What should I pair up!?!?! I’m so confused

[Gab455]

I am new to ringnecks : I am purchasing one pair as a hobby and trying to avoid grey, cinnamon , albino , lutino and green. I’m currently looking at a blue harlequin female no history on her parents . What would be the best male to pair her up with to avoid the colors mentioned above? Also does she look harlequin I’m having a tough time with the pics they sent .

 

[StormyPica]

I am new to ringnecks : I am purchasing one pair as a hobby and trying to avoid grey, cinnamon , albino , lutino and green. I’m currently looking at a blue harlequin female no history on her parents . What would be the best male to pair her up with to avoid the colors mentioned above? Also does she look harlequin I’m having a tough time with the pics they sent .

Simple: Don't get birds with dominant or recessive grey, cinnamon, albino, lutino, or green (GCALG) color mutations. However, are you sure your female is not a recessive GCALG?

As for being harlequin, it's really hard to tell. The first 3 pics look like they were taken with flash (so unreliable), and the last pic is a bit blurry. Here is a pic I found of a violet harlequin ringneck, so if yours is a dominant harlequin (meaning it displays the harlequin gene in it's coloring), it should look something like this:

 

[Gab455]

I’m looking to see if I buy her she’s quite a ways from me I’ve asked them to take pics several times in natural light and that’s all I’ve gotten. I am not sure what her genetics are I basically only have those pictures and the owner advising color .

 

[StormyPica]

I’m looking to see if I buy her she’s quite a ways from me I’ve asked them to take pics several times in natural light and that’s all I’ve gotten. I am not sure what her genetics are I basically only have those pictures and the owner advising color .

Honestly, it doesn't really look like a dominant harlequin. It's lacking the white "pattern", from what I can tell. Maybe it's a recessive harlequin (if that even exists), but it doesn't have that eye-catching pattern from what I can tell.

 

[Gab455]

I’m so unsure what I should get as far as a pair. I thought of creating my own and just acclimating the birds to make sure they bond . I was offered a df Violet with a lutino hen but again I would end up with green babies. Most of what I’ve found a few blues . I said no to that pair because I didn’t want to end up with greens below are some of the birds that I have available to me. The male lacewing I’ve been told is a blue lacewing but he looks grey to me .

 

[StormyPica]

The second pic looks a lot like a blue lacewing. I'm pretty sure grey IRN's are much darker.

 

[Gab455]

The adult male you think is blue ?

 

[StormyPica]

The adult male you think is blue ?

I'm only experienced with budgie mutations. However, on second thought, and with a bit more research, it looks more like a grey lacewing than a blue one.

I'd go with the violet female, and try to breed her with a blue male you like, making sure the blue male isn't recessive green. Unless you have other IRN's at your disposal that you'd like to breed.

 

[Rozalka]

making sure the blue male isn't recessive green

um... blue is never green? And there's no such thing like "recessive green"?

 

[Gab455]

I haven’t purchased either one yet. I would like a pair that won’t produce any green. Would like to breed desirable colors the owner of the blue(harlequin ) insists she’s harlequin but it’s so difficult to tell . This is Th e same female as I posted above. I would be interested in her but the pics are terrible. Then I would have to ask what I would pair her up with. There’s a solid blue female available and if I wanted several colors what should I pair her up with?

 

[StormyPica]

um... blue is never green? And there's no such thing like "recessive green"?

Sorry I'm bad with words. I meant a bird that has a parent, grandparent, or even great-grandparent who was green... still, I'm not sure if that would actually produce a green baby with a bird of similar genetics.

OP, I'm going to sign off this thread, because I don't know much about IRN mutations, and hopefully Roz will be able to help you out

 

[Gab455]

I appreciate your help!

 

[Rozalka]

Sorry I'm bad with words. I meant a bird that has a parent, grandparent, or even great-grandparent who was green... still, I'm not sure if that would actually produce a green baby with a bird of similar genetics.

It doesn't work so because green isn't a mutation - it's a wild color. Let's say such birds have no mutations.

It's kinda hard to help because I'm not sure - you mean you want to choose a male for a blue harlequin female in such way, so babies won't be grey, lutino, cinnamon, albino nor green? In this case you can choose some sort of blue (including violet, cobalt and mauve).
About parents\grandparents etc. : make sure your male isn't spilt to lutino (one of his parents was lutino or albino). Idk if you mind blue cinnamon but if you don't want such children, the same thing is with cinnamon mutation

 

[Gab455]

So far all I’m finding are blue males and females , on occasion a lacewing . Most don’t know or remember what parents and grandparents look like sadly. I’m trying to avoid purchasing and producing the colors I listed lutino, albino, cinnamon, green & grey . I guess I’m trying to figure out what colors are safe to avoid those colors on the kids

 

[Rozalka]

lacewing would have to be blue, in other case there's a risk of getting a green one.... unless you choose two lacewings.

 

[Terry57]

I don't breed so have no recommendations about that, but I would just like to mention that green IRNs are desirable to a lot of people, myself included. I think the other colours are beautiful, but I personally prefer the natural colour.
If you would end up with a green baby, I guarantee someone will want it as a lot of people feel like I do.

 

[Gab455]

Although I would agree in most cases the breeders in my area have not had luck finding a great deal of buyers for the greens. I’m only going to have one pair so I would like something I know ppl will look for.

 

[Terry57]

Although I would agree in most cases the breeders in my area have not had luck finding a great deal of buyers for the greens. I’m only going to have one pair so I would like something I know ppl will look for.

Have you bred birds before? If not, this is a good thread to read through on what to be prepared for:

Before I start to breed...

 

[Gab455]

Years ago I had amazons I allowed them to breed once they belonged to my sister so when she moved they went with her. I own two cockatoos have not bred them and probably will never breed them. I will read through it I’ve gotten advice from a few breeders as well however none breed ringnecks

 

[ravvlet]

Hmm, if there are enough ringneck breeders local to you that they can’t find homes for the green ones (and you’ve clearly a dearth of colors to choose from based on what you’re saying), AND “market saturation” of a color is a concern for you, I would be a bit worried about breeding at all. Producing healthy birds is expensive and time consuming if you’re doing it correctly.

I would personally identify which birds would work for my breeding program based on their colors, and then take the time to visit them and see how they handle in person. If I recall correctly IRN can be very wild/independent & most folks buying baby birds want birds who have been handled so your life would be much easier with parent birds who don’t loathe your existence. Also, it might be a long drive to meet the harlequin but she’s a significant investment in the start of your breeding program!

It’s best not to cut corners with parrots.