Hello, I'm new here

[Darlene]

Hello, I am happy to find a forum just for IRNs. I am in Washinton state USA in the Pacific Northwest. I have a handfed turquise Indian Ringneck who is 10 monthes old now. His or her name is Luna. I have noticed anouther member on the forum has a IRN with the same name. There is an Orca whale and Siberian Tigar with the name Luna also. It is a pretty name and the best one I could choose for my Turquise IRN. I am a first time parrot owner and I like to gather all the knowledge I can on feeding, care and training that I can. I just hope I haven't been makeing any seriouse mistakes. I have had My Luna since he or she was just weaned and eating solid food. I have questions and some issues that I will be happy to talk about with other IRN owners....My first question now is: If my Luna isn't showing definate signs of ringing at 10 monthes old, is this a sign that I have a female? or is it still too early to know for sure? [/img] And My Luna has started talking.

[Mikaela]

Welcome Darlene!

You have come to the right place. We are a very good group of people, no bad. So, feel very comfortable in asking ANYTHING, no matter how silly is may seem.

We dont judge here, we educate and tolerate lol.

We dont argue over whats best, we accept everyone as they are, as long as the bird is being properly cared for.

You are going to love it here. You already sound like one of us by just how you talk about your baby.

Save us to your favorites. I would have NEVER made it through without this board. I would have thought I just had a mean bird and I would have missed out on what is now my best friend.

Yep, thats right, my best friend is a bird and Im not ashamed of it lol.

[kyria]

Welcome to our family Darlene and Luna,

Ask away. nothing is too much to ask or share.

10 months old is way too early to know anything yet. I thought Kai would ring in at 15 months just after he had a full on complete molt, but he didn't and I am told I have another 9 months to wait. They usually ring in at 2 years.

I do however know that kai is a boy because of the mating dance he has just begun doing, its very male and easy to notice. Arched head, tapping his perch, strutting and wobbling his head from side to side making a clucking type of call.

I hope this answers your question.


Cheers !

[Darlene]

thanks for your reply and I will refer to My Luna as (he) sometimes until I am sure what gender. I can have a DNA test done at the avian vet. But it is stressful on Luna to take him to the vet and have a strange person in a strange place doing strange things to him. So I am just waiting for more definate signs on gender. I didn't know it can take up to 2 years for the male to ring. But if they live 30 years, then he is still only a baby.... My other question is wheather or not to offer Bird Grit as part of the diet. The bird grit that has charcoal and oyster shells in it. I have heard pros and cons on giveing them grit. But in the wild, don't they eat grit or sand as needed to aid in digestion? It just seems logical to me that it is part of there natural diet and I think they only eat it as they need it. Is this right? And the oyster shells gives them calcium and the charcoal probably keeps the food in the crop from souring. and aids in digesting the food. I was interested to have other comments on this subject. Thank y ou for any thoughts and advise on this

[Mazziemom]

Nope, no grit please.

Cuttle bone is good for the calcium... Grit however can (and does) cause crop impactions. Not pretty, can be very serious... and to be honest most birds just don't like the grit anywho.

Athena

[kyria]

I have heard exactly what Athena said.

The other point is that they do not eat whole seed like a chicken does, they peel the husks, therefore they do not need the sharp stone and grit to help with processing it in the crop. Many people, for some reason, seem to treat parrots like chickens. Even with the wing clipping (they cut straight across all the feathers including the covets and only do one wing instead of two and mess up the birds balance balance ). Parrots are not chickens.

Another good thing for calcium I have heard is scrambled egg with the shell crushed into it.

[Darlene]

Ok, Thanks for the advice on the grit. I have given Luna some grit but not all the time. OH NO ! I hope I didn't do harm to our baby. If I have given him grit, how can I make sure it isn't just sitting in his crop? He seems to be normal. He eats and goes to the bathroom normal. Will he be able to get rid of the grit on his own? And Yes, I thought all birds have about the same digestive systems. But I'm not calling Parrots chickens LOL! I have seen grit in bird cages at pet stores. And the grit is sold in the bird food section at the pet stores. This is why I thought it is part of the diet. And that they would only eat what they need. But if it gets impacted and really doesn't help the digestive process, I don't want to even take that chance. But now I am just worried that he has grit in his crop that he isn't getting rid of.

[Mazziemom]

He'd be showing signs, a puffy crop, unusual poops as things didnt pass right (or at all)... you'd know.

I don't know why the stores still sell it like they do to be honest.

Athena

[kyria]

I'm sorry, the way I worded that was not right was it. I hope you didn't think I meant you were treating your fid like a chicken. I meant there are some breeders and owners out there that do and thats why there is mis-information around.

Thats why I am so glad you found our wonderful home

[Darlene]

No affense taken I was not affended by your wording. I am here to learn from all of you. I want to avoid mistakes that could make my baby sick. I just want to be sure he is happy and healthy. All of our friends say, When they die, they want to come back as one of my pets LOL! My husband & I are retired grandparents. We have raised kids and had toys all over the liveing room. Now we have Luna and toys all over the liveing room again. And whoever said Parrots are like haveing a 2-5 year old is RIGHT!