Nanday and Sun conures... can they live together?

[becaroonie]

Hi,

I haven't had a bird since I was about 14, (I used to have an adorable lorikeet), and I've decided, (now 21), that I would love to have a bird in my life again.

I am set on getting a conure, either a sun or a nanday... both are so beautiful and have the personality I want, I still haven't decided yet which one I want, but I have a question, is it possible to have a nanday and sun conure living together, in the same cage? I would love both, but I don't think I could have them in seperate cages, I can't afford to spend $600-$700 on a second cage + $200 filling it with toys etc. Plus I think they would get sad being in the same cage but not being able to interact...?

If anyone knows if this is something that's easy to do, which is the right way to go about it? Do I need to get 1 first then get the 2nd one later and introduce them orrr...? Is it even possible to have them living together?

Can they share the same foods? Do I need to have 2 of the same sex?

Another thing I worry is that the conure wouldn't bond with me if I had a 2nd one... but the main reason besides wanting both is I want him/her to have company when I'm out of the house.

Obviously if this isn't a possibility I will have to somehow pick between a sun or a nanday conure.

Any advice would be great, thank you.

 

[Spiritbird]

If you could find a pair that was already bonded as friends but not for breeding that would be the way to go. If you get them from two different places it will be total guess work about putting them in same cage. You would not be able to do that right away though. You may have to go with just one bird. By the way they are two of the louder conures so if noise is an issue for you it could be a problem.

 

[Amber]

Like spirit said, maybe try to rescue a non breeder pair? I would not house a male/female sun/nanday together unless you want a chance of them breeding.

As an alternate, why not look into a nan-sun conure? (nanday x sun hybrid) I don't know their personality traits, but might be interesting to research. Most people frown on the breeding of hybrid conures (yet it is pretty accepted in the macaw world) and they tend to happen by accident, and get ditched at rescues on the rare occasion they occur. I suppose like some hybrid lovebirds the conflicting instincts can make them hard to handle at times.

Edit- Should mention I'm not really for breeding hybrids, but if they happen by accident, they happen. Most people pull the conservation argument on hybrid discussions, which is certainly relevant for species endangered in the wild if we want to preserve them, but not so much for the common species. Some species (Like the sun, jenday, etc) are so closely related they are in the same species complex and not really considered diverged or separate species, and their crosses may not be considered hybrids as per se (sunday conure etc) as they have been noted to occur and integrate with flocks in the wild. Hybrids can and do occur in the wild between some species. We have galah hybrids everywhere in the native flocks that roost near our home. However deliberate breeding of hybrids for profit is not something I endorse.

 

[Bobioden]

Do you live in a house. Because neither of these 2 birds are recommended for an apartment, as they are 2 of the loudest conures.

 

[becaroonie]

I might try and see if I can find a pair that are already friends... I know someone is selling a sun and a green cheek that are friends. If I had male/male do you think they'd get along or do only female/female bond as friends?

That hybrid is pretty cute, not as pretty as a real sun or nanday but I don't think I'd even be able to find one in australia, I had enough trouble finding someone who breeders nanday conures, lol. I don't think we even have a lot of hybrid macaws, if any.

And yes, I live in a house, not an apartment, yes I know they're loud, and yes I have done my research before buying these conures, I'm not one of those types of people. I've had a lorikeet and a cockatoo before. I think I can handle it.

I don't really need advice on how loud, messy or demanding they can be, I've done all the research and I now what I'm up for, I just need to know if they are capable of living together, and if they are, how to go about it...

 

[MikeyTN]

Yes they can live together, that's if they already made friends with one another prior if you get them separate so you'd be forced to have 2 cages for quarantine period anyway. No matter what research you've done, you know nothing about how they can be until you owned one. I had a Nanday and Jenday living together before and they were the most noisiest birds I've ever owned. Nothing compared to a lori or too!!!

 

[Amber]

Oh! You are in Australia too? What state or general area if you don't mind me asking? The breeder I got Alex from is wonderful, I can't recommend her enough and I'm pretty sure she has a proven pair of suns on eggs at the moment. (She also has breeding pairs of ekkies, princes parrots and a bunch of others, and raises chicks from other species too, thats how I ended up with Alex)

I've never seen nandays around, good luck in your search though!

 

[becaroonie]

Oh! You are in Australia too? What state or general area if you don't mind me asking? The breeder I got Alex from is wonderful, I can't recommend her enough and I'm pretty sure she has a proven pair of suns on eggs at the moment. (She also has breeding pairs of ekkies, princes parrots and a bunch of others, and raises chicks from other species too, thats how I ended up with Alex)

I've never seen nandays around, good luck in your search though!

I live in VIC, but will be in SA for a few weeks in September... I'm having a hard time finding a breeder. I guess it's not sun conure season atm?

Does your breeder have a website or email maybe they'll freight?

 

[Amber]

Oh! You are in Australia too? What state or general area if you don't mind me asking? The breeder I got Alex from is wonderful, I can't recommend her enough and I'm pretty sure she has a proven pair of suns on eggs at the moment. (She also has breeding pairs of ekkies, princes parrots and a bunch of others, and raises chicks from other species too, thats how I ended up with Alex)

I've never seen nandays around, good luck in your search though!

I live in VIC, but will be in SA for a few weeks in September... I'm having a hard time finding a breeder. I guess it's not sun conure season atm?

Does your breeder have a website or email maybe they'll freight?

Small local breeder, no email or site, but I can pass on a phone number no problems. They don't freight that I know of, but I got Alex from them and he is one healthy happy little guy. Their not far from Melbourne, about an hour and a half away towards Ballarat. If you are in the area, defiantly worth a look. They have two pairs of suns, one of which is a proven pair and breed like mad.