Acquire extensive knowledge on the lifespan of conures as pets
Conures are spunky, playful, and curious birds that make an excellent option for a family pet.
Full of personality, these birdies can form strong bonds with their owners and are mostly safe for kids.
Moreover, they are pretty long-lived.
I know some that have lived almost as long as some young adult members in a family.
Most conures, including green cheeks, will generally have a lifespan ranging between 20 and 30 years as pets (in captivity). Their lifespan in the wild is pretty equal or a little more, towards the mid-30s.
Of course, there will always be exceptions, depending on the birds’ physicality and quality of life, with some pet conures going well into their 30s, while some live for only a fraction of the average age.
Dietry, health, maintenance, and behavioral knowledge is perhaps the foremost difference between a conure that lives for 15 years and one that’ll live 30 years.
As such, you must research the conure you want and ensure you offer it the best life possible for the period you will have it in captivity.
Well, too much of this intro chit-chat, now let’s get to the nitty gritties.
How Long Do Conures Live in Captivity
Pet conures living in captivity can live anywhere between 20 and 30 years on average.
Birds that are well cared for from birth often top 25 years, but troubled individuals, especially those rehomed more than once, live a significantly shorter lifespan.
That said, please note that the term conure does not refer to a specific bird but several species of small to medium-sized parrots (parrotlets), suggesting the average lifespan may vary slightly among different conures.
The diet, environment, stimulation, overall health, and physical well-being also determine how long a conure will live.
How Long Do Conures Live in the Wild
How long conures live in the wild might be challenging to know since people generally don’t keep tabs on birds in the wild. But if their lifespan in captivity is anything to go by, an average lifespan of 10-30 years sounds about right.
Of course, there are many differences between a wild and home environment, and most people would argue animals live the best life in their natural habitat.
Even so, it’s crucial to note that, in the wild, conures will encounter more dangers despite living in their ideal environment. Plus, they have to fend for themselves, and only the strong survive.
So, although true conure (and all parrots) live longer in the wild than in captivity, their average lifespan tends to vary more among individuals than at home.
How Can You Tell How Old A Conure (Green Cheek) Is
If you are a parrot parent or a curious chap that wants to know the age of a conure, the coloration of some features, such as the beak, feet, and eyes, might help. However, these hacks are not failproof and are somewhat more apparent in younger conures than older (fully mature) birds.
A conure’s behavior and vocabulary could also indicate its age or perhaps a leg band that most breeders tie on their bird’s feet when bred.
An avian vet may be able to help as well, in case you are not able to tell the age of your conure on your own.
Granted, it helps to know what to look for on the beak, feet, eyes, behavior, or what have you. So, outlined below is how all these things come together towards telling the age of your conure.
Feathers and Plumage
According to cuteness (a gosh-wow pet website just like this one), conures (more so the colorful sun-conures) have brilliant feather with yellow, orange, green, and blue hues…
…, but these hues do not come out until the bird is fully mature, anywhere from 2 years onwards.
A conure’s full color plummage occur at approximately 18 months to 2 years of age.
The Spruce Pets
Younger birds are mostly drab green, which most owners and bird enthusiasts use to estimate a conure’s age.
Same as sun conures, younger green cheeks (or any other conures, for that matter) will have drabber colors than older birds, although the difference in some species is harder to distinguish than in suns.
After two years, the shades will gradually come together, and by age 3 to 4, a conures plumage will be fully colored, which might make it almost impossible to tell your bird’s age just from the feathers.
If you are lucky (if I could call it so) your conure might be one or two base colors, such as yellow or orange in sun-conures or mostly olive green in green cheeks for up to age 2.
Body Size and Build
Younger conures usually have small, less developed bodies and are less confident in their interactions. They are also clumsier in their movement, perhaps because of their less-developed bones.
Metal or Plastic Leg Band
Many breeders in the USA put an identification tag on the birds they breed, and you may be to find them (breeders) or information about your conure online.
Most leg bands also have a two-digit number (code) denoting the year a bird was born and might help you know how your conure is.
Some breeders use uniques codes specific to their farm, which can be confusing but regardless, a leg band is by far the simplest way to know your bird’s age precisely.
Eyes (Iris) Coloration
The only real way to tell the age of a parrot, including conures, is by looking at the leg band, but if yours does not have the tag, you can also estimate the age through the eye’s color.
Young juvenile conures (and most parrots) will often have a darker iris (or a different color altogether) than older mature birds.
Most conures will start off with a brown iris from birth, which gradually moves through several shades of yellow before the red-orange hue of a mature conure’s iris.
This change is not limited to conures, its also apparent in other parrots, including AG’s, Macaws, and Caiques.
Beak Coloration
Same as the eye color, a conure’s beaks start out as one color and gradually change into its permanent shade over 5 years or so.
The change is somewhat apparent in conures, more so Suns.
At a young age, a conure’s beak will be black to brown in color, gradually gaining a deeper hue as they grow and stay through adulthood. Then once a conure attains old age, the color will start fading into a creamy-white shade.
However, a parrot’s beak color may change depending on the diet or even infections, injury, or any other event that causes dead beak keratin to flake off and expose the white shade underneath.
Feet Coloration
A conure’s feet color is one other thing you can use to estimate the age of your bird, but as with all other hacks detailed above, this is only applicable to juveniles under 2 years.
A young conure’s feet will change color from pink to yellowish-white through blue and green as they start growing up. The feet will get darker with the deepest hue seen more in birds over 3 years.
Which Conure Has The Longest Lifespan
Conures are a group parrot kept as pets at home by people everywhere, but there are several species within the family. The most popular ones are perhaps the green cheeker and sun conure, though others like Jenday, Nanday, and Queen of Bavaria conures are available in the trade.
Granted, there maybe is a slight difference in the lifespan of each conure type, but by and large, they all average 20 to 30 years.
Arguably, less popular species like Nanday conures live fewer years in captivity, but that could be due to limited experience and care and maintenance knowledge in the hobby.
Well, that’s all for this post.
Have yourself a very birdly🦜🦜🐦day.