Conure Care Guide

“Conure” is a loose name for a group of small-to-medium, long-tailed parrots from Mexico, Central America and South America. In pet terms it splits into two groups: the small Pyrrhura conures such as the green-cheeked, and the larger Aratinga conures such as the sun and jenday. All conures are bold, playful chewers that want a moderate amount of daily attention. The group you pick largely decides how loud your home will be. This page covers the group as a whole; the sun conure has its own page.

Care requirements

Need	What to provide
Enclosure	At least 2 × 2 × 3 ft (60 × 60 × 90 cm). VCA’s housing guide suggests 3 × 3 × 3 ft (90 × 90 × 90 cm), so go bigger if you can (VCA)
Temperature	Within about 54–79°F (12–26°C), away from radiators, stoves and draughts (RSPCA)
Humidity	Normal indoor air. Aviary birds need a draught-proof indoor shelter (RSPCA)
Lighting	Flicker-free bird UVA/UVB lamp run for natural daylight length, with shaded perches (RSPCA)
Diet	About 75–80% pellets, the rest mainly vegetables, and fruit no more than 10% (VCA)
Lifespan	Pyrrhura up to 25 years; Aratinga up to 30 years (MSD)
Social needs	Moderate daily attention and at least 6 hours out of the cage. Tame birds bond closely with people (VCA; RSPCA)
Legal notes	No common restrictions; check local rules.

Green-cheeked vs sun vs other common conures

	Pyrrhura conures	Aratinga conures
Common pet species	Green-cheeked, maroon-bellied, pineapple	Sun, jenday, nanday, blue-crowned, mitred, dusky
Typical weight	55–70 g (2–2.5 oz)	100–200 g (3.5–7 oz)
Size	Most are smaller than a cockatiel	Small to medium
Noise	Relatively quiet for a parrot	Piercing scream
Lifespan	Up to 25 years	Up to 30 years

Sources: VCA (species, weights); MSD (size, noise, lifespan).

The green-cheeked conure is the usual pick for an apartment or a first parrot. A sun or jenday is the brighter, louder choice. Sun conures also come with conservation concerns, covered on their own page. Neither group is known for talking much. VCA describes conures in general as birds that screech when they want something.

Both groups are energetic chewers. VCA recommends a steady supply of non-toxic wood and paper-based toys, which conures will shred. Rotate them so the cage isn’t the same every day. A conure with nothing to destroy turns its beak on the cage, the furniture or its own feathers.

Feeding conures

Wild conures forage in treetops for seeds, fruit, nuts, berries, flowers and sometimes insect larvae. Pet conures given a seed mix usually pick out the peanuts and sunflower seeds. VCA notes these are high in fat and low in calcium and vitamin A, and that conures are prone to vitamin A deficiency, low calcium and egg binding.

VCA’s targets:

• Pellets: about 75–80% of what the bird eats.
• Vegetables and greens: the bulk of the rest. Choose deep-coloured ones over iceberg lettuce and celery.
• Fruit: no more than about 10%, because it is mostly sugar and water.
• No supplements once on pellets, unless a vet prescribes them (calcium for a laying hen, for example).

For switching an adult bird, VCA gives two schedules. One moves from 75:25 seed to pellets, through 50:50, to 25:75, over about nine days. The other cuts seed by 10% a day over ten days. Weigh the bird on a gram scale throughout.

Health problems seen in conures

VCA lists a few problems that come up specifically in conures:

• Conure bleeding syndrome. This is a disorder of unknown cause in which a conure bleeds excessively after an injury or a blood draw. It can be treated if caught early, so make sure your vet knows the bird is a conure before any procedure.
• Polyomavirus carriage. Conures are often thought to carry polyomavirus, which can kill other parrots, especially macaws, eclectus, caiques and hawk-headed parrots. Test and quarantine before mixing species.
• Feather picking from stress. VCA calls conures high-strung and says picking is seen in stressed or overcrowded birds.

VCA recommends a yearly exam with an avian vet. This includes a physical check, nail or wing trims if needed, and lab tests where indicated.

Five things new conure owners get wrong

• Choosing an Aratinga for a flat. MSD describes the larger conures’ scream as piercing, and VCA notes conures can scream loudly at times.
• Rewarding the screech. Rushing over when a conure screams teaches it that screaming works. Give attention when it is quiet.
• Housing a conure with an untested macaw or caique. Conures may carry polyomavirus that is lethal to those species (VCA).
• Crowding several conures into one cage. Stress and overcrowding are linked to feather picking (VCA).
• Not counting on 25–30 years. That is longer than many owners expect from a small parrot (MSD).

Avoid

• Avocado and onion. VCA calls these potentially toxic to all parrots.
• Grit and gravel (VCA).
• Painted or zinc-coated cages. Use stainless steel or powder-coated cages instead (VCA).
• Sandpaper perch covers. They cause sores on the feet (VCA).
• Toys with snaps, clasps, open chain links or small swallowable parts (VCA).
• Ceiling fans running and windows uncovered during flying time (RSPCA).
• Non-stick (PTFE) cookware, smoke and aerosols near the cage. Bird lungs are highly sensitive to airborne toxins. Overheated PTFE gives off fumes that can kill a bird quickly (VCA).