Dubai Birds - Premium Exotic Birds in Dubai

    Cost of owning a conure in the UAE

    What a conure costs in the UAE: the live price, the setup, the monthly bills, and the cage a Sun or Jenday conure needs. A mid-sized parrot with a 20 to 30 year lifespan.

    Conures are the most popular mid-sized parrots in the UAE, and our care guide says why: playful, manageable in size, strongly bonded, and priced for a wider range of buyers than macaws or African Greys. The trade-off is volume. Sun and Jenday conures are loud enough to draw apartment complaints.

    This page uses the live catalogue for the bird and our own published guides for everything else. Where we do not have a figure we leave the line out. For care, read the conure care guide; for the paperwork, are conures legal in the UAE.

    1. What the bird costs (live)

    Read from the live Dubai Birds catalogue, matching the live AED price guide. Species with no bird in stock today are left out.

    ConurePrice (AED, live)
    Green-Cheeked Conure (Pineapple, Turquoise, Cinnamon, Fallow, Misty, Opaline, etc.)Appendix IIAED 1,350 - 3,500
    Jenday ConureAppendix IIAED 1,700
    Sun ConureAppendix IIAED 1,900
    Golden Conure (Queen of Bavaria)Appendix IAED 20,000

    Green Cheek mutations (Pineapple, Cinnamon, Yellow-Sided, Turquoise) are colour mutations of one species and share its care and its running costs.

    2. Setup costs (one-time, before the bird)

    Figures from our beginner’s guide, which describes 2026 UAE costs for small and mid-sized birds. The guide writes them for beginner species, so treat them as the right order of magnitude for a conure rather than a quote.

    ItemAED
    Cage, depending on size and material600 - 2,500
    Perches, toys, food bowls, cuttlebone300 - 500
    Travel cage and carrier200 - 400
    Avian-safe cleaning supplies100 - 200
    UVB lamp and timer, if no balcony access250 - 450
    Cool-mist humidifier250 - 400
    Setup total, before the bird2,000 - 4,500

    The care guide sets the minimum cage by species: 60 x 50 x 80 cm with 1.5 cm bars for Green Cheeks, and 75 x 60 x 100 cm with 1.5 to 2 cm bars for Sun and Jenday conures. Powder-coated or stainless steel only, with solid latches. The beginner guide notes that stainless steel costs more upfront but does not corrode in coastal Dubai humidity.

    3. Running costs

    ItemAED
    Pellets, fresh produce and treats, small species, per month100 - 200
    Pellets, fresh produce and treats, medium parrots, per month250 - 500
    Toys, replaced monthly, per month60 - 150
    Routine avian vet check and nail or beak trim, twice yearly250 - 400 each
    Boarding when you travel, per night60 - 150
    Emergency vet reserve to hold2,000 - 5,000

    The beginner guide does not say whether Sun and Jenday conures belong in the small or the medium food band, so both rows are shown. A Green Cheek is a small species. The diet itself is 60 to 70% pellets, 25 to 30% fresh vegetables, about 5% fruit and a tiny nut treat; Sun and Jenday conures eat roughly 35 to 45 g of total food a day.

    Avian emergencies such as egg-binding, aspergillosis and calcium seizures cost 1,500 to 4,500 AED treated, according to the same guide. Fatty liver disease from a seed-heavy diet is the single most common conure health failure in the UAE, which is why the pellet line is not the place to economise.

    4. First-year and lifetime figures

    For a Green Cheek conure, our beginner guide sets setup at AED 2,000 to 4,500 before the bird, then food, toys and vet care on top. The bird is extra, at the live price above or on the live AED price guide.

    We do not have a published line-item lifetime build-up for conures, so we do not show one. A Green Cheek lives 20 to 30 years and a Sun or Jenday 25 to 30, and the care guide asks buyers to plan moves, marriage, children and travel around that window.

    5. Noise decides which conure fits your home

    • ·Green Cheek and mutations: 70 to 85 dB. Apartment-friendly.
    • ·Jenday: 95 to 110 dB.
    • ·Sun: 100 to 110 dB, the loudest conure relative to body size.

    For JLT, Marina, Downtown or Business Bay, only Green Cheeks and their mutations are realistic. Sun and Jenday conures need a villa in Mirdif, Al Barsha or one of the standalone-villa neighbourhoods of Sharjah and Ajman. Our apartment guide has the wider picture.

    6. Cost-cutting that backfires

    • A seed-heavy mix to save on pellets. Sunflower-heavy mixes cause fatty liver disease within 2 to 3 years.
    • A zinc-plated cage. It is toxic to all parrots.
    • A conure from Dubizzle or Instagram with no paperwork. Undocumented birds are subject to confiscation under MOCCAE regulations and are often carrying undiagnosed disease.
    • Skipping the PCR test. PBFD and avian polyomavirus are viral, and the care guide says to PCR-test before purchase.
    • Buying a Sun or Jenday conure for an apartment, then facing the noise complaint.

    7. Frequently asked questions

    How much does a conure cost in Dubai?
    Conures in the Dubai Birds catalogue currently run AED 1,350 - 20,000, depending on species and mutation. The live table on this page shows each species. All are hand-raised UAE-bred or fully papered import birds with closed leg-bands and an avian vet check.
    What is the first-year cost of a Green Cheek conure?
    Our beginner guide puts setup at 2,000 to 4,500 AED before you buy the bird, with food, toys and vet care on top. The bird itself is extra, at the live price on this page and on the AED price guide at /bird-prices-uae/.
    How much does a conure cost per month?
    Pellets, fresh produce and treats run 100 to 200 AED per month for small species and 250 to 500 AED for medium parrots, according to our beginner guide. Toys add 60 to 150 AED per month because birds destroy them. The guide does not say whether Sun and Jenday conures fall in the small or the medium band, so we do not pick one for them.
    How long does a conure live?
    Green Cheek conures live 20 to 30 years and Sun and Jenday conures 25 to 30 years. Both are 20-plus year commitments: a Green Cheek bought during university years will live until early middle age.
    What size cage does a conure need?
    Green Cheek conures and their mutations need at least 60 x 50 x 80 cm with 1.5 cm bar spacing. Sun and Jenday conures need at least 75 x 60 x 100 cm with 1.5 to 2 cm bars. Powder-coated or stainless steel only, because zinc-plated cages are toxic to all parrots, and with solid latches because conures are escape artists. Our beginner guide puts cages at 600 to 2,500 AED depending on size and material.
    Is a conure cheaper than a cockatiel?
    On running costs the two are close: our beginner guide gives the same small-species food and toy figures for both, and the bird price decides the difference. Compare the live tables on this page and on the cockatiel cost page, which also lists the line items.
    Can I keep a conure in an apartment?
    A Green Cheek can: it peaks at 70 to 85 dB and is the only conure the care guide considers realistic for JLT, Marina, Downtown or Business Bay. Sun conures reach 100 to 110 dB and Jenday conures 95 to 110 dB, loud enough that they need a villa. A noise complaint that ends in a rehome is the costliest outcome of choosing the wrong species.
    Do the legal rules add cost?
    They add paperwork. Conures are CITES Appendix II, so the seller must provide the CITES permit, the closed leg-band and a recent avian vet certificate. We have no sourced fee for any permit, so we do not quote one. The Golden Conure is listed as Appendix I on our UAE laws page. See the conure legality page for the detail.

    8. Sources

    Not sure which conure fits your home?

    Send us a WhatsApp with your building type and how many hours a day you are home. We will tell you whether a Green Cheek, a Sun or a Jenday is the right match.

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