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I have a Green-cheeked conure for exactly two years now.

In the last year, a large number of feathers lost their green or blue color, and I thought it was because of a bad mistake of not buying new pellets ahead of time, which led to him eating only seeds for five days exactly at the time of motling.

After some reading I got to the conclusion I'll probably have to wait another year for the feathers to fall off and grow again, but the diet and environment conditions are satisfying.

However, I'm afraid other things aren't OK. He's diet is actually pellets-only and seeds once or twice a week (he doesn't like fruits & vegetables except apples), he has a very large cage compared to most green-cheeks, and he's always happy and playful.

Is there anything else I should look for or change in the treatment of him? In the first year his feathers were so colorful and bright and I just can't find any clue to something being inappropriate.

Thank you!

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  • Possibly related question Can a baby birds feathers be dyed?
    – James Jenkins
    Commented Apr 30, 2015 at 10:55
  • @JamesJenkins It sounds horrible to dye a bird's feathers
    – Nadav S.
    Commented Apr 30, 2015 at 11:18
  • I'm not entirely sure what you're asking... Are you asking about diet for brighter feather colors? Or are you asking if you think his current, overall, condition is healthy or need work? It's a little vague.
    – Joanne C
    Commented May 1, 2015 at 13:39
  • @NadavS. - I think James was wondering if the bird was "artificially enhanced" prior to purchase and isn't normally so colorful. It would surprise me, it sounds tedious to do given the color variations, but I suppose it could have happened.
    – Joanne C
    Commented May 1, 2015 at 13:40
  • @JohnCavan I doubt it's the case with mine. I absolutely believe in the breeder, and don't think I would do such a thing.
    – Nadav S.
    Commented May 1, 2015 at 15:16

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You are correct--your conure's current feathers will remain until his next molt. I'm a little concerned that he is on a diet almost entirely of pellets. Conures like and need variety in their diets. My green-cheek get LaFeber's Nutriberries for conures (which are also fun foraging food), Ecotrition Essentials cockatiel food, and he loves red leaf lettuce, shredded carrots, and dark grapes (and he mutters nasty things at me if I give him the green seedless variety). When he molts again, you might also try adding an excellent vitamin supplement called Featherrific by Avitech.

What kind of light does he get? Full-spectrum light also helps in the creation and processing of vitamins, which is necessary to produce good feather color.

Be sure he gets a nice bath whenever he wants one, too. (We all get bath when Jerry, my conure takes a bath--he splashes water everywhere.)

It's good that he's playful and happy. He probably just needs a few adjustments to diet and perhaps lighting.

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  • Thank you! Regarding your food suggestions, I'm afraid there's no LaFeber's neither Avitech products in my country (Israel). Do you know if there are equivalent products from other companies? I know about NutriBird, Versele-Laga, Orlux companies but don't have much knowledge about their catalog. Regarding light, I think he has enough but I'll try to move him to somewhere else in the house.
    – Nadav S.
    Commented May 6, 2015 at 16:22
  • And about bath, well, he takes a bath whenever he wants to, generally every day or two :) and yes, I feel the water too
    – Nadav S.
    Commented May 6, 2015 at 16:23

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