Welcoming a new IRN

[a_osborne]

Hello! This Saturday, my husband and I will be welcoming our first Indian Ringneck (a beautiful lutino) into our home! We already have a green cheek conure named Eva and have years of bird experience but this will be my first bird bigger than a conure. I've done TONS of research and am quite prepared but I wonder if any of you IRN owners have any personal tips or things you think I might not have found in my research? His/her cage is 24x24x39.5 and we can trade it out for a bigger one if that turns out to not be big enough. I also need name ideas! We aren't sure yet if we are going to get it DNA sexed so I've been trying to come up with some unisex names in case we decide not to. Can't wait to hear what you all have to say!

 

[thekarens]

I can't help with your questions, but I wanted to say congrats! The lutinos are my favorite!

 

[a_osborne]

Thank you! I will have to post some pics once we get him/her. I love the brilliant yellow.

 

[Katyo91]

IRNs are so much fun! congrats i also love the lutinos! I have a 2.5 ish year old Blue IRN named Beaker....so curious about everything! They really are quite the characters. Well, if you decide not to get the DNA test now, you'll figure out eventually in a couple years whether its a boy or girl if a ring appears its a boy if not, its a girl! so no need to spend the extra money on DNA test unless you are dyinggg to know now what the gender is (but 2 years can be a long time to wait!) some people are pretty good at identifying male/female by head shape apparently... but not me! Congrats on your new kiddo!

 

[RavensGryf]

I think Lutino IRNs are one of the most striking mutations! I love yellow birds in general also.
My Poi's are fine in 24x24, but I think IRNs might be a little more active maybe? Try it out first. Welcome to the forum! I can't wait to see pics.

 

[Dinosrawr]

Congrats! You're going to love having a ringneck My IRN Shiko is a very, very active boy in his cage, which is 36x24x64. He's all over every part of it, from top to bottom constantly. If I were you, I would definitely invest in a cage as large as your budget can afford with these guys, simply because they're active and because they have such long tail feathers that can often get in the way. I also find that wider cages are always better than taller cages. Shiko will climb to the bottom of his cage and then fly to the other side when he so feels like it!

I also have a conure, and I researched for a very, very long time on ringnecks, but nothing quite prepares you for when they actually come home. They're often very hands-off birds, so don't be surprised if you can't cuddle them the way you do your conure. I find Shiko learns things incredibly fast and well - he knows flight recall, will go to different perches in the room that I point to, and will fly down to me from high places. He knows how to spin around and wave. I've only had him for a month, haha! He's so smart.

So, unlike Avery my GCC, when he's out with me he HAS to be entertained for the most part. Sometimes he'll just sit there and enjoy being out, but 99% of the time I need to have lots of foot toys, popsicle sticks, and chewable toys for him. I tried to watch a movie once with him out and I missed the entire movie because of trying to keep him entertained . If that was Avery, she'd sit on my shoulder and just enjoy being with me and out, with a few chirps here and there and would gladly cuddle into me. I think I have over 10 foot toys now just for Shiko to enjoy, and I'm always buying popsicle sticks for him to destroy and chew. I find with him he needs lots of foraging toys and wooden toys to destroy.

Also, my ringneck doesn't "hate" being touched, in secret he's quite the cuddle bug (he'll fall asleep in the shower against me all happily after enjoying getting soaked), but once he realizes that you're touching him with fingers he gets upset. I can rub my face all over him and he's fine, but he seems to thing fingers will eat him or something, haha! So don't be offended. He always likes to be near me and with me at all times... he's surprisingly velcro for a ringneck. If he's playing or just simply out of his cage, he scurries to try and get on my lap... it's so cute

Congratulations once again! I look forward to the photos

 

[a_osborne]

thanks, everyone! Katyo91, I know the males will get the ring after 1.5 or 2 years but like you said, it's a long time to wait! Not sure if I can possibly stand it haha. Especially because all of my girl only or boy only name ideas are cuter than unisex. RavensGryf, they are striking, aren't they?! I originally wanted to wait for the upcoming sale at my bird store to save on a big cage but things didn't go quite as planned and it turned out I would be taking home the IRN a little sooner. So I bought that cage on amazon for now and I plan on selling it and getting a better one asap. Dinosrawr, Shiko and Avery sound adorable! My Eva hasn't always been a cuddle bug but she has come around a lot in this past year. So luckily I got a little experience with the non-cuddly and cuddly aspects. I'm REALLY hoping that Eva and the IRN will get along. Do yours interact at all?

 

[a_osborne]

Oh and Dinosrawr, Eva used to be the same way about fingers! I could stroke her with my whole hand but if I tried to just scratch with 1 or 2 fingers, she freaked. She actually just got over that recently and I've had her for close to 4 years!

 

[Blancaej]

Can't wait to meet your IRN. I've been considering one myself. Congrats!

 

[Katyo91]

I totally agree with everything dinosrawr has said!my beaker is the same way! Loves being around me but not touched by fingers only kisses! Very independent and oh soo smart! He's very into chewing Popsicle sticks and toys and interactive games whereas my sun conure just wants to sit with me and

 

[a_osborne]

Blancaej, I will try to post pics very soon! Katyo91, thanks for the input. Nice to know that seems to be a common thing for ringnecks. Now I won't worry if that's the case for us. Another thing I just thought of, what can you and Dinosrawr tell me about the noise level? I tried looking up youtube videos and reading lots online to find out and it seems to be a bit all over the place but if I had to judge only by the videos, they seem fairly quiet. No louder than Eva at least.

 

[Katyo91]

My guy is very quiet. His sounds are pretty cute and laser sounding almost I guess is the way to describe it. He is loudest at night when he gives us the "alarm call" as I call it bc that is when he is grumpy and ready for bed lol but it is 2 very short calls although they are loud ones. I have a sun conure who is very loud in comparison and squeaks whenever he gets the chance! But I live in an apartment and have never gotten complaints from my neighbors. I was going to try to record my guys noises for you ... If I figure out how to post it I will!

 

[a_osborne]

Oh, thank you! No worries if you can't figure out how to post but I'd appreciate it if possible! It seems to me like none of the sounds are intrusive and the chattering is very adorable. I really hope mine will learn to talk and give kisses too

 

[Katyo91]

Beaker doesn't talk yet but I still have hope that he will! I hope your little one will as well bc their voices are soo adorable!

 

[Dinosrawr]

Dinosrawr, Shiko and Avery sound adorable! My Eva hasn't always been a cuddle bug but she has come around a lot in this past year. So luckily I got a little experience with the non-cuddly and cuddly aspects. I'm REALLY hoping that Eva and the IRN will get along. Do yours interact at all?

It really just depends on the bird! Shiko doesn't like Avery, but Avery likes Shiko... it's unfortunate But I figured as much when my breeder informed me that he liked to bully his siblings for her attention. He will do the exact same thing with Avery! If she has a foot toy, he NEEDS that one - just like a little toddler . If she's on my shoulder, he HAS to try and take that spot, but he's not allowed because he's a horrendous shoulder bird... has to chew on ears and glasses to no end :11:!

The first time they got to interact (mind you I've had Shiko blood paneled and was not able to do a proper quarantine simply because of where we live - no matter what they were in the same air space and contamination was inevitable) was about a week after he came home. He flew to Avery's cage, the little turd, and I knew right away things wouldn't be so hot between them. Avery had stars in her eyes and Shiko had daggers... and I kid you not the first time they were out of the cage near each other he literally nipped her in the butt! To this day she still doesn't hate him, though. She'll move away if he gets too close, but she's perfectly fine being near him. Shiko is the opposite, if he has the opportunity to strike he will. He never does real damage, nor do I think he's trying to physically hurt her. It seems to be more of a, "this is my turf and you aren't allowed near until I say so!".

So I would ask the breeder (if that's where you getting the bird from) how he/she has interacted with their siblings. That'll be a pretty good indicator of what to expect. His siblings were sweethearts... loved being with other birds and have transitioned smoothly into their new flocks. Shiko, being the youngest, was the most spoiled (he was the breeders favourite of course, haha!) and the most domineering.

As for noise... I don't really notice him as much. But he's more... shrill, I would say, opposed to a conure. I find Avery will easily annoy me with her sounds, but I can easily tolerate Shiko. He kind of sounds like a car alarm. If you google "Indian Ringneck Sounds", you can probably stumble across an MP3 that will give you an idea of what they sound like. Put it pretty loud so you can get an estimation of what they'll sound like and how loud it could be. But, generally, I would say he's very quiet. My birds feed off each other noise wise and if one is going off the other has to go off too, but Shiko's calls are much less frequent (if ever), and he generally just talks. They sound SO cute! So I don't think you'll have a problem with noise

 

[a_osborne]

Thank you all so much! I really appreciate the thorough explanation, Dinosrawr. Can't wait to meet our new baby!

 

[thebirdnerd]

Best of luck on the new addition! I just welcomed my second ringneck a few weeks ago and he is a bundle of energy. Ring necks are great birds with huge personalities, as you will find out soon. We would love to see some pics!

 

[a_osborne]

@thebirdnerd, thanks! Currently I'm trying to assemble the cage that came with no instructions!

 

[FluffyYellowBird]

Congratulations

 

[a_osborne]

@FluffyYellowBird - thank you!