First time with IRN's

[dholari]

Hi everyone,
Firstly my intro, i am from India and very happy to be a parent of two IRN's ,Its been two weeks now with my darlings, had dug up into the internet and got many tips how to feed and handle these cuties...
I picked them up from unorganised market (bird bazaar) - yes its like that in india , these babies were around 1and half month when i picked them up, they were hand fed on only one diet of soaked chana daal (chick pea) that too only once a day ( thankfully i read the info on internet and got them to eat thrice a day)..
now they are in better shape and screaming on top voice for more after these two weeks
They have just weaned and now eat on their own from their bowl, but dont know how to drink water still...
Now i request all senior parents ( friends) to share some knowledge on few doubts

1. When does a ring appear on the neck for the male parrot ?
2. When do they start talking ( yes i have started talking to them)
3. when do they drink water on their own
4. I give them half a banana (for two of them) every day - they love it and shreik at the top of their voice with thrill ...Is it okay ?
4. Trying other cooked foods like noodles, rice , carrots beans etc but all of them are taken only in a small qty , they love their chana and banana max - can anyone suggest more foods
5. ONE BIG QUESTION - AS OF NOW THEY ARE SMALL AND POOP A LOT (AWFUL SMELLING AND MESSY ALL OVER THE PLACE .. I HATE THE CLEANING PART BUT DOING IT DUTIFULLY LIKE A GOD PARENT)
when will this stop (almost every half hour) , when they fly all around my place do they poop also ? (when they are big ) - i have read so many posts where people mentioned the thrill of having them in house , drawing room etc but no one said anything about poops in the house !!!!! pls advise

One more food i recently started giving them is raagi powder with other seed sprouts - i make a porridge almost like a bit watery tomato sauce and feed them thru a bottle with a thin spout - they just love it and it also takes care of their water needs ( i guess as their poop is watery and loose) btw i also add up some milk and honey drops in that --

thanks for reading my post - do share your knowledge on this front and help me out be a better owner of these lovely creatures.. i bought them against my principles for my 8 yr old daughter but now i take more care of them than her .. please help me out and advise me more on their upbringing ..

regards
Naidu

[Sixty Fiver]

Birds are lactose intolerant... they should not have dairy.

Give them access to fresh water and keep this sparking clean.

Dal sounds like a pretty limited diet (albeit tasty) and it is good you offer so much variety for them... read up on the foods you cannot give your birds (besides dairy).

[dholari]

Birds are lactose intolerant... they should not have dairy.

Give them access to fresh water and keep this sparking clean.

Dal sounds like a pretty limited diet (albeit tasty) and it is good you offer so much variety for them... read up on the foods you cannot give your birds (besides dairy).

Thank you for the reply , can you please answer few of my queries also based on your experience .. btw past two days they have been eating cooked rice also reg lactose tolerance .. these two havent had any prob till now, but i shall not mix milk anymore after this ....
thank you

[Sixty Fiver]

Cooked rice is fine but I only serve this in small amounts or mixed with other porridge as it does not offer a lot of nutrition... all grains need to be cooked due to their ability to expand once eaten.

I have a commercially prepared porridge I prepare in my rice cooker... it has rice, oats, beans, peas, fruit, and spices and once this is made the fresh porridge lasts about 5 days while i can also freeze some for backup.

Oatmeal is a favourite food and I mix in raisins and dried fruit... the birds get their oatmeal without milk or sugar and when I make dl I set aside cooked chickpeas for them.

Cooked oatmeal and sweet potato / yam mash is also a huge favourite here... as well as lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Good info here on diet and feeding... http://www.indianringneck.com/feeding/

[dholari]

Thank you very much, the article was informative, can i have some answers for my questions ? reg poop, reg when they talk , when they get a ring on the neck etc ... i couldnt get any info on these questions

[dholari]

fifty plus views but no answers to my queries, pls pls can someone answer my questions

[ellieelectrons]

My male got his ring just after his second birthday. Although they can get it younger and older. Generally, it will probably be the moult of their second year.

Barbara Heidenreich has a resource for teaching your bird to talk www.goodbirdinc.com. I can't remember when our guys started talking but I'd say it was before they turned one but after about 6 months. Each bird is an individual and it really depends on that. My birds seem to like things that have a call and response. Eg. My husband always used to say to our bird Janey, to get our attention, "Hey Janey!" he'd then say "What ya doin'"... she has now learnt to say "What ya doin'" in response to "Hey janey!"... which wasn't his intention... but that's how it worked. My Charlie learnt "Gimme a kiss"... from me asking them that every day and the birds will crane their neck to give me a kiss... and sometimes I'll say "another one?".... and he's learnt that too. My male has learnt more words than my female although he is a year younger.

Birds do poop a lot... no avoiding it... I heard once, a poop at least every 20 minutes but I'm not sure if that's true. You can train your bird to poop in particular spots but I haven't tried that myself. I can't say as I've noticed that it's smelly... but it's not much fun having to clean it up all the time. Some people diaper train their bird... but I haven't done that either.

Good luck and best wishes.

Ellie.

[dholari]

Thank you elli, it was very very informational.. my male fella ( i presume male becos he spreads his wings like a heart and is light coloured) has learnt to fly and wow it was all of a sudden , but strangely he seems to think that the wall will move and bangs into it , dont know how to teach him not to fly blindly
I leave them in a room and this fella is always on some wall hanging or something high, the girl is just sitting down and croaking away.. both seems to have a fascination to bite my thumbs .. trying to get a bigger cage for them for the rest of the night ..btw do they sleep at all ? i never get to see them snooozing

[dholari]

how to add a pic, i got quota has been reached

[brunofam5141]

hope this helps!

the males get their rings around 2 years old. my ringneck is almost two -- his ring isn't black but there is a definite "shadow" of where it is. my little guy started making noise pretty early...he was whistling, making little chirpy noises and even was saying "aww yeah" by maybe 8 -10 months, something like that. he'll be two in march and right now he has a few whistles down pretty good and lots of weird kiss-y and chirpy sounds [some i have no idea how he picked up]. he also says "what", "feenie" [our dogs name], "whose a good boy" and now we're trying to teach him "oo la la" - he's VERY interested in the way that sounds. you just have to keep repeating the words. get close to their level, up close and be excited when you're saying it to them - make it fun! they're like children.

your diet is fine but like other readers said, don't give them dairy! and i've read that red meat is a no no and DEFINITELy avoid avocados, apple seeds and stay away from onions. here are some really yummy and health things my little guy loves...fruits and veggies like apple, banana, tomato, beans, carrots, potato, sweet potato, corn, and peppers! he loves bell peppers. red are his favorite and he LOVES eating the seeds. he even loves jalapeno pepper seeds [i've red its ok because birds have less taste buds and the heat doesn't affect them like it does us]. i wouldn't give them ANYTHING hotter than that though. you should also try and find a good bird pellet and give them that. leave it in their cage like you would water. the pellets have a lot of nutrients in them.

oh and yes, keep clean water in their cage at all times. they will drink. trust me. just leave it!

it's weird that the poop smells though. i understand you have two of them but unless you're just letting it pile up in its cage [and even then it would have to be a lot of crap] it shouldn't smell. lay off the dairy but take the birds to an avian vet and see if they might have a little infection or something. when birds are sick, they hide it very well [because in the wild, predators pick on the weak and if they need to put on a happy face to avoid being someone's dinner!] so by the time you do start seeing symptoms it could be too late. its better to be safe than sorry - get your little guys checked out!!

[ellieelectrons]

They should sleep. They sit on their perches and sleep... so it could be that you're not noticing it. I try to keep lights off in their area after sundown and cover them. They basically sleep sundown to sun up and nap during the day. They do shut their eyes when they sleep. When they're babies and some times when they are adults they will make cute little noises as they drop off to sleep. It's like they're practising the sorts of sounds they can make.

Ellie.

[dholari]

Thank you bruno and ellie, i dont think their poop smells, i was only complaining of the work involved in cleaning up the cage , rest i am comfy , i did more than this for my daughter when she was small .. back to good ol days .. my male one is getting agitated when he sees me or my daughter after work/school, want to break open the cage and is going all around making lots of noises, he flied and bangs into walls so keeping him restricted most of the time .. can someone gimme a suggestion on this how to avoid him getting into walls ? ? .. just bought some sweet potatoes today , will give them something new tomorrow..

One final question, is it true that if we have two , they bond between themselves and the interaction between them and us is down .. if thats true i can always leave one at my dads place (now he too is interested in mittu bittu and always asking questions about them) .. i bought two thinking i wont be there full day and they would keep each others company ...
any suggestion welcome please reply ...

[brunofam5141]

I have read, and heard from some breeders, that if you have two [especially a male and a female] they are more likely to bond with each other instead of you. Although some people will beg to differ, in my personal experience I have found that male birds are a lot more friendly than female birds. And you also have to think about when the female might start laying eggs and what a bitch she'll be about it! haha =)

You should keep their wings clipped for a while at least until they get used to WHERE they are SUPPOSED to be flying to! =) I had my baby's wings clipped pretty good when I took him home from the breeder but then they grew out. He seemed to like the freedom of being able to fly back and forth between his cage and where I was. But, then he started getting a little attitude like "I'm grown, I can do what I want" so I had to cut the wings back a bit. He can still safely glide but doesn't get lift. He still has some attitude of course!!

Glad to hear the poop doesn't really stink - you had me worried. But I'd still recommend taking them to a vet/avian vet just for a little check up. I got my bird from a very reputable breeder but he ended up having a little infection and had to be on antibiotics for the first couple of weeks I had him. It really wasn't a big deal, he's totally fine now but you just never know!! And its also a good idea to establish a relationship with a vet just in case something major does happen down the road.

This website is SO helpful but another great resource that I found was a book called "Parrots for Dummies". It's not necessarily geared specifically towards Ringnecks but it will give you insight into the wonderful world of parrots. It also gives you tips about HOW TO clip wings and nails, diet, housing, exercise, etc...

Sounds like you love your little ones to pieces and that's the best start there is!!! Don't get frustrated when they get out of the cute baby stage though and get into their "teens". I would suggest investing in some earplugs!!

[ellieelectrons]

I have two IRNs - male and female - that cohabitate. Both are tame. I did have our first one for 1 year before we got our second on though. I like having two because it means they have each other when we are not around. Our avian vet seemed to think it's healthy for them to have a companion of their own kind too. I think there is probably some truth to it being harder to tame then when you have two, especially at the beginning... but I think providing you persevere, over time, I think there will be very little difference. Having said that, you may find a difference during nesting season... but you can have that problem with individual birds too... especially if they start to present sexual behaviours to you because they don't have a birdie friend.

Ellie.

[dholari]

thank you both of you, once again it was a great insight into the subject, I was giving a bit of pressure onto my grey cells and realised that we are not home almost 8 hrs and come what may atleast they have each other, dont mind them not socializing with me ( i was staunchly against having a winged creature captive at home - until one day i just bought these two just for the sake of my daughter ) its fine with me .. yes the male one is more demanding and more active of the two ... no issues as long as my patience is in tact .. the day i lose it , dad is around to take them home ..
have been reading about ethics of clipping and not clipping etc .. still to take a stand on it, but yes the bugar is all over the walls every day and its amazing to see him fly from the stage when he couldnt even stand on his legs

[dholari]

One small question again, my female IRN doesnt like me touching her and secondly when i try to approach her she spreads wings (like a parked aeroplane) - even when i feed her from far off - is this normal behaviour ?
i got a special cage made almost 4 feet /2 feet ht/width , and now they dont fight anymore

[ellieelectrons]

That position sounds like a mating stance to me? Does she cluck and does she pin her eyes (pupils go small)?

Glad to hear about the new cage and that they are not fighting now.

Ellie.

[SpokaneSummer]

About the clipping/non-clipping issue. Until your new babies are more comfortable with you and recognize you as their source for all love and nourishment, I would recommend clipping their wings. Keep them clipped until they are more mature, then decide on whether you want them flying around home. We have perches on windows that the bird can fly to, but when he becomes a nuisance flyer (he doesn't let us pick him up, but rather flies away), we clip his wings. He usually flies for about two months around home before copping an attitude. It is safer for them to have clipped wings but we like to give him the opportunity to exercise, as well.

[ellieelectrons]

How do you affix the perches to your windows?

Ellie.

[SpokaneSummer]

We have a couple of different types of window/shower perches. Search the internet. The cheapest (and easiest to make) are made out of PVC pipe-hard white plastic- and all three types adhere to window with suction cups.

As I read through your posts, I notice comment about lactose intolerance. I believe this, but have been giving our IRN bits of string cheese, etc.. since we got him over 5 years ago. Haven't had any problems. Wonder if I should be concerned, too.

Finding all of this information on this forum is enlightening.. LOVE IT!

[ellieelectrons]

Thanks. We're really manually challenged... not sure if we have enough skill to make such things... but I will have a look!

I have 2 suction cup shower perches that I currently use. They were about $10 each but I can't seem to get any more now. They are good but the birds are gradually wrecking them... and are going to need replacing... and I don't have enough to put them around the house.

As I read through your posts, I notice comment about lactose intolerance. I believe this, but have been giving our IRN bits of string cheese, etc.. since we got him over 5 years ago. Haven't had any problems. Wonder if I should be concerned, too.

Not sure if you're talking about me personally posting about lactose intolerance... because I don't think I ever have... having said that, I don't give my birds dairy products although I have read similar posts. I will facebook my vet and ask him about it. I have heard of people giving their birds cheese too... so I really don't know. I imagine small amounts aren't going to do too much harm.

Ellie.

[dholari]

very interesting updates in the past two days, thank you folks, i put up a slanting rod in the new cage and one rod diagonally, the slanting one has four 5 inch long steps (more like a ladder) they love it and keep fighting (yes again) to sit on the topmost step ... , but not a serious fight of sorts, the damn ironsmith put a small door at the bottom and its a big task to get them out to leave them in the room as they refuse to come on to my hand anymore and its difficult to get them thru the door unless i overturn the cage ( the bottom part is open ) .. anyways my interaction this way is becoming less but as long as they have their space i am okay ... yes i will surely look at clipping , since we have only untrained fellows as clippers here can i take the chance of learning the process thru youtube or internet videos and try ? is there any harm ?
One more question - We in india eat a lot of white rice - these two love the rice i feed with lentil soup or sometimes yoghurt ( curd ) - does that lead to fat buidup ?
thanks for more insights

[SpokaneSummer]

I noticed an earlier post about 'clipping the wings a bit' to keep the bird from getting lift, but he can still glide. That is exactly what I do.. I clip when he gets attitude and let him exercise his wings during times of agreeable behavior.

So, what I think about clipping the wings is that the earlier you start, the more common-place it becomes. If you begin by just 'titching' the flight feathers, it will be good practice for you, non-traumatic for them, and a beginning as to what the future holds. Yes, clipping can be dangerous to their health if you clip a blood-feather. Do go on-line to find the 'flight feathers' vs. 'blood feathers'. If a blood feather is cut by accident, it needs to be pulled out (the shaft of the feather, with forceps, or some similar instrument) immediately so the blood doesn't continue to flow. Birds can't lose much blood without dire consequences.

If nails become too long, they too should be clipped back a bit (though there are perches that help with keeping them naturally worn down). Always have quik-stop available to stop any possible nicked quiks.

Another note that might help. My husband and I clip wings as a team. He holds the bird in a hand towel, and I clip. Works terrifically.

[ellieelectrons]

FYI - I posted a question to my vets's Facebook wall about IRNs & cheese & their response was, "we don't recommend feeding dairy products to birds".

Ellie.

[SpokaneSummer]

Thank you! I will have to stop giving him the little tastes that I do.. good to know.

[dholari]

Hi,
I have been making a ready meal out of cooked sweet potatoes, egg plant, carrot , beans etc which i cook in a cooker and mash them up, freeze them in the fridge and thaw it daily when i feed it ( in a microwave) , i had read in the recipe list that we can add up the vegetables as finely cut pieces , does my style make the birds digestive system weak ? becos there is hardly any hard substance in it , everything is cooked .. secondly the recipe said put spices - what exactly do i add up - any info on that ? and pls do share your home recipes if any , more the merry

[Pattu Rani]

My IRN loves almonds in the shell - I crack it just a little but he does most of the work. It's fun to watch him - his eyes flash and you can see him trying to figure out how to get to the nut. He also loves peanuts in the shell. These birds are so intelligent and need stimulation and challenge just like children do - best not to give all soft food but some is fine. They also love green and red(dried) chilis, cut up apple, etc.

[Sixty Fiver]

All my birds get a base diet of kibble / pellets which is nutritionally complete but if you had to eat these every day with nothing else you would get bored witless.

Think I already mentioned that I make porridge and also get a prepared parrot mix that contains; sunflower seeds, whole corn, flaked corn, safflower seed, peanuts in the shell, dried apple, dried beet, oats, papaya, raisins, split peas, walnut, brazil nut, pineapple, coconut and dried carrots and a bunch of other good things.

I mix a little of this in the kibble/pellets and the birds all spend a good deal of time digging through their bowls to find their favourite bits and munch on their pellets as they do this.

They also get fresh vegetables like carrots, peas, and pretty much any safe vegetable and will make little salads that also include dates and raisins and organic dandelion.

If I am cooking eggs they get a little cooked egg and some cooked and crushed shells as they like to crunch on these and it adds calcium to their diet.

If I cook rice they get a little of this before it gets seasoned and if I make Dal I set aside cooked chick peas and will give them the spiced Dal before I add any onions or garlic which are not good for birds. They like curry, cinnamon (stick cinnamon is great) and hot spices and peppers (no seeds).

I eat a pretty healthy diet that borders on vegetarian and cannot have avocado in my home due to allergies so there is no risk of them getting that... they also like bananas and a little citrus and my male Ringneck goes nuts for apple slices and raisins which are what I use for training.

It basically comes down to making sure they have good base diet and a lot of variety in their diet.

[dholari]

Hi everyone again,
I need a help on urgent basis, my female irn ( i guess female) has been acting a bit pricey, she doesnt want to come near to me, once i open the cage door she climbs over and flies off to perch on a curtain rod, whereas the male one comes to me, attacks me , bites me ( i guess its his way of playing( btw the female one is always looking to bite me (wonder why but these two never bite me badly , its always a bite and press to some limit ) - now my question is why is she doing that ? and will it become normal once i give a clipping to her ? does anyone recommend it - have you been thru this phase ? and if i trim the feathers , shall i leave the top two untouched so that they can still glide around ?

[dholari]

Yesterday i lost one of the two irn's i own - the female one was lying dead at the bottom of the cage when i came back from work - i am still confused as to what led to the death - totally at loss - both seemed so happy and playful when i left them in the morning with food and water ..
need some inputs -
1.could it be a fight which led to death ?
2. I left two pistachhios for them to play and eat ( they have eaten nuts earlier also ) but anything wrong there ?
3. The male one used to keep his head out of the metal cage (sqare shaped wires holding the cage all over) and got stuck ( unable to withdraw head) a few times but didnt die - the female one was very smart and never did that any day - did she try it yesterday and got strangulated ?

i am totally at loss as to what has happened but my heart bleeds for something which i had no control i am really so sad and pray for my lil one who was hardly 4 months - thankfully the male one has forgotten loss of his partner and is playing all day today
can someone put some ideas into what might have happened ?

[cspiteri85]

Hi everyone,
Firstly my intro, i am from India and very happy to be a parent of two IRN's ,Its been two weeks now with my darlings, had dug up into the internet and got many tips how to feed and handle these cuties...
I picked them up from unorganised market (bird bazaar) - yes its like that in india , these babies were around 1and half month when i picked them up, they were hand fed on only one diet of soaked chana daal (chick pea) that too only once a day ( thankfully i read the info on internet and got them to eat thrice a day)..
now they are in better shape and screaming on top voice for more after these two weeks
They have just weaned and now eat on their own from their bowl, but dont know how to drink water still...
Now i request all senior parents ( friends) to share some knowledge on few doubts

1. When does a ring appear on the neck for the male parrot ?
2. When do they start talking ( yes i have started talking to them)
3. when do they drink water on their own
4. I give them half a banana (for two of them) every day - they love it and shreik at the top of their voice with thrill ...Is it okay ?
4. Trying other cooked foods like noodles, rice , carrots beans etc but all of them are taken only in a small qty , they love their chana and banana max - can anyone suggest more foods
5. ONE BIG QUESTION - AS OF NOW THEY ARE SMALL AND POOP A LOT (AWFUL SMELLING AND MESSY ALL OVER THE PLACE .. I HATE THE CLEANING PART BUT DOING IT DUTIFULLY LIKE A GOD PARENT)
when will this stop (almost every half hour) , when they fly all around my place do they poop also ? (when they are big ) - i have read so many posts where people mentioned the thrill of having them in house , drawing room etc but no one said anything about poops in the house !!!!! pls advise

One more food i recently started giving them is raagi powder with other seed sprouts - i make a porridge almost like a bit watery tomato sauce and feed them thru a bottle with a thin spout - they just love it and it also takes care of their water needs ( i guess as their poop is watery and loose) btw i also add up some milk and honey drops in that --

thanks for reading my post - do share your knowledge on this front and help me out be a better owner of these lovely creatures.. i bought them against my principles for my 8 yr old daughter but now i take more care of them than her .. please help me out and advise me more on their upbringing ..

regards
Naidu

Regarding no.5, there are flight suits you can purchase so when your bird is flying around the house, he doesn't poop everywhere, and then you just have to change the liner.