Estimate age of IRN

[RogueRose]

Soooo after having Ube for a couple weeks now I am thinking I was likely lied to about age. I am not mad or surprised, the place Ube came from is known to be very sketchy and has been raided by the DEC on more than one occasion. Ube is my 3rd IRN.​

At this time, I do not know what gender Ube is, but I am leaning towards male. I did order a DNA test. I will refer to him as a he for now. He does display male behaviors (singing, flirtatious in the male way (not quite heart-wings yet but definitely has the neck movement and eye dilation down), shadow ring).

I do go to the place he came from regularly for supplies and was there in mid July. Ube was in a tank. It was about a 15-20gal tank size (I am being generous, I really think it is 10gal but I cannot conceive of keeping 4 birds in a 10gal so I am going to (hope) it was bigger) with 4 birds in it. There was a branch in there but not really any perches which is why his tail is messed up as he was dragging it on the ground most of the time. Ube was fighting over a peanut shell with his siblings and there was no other food in the tank. I felt terrible for them and so I took them home. As a result of not ideal living conditions and probably not the best diet, his feathers are not in the greatest shape.

Anyways, when I asked about hatch date, they told me sometime in mid to late June. But I realize now that is a lie because I was there in early July and I saw Ube there and he was fully feathered and looked exactly like he looks now. If Ube WERE born in "mid to late June" then he would have been way less feathered when I saw him in July. His eyes also are orange and have a white around it as well. Additionally it looks like this bird has a decent shadow ring. Earl Grey, my 2nd IRN was born in March and has no hint of a ring at all (he is DNA sexed as male). Blueberry, my first IRN, developed his ring around (I assume) 1.5/2yrs - but Blueberry was also a rescue so I don't know for sure how old he is - he DOES have 2022 on his band though so I assume he was born in early 2022).

My guestimate is that Ube is likely in that 1-1.5yr range as well. So maybe a 2024 born bird? I feel like if he were born this year he wouldn't have such a prominent shadow ring.

Ube does seem to follow around and "look up to" my plum head. I am guessing because of how Ube grew up until this point (underprivileged, I am being nice here and not saying what I think, lol) and so he is looking at other birds for guidance. He is not really good at getting around the cage and my bird room (lots of climbing things outside the cage) - probably because he was in a tank for (likely) all of his life and he's just learning how to use his beak and feet. At first I thought it was because he was a baby, but now I realize it is likely because of how he was kept.

Anyways, curious as to what others think in regards to age. Thanks in advance!

Also I cannot wait to find out gender. Ube isn't as chatty as my (DNA sexed male) Plum head, but still quite chatty. They are head bobbing and pinning, but no heartwings that I've noticed. I feel like their beak is larger rather than smaller but not as brightly colored (but also could be conditions he was kept in before). I can't wait for him/her to go through some molts and on spoiled rotten diet and start to look better.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

He's a beautiful bird! And he seems pretty tame, too, which makes me think he's pretty young (less than a year old) because adult ringnecks are much more difficult to tame. His eyes still look young in the early stage of transitioning to adult eyes. His beak is darkening at the tip as they do as they mature. What color mutation is he? He appears to have a few green feathers mixed in with the blue, especially on his head. Not sure what that means. I thought blue mutation birds couldn't produce yellow pigment at all and the yellow pigment makes the feathers in normal birds green.

It would be nice if breeders were more honest about the age of their birds but they lie because "everyone" wants baby birds and they're easier to sell. Regardless, it looks like you have a gorgeous, healthy, I hope, very sweet bird and that's all that really matters, right?

 

[RogueRose]

Thanks! Yeah he isn't too bad. He steps up decently and sort of gives kisses and lets me pet his head. He did let me do some scritches and puffed a teesny bit in pleasure so I am hoping to continue the positive interactions. He is less inclined to step up and gets nervous when he is on the playtop or jungle gym, but I know they tend to get a bit cage defensive and such so we will continue to work on the hamster falling off the wheel when we try to do 'step up' from the cage. I do not reach into the cage for any of my birds ever (I like them to feel like that is THEIR space).

He does have some green mixed in. I think he's a turquoise violet. It will be interesting to see how he changes in his molts as he matures.

It definitely would be nice for them to be honest, but knowing the history of this place he came from, I am not surprised. Nor am I mad. I just wanted to get him out of that bad situation. He was skinny when I first got him but in the 3 weeks he's been here and having regular meals (I do a mix of roudybush and harrisons as main diet) and they get fresh chop daily as well. It's been fun seeing him try new foods and getting excited about eating and come out of his shell.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Are you keeping him with other birds or does he have his own cage?

 

[RogueRose]

Are you keeping him with other birds or does he have his own cage?

All my birds have their own cages except for a mated pair of cockatiels.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

That's good. He will be more receptitive to taming and training if he doesn't get too bonded to other birds.

 

[RogueRose]

That's good. He will be more receptitive to taming and training if he doesn't get too bonded to other birds.

Yeah - when they're out they are together. He is in a room with my (male) plum head. But the plum head is smaller so he mostly just gets out of his way. But they actually get along quite nicely. They coexist nicely but don't seek each other out in any way.