What is a Sun Conure's Age in Human Years?

[BoomBoom]

Hello! Haven't been in the forums much, it's great to see so many familiar faces!

My sun conure, Boomer, turned 5 years old recently. It got me thinking, how old could he be in human years? There are lots of dog / cat age calculators but not many good ones for parrots. I found this: Calculate birds age in human years (equivalence) but, with the exception of parakeets, they grouped all parrots into the same category which automatically makes it wrong. At least now I know that my parakeets, Pewpew and Kiki are 18 years old in human years.

So, if a sun conure's maximum age is 25 years (according to Google), and a human's maximum age is about 80 years, what is a sun conure's age in human years? Does it even make sense to gauge it? Do the same rules apply? I mean, sun conures have 'terrible twos' so maybe there's some correlation?! I'm really curious!

PS. Will share photos of my technicolor chicken later

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Hey! So great to see you hear again! I wondered where you were!

My neotropical pigeon has missed his technicolor chicken pal!

I don't think you can average them because its totally different. Different species live different amounts.

According to my research though, the lifespan of a sun conure is actually "up to 30 years", but that's a rough guesstimate. So much comes into play, just like with humans. 80 may be the life expectancy of the average human, but plenty of people live longer than that and plenty don't live that long at all.

There are birds that live roughly the same amount as dogs (budgies) and there are birds that 'can' live longer than humans so you really can't gauge on that.

It may be limited to just certain species of birds that can be compared vs ones that can't- but if there is in fact a way to do so with sunnies, I'd be interested as well.

Glad to hear Boomer is doing well! I didn't realize Skittles was older than Boomer! Skitty will be 7 next month.

 

[BoomBoom]

My chicken hatched 2/6/12, I see your pigeon hatched 3/29/10. I thought they were only a few months apart.

I have a feeling that Boomer is now in his late teens. I hope someone has an idea or comes up with some rough numbers. It would be interesting to find out!

 

[BoomBoom]

My bad math: If 30 in conure years is 80 in human years, 15 in conure years would be 40 in human years, which makes Boomer at 5 years about ... 16 in human years? Skittles would be around 18.

Does that make sense?

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Well, one thing to consider is that sunnies go through puberty around 2yo. So they don't really become 'adults' (in bird years) til probably 3 or maybe 4.

I am 'hoping' that Skittles can live to be 40. I'm doing whatever I can to ensure that, though I don't want him to outlive me.

It would seem based on your deductions that 1 year in sun conure years would be either 2 or 3 in human years. The thing is though, different conures have a different 'expectancy'.

There is relatively little know about suns as far as that goes compared to other conure species.

 

[JamesC]

With good care, great food and a good lifestyle you can get a lot of years out of a bird. A year or so ago, a parront in the Poicephalus forum introduced his 50 year old Senegal. Sennies are in that 25-30 year range. Although sadly Sinbad has since passed away, he was a good example of how these guys can exceed expectations. Sitting on her play stand about 3 feet from me, is another example in Tootsie my Blue Crown Conure. True age is unknown but she is at least 30. Showing her age sometimes and a little slow, but she is still squawking on. (....and squawking...and squawking...and squawking.......)

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Genetics DOES play a good part in their lifespan. But so does diet, exercise and attention. I've had a LOT of birds over the years and (aside from Skittles) the ones that lived the longest were the ones I had the closest bond too. All were treated equally, but many were rescues and I could never get them to bond with me.

While I did get Skittles at a pet store, its a Maine pet store chain, meaning its not national like those Petco's etc that don't give a crap. I was even given Skittles breeders name and contact info and I contact her regularly with updates. She has since retired from the breeding business, but is a VERY caring person.

Skittles is free flighted and fed an organic diet- so however long he lives is probably the most he would be able to live anyways. Given that his feathers are like neon and they actually 'shine' and you can see him in the dark and through fabric (thats how bright he is) I've no doubt he is in optimal health.

My one concern about sunnies ages and expectancies is that without any real documentation (like I got with Skittles) you really only know the age based on what people tell you and if the bird has been rehomed a lot, you are likely to get false information. Sunnies are one of the most rehomed parrots- mainly due to their loudness. Fortunately, that doesn't bother me. As long as he doesn't go on for hours on end (which wouldnt be normal anyways).

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

I just checked out the calculator thingie..not too accurate IMO..just lists "parrot" and not species..and the age only goes to 20 years.
I have had Amy 27 years,got her at 4 months old..the calculator says at 20 "bird years" she'd be 42 in human years...so whats that? 2 and a little "bird years" to "human years"?...so that would make her about 60 human years old??


Jim

 

[BoomBoom]

Yes, that calculator is definitely off. I hope someone here knows of a good calculator separated for different parrots. My sun conure is 5 and it would be interesting to know if I'm dealing with a teen, young adult, adult, etc. Although I do treat him like a baby all the time anyway so I guess it doesn't matter haha! (I know, not ideal but can't help it!)

Skitty's Dad: I forgot about sexual maturity at 2 or 3. That does make my rough calculations invalid.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

How can you possibly forget about those 'terrible twos' that sunnies go through! lol. I still remember the first two years I had him. He was already a year old when I got him. So it was the first two years I had him. Those years were hell. Now, he's the complete opposite. He has his moments and his days, naturally, but he is incredibly obedient and lovable.

 

[BoomBoom]

Let's call it selective amnesia haha. So horrible, I chose to forget hahaha! Should I worry about 'frightening fives'? You better tell me now, you have one year ahead of me with Skittles!

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Actually, you should be set. The past couple of years with Skittles have been the best. Particularly this past year. Since Peaches passed back in Dec '15, I think he's mellowed out a bit more knowing he is the only one here and has let his guard down a lot more. Now, he will often climb down my shirt and go to sleep. Before he used to just chew on the shirt I was wearing (so I only wore white tshirts around the house lol)

He chooses to lay his head right near where my heart is and I thought it was cute so I told a friend of mine and she said that babies will often do that too, they find the sound of the heartbeat comforting. It makes sense.

It's been an adjustment period for both of us. I'm not used to having just one bird. Aside from the first two years after I got my first bird for my 11th birthday I have always had a bunch of them. But before getting Skittles, it was just me and Peaches for a short time.

I REALLY want a pineapple green cheek but Skitty won't let me.

 

[BoomBoom]

That's exactly how Boomer cuddles too. He will climb down my shirt and lean against my heart or center of the chest, with his feet he grips the shirt. I massage his feet sometimes too lol. He jumps in whenever he feels like it or if something scares him. He also used to shred my tshirts to bits but I trained him out of that.

I think I've told you this before but their similarities always astound me.

 

[BoomBoom]

Curious: how is Skittles on rainy days? Boomer gets a little anxious or over-stimulated (can't tell which) when it rains. He can become a handful on days like these. Not sure if he's just not used to it (never rains in Southern California) or if it makes him hormonal.

PS. I'd defer from getting a green cheek. If Skittles is jealous like Boomer, it might make both your lives very complicated. That said, if you have the patience for it, I'm sure you'll make it work.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Skittles loves to rub his face on my chest, going back and forth on my chest hair. lol. He makes little 'purring' froggy noises when he does this, its so cute.

Yes, you have mentioned their similarities before. They are pretty striking.

As for the rain, sunnies are native to south America where there are a lot of rainstorms and thunderstorms so it could be that. It is hard to tell whether its anxiousness or excitement around those times. Skittles will sometimes run and hide during loud thunderstorms. It's both cute and sad at the same time. On one hand, I hate seeing him afraid; but on the other hand he is always acting like such a big shot "nothing can get me" and he runs and hides when their is thunder. lol

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

PS,

While I do really want a green cheek, I've decided against getting one a while back. Its not that I don't have the patience, its that I just don't think I could make it work. Even if I could, it would be a major gamble and I just don't think it would be fair to the new bird.

Truthfully, I think Skittles is too bonded to me to share me with anyone else. He gets VERY jealous. I put him to bed around 8:15 tonight and then did some cooking. My neighbor came over about an hour later so I could give her some and Skittles (whose sleep cage is in the other room) started squaking. So after she left, I went to check on him (he is normally VERY quiet in his sleep cage). When I went to check on him, he wanted out and his head feathers were raised and he was cheeping. He proceeded to 'inspect' the apt going to different places and then once he calmed down I was able to put him back in his sleep cage and he went quiet. Its just so funny how protective he is.