my first IRN,with loads of questions

[discovery2012]

Hi all

I am a newbie to the world of Irn.I have brought my first IRN it is 6mth old is a grey colour
and is said to be a male.Reading through some of the posts here I take it time will tell whether its male or female.
At the moment we have a 3ft cage with one single irn.I would like to find out gender and then get another irn of the opposie gender and hopefully breed a hatch.I am unsure,if my irn is 6 mth old when can he/she mate with another irn.Also how hard is it to breed forbaby irns?

Many thanks

[willowisp71]

Hi discovery,

You will have some time to wait before your IRN is old enough to breed. They usually say 3yo for male IRNs, and 2yo for female, BUT, I have heard of 1yo pairs mating and laying eggs, but sometimes the eggs are infertile.

It can take anywhere between 18 months and 3 years for the male to develop his ring, so the only way to guarantee the sex of your IRN baby before then, is if it has been surgically or DNA tested. A DNA test apparently isn't that expensive, but it does involve either pricking the chick's foot (?) for a blood sample or pulling out a blood feather, to be sent off for the test. Results usually take a week or 2 to get back to you depending on where you live. Some breeders offer to have the chicks sexed and include it in their prices.