question about breeding

[rayna]

this is my first post, but i plan to introduce myself in another--just wanted to get the question answered asap:

can different species of conures reproduce? i ask because i have a male (dna sexed) blue crowned, and an unsexed nanday who share a cage and are best buds, but i've recently noticed some behavior that makes me wonder if they consider each other "mates." they have been together less than a year, but only recently started showing these behaviors--regurgitating, what looks like mounting etc. the behavior doesn't bother me, i just need to know if i should seperate them so they don't reproduce. is this even possible? i know nandays, suns and jendays can cross breed but didn't know about bluecrownes. any ideas?

thanks in advance

[krissyg1989]

hmmmm i know that love birds can interbreed and other speciese of conures can interbreed...im not sure about nandays and blue crowns...

[Monica]

Okay, so I don't know if there are any blue crown/nanday hybrids... but to answer your question...

Bluecrown/sun


So, to answer your question, yes it's more than likely for your two to reproduce... thus I suggest separating them.

[krissyg1989]

awww is that ur baby? he/she is definitely a cutie tho!

[rayna]

yikes! wow... but the little one in the picture is a doll.

we don't want any babies, so until i have my nanday dna sexed i think i will keep them seperate. one more quick, related question: isn't the blue crown too young to mate? he's not even a year old.

[Monica]

No Krissy... Actually I've found photos over the internet of various types of hybrids.... that being one of them... Even have two pics of a hybrid conure-macaw... One is a sun/hahns, the other is a nanday/hahns.... I've only come across one blue crown hybrid, and thats it! Besides jenday/sun hybrids, it's not too easy to find pics of the others... there's even a cherry head/nanday hybrid...

Both my conures are a cherry head and a mitred....


Rayna, in answer to your question... I don't know the youngest age that a conure can breed... supposedly its younger in males than females... or that may be SAFELY to breed... that of which I am not sure... Most conures reach sexual maturity at about 2 years of age, so it's hard to say for sure if he's too young or not... as I have heard of budgies breeding right out of the nest....

As for DNA sexing, you can get it done for $25 or less...
http://www.amrlabs.com/
http://www.avianbiotech.com/

[krissyg1989]

oh my mistake, sorry!