Green Cheek Conure Care

The Green-cheeked Conure is a favorite of bird owners everywhere because of their playfulness, sweet personalities and beautiful markings. Green-cheeked Conures need lots of sunlight, fresh air, and time out of their cages for playing and cuddling with you! They love a bath, and will enjoy showering with you provided the water is not too hot!  Green-cheeked Conures are very affectionate birds who will form very strong, loving bonds with their keepers. They are also quite good with children. They are not loud compared to other parrots and conures. They are in the Pyrrhura genus and make about one half the noise of a Sun or Jenday Conure which makes them ideal for condos or apartments.
They are small birds with big bird personalities! They play just like a large parrot or macaw - they will use their feet to hold things, roll on their back to play or sleep. They love to wrestle with and then be scratched by their favorite human.
They are easy to feed and not as destructive as a large parrot.   Green-Cheeks have oil glands they use to preen their feathers and do not create the dust found on cockatiels, cockatoos, and African Grey Parrots.  

Besides their personality and ideal size, Green-Cheeks can be found in many beautiful colors.

Housing: 

A cage best suited for a conure must be large enough that the tail does not touch the bottom, and the bird has enough room for unrestricted movements. For a small size conure, a minimum of 24"x16"x20".  This will provide room for both horizontal exercise and vertical climbing. Provide two Perches, sized between 3/4" to 1" (2 - 2.5 cm). Place one up high for roosting and one low by the food, water, and gravel dishes. Natural perches from willow, poplar and fruit trees are good for the bird's feet and for it's beak. The gnawing it will do on the perches will also alleviate your pet's boredom. Place the cage where it will be away from harmful fumes and drafts. To provide you pet with a sense of security, you can cover the cage at night.
 

Diet:   

Foods available for Conures include formulated diets, either pelleted or extruded.  A conure's diet consists of a good small parrot mix which is supplemented with various fruits, green foods, millet spray, and occasionally some mealworms is generally regarded as suitable. All of our babies are weaned to pellets, seed, fresh fruits and veggies.  Try to give fresh foods at least 3 or 4 times a week. Our birds love apples, broccoli, cabbage, kale, carrots, parsley, and spinach.  Caution -- remember to remove any uneaten fresh food from the cage before it spoils.  You should also avoid alcohol, avocado, caffeine, chocolate, rhubarb leaves and anything high in sugar, fat, or salt.  A cuttlebone should always be available.  Fresh water in a water bottle or bowl should always be available and changed daily.

Toys: 

Natural perches and fresh twigs from willow, elder, poplar, and hawthorn work well. Other great toys include bells, ropes, swings, untreated leather, chew toys and ladders. They love mirrors and shiny unbreakable objects. Exercise and play are important activities for the physical well being and psychological health of your conure, but remember, they also need 10 - 12 hours of rest per day.  Conures love to bathe and providing a bird bath or shallow dish for them to clean and splash in will make them very happy. 

Handling:

Make sure you hold your conure gently, do not squeeze or poke. Let them climb on you and sit on your head if they like.  When taking them from their cage, be sure to hold them firmly around their bodies and and make sure you don't bump their heads or beaks. Stroke them gently with the direction of their feathers and even scratch them gingerly around their body.  If you want your bird to stay tame, you need to handle them at least once a day.

Bathing:  Like all birds conures love to bath and need to regularly.  Mist your bird daily and provide a shallow dish for bathing a few times week.