Can you safely bring two sun conures together for just a breeding season and separate them after the chick’s have matured enough to be split up or would that be detrimental for the parent and baby birds physical and mental health.
Hi,
The short answer is no, this will not work.
It is very difficult to breed parrots. To begin with, they need to be old enough. For Sun Conures, at least 5 years old. They have to like each other, and just because you have a male and female, doesn’t mean they will get along. If they do get along, they may not bond as a pair. Some birds will remain non-breeding companions and never breed. If they do bond as a pair, it may take weeks, months or even years. When they are finally showing that they have a pair bond, they will sit together, groom each other, feed each other and finally start to mate. Once they exhibit mating behavior, you can give them a nest box. They will usually take time before they explore it, then they will go in and out of it, and maybe add or remove nesting materials until they are satisfied. They need a quiet, private place to feel like they can safely raise chicks. They should have little human contact. They also need a nutritionally balanced diet like pellets, plus greens, veggies, some fruit and an egg food. If she finally lays eggs, they may or may not sit on them. The first clutch almost always fails due to parent errors. But they need to practice and usually get it right after a couple of tries. Parrots mate for life, so unless one of the pair dies, they will remain together. It is cruel and unethical to separate a bonded pair. If you have pet birds, you should not try to breed them because you will lose them as pets. They have to focus on each other to breed successfully. Usually they will become wild, but sometimes a bird might have a mate and also like a person. When this happens, it can cause fighting between the birds and actually be dangerous because the fights can be vicious. So you have to be willing to permanently give up the bird as a pet if you choose to breed it.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
