A bunch of questions

[Lux]

Hi everybody, my boyfriend and me decided to get a IRN and now I'm preparing for it, so naturally I have a bunch of questions! We will be buying our birdie (I would rescue one from a center if possible, but there are none that I know of where I live) sometime in September and I want to prepare and get informed as much as I can. So here are the few questions:

-I'm getting a hand weaned bird, and I'm wondering, how old does it have to be for me to take it home?
-Does it need some time to be left alone so it can get used to new environment, or should I interact with the bird as much as I can right away?
-How long until I can start teaching the bird tricks, would you recommend a clicker?
-Should me and my boyfriend work the same amount of time with the bird, or should we let it get used to just one of us?

So there, a few questions xD I'm sure I'll think of some more in time!

 

[waterfaller1]

Good morning Petra and welcome to Avian Avenue! IRN's wean at approximately 10-12 weeks, give or take. Most birds have a settling in period, but talking softly and getting your baby used to both of you, and your routine right away is fine. If the bird was a rehomed adult, it might take longer for the bird to settle. A new baby has brain processes and learning periods that only come around once. Some people like the clicker training, it never worked for me. We have a whole section on clicker training, so perhaps read through it and see if it is something you might like to try.
I am not a fan of forcing a bird to do too much it doesn't do naturally. Rather, turning something he does do naturally into a trick is cool. Just my opinion.
Bonding with both people in the household is good, I would recommend it, otherwise the bird may only like one of you. I am sure more members with IRN's can elaborate on the likelihood of them bonding with more than one person. Some birds just don't.
I hope in the coming weeks you can share some photos of your new baby. Do you know what color he/she will be?
Congrats on your new baby!

 

[Lux]

Thanks for the welcome!

I checked out the clicker training forum and read through some of the threads, I might try it out but I have yet to decide.
I don't want my bird to be a clown with 100 tricks under its sleeve, but I just want to work on some things with the bird so it doesn't get bored. Mostly I just want to see how I'll handle training the bird, because in 5-10 years I'll definitely be buying another, bigger one so I just want to make sure I can handle it.
I used to have a cocatiel, and he took a week to settle in, he was a real scaredy-cat, but I was persistent and after a week or two he was a real cuddly bird, he would let me pick him up and whatnot. I never taught him any tricks, he was a simple bird and amused himself by throwing stuff off our fridge and watching us pick it all back up

I'm definitely gonna share pictures as soon as the baby gets home But like I said, not before mid-late September, we're just too busy traveling around this summer, but I can't wait!

As for sex / color, I'd love to get a boy, something about those rings that's so adorable, but I'm not sure where I can take the bird for a blood test, at least not where I live, and I don't think the breeders do it either. And we're looking for a blue one, definitely our favorite color.

 

[waterfaller1]

Sounds like a good sound plan. Sometimes the best bird is the one who picks you. I wonder if our labs here would accept feathers and give you a result on the sex of the bird? Might be worth looking into.
Avian Biotech
Avian Services Center: DNA sexing and disease testing for all species of birds.

 

[cassiesdad]

Welcome to the Avenue,Petra! Also congrats on wanting an IRN, they are great birds. We brought home our IRN, Titan, after he was weaned (and hand fed) at about 12 weeks. He did want comfort feedings for a couple of weeks after that. Every bird will be different, of course.
When you get your new charge home, you need to take it slow and steady. Waterfaller is spot on with what she said. You want you and your boyfriend to work with your bird,as sometimes little ones can get clingy to one person quickly.We never used clicker training with Titan, but IRNs are very smart,so I think they would do well with it.
As they are so smart, be prepared to have your bird test you, just to see how much they can get away with! We have been owned by Titan for 21 years, and every day is a joy with him. The best of luck in finding "the one"...