Mating signs of sun conures?

[featherfinder]

Hi! I have 2 sun conures, Sonny and Sammy (they came with the names) well they have never been DNA sexed but plan on getting it done sometime. Sonny came first and then we got Sammy a few months later. Well they got along so well that they now share a cage. They are always playing together and preening each others feathers and what looks to be like "rubbing" agenst each other. I didnt know if conures do this as a dominice thing like other bird or if maybe i do have a female and male. What are some of the signs that i can tell if they are actually trying to mate or just showing dominice? And sonny is almost 2 and Sammy is 1. Dont know if age matters.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

How do they 'rub' against each other?

In some animals dominance and mating can be confused - but I've never imagined that to be the case with parrots. If one of them is on top of the other then it's mating (or attempted mating at least) - if not, then it probably isn't (yet).

 

[featherfinder]

Yes. One will get behind and on top of the other. I have seen them both do it so it confused me on if it was mating, playing, or dominance. I know with my ducks it doesnt matter male or female they all do it as a dominance thing to one another.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

I'm not familiar with it as dominance - only as mating.

But parrots certainly 'mate' for pleasure. It could well be that they are both male. Parrots will ... ahem ... 'mate' ... with just about anything when the mood strikes them: a favorite toy, a corner of a table, a persons head*. So if there is another relatively bird shaped object in their cage - which another bird tends to be - that makes a sensible first choice.


*
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T1vfsHYiKY]Shagged by a rare parrot - Last Chance To See - BBC Two - YouTube[/ame]

 

[featherfinder]

thats an awkward video lol. but interestiing and funny. I guess the only way to tell is DNA sexing then.

 

[Pedro]

Featherfinder, even if a pair of suns are the same sex they will act like a pair even when it comes to mating. They will preen, feed each other sleep together. So most people think they have a pair. Only a DNA will verify if you do indeed have a true pair.

As far as dominance goes it has been proven to not exist in the bird world & from what i see in my own aviaries i have to agree.

Also when a pair of suns mate the male will stand on the perch beside the hen, the male does not get on the hens back.

Some female suns will start to lay eggs at one & a half to two years old but normally 3 years. Judging from your post what you are seeing is just normal behavior of 2 young suns.

 

[featherfinder]

Ok thank you Pedro! Thats all i really wanted to know. I plan on getting them DNA sexed eventually but it is not a big worry of mine at the present time.