Hi Michael
mickpmc wrote:I just want to ask a few questions. I was thinking of making a breeding box (post) but
not for breeding, for it to sleep in it if it wants to. Most of the time it will only go in there to
lay eggs but If it gets cold, it can crawl up into it.
If it gets cold outside then I guess a breeding box couldn't do any harm. We keep our birds inside and just give them a birdie tent that gets hung from the roof of their cage. Even when it's cold, they don't tend to sleep in it. Janey has slept in it once or twice.
mickpmc wrote:I do have a cage which is 160cm (H) 40cm (W) all 4 sides of it. Most of the day the bird will be out of the cage, proably only if I go somewhere
or when it goes to sleep. In your opioun, is the cage an O.K size?
I think the size will be fine. I just measured up my cage. It's the same height, about the same width but is a bit wider at the front.... so I think your bird will enjoy it. (I suggest you disinfect it with birdie-safe disinfectant before putting your bird in it if you bought it secondhand).
mickpmc wrote:Also, when the bird will have it's bed time; whats a good time for me to suck it in? I'm guessing
an hour before I go to bed.
I tend to "put my birds to bed" just after the sun goes down. I read somewhere that they need between 10 and 12 hours sleep a night or they can get cranky... I know some people keep their birds up much later, but that's what I do. I think I must be the equivalent of the mum who puts her children to bed at 7:00 pm until they're 15! lol
mickpmc wrote:I'm going to make a sheet to put over the cage when its a sleep (becuase they feel more safe and protected when covered). I was thinking of buying a big nice (not too thick) blanket from St vinnies (cause they always get big blankets there) and cut it into 4 pieces each the size of the cages lenght. I might glue one end of the blanket to the top of the cage and on other end f it, a piece of wood glued to it. Thats for each side of the cage. So I can roll the blanket up to the top of the cage. If it's a windy night, I could attach a hook to the bottom of the cage so could connect the blanket to it so It dosn't blow up and scare the bird.
Covering at night will be important especially if they are outside. If you are keeping the bird outside, you also need to consider whether the area will be safe from cats (at night & during the day), other outside predatory birds (during the day) and from the weather (wind, rain, etc.). Using the blanket sounds like a good idea - just check that it doesn't get too hot for them in summer - you may need something different in summer... and be careful if you are using glue near their cage. It probably isn't birdie safe.
mickpmc wrote:How many hours can a Ringneck stay in a cage for until It gets angry? Somedays of the week I'm out for 7 hours; I know, it's pretty long. I'm thinking of asking one of my friends (who loves birds to bits) to come over and take it out of the cage and bring him/her inside. Is that a good idea, ifso.
Most people who have IRNs will have to leave them in the cage when they go to work or school... so I'm sure the 7 hours you are away will be fine.... and I'm sure you have weekends that you'll be able to spend more time with him/her. With my ringnecks, I find they tend to get angry when they know you're there and their not out, or they know it's their regular time to come out and you're running a bit late for whatever reason. If they don't know that you're there, they're content to just do their own thing... but of course regular interaction is important to tame them and keep them tame.
mickpmc wrote:How many hours out of the cage?
It's probably good to establish some sort of routine with your bird so that it knows what to expect. (eg. 1 hour in the morning and a couple of hours in the afternoon or whatever you decide). It doesn't mean you have to stick to the routine religiously but it can help.... and they can definitely cope with more time with you on the weekends if you have it! Is there anyone else in your household who will be interested in the birds too? It is nice to get them to be friends with other people too.
mickpmc wrote:If the Ringnecks not hand reared, is is really hard to tame? I know some ways to tame a ringneck but could you please suggest some. Mines not going to be
hand-raised so I'm doing it myself.
You will be getting the bird young, so it will be hard but probably not as hard as getting an older bird. Both of ours were handraised. Interestingly, when we bought Charlie home, I almost didn't believe he was handraised, he was so scared of us! I think he only knew the guy who handraised him and he was scared of everyone else so we had to work really hard with Charlie to get him to trust us.... but now he does, and I find it hard to believe he was ever like that with us before! I think the most important thing is to have patience. I try not to force the bird into doing things but offer it treats to do what I want it to do. It doesn't always work, but I do try. With Charlie, he was so scared of my hands, I couldn't even get him to take seeds from my hand... so I started giving him seeds with a yellow baby aeroplane spoon (he seemed to like it because it was the same colour as him???). Over time, as he learnt to trust the spoon, I gradually moved the position of my hand when I used the spoon with him, gradually moving it closer and closer to him.... and eventually I was able to get him to take food from my hand... then I was able to get him to step up... and now he does all sorts of things... I've trained him to enjoy having a shower with me in the mornings - which is another way of spending time with your birds, to step up, to wave, to turn around, to "go to bed"... and I'm in the process of teaching him to dunk basketballs and a number of other things.
mickpmc wrote:I'm going to be calling my Ringneck Sprout! Do you like the name, 10 points if you find out why I'm calling it Sprout!
Thanks
Hope you can give me as much info as possible and more!
I have no idea why you are calling him Sprout... but is a cool name!
I hope that helps. It's nice to see someone so excited about the parrot - just make sure you are prepared to have lots of patience and time and you will be rewarded!
Regards
Ellie.