IndianRingNeck.com

I went to a pet shop recently to buy fish food dog food ect and asked about IRNs the pet shop man said that IRNs become feral quickly and dont stay tame for very long and if you leave them for a day they will become "untame" and are not good pet birds can someone tell me if this is true because i really want one and have read all over about them and everywhere i have read said that they made great pets/companions. Please help

IRNs do need DAILY handling, especially in the first 6 or so months. They are not the 'tamest' of birds to start with so he is right I guess, they dont really snuggle and some dont even like to be touched.

If you read old posts on this site we never lie about our IRNs and how moody they can be. If you want a snuggle bug get a cockatiel, if you want attitude, spunk, personality plus, comedy, looks, brains..... then IRNs are for you.

BUT be warned they are loud, naughty... some an be nippy, annoying and some are just plain anti-social.... all of this is worth it for what you get back but they are NOT for everybody. These birds will take your heart and run away with them and for some of us (Mikaela and myself) they take a little of your sanity too Every potential owner should know all possible bad things about any new pet so they can be prepared.

READ, read, read, this site is a wealth of information and not all of it will be what you want to hear, ringnecks are not perfect but none of us would part with ours for the world and that has to tell you something....

hehe , yep, only had kai 8 weeks and hubby already knows who takes priority my IRN. The lounge room table had to be folded away to make way for the play stand and a heap of toys, right by the best window in the house. My computer room is full of bird cage and the shopping list has grown out of sight, he gets better fruit and veg than the family, I keep yellin, "don't eat that, thats for Kai". Kai rules the roost, and we love it.

He is so entertaining. He loves kissing now, and kisses everyone that asks for one, loves to play chasey, hide and seek, loves to test his limits for himself and with us. He is noisey and full on, chatters and practices to talk alot! and pulls a growl when he gets up an attitude, but I wouldn't have him any other way. D&F is right. IRN are a handful, and you have to want a bird that is going to keep you on your toes.

To sum up for me and my experience (and mine is only one) - Character and Spunk! with all the attitude of a naughty little 3 year old

Cheers! and let us know - or - post pics if you take the plunge and join the family

Andrea (Angie)

thanks for the information!
thats alot of help i was worried that they would not be good companion birds but for what i want in a bird they sound perfect! i have had a look at one from a breeder and its handraised and he is beautiful i am getting him for my birthday in december! he is about 6 and a half weeks old now and bright green!
very excited anything that i should prepare other than the cage/playpen before he arrives? also i have a japanese quail (weird i kno but he is gorgeous) he is tame aswell would they have a chance of getting along?

Hey, I gotta say, I'd rather the pet shop dude say what he did than mislead.

The fact is, these are not tame birds. The average person will not be able to tame before giving up, thereby replacing the bird yet again.

The average person cannot spend the adequate time needed for an IRN. These birds need very devoted owners.

People are deathly afraid of birds, way more than I would have ever thought. I have no fear of them. I'll thump their little heads off (So kidding but it is so rediculous to be scared of something so fragile so that is a good analogy).

I let the kids shoot me with paintballs and that hurts waaaay more than a bite, unless it is a real bite. I havent had a REAL bite where they bite and tear. I have had many bites where they wouldnt let go though with alot of pressure. It is the fast lunge bites that scare me because it is unexpected and so violent. They always make sure they are far enough away not to really get me with those bites. They use those to say: leave me alone because I am bitchy at the moment, leave my toys alone, my food and water is fine so go away, ect.

If my birds are in a foul mood like that (rare) I let them be until they are itching to be with me again. Then it is like making up with a family member.

OMG! Mikaela .. I had two real bites from Kai in the first week of having him home. Just fear and protecting himself. Its like a stubbed toe (big chunk of skin and lots of blood) but caused by a pair of secateurs. It doesn't hurt when they shear through the skin its after you have cleaned and bandaged it that it throbs.

when they hook that top beak in and slice with the bottom beak and they mean business, sharp as a razor and ever so fast.

But he is adorable now , didn't take that long for him to settle into his new home. He adores me now and gives me big kisses all the time. He even kisses anyone that asks for one now. He knows the word and sound and loves to kiss.

Andrea (Angie)

They are so vicious when they lunge. Then we have to tell people not to draw back. They probably think we are frigging nuts. Maybe we are but that goes to show you the lengths we will go to get through to them.

As far as tame, my girls are great considering I was a new parront. I would be happy though with any bird that I could reach in and get consistantly with no bites. I have that and then some with my girls. I dont know that they will ever be love bugs but I figure I have 30 yrs to find out.

Baby gives me kisses but she will never like being touched, Im beginning to believe. And she is always a good girl and steps right up unless she is sleepy. Then she opens her mouth to threathen a bite but it looks like a yawn so it isnt very effective. hehe But I respect her 'alone time' and leave her be when she does that. If she acts like she really wants to bite, I make her step up.

krazy_kate00 wrote:thanks for the information!
also i have a japanese quail (weird i kno but he is gorgeous) he is tame aswell would they have a chance of getting along?

Probably not. My IRN hen used to murder the little king quails on the floor of her avairy. I've had jap quails too.. they are so cute and cuddly! and if you have females they lay alot of eggs (yummy!)

yes... i breed jap quails soooo cute and theyre babies are about the size of a 50c coin when they hatch sooooo goergeous mine live in a ginea pig hutch... weird as it sounds its souited to them because they have more floor space and they dont fly

I had a pair of jap quails in the aviary with my ringnecks. They dont get along but they dont hurt each other either. Damn hen never sat on her eggs. I wouldnt mind a baby jap quail or two.

its actuall very difficault to get japanese quails to incubate their eggs in captivity so i hired an incubator the babies are smaller than pingpong balls when they hatch and they are bright yellow and fluffy!

i have a latino male(thought was female,now has a rose ring comming through).one thing i have noticed before he bites he does this weird thing with the eyes(the pupils go big and small).and is an escape artist,the cage has 8 doors and all have to be clipped shut.they also learn to talk very quick.

julie the thing you talk about his eyes going big then little... its called pinning. its so cool i love it when bella does it even though it looks sort of evil i think its amazing.

alot of people say that they do turn feral after a while but i beg to differ, if you handle them enough and give them time and effort they can and will be love birds.

I dont like pinning

It does look evil, which fits this creature hehe but still... hope Baby never starts but I know she will.

Yep beautiful love birds.. just take a squiz at the video's I just posted of my Kai under the photos forum. There is one of Kai kissin me, he loves!!!!!!!!!! kisses. Proof that they are wonderful pets.

Hi, jj here. My irn pins her eyes if she is angry or frightened, and my instinct has always that a bite is the next action. I talk quietly to her for a while, and she calms down. My friend's quaker aways pins his eyes right before a bite.

IRN's pin ALOT. I wouldnt use that as a primary way to predict a bite... AT ALL.

I would instead watch her body language before she does actually go for a bite and put the two-and-two together. An example may be that she pins AND puffs her head when she is intending on biting.

She may be going through her bluffing stage. I recommend you go through old posts in regards to bluffing and check out the 'Poll' forum as well.

Good luck and let us know how things work out.

IRNs also pin when they are really excited like if they are eating their fave treat.

I haven't found a good way for my parrotletto enjoy a bath or shower. He seems intent on avoiding it altogether. Dishes of water haven't attracted Yinka either, but yesterday she began to enjoy warm water from a spray bottle. She would back away, but come back for a little more and flap her wings just a little. Tonight it was so CUTE!! She called me, I responded (has me well trained) and she flapped her wings a little. She remembered and wanted another warm spray! She got the requested shower and lots of praise. Another fun thing to do with my sweetie.

JJ

bella loves showers she comes in with me every second day.... its very good bonding and she is so calm and peaceful in the shower, its so nice she flaps her wings and sticks her head up and drinks the water!

indie has a bath in a martini glas.one day i was about to have a glass of water when he landed on my shoulder and started having a bath in my drink.so now its a regular thing.

Yinka spent an hour on my shoulder today, and she was very good. She is still afraid of my hand, especially in her cage. If she is outside the cage, she finally lets me catch up with her and steps up. If I hold her in my hands, she objects and complains, but doesn't bite. Of course I've only had her for 6 weeks, and I am very happy with her progress. It will be fun to take her into the shower with me when she has more trust. Tiki is calm in the shower but not particularly interested in the water.

JJ

[/i]

All of my girls love spray bottle baths and if I dont give them one, they dont even try other options.

They love it. The open their wings and fan their tail, turn all around so they are sure they have been sprayed all over. Then after their snack, head tucked... puppie in a box whimpering in such contentment.

Mine like to be SOAKED, not just spritzed. I would mist first, then see if s/he wants more. Bet s/he will!

Spent most of the day creating a large perching/playing tree. We had saved a fruit tree (loquat) that had fallen down too many times to bother with bracing up again. Trimmed it well, braced it in a large pot, and decorated it with toys. We placed it on the lanai. Yinka LOVES it. Of course she had to have her spray bath to celebrate.

JJ

My IRN PeeGee can be mean as a snake. Sneaky, too. I've actually learned to read her body language, and I can usually tell when she is going to try to bite.

When she is crabby, she fluffs up her head feathers and lowers her head. Then she gives this evil laugh! It's like heh-heh-heh. With this bird, the laugh doesn't mean she's happy! She laughs when she's pissed off. She must have learned this laugh from a previous owner, I didn't teach her.

The funniest thing was when the vet was examining her one time, and she starts to laugh! The vet couldn't believe it. It was hysterical.

My IRN Yinka can be sneaky, too. She knows she isn't supposed to climb onto Tiki's (parrotlet who will bite her toes) cage, but she waits until our backs are turned. Sometimes it seems as if she is stalking him, but she is also anxious to see what's in his treat cup, even though it has always been identical to hers. She is really talking now!
jj[/i]

An update on the Jap quail thing, My hen incubated her eggs, they hatched but all 4 chicks died for some unknown reason.

Sorry about the quail chicks!

Since it is Christmas, we took pictures of each bird in the Christmas tree, and then shared pomegranates after they played with safe boxes and wrapping.

Merry Christmas everyone!
jj

LOL - the guy at our local parrot store told me the same thing when I was looking to get an IRN.

But it was too late.

Actually, I got into IRNs when I saw a "FREE Indian Ringneck" in the newspaper. My partner and I had decided that we had the time/money to add a bird to our lives and were looking for a parrot. I checked out the IRNs online and fell in love!
After a lot of research, we realized that the independent attitudes and personalities of IRNs would be the perfect match for us.

Since then I've seen 3 more "Free IRN" ads in the paper.
Which leads me to believe that people actually do NOT research their parrots before they get them.

And I have to agree with the parrot store guy a bit. Busey is NOT cuddly, he won't let you pet him, he's not a really people oriented bird. BUT he's tame, he steps up and does tricks, he loves us, and his independent mind makes him more interesting than a needy bird!

I respect that petshop... said that in my first post.

These aint 'Toos baby and people need to know so they arent misplaced.

But we still love ours huh!

Well I love the challenge and so does Kai. We adore each other and you can tell. I love the fact that a tenacious moody, feisty bird will settle down on me and kiss and cuddle with me. If its nature was to do so I would wonder if it really wanted to or just did because thats their personality. With Kai.. I know he chooses me !! I love that !

I have a sweet tiel, a sassy quaker ~ who is alot like a puppy, a conure who is hard to describe and my Besso the IRN:)

I can put Besso on his back, scritch his belly, kiss under his wings, shower with him and then have him "pin" in all in the same minute...they are very complex and simply unique....independant yet not.

They must all really be women reincarnated..I just figured it out!!!

I really hope my female irn gets to be as comfortable as Besso! I won Yinka at a local bird show, and she was friendly in the cage, but in getting her home I realized that she hadn't had the attention she should've had. Working hard on getting her to not fear my hands. She talks pretty well, was about 5 months old when I got her in October. I love her and her independence, love her kisses and antics. She will take treats from my fingers inside and outside the cage. Step up is not automatic, but she knows what it means! And I'm patient enough to give her time. Love the challenge.
jj

It’s the same with all birds they need regular handling and if they can do tricks which they receive treats or praise for and do them in front of you and don’t receive a treat then they will eventually stop performing that particular trick. So the pet shop owner was wrong in making such a statement just as they couldn’t guarantee you that an African grey will talk you can’t judge humanity of the actions of a small hand full of people and we should do the same with animals all alike. Every bird is individual just as me and my friend are we have 2 arms each, 2 legs each, a nose each and 2ears each etc but we have different personalities and our own good points and bad points I have more good than bad . The same can be said about birds and animals alike.

Baby freaked and attached herself on my nipple, you know, where my boobs SHOULD be, in the shower when she was a Baby and I couldnt get her off.

That ended our shower days and with less than an A cup as is, am convinced she has further stunted any growth that may have eventually came into fruition.

Its cool though, Im the only chick in Florida without big blond hair and a boob job so I still stand out in a crowd, although my breasts prefer to stay home.

Mikaela wrote:Baby freaked and attached herself on my nipple, you know, where my boobs SHOULD be, in the shower when she was a Baby and I couldnt get her off.

That ended our shower days and with less than an A cup as is, am convinced she has further stunted any growth that may have eventually came into fruition.

Its cool though, Im the only chick in Florida without big blond hair and a boob job so I still stand out in a crowd, although my breasts prefer to stay home.

LMAO!! Though I don't particularly appreciate that chick in FL comment. ^_~ Maybe Miami Beach though, HA!


Hane doesn't like showers, but doesn't minds a shower in the sink or outdoors with the hose. He doesn't like spray bottles.

Our birds are siblings and so different. Hane will accept petting where Tsume squirms the whole time. It has taken almost nine months to get to the point where they just don't bite anymore. Tsume reached that point before Hane, and sometimes Hane will still threaten on occasion- usually my fault. With an IRN you almost don't know what you're going to get. The only thing you know is the IRN will be a handful and keep you on your toes.
Oh, and you know they'll eat anything.

So there are two of us in Florida with our natural hair color and natural boobs... good. I felt so alone.