Just adopted a IRN - have no idea what I'm doing!

chinchillamotzarella · Thu Jul 03, 2008 8:50 pm

Hi
I just adopted a female lutino indian ringneck. I am a nurse and when an elderly patient died, her parrot had no where else to go. I have lots of adopted animals, but I've never had a parrot. She moved in a couple of weeks ago and has settled in pretty well. I was worried that she would freak out coming form a quiet little house with one old lady to living with me, my boyfriend, two dogs, two cats, three horses and a bunny, but she has handled it very well.

She is about 2 years old (said the vet) but I dont think she was handled very much - she was biting a lot last week but it was a pretty scarey change for her so i can forgive that, she likes being with me a lot more this week and was in the kitchen last night helping me cook enchiladas - basically just eating capsicum... anyway, i was just wondering if anyone could tell me how active IRN's usually are? She's probably just really overwhelmed at the moment but she doesn't seem to do very much. She has a cage but i leave it open for her most of the time so she can explore (all my animals just sort of roam - the bunny uses the cat door and sleeps on the couch etc) and i hate the thought of her being locked away. It's probably just what she's used to, but even in her cage, she doesn't play with her toys or go swinging around like other parrots I've seen, she just sort of sits there - i know it will take her a while to settle in but i didn't know if i should be worried if she was sick or depressed or anything.

I welcome any opinions you could give me - i don't know anything about parrots. Thank you very much

Fah · Post by **Fah** » Fri Jul 04, 2008 1:59 am

I have a pet Lutino myself, he is going on 4yo. He enjoys toys, but he does play with them very very rarely in comparison to other ringnecks and especially other parrots.

They are very intelligent, and active, but not high maintenance. If you spend time with it regularly, and devote a fair bit of time each day for the first few weeks to get a real bond going, you should find they require as much attention as they ask for.... and they will ask.

Keep toys around, every week move them around in the cage, and change them around (have extra different toys so you cycle through them), and provide different "treats" now and then, and you will find, that they can be very low maintenance.

My boy probably plays with a toy for maybe 10 minutes a day, he likes to sit near them more often than not however, and flirts to them heh. So dont take the toy thing as bad.

Give her time to get used to the movements of the house. Her just sitting there can actually be her tracking everything that goes on... when I first got my boy into the house, he didnt do much at all, until he learnt who walked around, what noises happened, etc

chinchillamotzarella · Fri Jul 04, 2008 3:57 am

Great, thanks
I really appreciate the advice. As i am so new to the parrot thing, i wasn't sure whether it was something to be worried about or not.

Although, i think she'll be running the place in no time - she was on the veranda with me this afternoon when one of my horses came running up to say hi. She wasn't frightened at all and ended up cawling around in his mane - i think she is going to be an extreme sport parrot!

Anyway, thankyou again SO much for the help

New owner of Roxy · Post by **New owner of Roxy** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 9:01 pm

Hi i have and IRN and he's more active around 9 i dont about yours but he or she might like that.What i did when i got a parrot is that i got a book that showed me everything.

p.s. Just to let you know cats mouths are deadly to birds so watch out on that.

Post by **kyria** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 7:47 am

IRN's adapt to change very well. She will settle in easily. Getting use to you might be another matter, especially if she hasn't been handled very much. Take it slow. Be confident with her. Take it step by step, sitting and talking to begin with, then offering food via the hand, and get her use to you and your hands. Slowly show her you are her friend. Always talk and tell her what you are doing, sounds are how they communicate so sound with actions is very important. Trust takes time.

She may never come to like scratches and pats, but she will get to a point where she is easily handleable, stepping up and sitting with you, taking things from you and communicating with you. She is lucky to have you take her.

Thanks for that. And searching out this site shows you care and are looking for the best info to care for her.