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Greencheek Conure
Text and photos by Bob BartoloIntroduction Greencheeks belong to The Pyrrhura family, the smaller members of the Conure group. They originate from the tropical forests of northern and eastern Bolivia in South America. They have been sighted flying in large flocks at altitudes as high as 2000 metres, in the highlands of eastern Bolivia. In Australia there are two sub species of the Greencheek conure, the most common kept is the Pyrrhura Molinae Restricta. The other sub-species is the Pyrrhura Molinae Molinae, which has the larger red patch on the belly. Greencheeks are one of the quieter conures and can be housed in small backyards without being a problem to neighbours. They are now well established in Australia and are easy to breed and relatively inexpensive to purchase. Housing
Diet
Sexing The only way to sex Greencheeks is by DNA or surgical sexing, as both sexes even when mature look alike. There is no visual difference between the sexes. Breeding
Mutations There are three known mutations in Australia; these are the Cinnamon, which was the first mutation of the Greencheek to be bred here, the Yellow-Sided and the Par Blue or Turquoise. Cinnamon
 Yellow Sided The Yellow-sided Greencheek is also a sex-linked mutation. It is also referred to as an Opaline, however because it lacks the underside wing stripe, which is characteristic to Opaline mutations, it cannot be classified as a true Opaline with certainty. There is much variation in the colouration of the Yellow-Sided Greencheek and the bird that shows the most red on the chest, is the more striking. The amount of red on the chest can be increased by selective breeding. Colour inheritance for this mutation is the same as the Cinnamon. For breeding expectations see table above and substitute Cinnamon with Yellow- sided. At this stage there are limited numbers of Yellow-Sided available in Australia; however they should become more accessible as more of these mutations are bred. Pineapples Combining the Cinnamon with the Yellow-Sided will produce Pineapples. They are also known as Cinnamon Yellow-Sided or Yellow-Sided Cinnamons, which is a more accurate description of this colour mutation. To produce a Pineapple, the two sex-linked genes from the cockbird need to crossover into one gene for this colour to occur. Below are some matings to produce Pineapples.
With these matings, chicks noted in red text are bred in small percentages and chicks in black text are more likely to be bred. The Cinnamon/yellow-sided cock from mating 4 is visually a very pale Cinnamon and is known as a Lime. Blue
This mutation is not a true blue and is referred to as a Par Blue or Turquoise.
There are only limited numbers of this colour available in Australia. They are a recessive mutation and cocks and hens can be split for this colour.
Conclusion The normal Greencheek is now becoming more popular in bird collections as they become more available and affordable. They have a delightful personality, always active and if handreared can make an ideal companion bird. Greencheeks are easy to breed and are relatively quiet in comparison to the other Conures. They are an ideal aviary bird, especially in a small back yard and will provide the owner, whether it is as an aviary bird or a companion, hours of enjoyment. |
I house my Greencheeks in single pairs, in both conventional and suspended aviaries and they breed well in both. The suspendeds measure 2400mm deep by 900mm wide and 900mm high. There is a 900mm walkway at the rear of the aviaries. Feeders are serviced from inside the walkway. The shelter measuring 1500mm at the rear of the aviary, is clad with colourbond sheeting and the remaining 900mm is wired with 12.5mm x 12.5mm weldmesh. Partitions should be doubled wired as male Greencheeks can become aggressive to birds housed in adjoining aviaries. The bottom of the aviary is wired with a wider mesh of 25mm x 25mm, to allow any food scraps and droppings to fall through onto the ground below.
Greencheeks roost in nestboxes at night, so a box is provided all year round. In the suspended aviaries, the box is hung on the outside of the aviary and inspections are carried out from inside the walkway.
The conventional aviaries measure 2700mm deep x 900mm wide x 2100mm high. The shelter at the rear of the aviary measures 1500mm and clad with zincalum sheets. The remaining 1200mm is wired with 12.5mm. square weldmesh. The floor of the aviary is covered with 100mm – 150mm of ungraded shellgrit.
All aviaries are fitted with overhead water misters to cool down on hot days.
I feed my Greencheeks both a pellet and a seed based diet. A sprouted seed mix and a varied fruit and vegetable salad are also provided on a daily basis. The sprouted seed mixture consists of 4 parts pigeon mix, 2 parts of sunflower seed and 1 part of mung bean. A liquid calcium and a multi vitamin supplement is added to the sprouted seed a few hours before being fed. Greencheeks are easily catered for and will eat most fruit and vegetables provided. Corn on the cob and silverbeet/spinach are devoured when young are in the nest. A grit mix and cuttle bone is available to the birds all year round.
All my aviaries are now fitted with automatic waterers which come on twice daily to flush out the water bowls. The overflow from the bowls is directed into garden beds or stormwater pipes. The only requirement is, once a week the ceramic water bowls are given a quick scrub with a stiff brush.
Greencheeks are easy to breed and will generally be sexually mature and can breed at 12 months of age, providing you have a true pair. They will readily accept most types of nestboxes provided.
The box I use measures 400mm high, with an internal measurement of 200mm square. Greencheeks can lay a large clutch of eggs and I have heard of clutches of up to 10 young. However a normal clutch is 4-6 eggs, laid on every second day and incubation last around 23 days. Young fledge at 6-7 weeks of age and can be left with the parents for another 2-3 weeks, providing the parents do not show any signs of aggression towards them. A second nestbox should be provided as the parents may want to double clutch.
If young are handreared they can make excellent pets as they are relatively quiet. If trained correctly, these little playful conures will provide the owner hours of enjoyment.
The Cinnamon is a sex-linked mutation and is now well established in Australia. They have a plum coloured eye that darkens as they get older. The beak of the Cinnamon Greencheek is light coloured, as is the feet and toe nails.
Being a sexed linked mutation, hens cannot be split for this colour and you only need a Cinnamon or a split cock to produce Cinnamon.
Below are some breeding expectations from matings of the Cinnamon mutation.
When more of these Par Blues are bred, we should see some very interesting colours being produced, with the combination of Cinnamon and Yellow-Sided, like the Blue Cinnamon and Blue Yellow-Sided.