Breeding IRNs

[veronica2000]

There is a male/female pair of IRNs available at a rescue near me. I’m really interested in getting them, and was asking around if they would be easily tamed. A few people said no, but one person suggested I take them in, give them a nice home, breed them, and take one of the babies as my pet to be tame and friendly. This appeals to me because I am rescuing the birds and giving them a nice home, but also getting a pet ringneck out of this. Does this seem like the right thing to do?

I know there are many challenges of breeding and I definitely need to learn a lot before attempting it. I plan on learning from another IRN breeder about hand feeding (in person), etc. It will be 3-6 months or maybe more until I buy these birds and then probably a while to breeding season (not sure when it is but I’m guessing spring? I’m in Canada).

Also if I do go through with this, wondering what colours would come out of these birds. The male is solid grey and female picture (her head is a different colour from her body) is attached. No idea about their parents.

Here is the description on the rescue website:
Here's what we know:

These two were paired up in the place where they came from. They were from an estate we took in a bunch of birds from summer 2017. The female is a mixture between a yellow and blue indian ringneck and the grey is a solid grey.

They are wild birds who were set to be bred in their previous home. We do not know if they ever had babies in the past.

Posting this in the IRN forum as well

 

[sunnysmom]

You should check the rescue's policies. Many won't adopt out if the intent it to breed. They're trying to find birds homes.... not create more birds.

 

[MahaSarah]

Assumingly there would be more than one baby in a clutch, what would you plan on doing with the rest of the babies?

Breeding is not something that should be taken lightly as it can get very complicated at times, even more complicated when the babies are born and you have to start handfeeding.

Would you be financially and emotionally ready to handle this? Things can go wrong at the drop of a hat and you need to be there to make sure things go right. (Also count on like not really having much of a life the first few weeks the babies are out of the nest, the first week is normally handfeeding every 3-5 hours, so your schedule will need to revolve around their handfeedings)

Also, Michelle brought up a good point, most if not all the rescues have a policy about adopting out their birds to someone with the intention of breeding.

Instead of breeding them yourself, why don't you find a breeder in your area that sells handfed baby Ringnecks?

 

[Garet]

I don't think what you're doing is bad at all, but I agree that you should ask before adopting. I mean in the end, they would become your birds and the rescue can't stop you from breeding them, and birds will be birds, but it's always better to ask before deliberately breeding.

And who knows? They may wind up being your pets instead of breeder birds.

 

[Lady Jane]

Once a bird or birds have been in a rescue they truly deserve a break from breeding. Or better yet not to be breeding any more. It is hard on a birds system to say the least.

 

[veronica2000]

My other option could be to just give the pair a home and buy a baby separately. Someone suggested the breeding idea so I wanted to know what everyone else thought.

Apparently these two would probably be very hard to tame. They’re at least 3 years old but could be way older because the rescue doesn’t know. I don’t like not knowing stuff like that if I were to breed them. They’ve been at the rescue about a year so they’ve had at least that long as a break. If I bred them I think I’d leave the babies to be parent raised until 2 weeks old. But if they decided not to take care of them then that would be tough.

I think I’m leaning toward not breeding them now.

Hypothetically if you have a male and female pair (any species), and they attempt to build a nest and attempt to breed, is it more ethical to allow them (assuming you have all the time and money and resources) or is it better for their bodies and health to not let them breed?

 

[veronica2000]

Also, although I’m leaning towards not breeding them, just curious as to what colours their babies might be? Female is pictured and male is solid grey. Unknown parents. Colour genetics are confusing!

 

[Garet]

I think it all depends on the person and how they feel. With Triss, I tried to discourage nesting, but she just kept building nests and growing more and more stressed. She had her eggs regardless of what I did and ripped up everything for nesting materials.

With her prior clutch, I had given her a nest and materials when I noticed she had an egg butt and she calmly moved in and had her eggs without the huge fuss she put up this time.

I don't know about breeding, personally. I can't separate her from Steven without causing them distress, and you can't watch them 24/7.

 

[karen256]

Many times, rescues will have a "no breeding" policy. This is sometimes because birds surrendered to rescues are more likely to have behavioral issues (plucking, aggression, shyness ect.) that might have a genetic component.
There's nothing wrong with breeding untame birds that were simply never handfed or raised to be pets, as long as it's done very responsibly, of course. But if they were birds that were, at one time, tame and became wild, then that isn't really something good to breed for.
It's something IRN's are known for, too. Some babies, seemingly randomly, will become very fearful and shy. I remember reading one breeder's website where they basically said "Don't worry, we identify these shy ones and don't try to sell them as pets - we hold them back as breeders". That's very irresponsible to breed the birds with the most undesirable pet qualities.

 

[JLcribber]

My other option could be to just give the pair a home and buy a baby separately.

A third option would be to give those 2 rescues a fabulous home, focus your energy and dedication on them and turn them into the wonderful pets you want. Forget about babies. There is absolutely NO advantage to getting a baby bird over an adult bird because everything boils down to YOUR husbandry skills and the environment you provide. It's not about the bird.

 

[finchly]

That is great advice John gave you. Getting a baby bird doesn’t guarantee anything! It’s not like a dog, where people think they can get a puppy and ‘make’ it into what they want. Birds live for years and can learn at any age. And with birds, you don’t train them as much as you build a relationship with them. As they come to trust you they become “tame.”

My avatar, Ernie, was not touchable when I got him. He was 17 and cage bound. He ate only seed. Now I can do almost anything with him - and most of it I can discuss with him and he says his answer. The relationship I have with him is indescribable. Thank goodness I didn’t worry about whether he could be tamed or trained or would make a good companion.

 

[Lady Jane]

Well said @JLcribber

 

[veronica2000]

Thanks for all your advice. I am really interested in rescuing the IRN pair and if I do I will not attempt to breed them. My boyfriend is a bit more wary about it and wants a baby ringneck. I’m still open to more advice on what to do...

 

[Jas]

There are so many birds out their, the world doesn't need more. Plus as everyone has said they'll most likely be ex breeders they have already had their fill of abuse by humans, time for them to have a nice life.

Show them love, respect, trust and patience and you will get two lovely bonded, tame, happy and healthy birds.

 

[finchly]

Invite your boyfriend to read this forum!