If you have experience with exotic birds, you may be granted a license to breed sun conures (Aratinga solstitialis). This species is endangered, so attempts to increase the population will be welcomed.
Sun conures are frequent breeders. If you provide the right conditions in captivity, two bonded, opposite-sex birds will likely court late in the year and mate in the breeding season (March-April).
Most sun conures reach sexual maturity before they reach 24 months old. Females (hens) usually mature before males and remain fertile for up to 10 years.
Increased light exposure and warmer temperatures trigger hormonal activity. This instructs birds’ bodies that spring is here, as food and water will be plentiful.
If conures show interest in mating, provide the right living conditions and a diet high in protein, calcium, and fat. Also, add a nesting box and warm material for nest insulation.
Sun Conures Are Easy To Breed
Sun conures are prolific breeders in the wild, which can be replicated in captivity. Mating is likely if males and females are combined in conditions with ample light, warmth, and food.
Pairs for Mating
To combine sun conures for mating, the pairing must be compatible.
The first step is ensuring the parrots are the opposite sex. This is difficult by sight because sun conures are monomorphic, displaying no clear physical difference between males and females.
A conure bought from a breeder should have an ankle tag with crucial information, like age and gender.
If not, you’ll need a DNA test to determine if you have a male or female sun conure. This involves submitting a feather or blood sample from each conure and awaiting the results.
Just because sun conures are of the opposite sex doesn’t guarantee they’ll breed. You must introduce the two birds to each other properly and await courtship-related behaviors.
Mating for Life
Once you successfully pair opposite-sex sun conures in captivity, they’ll likely mate for life.
Monogamous relationships are more likely in captivity due to a lack of alternative birds. Even in the wild, pairings remain loyal to each other for the entire breeding season to bring up their young.
You can usually rely on the same bonded pair to produce 1-2 clutches of eggs per year.
Captive sun conures live for 20-30 years. If one bird dies, you can eventually introduce a new mate if the female remains fertile. Fertility usually ends once a sun conure reaches 10 years of age.
When Sun Conures Breed
Sun conures undergo hormonal changes in the spring, triggering a desire to mate. They could breed if the environment encourages it, such as high amounts of artificial light and heat.
Signs sun conures have elevated hormone levels include:
- Nippiness and irritability.
- Increased verbalization.
- Eye pinning (flashing).
- Wing flapping.
- Tail fanning.
- The female is increasingly territorial.
- Higher appetite than usual.
- Rubbing the vent on toys, items, and owners.
- Destructive behavior, like feather plucking.
Even without the presence of a male, she’ll lay unfertilized eggs that don’t hatch.
Age Sun Conures Breed
Most sun conures reach sexual maturity after 12 to 24 months. However, some take longer and may not display hormonal behaviors before they’re 3 years of age.
Female sun conures are likely to show interest in mating earlier than males.
If a sun conure still has olive green feathers, be wary of breeding because it may still be too young to produce and lay eggs. A mature sun conure will have more golden feathers.
How Long Sun Conures Breed
Sun conures aren’t fertile for life, with females ceasing reproduction before they’re 10 years old. A sun conure may continue to lay eggs beyond this point, but they won’t hatch.
How Often Sun Conures Breed
Sun conures can breed 1-3 times per year, but you should restrict this to twice.
Egg production takes a heavy toll on a female conure’s body. A sun conure puts enormous effort and nutritional resources into producing and laying eggs, regardless of whether they’re fertilized.
Preparing Sun Conures for Breeding
If sun conures are ready to mate, prepare for this process.
Environment
Sun conures need a familiar, comforting, and resource-rich environment to reproduce.
To encourage conures to breed, follow these steps:
- Ensure the temperature is no lower than 65°F and no higher than 80°F.
- Provide more light exposure (photoperiod) than usual (real or artificial).
- Ensure the cage is kept clean and parasite-free.
- Give the sun conures space and privacy.
- Avoid exposure to stress, like loud noises and other pets.
Diet
Diet is critical for healthy eggs. Protein, fat, vitamin E, phosphorus, potassium, and calcium are essential.
Breeding sun conures must be given ample food resources. Provide a cuttlefish bone for them as an additional calcium source, and offer fruits and vegetables.
Cage
Sun conures are usually happy to breed in their cage, assuming it’s at least 24″ x 24″ x 24″. If you have a larger cage, the extra space will be appreciated.
If you usually keep more than two conures in the same cage, temporarily rehome them. Any additional birds may be considered a threat or territorial rivals, resulting in conflict.
Nesting Box
Wild sun conures nest in tree cavities, logs, insect mounds, and rock crevices.
A wooden nesting box for sun conures should be made available. Also, soft materials (like shredded paper) should be available nearby so the hen can line and insulate her nest.
Incubator
Getting an incubator for the clutch of eggs isn’t usually necessary. Sometimes, the hen is inexperienced and doesn’t understand her parental responsibilities.
An incubator will keep the eggs at the right temperature, increasing their likelihood of hatching.
How Sun Conures Mate
Breeding between sun conures begins with a courtship ritual instigated by the male.
The male conure will preen, dance, and likely replicate the song of a hen. Current Opinion in Neurobiology explains how complex vocalizations are critical to partner selection.
The hen will decide if the male will be a suitable mate. If the male shares food with the hen by regurgitating food directly into her beak, they’ll likely mate and reproduce.
Male conures don’t have a penis. A male that wishes to breed will mount a female from behind, often pinning the hen’s wings to the ground.
From here, the two conures will press their cloacas together. The cloaca is the orifice from which birds expel urine and feces and lay eggs. If breeding hormones are active, the cloacas will be swollen.
When the conures rub their cloacas together, sperm are released from the male and enter the hen’s oviduct. If both conures are fertile, the hen will become gravid.
The mating process rarely lasts longer than 1-2 minutes.
What Happens After Sun Conures Mate
The relationship between sun conures will cool off after breeding.
The hen will likely be less affectionate toward the male, potentially becoming hostile toward you. She may resist handling after mating, perhaps lunging when you approach.
Number of Eggs
The average clutch size for a sun conure is 2-4 eggs. However, the hen doesn’t lay all of her eggs at once. Usually, one egg is released approximately every 24 hours.
Seek veterinary advice if a sun conure displays behaviors associated with egg laying, but nothing happens. Examples include excessive straining, struggling to walk, or showing pain.
These behaviors are a warning sign of egg-binding (dystocia).
How Long Eggs Take to Hatch
Sun conure eggs will hatch about 21-28 days after laying. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that every egg a sun conure lays will hatch into a healthy chick.
Explanations for an egg failing to hatch include:
- The egg was never fertilized and didn’t contain an embryo.
- One or both parents have an undiagnosed disease that was passed to the embryo.
- The hen was fed a poor diet, leading to substandard eggs.
- The eggs weren’t warmed sufficiently or became overheated.
- Unsanitary cage conditions due to fungus or bacteria.
- The egg was damaged, killing the embryo.
While 1-2 eggs may fail to hatch, an entire clutch that endures the same fate merits investigation.
Sun Conure Breeding Problems
Just because you’ve paired two sun conures doesn’t mean they’ll reproduce. If conures are declining to breed or are mating, but the hen isn’t laying healthy eggs, here’s why:
Incompatibility
The sun conures must be bonded if they’re to mate. If two birds don’t get along, breeding won’t occur. Reasons for incompatibility include:
- Both birds are the same sex.
- Ethology found that non-breeding pairs fight over territory.
- The hen is older than the male, so it considers him an unsuitable mate.
- The conures haven’t lived together long enough to bond.
Inappropriate Environment
Sun conures must feel comfortable in their surroundings to mate.
Ensure you’re doing what it takes to replicate the natural conditions of a conure breeding season, with warm temperatures and 10+ hours of light.
You must also regularly clean the cage without disturbing the birds too much.
Keep the sun conures calm during mating season. If you have other pets, especially a cat or dog, keep these out of the room that houses them.
If you keep other bird species, temporarily house these in a different part of the home.
Poor Diet
If sun conures, especially the hen, aren’t eating well during the breeding season, it’s unlikely that healthy eggs will be laid. Ensure you’re feeding them a nutritious diet.
Dystocia (Egg Binding)
Dystocia occurs when sun conures can’t release an egg because it’s weak and misshapen, becoming trapped in the reproductive tract. Egg binding is life-threatening if left unresolved.
Parrots usually become egg-bound due to a lack of calcium or vitamin D3 from direct sunlight (needed to absorb calcium). However, it may be caused by obesity, stress, or even misfortune.
A vet will usually remove the egg from the conure’s body through aspiration. This involves passing a needle through the vent to withdraw the egg’s contents and collapse the shell.
Infertility
Explanations for infertility in sun conures include:
- Not reached sexual maturity.
- The hen is older than 10 years.
- The parents were inbred from the same flock.
- The hen was fed an inappropriate diet.
- The hen is overweight.
Dietary concerns can also lead to infertility in sun conures.
Increasing Fertility
If you’re convinced the sun conures can breed, consider dietary changes to enhance fertility.
Vitamin E is vital. The International Journal of Molecular Sciences explains how vitamin E enhances semen quality in male conures and reduces the degradation of lipids in eggs.
Vitamin E can’t rectify genetic defects and make an infertile conure fertile.
Breeding sun conures is rewarding because the wild population is dwindling. In captivity, reproduction is relatively easy because sun conures breed frequently and are safe due to your care.
