The conure is a name given to a group of birds that are from the Americas, and they tend to be medium to small in size. If you have one of these as a pet, then you need them to eat foods that would be similar to the diet they would feed on in the wild. Unfortunately, we can’t recreate the exact diet a conure would have access to in its native environment but a number of commercially available pellet based foods come pretty close. In this article we’ll show you what we recommend you feed your conures as well as reviews of the best foods available to buy.
Comparison of Conure Foods
| Name | Image | Price | Type |  Our Rating | Our Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison’s Adult Lifetime Coarse Food |  | Check Price On Amazon | Pellets | 5/5 | Best Overall |
| Zupreem FruitBlend Flavor |  | Pellets | 4/5 | ||
| TOP’s Pellets for Small Hookbills |  | Check Price On Amazon | Pellets | 4.5/5 | Recommended |
| Lafeber’s Pellet Berries |  | Check Price On Amazon | Berries | 4/5 | |
| Zupreem AvianBreeder Diets |  | Check Price On Amazon | Pellets | 3.5/5 |
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Conure Diet & Nutrition
It is important to understand what your conure food is made up of before buying it. Birds require a specific balance of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water in order to thrive, and conures are no different. The biggest and most common mistake is to feed your conure a diet predominantly made up of seeds. Seeds are actually only a treat that should be fed on occasion and is not the type of food that makes up a large part of your conures diet.
Conure Food List: Pellets, Fruit & Veg, Seeds
Most of your conures diet should be made up for pellets that have been formulated to provide a balanced nutritional profile. So around 70% to 80% of the diet should come from these pellets, with the remaining 30% being made up of fruit and vegetables.
Pellets
Pellet diets have been specially developed to meet a conure’s unique nutritional needs, and there are formulations for each of a conure’s life stages (such as early age and breeding), as well as for the management of certain health issues. Pellets are considered to be the most nutritionally-balanced diet for a conure, and so it is ideal to convert even seed-eating birds onto this diet. A conure’s diet should consist of between 70% to 80% pellets, which are available in many different shapes, colors, and flavors.
The top 5 best conure foods we found were:
- Harrison’s Adult Lifetime Coarse Food
- Zupreem FruitBlend Conure Food
- TOP’s Pellets for Small Hookbills
- Lafeber’s Pellet Berries
- Zupreem AvianBreeder Diets
See our full reviews to these foods in this section of our article.
Fruits and Vegetables
Whilst the pellets should be the main part of the diet, the rest of it can be made up for fruits and vegetables. Keep in mind that some foods which are mostly made up of water (such as spinach) don’t provide as much nutritional value as other more dense foods. Also, remember to remove the seeds from fruits such as apples and cherries. Some examples of fruits and vegetables you might want to consider feeding your conures include:
- Apples
- Bananas
- Broccoli
- Blueberries
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Cucumbers
- Lettuce
- Oranges
- Blueberries
- Melon
- Plums
- Watermelon
- Peaches
- Pears
- Sweetcorn
Before feeding your conure any of these items, cut the food into small pieces so it’s easier for your conure to eat. Plus any food that gets left out and uneaten should be removed from the bird cage regularly.
In addition to the above list, there are certain foods that conures should avoid entirely, these include:
- Avocado
- Chocolate
- Rhubarb
- Sweets
For more info, see our guide What do parrots eat?.
Seeds
In their native habitats, a conure would find and eat seeds but this would be a rare occurrence, it wouldn’t be a staple. Unfortunately, many food companies offer conure foods that are made up almost entirely of seeds. If your bird eats this then they are likely to face health problems such as obesity due to the high-fat nature of seeds. It’s the bird equivalent of eating fast food. This is why some bird foods even state that they don’t include sunflower seed because birds eat this seed in exclusion to every other food. So feed seeds as a treat and stick to pellet based diets supplemented with fruit and vegetables.
Converting from Seeds to a Pellet Based Diet
If your conure has just been eating a seed based diet and you now want to convert them to a pellet based diet you might encounter some problems. Birds can be picky eaters and so if you just straight up switch to pellets then they might refuse to eat new foods. Instead you can convert them slowly over time, say a period of 4 to 8 weeks. This simply involves mixing the pellets in with their existing seed based diet. Simply include the pellets as a small percentage of the existing seed based foods that they’re already eating and then over time increase that ratio until it’s entirely made up of the new pellet based diet.
Fresh Water
Change the water each day for your conure, especially in hot weather so that bacteria doesn’t build up. Also try to place the water tray higher up the cage so mess doesn’t enter it, or use a water dispenser/bottle.
Basic Feeding Guidelines
Keep an eye on the feeding habits of your pet conures and notice any foods that they leave behind. If they have stopped eating the especially pay close attention as this could indicate a serious health condition with the bird. Also, if you try feeding them a fruit or vegetable one time and it doesn’t get eaten, this doesn’t mean the bird will never eat the food. Simply try reintroducing the food to them again at a later time and the bird is likely to eat it this time around.
5 Best Conure Foods Reviewed
Below are reviews of the 5 best conure foods. We judged these foods based upon the quality of the foods, how organic they were, how much the conures seemed to like it and the price.
1. Harrison’s Adult Lifetime Coarse Food
Our Rating
5 out of 5
This is the food that you should be able to feed your conure when it isn’t breeding or in its molting period. Made from organic sources, it has a USDA certificate to back up its claims. This means the food is free from preservatives, dyes, and sweeteners. Some of the ingredients that make up this pellet include corn, barley, peas, lentils, kelp, and psyllium.
- Conures seem to love the taste of this pellet, even ones that are fussy eaters.
- Owner’s have reported improvements in bird feather colors.
- Harrison’s is a well-known brand for providing top-quality foods, and these pellets live up to that reputation.
- Feed is made of organic foods and provides a well balanced nutritional base.
- Might be out of the budget range for some people.
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2. Zupreem FruitBlend Flavor
Our Rating
4 out of 5
FruitBlend by ZuPreem is from a line of feed designed to provide an alternative taste if your birds are picky and don’t like the taste of other pellets. It’s created to be nutritionally balanced and has the ingredients needed for a conure’s daily diet. This taste of this product is derived from fruits and comes in 5 different colored pellet varieties.
- Nutritionally rich food, containing 21 vitamins and minerals.
- Affordable for the amount of food provided.
- Engaging shapes and colors are designed to look attractive to birds.
- Some picky birds will only eat certain colored pellets.
- Artificial dyes/colorings added to the different pellet types.
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3. TOP’s Pellets for Small Hookbills
Our Rating
4.5 out of 5
One of the strengths of TOP’s food is that it’s made in the USA and has a set of ingredients that are organic and free from a range of chemicals and preservatives. Instead of using chemicals to preserve their foods they use natural ingredients such as rosemary and lemon. Comes from a reputable company known that has quality control standards.
- Is made from a broad range of foods that provides balance to your conure.
- Free from GMO, BHT, and BHA.
- Good quality sealed packaging.
- Very small pellets that make it easy for even small conures to eat.
- Some users have reported the small pellets crumbling to powder.
- Might take a short time to convert your bird from a seed based diet to this.
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4. Lafeber’s Pellet Berries
Our Rating
4 out of 5
This pellet from Lafeber is the pellet version of their popular Nutri-Berries range. However, 80% of the feed is made from a pellet whereas the remaining 20% is made of fruits and grains, which is enriched with a number of other vitamins. Made in the USA so you know the food is being made to a higher standard than other foreign imports.
- Works well as a training treat.
- Considering it should be used as a treat, it is fairly healthy.
- Made in the USA from real pieces of apricot, dates, and cranberries.
- Conures seem to like the fruity taste.
- More for use as a treat and not so much as a staple.
- Small conures might find the food a bit large when it clumps.
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5. Zupreem AvianBreeder Diets
Our Rating
3.5 out of 5
Not normally used as a standard everyday diet, this AvianBreeder Diet is particularly used when birds need an extra boost during stressful times such as breeding or during molting. This pellet is formulated with extra fortified nutritional properties, with added vitamins and minerals. Because of this, the food is charged at a higher amount. But this is worth it for the health of your bird during times of stress.
- Recommended by many vets, breeders, and professional zookeepers.
- Users have reported good customer service when any issues have arisen.
- Will give a good boost to conures suffering from malnutrition.
- Is a bulk order and so has an expensive upfront cost. However, this is actually fairly inexpensive when looking at the price per pound of food delivered.
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Loading ...Conclusion
All of the conure foods listed above are the best ones we could find, we excluded from review many of the poor seed-based foods available. However, the one conure food that stood out as the best amongst the feeds reviewed was the Harrison’s Adult Lifetime Coarse Food. This is what we recommend overall as the best conure food and you should pick this if you are undecided.
Repeated here is the list of the 5 Best Conure Foods:
- Harrison’s Adult Lifetime Coarse Food
- Zupreem FruitBlend Conure Food
- TOP’s Pellets for Small Hookbills
- Lafeber’s Pellet Berries
- Zupreem AvianBreeder Diets
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References:
https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?avibaseid=29F9CF96404BF047
http://www.publish.csiro.au/mu/pdf/MU966069b
A Guide to Popular Conures, Dorge and Sibley, 2001.
