Inducing sun conures to breed

ljms

New member
Oct 31, 2024
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** Note: I have experience breeding cockatiels and green cheeks and have hand raised several clutches.

I've had two hand-tame sun conures for a year now. They're male and female, DNA tested, and closed-rung. I've had no luck getting them to breed. They weren't sold to me as proven but the previous owner, who was rehoming them due to work commitments, did mention in passing that the female had laid eggs before (in April).

Before they were rehomed with me, they were rehomed with another person who returned them to the original owner after only two weeks. This person had clipped their wings severely. The male's flight feathers have grown back fully and the female's are almost fully back.

I was expecting eggs by now but this hasn't happened yet. I was hoping somebody here could chip in.

Their environment:
They have a large double-flight cage and share a dedicated bird room with three cockatiels and two GCCs. They have a nest box which they sleep in together. They sleep and wake with the day/night cycle, so throughout summer, they were awake 12-14 hours per day. At the moment, this is around 10-12 hours per day as we go into winter. They have toys and lots of foraging opportunities, and they get free roam of the room for half of the day.

Their diet:
90% pellets (Hagen Lifetime 4mm) and 10% seed/nut/fruit mix. They won't eat fresh food/fruit/chop. I've tried but they will just not touch it. I add Calcivet to their water.

They spend a lot of time in the room with the other birds and about an hour or two with me per day.

Their personalities:
The male is boisterous and confident but the female is quite skittish and isn't as tame.

I think the problem might be one of these:

1. The male is overly bonded to me, to the extent that he always comes to me and clicks his beak/tongue at me. Whenever he sees me near the cage, he always rushes to the nest box and starts showing me it/beak tapping on it.

2. The suns hate the Green Cheeks. I have to let them out separately because the male will chase them around and attack them non-stop. They've been in the same room for a year and they still don't get along.

Would appreciate any thoughts.
 
I have no suggestions. Only appreciation for your attention to detail and openness to input.
I hope you stick with us, sharing your story.
 

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