered clutches of halfmoons under both
pearly and maroon-bellied conures. They were weaned
by their surrogate parents. Every chick turned its back on Mom and Dad, and
left the nest for good upon weaning. Maroon bellies and pearlies will allow babies to stay with them almost
indefinitely after weaning.
Brown throats, Aztecs and halfmoons that do
eventually develop the habit of sleeping in their nest boxes, regardless of
season, will become prolific producers. Those that do not
will at best produce a baby or two once in a while. (In fact, you can
safely say of all conures that if they do not sleep
in their nest boxes, you will not sec any eggs. Sleeping in them at night
always far precedes the laying of the first egg.)
Filling the inside of the nest box with cork in order to allow excavation to
take place might be a step in the right direction for some reluctant pairs. It
does not, however, necessarily create the desire to excavate. These conures can be given a nest box that is a 12-inch cube.
Since their habits are so different, most will leave a reasonable amount of
nesting material in the box.
A few years ago, I had the great luck to acquire a blue-mutation halfmoon conure. The bird was
fully mature and given every chance to breed by its previous owners. Years went
by without so much as an egg.
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. I lucked out: She was star struck in love. He thought that she
was pretty cute, too. It was a match made in heaven, and they were inseparable.
That is, of course, until it was time to bed down for the night. He slept in
the box, and she slept on the food dish. Within a week, she was sleeping on the
perch at the entrance to the box. In two weeks, she was sleeping in the box
with her new flame. Within one month of entering the box, she was sitting on
three fertile eggs. She now has (because of him) developed the habit of
sleeping in the box year round, and they produce regularly every season.
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.
This group, as a whole, appears to produce better in the humid climate of
south
In some cases, though, they are just very reluctant to produce. An example
of this is the painted conure. This bird has been
imported in sufficient quantities to allow for a domestic population boom. Most
pairs, however, are very reluctant to produce. There are aviculturists who are
lucky enough to have one or two very prolific pairs, but on the whole, the
painted has not been established in captivity.
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
Quaker Parakeets
A discussion of the different breeding habits of conures
cannot be complete without mention of the Quaker parakeet (also called 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 caused them to be
banned 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 speculated 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
All the conures kept in captivity can suffer from
obesity. The conure diet must consist of enough
nutritious low-fat foods to keep the fat buildup to a minimum. Fat birds get
lazy and stop producing.
The age at which physical maturity is reached 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 known what causes this phenomenon. It certainly would be an interesting
mystery to try to unlock.
Howard Voren is a Psittacultural Scientist specializing in the maintenance and reproduction of Central & South American Psittacine birds. Information about Howard Voren can be found on his website at www.Voren.com.