Sun Conure Cost

Last Updated on June 17, 2021 | Written by CPA Alec Pow
First Published on October 24, 2020 | Content Reviewed by CFA Alexander Popivker

The Sun Conure is a small parrot species that can be found in only one small area in the northeastern part of South America in Guyana and Brazil. In the wild, the Sun Conure is known to be an endangered species. In captivity, nevertheless, the captive-bred Sun Conure is rather popular in the family pet parrot trade.

Biologists still do not understand much about breeding patterns of the wild Sun Conures due to the fact that they are very tough to find and observe. Nevertheless, it is believed that this species mate for life, as most parrots do.

Sun Conures are endangered in the wild for 2 essential reasons: vanishing forest habitat and heavy prohibited trapping and trafficking for the bird trade.

This is why it is so essential to make your purchase decision, not on the bird’s cost alone, but also to put in the time to confirm that you are not buying a wild-caught bird and therefore, even more reducing the wild population.

Typical Expense of a Sun Conure

The very best way and the one that is safer to get a Sun Conure is to deal with a trusted breeder/ aviary instead of buying it through an animal shop. The main reason is to make sure you can see the aviary first-hand and confirm you are in fact buying a captive-bred family pet born and raised in clean, safe, and healthy conditions.

Here, you should understand that it is not always more pricey to make your purchase through a breeder. Small shop Sun Conure breeders won’t have to bear the huge overhead of running a multi-species animal shop which can lead to the cost you are charged become lower and could even include important giveaways an animal shop would not want or be able to offer you.

For instance, T&D Aviary has Sun Conure babies readily available for $400. This cost will include DNA gendering (male and female look exactly the same so screening is the only real way to properly figure out the gender, except waiting to see if your brand-new bird lays an egg or not).

The cost will also include the breeder’s time to hand-socialize with your new bird to enjoy your company and physical contact. This makes it a lot easier to tame and manage your parrot!

Wonderful Wings Aviary promotes starting rates for Sun Conures at $135 to $250. As opposed to the prices of numerous local and online animal shops which can vary from $300 to $799, this business has pretty lower rates.

You might also like our articles about the cost of a toucan, an indian ringneck parrot, and a hyacinth macaw.

How is a Sun Conure Priced?

The technique by which a Sun Conure is valued can differ depending upon who is offering the bird, how they got it, and also its general looks and details.

This is commonly considered the most beautiful of all parrot types due to its extremely colored plumage. The more vibrant the plumage, the greater the expense is most likely to be.

A red factor Sun Conure – an incredibly unusual pure-blooded pigmentation for this bird type, can quickly bring the rates up to $900 or even more.

Sun Conure chicks grow reasonably quickly and are generally all set to go to their new houses between 3 and 4 months old. Rates for hand-raised, pre-socialized baby (juvenile) Sun Conures could be higher than for aviary-raised babies or grown adults that are badly socialized or not socialized at all.

An exception might be if the grown bird has uncommon pigmentation which can raise the demand, particularly in breeder circles. Because the Sun Conure’s complete adult plumage might not appear up until 24 months of age, some grownup birds might bring a greater cost than still-developing infants.

Watch out for very low Sun Conure parrot rates or ads for “low cost” or “inexpensive”. These birds might be unlawfully caught, wild-caught or even bird mill parrots reproduced in squalid aviary conditions that might have parasites and improperly socialized for life as a companion parrot.

Should you adopt instead?

Sun Conures might be lovely and friendly, however, they are also smart, demanding, incredibly loud for their size, and possibly destructive when tired or isolated. For this reason, they routinely end up in rescue shelters – given up by owners who didn’t understand the work, time, and money needed to have a companion parrot.

They can live fifteen to thirty years with ease, which is another aspect numerous owners do not understand when they make an impulse purchase to please their children or add some variety to their lives.

For abandoned Sun Conures, the rescue shelter then has the monetary and time concern to care of each bird up until they are put in a brand-new (ideally) permanent home. For all of these legitimate reasons and others, the “adopt do not shop” campaign is getting steam today not only for pet dogs and cats but also for a lot of other companion animals; including birds like parrots.

As a side benefit, lots of owners of rescue birds will find that the expense of adoption is less expensive than buying a juvenile or adult bird outright. At the same time, a lot of rescue centers will offer the brand-new owner other important giveaways like a cage, food, toys, or care sheets, to aid with a permanent placement.

The cost range to adopt this bird from a rescue group can vary from $100 to $500. Nevertheless, some rescue organizations will not charge anything.

Total Living Costs

The negative term “bird brain” has actually long since been debunked by bird scientists such as Dr. Irene Pepperberg and her flock of African Grey parrots at the Alex Foundation.

Scientists now understand the typical parrot has the psychological intelligence of a two-year-old human. So when you include a Sun Conure in your family, on some level, this will mean you are bringing a two-year-old into your house who will stay 2 years old for the next fifteen to thirty years!

If you have actually spent any amount of time with two-year-old human kids, you understand they will need near-constant attention, interaction, and entertainment to stay healthy and happy. This is the exact case that applies to a Sun Conure.

Here, the size of the cage, a choice of different and appropriately-sized perches, hygienic food and water holders, safe and engaging toys, and other elements can aid to guarantee your parrot is a cheerful, happy member of the family and not a yelling pest.

In some cases disappointed owners will try to add a 2nd bird to be a buddy to the existing parrot, believing this will make their own work easier, decrease the general noise, and relax the entire situation down a bit. Sun Conure professionals warn against taking this path, particularly if the bird in question is highly bonded to a human member of the family.

Also, it is likely that the sound level will just increase instead of getting lower, as the 2 birds talk to one another all day.

However, without a doubt, the most important element of success with keeping this type of bird as a family pet is the quantity of face-time and interaction you can give it. Sun Conures not only bond very closely with individuals, but frequently end up choosing strongly a single member of the family and yearn for that person’s undistracted attention.

It is also essential to bird-proof the home in the very same way as you would to take care of a human kid.
Self-cleaning ovens and Teflon pans are lethal to birds and should never ever be utilized as long as you have a pet bird. Electric outlets and power cables should be kept out of beak’s reach and toilet covers need to always be kept in a closed position.

Clipping a Sun Conure’s wings is not advised, unless for safety reasons. Rather, think about offering both a “house” cage and a much bigger flight cage where your bird can fly for fun and to workout.

Here are other crucial costs for fun and health.

Feeding – In a wild environment, Sun Conures consume fruits, berries, leaves, bugs, larvae, and seeds. In captivity, a Sun Conure needs a somewhat similarly varied diet plan.

Conures can struggle with Vitamin A deficiency. Take your exotic vet’s recommendations about additional supplements of Vitamin A or other vitamins/minerals. Never ever start supplementing your bird’s diet without your vet’s assistance.

Sun Conures fed a seed-based mix will typically choose preferred seeds and leave the rest – leading to harmful dietary imbalance and weight problems. For this reason, vets suggest feeding a pelleted food that includes full and total nutrition in each pellet so birds can’t preferentially single out their favorites.

Supplementing with fresh vegetables and fruits that are seasonally available can complete a Sun Conure’s everyday diet plan. You can simply give your parrot a little what you have in your fridge; making certain to mix up the rotation for dietary range and day-to-day wellbeing.

Sun Conure should typically have access to clean, fresh drinking water.

Understand though that Sun Conures, like lots of parrots, frequently take pleasure in bathing in their water dish. A safe and hygienic option is to utilize a small animal water bottle for drinking water and prepare a different, bigger water dish for bathing.

Like all parrot breeds, they do not need grit or gravel for gastrointestinal functions. Nevertheless, they will need a calcium cuttlebone and/or mineral block to aid to keep the beak naturally trimmed.

Cage: As much as $82
Flight cage: As much as $110
Pelleted food: $16 per 2-lb. bag
Small pet water bottle: As much as $12
Food bowl: Approximately $9
Water bowl (for bathing): As much as $19
Calcium cuttlebone: Approximately $9
Mineral block: As much as $5
Millet for different treats: Approximately $16 per 500g bag

Health – It is best to leave your Sun Conure’s wings flighted (un-clipped) unless safety issues will absolutely forbid this.

You will have to have your Sun Conure’s claws clipped every couple of months to prevent harmful overgrowth. At the same time, you can ask your vet to teach you how to do this job at home.

It is essential to clean your parrot’s cage daily to eliminate food waste, stained water and bed linen, and dried poop. Failure to do so can cause persistent health problems.

Claw clippers: Approximately $6

Needed equipment – Not all toys are safe for Sun Conures to have fun with. Try to avoid especially “bird hammocks” as these birds are known to like to chew on them; drawing out the threads that can then get around legs, wings, and necks – leading to severe injury and in some cases even death.

Constantly watch your pet bird having fun with any brand-new toy up until you are really sure it is safe. Keep in mind, the “toy” your parrot will usually fall in love with most is your attention and friendship.

Bells: As much as $10
Mirror: Approximately $10
Bird shish kebab: As much as $17
Foraging toys: Approximately $15
Travel cage: As much as $77
Perches: As much as $20 per perch
Cage cover: As much as $21
Cage skirt: Approximately $11
Cage bottom liners: Approximately $41

Health – A general practice vet is not the ideal veterinarian to deal with a Sun Conure. It has to be treated and checked by a bird veterinary professional. A professional has actually gone through extra training to learn more about health issues for specific bird types.

It is very important to develop a relationship immediately with a bird vet. You can begin by setting up a “well bird” preliminary examination as quickly as your Sun Conure joins your household.

Office consultation: As much as $54
Emergency situation walk-in test: As much as $160
DNA gendering: As much as $25
Blood test: As much as $30
Fecal gram stain: Approximately $85
X-ray: Approximately $125
Inpatient hospitalization (medical kenneling): As much as $25 per night
Exotic bird family pet insurance coverage: Approximately $20 monthly

Sun Conures can be susceptible to a range of illnesses consisting of fungi/yeast, bacterial, viral, and parasitic infection.

Extra Details

The Sun Conure, in some cases also called the sun parakeet, is a really vibrant parrot breed. The species name evokes the bird’s intense yellow, orange, and red body plumage which is so similar to a particularly magnificent dawn or sundown.

The wing colors can be green, blue, and yellow. However vibrant plumage is not the only reason why this is a popular family pet option for parrot enthusiasts.

This parrot is very social and rather talkative and captivating in appearance. Its small size is likewise a benefit given that even owners staying in smaller homes can usually find adequate space to establish a suitably-sized cage.

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Alec Pow

CEO at ThePricer Media

Alec Pow is a thorough and methodical Financial and Business Analyst with over 15 years of experience in financial statement analysis, Foreign exchange derivative hedging instruments analysis, modeling, and risk management, with a long history of writing for big news publications like Forbes, MSN.com, Washington Post, and many more.