Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 4/20/2008

Question
QUESTION: i have purchased a breeding pair of sun conures, i got them over 12 months ago, they have not yet given me any babies could you help me know what i could do to help. i have calcium for them and they get fresh fruit and veges and a good seed mix i am not sure why they haven't breed for me. they have been moved from a cold country to a more warmer city

ANSWER: Hi, Megan,

Are you absolutely sure you have a male and female sun?  How are you sure of this....do you have sexing certificates that say so (with numbers on the certificates that match the bird's leg bands)?  Are they pair-bonded, i.e., does the male feed his mate beak-to-beak?  If not, they are not pair-bonded and not ready to breed.  How old are they?  Some sun conures don't breed until they are 2-3 years old.  Did you put up a nesting box?  They won't go to nest without a nesting box?  Did you buy a proven pair?  In other words, did the previous owner breed this pair and successfully hatch babies from them?  

I'll be offline until next weekend if you can wait to send answers to my questions.  If you can't wait, there are other experts on this site that can help.

Chrys

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Chrys,
I purchased the birds from a breeder who had breed these birds before hand, he is pretty well known to be an honest person he is fairly old. they do cuddle and that i have not seen them feed each other. they are six years old. i did purchase them from atherton which is a cold and wet place and have brought them to townsville which is hot and dry could that be the problem and i have dogs which go under the cage as the other gentleman didn't have dogs. i have the nesting box which i purchased from the man when i brought the birds it was their box. i give them corn and celery and apple every day i have spoken to the man who can not understand why they have not breed for me. can you help in any way.
regards Megan

Answer
Hi again, Megan,

Don't always believe everything someone tells you about a bird/pair of birds you want to buy.  You need proof of their sexes.  DNA sexing is easy to do and inexpensive.  Visit Avian Biotech or Zoogen Labs on the internet.  

If the male isn't feeding the female beak-to-beak, they aren't ready to mate right now.  The dogs are a problem!  You will need to keep the birds/dogs away from each other.  Some birds won't breed if they think their offspring will be in danger.  Dogs/birds are natural enemies.  Also, a move can either result in a pair of birds going to nest right away or it can take some time for them to get used to their new environment first.

I'm concerned about the diet you mention.  Too much corn can bind calcium in the body and leave a bird calcium deficient.  Perhaps the female is lacking in calcium....she needs calcium to lay eggs.  Cuttlebone can help this and limit the amount of corn you feed your birds.  Celery has zero nutritional value.  Apple is good as long as you remove the seeds (which contain cyanide).  However, these birds may be malnourished if corn, celery and apple are their diet.  They need pelleted food, as well as a variety of other healthy, nutritious foods, particularly veggies.  All my birds love cooked brown rice to which I mix in a variety of veggies, scrambled eggs, some type of pasta, etc......I vary what I add all the time.  This type of diet is also good if you have to medicate your bird some time and/or when they have babies to feed.  Then the babies will be used to a variety of tastes!  Not to mention your birds will be healthier and produce healthy babies.  You can't have healthy babies if the parents aren't healthy, and having babies can be detrimental to adults if they aren't in good health.

My website:  www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo.index.html.  www.birdchannel.com also a good site.

Chrys