Ask Lafeber

Conure bonding

Hello, looking for some advice on 2 green cheek conures I got late past December. I had no idea on their sex until I did a gender/DNA test and found out I have a male and female. Both are starting to show interest in each other in which I will have to prepare for eggs in the near future. I spend time with them by having them out of cage and explore on my shoulder/preening my hair/play with my sweater. The boy is shy who will nibble lightly but the female will bite a little too rough if I attempt step up with my finger. My question is, can I bond with them still knowing they are bonded? I just want to make sure I can tame them before they start to lay eggs/their wings are currently clipped

Hi,

It’s very important that these birds are not related. If they came from the same breeder or owner, they may be. Genetics are already pretty messed up with captive green cheeks, and related birds should never be bred. If you aren’t sure or can’t find out, then it’s best that you not let them breed. Just because they mate and lay eggs doesn’t mean you have to let them incubate the eggs. They also need to be old enough – at least 3 years old. If they aren’t related and you decide to breed them at some point, they must be fully flighted. Both birds need good balance for effective mating. Breeder birds are not pets. You have to stop handling them and stop letting them out of the cage if you decide to breed them. It creates too much confusion for you to try to have them as pets and also want them to breed. It can end up with mates attacking each other and not focusing on breeding. And letting them out of the cage is too much of a distraction and usually keeps them from settling down and laying eggs. So if you want them to remain pets, do not give them a nest box to try to breed them. Also never give them the bird tents or huts – nothing made from any type of fabric. Green cheeks tend to eat these fibers and eventually die from the material impacting their digestive system. We recently had a webinar on green cheeks that you may want to check out.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda