Sun conures are small parrots native to hot, dry areas in northeastern South America. They are popular pets because of their bright coloration and playful personalities, although they can be quite loud. In the wild, they primarily eat the fruit of the prickly pear cactus, as well as flowers, seeds, and nuts from native trees. Sun conures are relatively easy to care for, but do best on a diet that is modified to meet their specific nutritional requirements.
Instructions
1. Feed your sun conure a high-quality pelleted diet. This should make up about 75% of the total diet, by calories rather than volume. Most sun conures will consume about 1/3 cup of pellets each day. Sun conures do best on pellets with higher fat content (8 to 10%) and lower protein content (10 to 12%) than the average.
2. Offer fresh fruits on a daily basis. Most sun conures relish fruit of all kinds, although they are often reluctant to eat vegetables. Choose fruits that are high in beta-carotene, such as papaya, cantaloupe, mangoes, nectarines and peaches. Berries are also an excellent choice for sun conures due to their high nutrient content. Most sun conures will eat about 1/2 cup of chopped fruit each day.
3. Give your sun conure a few raw, unsalted nuts each day. Not only do sun conures relish nuts, especially pecans and walnuts, they contain the healthy fats and Vitamin E that conures of the Aratinga genus need to avoid itchy skin and peeling beaks.
4. Offer kale, or another vegetable high in Vitamin K, to your sun conure two to three times a week. Conures are prone to Vitamin K deficiency, which can cause a dangerous health condition called "Conure Bleeding Syndrome". If your bird is unwilling to eat the kale, try attaching entire leaves to the side of the cage to draw his interest. Most birds will nibble at the kale while they play with it.
5. Hang a cuttlebone or mineral block in your sun conure's cage. Although sun conures are not as prone to calcium deficiencies as some species are, mineral supplementation is important for all pet birds.
6. Remember to keep a source of fresh, clean water available to your sun conure at all times. Consider using a glass bottle designed for birds to keep their drinking water free of droppings and debris. Sun conures tend to contaminate their water by dunking food and toys in it.
Related posts
Fantail pigeons are a fancy variety but easy to feed and care for.Distinguished by their long, beautiful fan-shaped tail, the fantail pigeon hails originally from India and is a member of the broa...
Canaries make cheerful pets.Named for the Canary Islands, their original home, canaries are members of the finch family. Their sunny color and sweet songs have made them favorites among bird fanci...
African gray parrots are lovable, loyal and intelligent birds.African gray parrots are believed to be the most intelligent birds in existence. There are two sub-species of African gray parrot: the...
The red rumped parakeet will feast on seeds.The red rumped parakeet is a small, bluish-green parrot, measuring approximately 270 mm in length. Only the male of this species has a dull red rump, wh...
When you use an incubator to hatch chicks, or if you buy your chicks from a hatchery, hatching the chickens is only part of the battle. The second part of the battle of raising chicks is known as...
