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Cages and Fighting INR'S

KASHISH

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2/24/21
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Hello,
I am new here so I am not sure if this is the forum I should be asking this question in. My sister's boyfriend had gotten 2 INR'S from his friend who didn't want them anymore after recently buying them as babies (I think). After a couple of weeks my sisters boyfriend decided that he didn't want the parrots either as he wanted an African Grey parrot as a pet.
I have had a INR's before who unfortunately flew away due to a careless mistake by my sister. After losing my dog to cancer last year I was looking into buying an African Grey for myself and we had decided that I was going to take the African Grey that my sisters Boyfriend was going to buy. In the end, he ended up buying the Grey for himself and wanted to re-home the INR's with someone he knew.
I ended up taking them as I didn't want them to be re-homed to a stranger.

I received them in a cage sized 48X35X32cm (19X14X13 inches) and this was the cage for both of them. The cage I had earlier for my IRN was much bigger and spacious but after tragically losing him I didn't want to get a parrot. This was back in 2017.
I no longer have the finances (due to COVID affecting business) to buy a cage that big since now it costs upwards of 600 dhs (nearly 200 dollars) in DUBAI. I am wondering if a cage that sized would be enough. I am getting another same sized cage from a friend who doesn't want theirs anymore as my INR's keep fighting with each other violently.

I give them plenty of food (a good mix of vegetables like beans, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, chillis, green peppers and fruits like apple and banana) and they have loads of enrichment in the cage (a swing, a staircase, paper to chew up, rope to nibble on, cardboard rolls to play with and a ball). I also let them out nearly all day the only time they are in their cages are for lunch and dinner time. After dinner they go directly off to sleep (I cover them with a cloth).

They however fight all the time, regardless of whether they are in or outside the cage (they do fight significantly more in the cages). I heard giving them separate food bowls would be better so I do that. I even feed one outside and one inside the cage. But they still bite and fight with each other through the bar's of the cage.

I do not know what gender they are as I only got them a month ago. I haven't taken them to the vet yet. I want them to get along but it is really frustrating when all they do is keep biting each other. Their fights have just gotten more and more violent and not even me standing close to the cage scares them anymore as they have gotten really friendly with me. They willing jump to my shoulder, eat food from my hands and fly over to sit on me and eat/comb? my hair.

I was wondering if anyone has any solution. Currently I am hoping that the new cage that I will get tonight will be enough to stop them fighting as they will be in separate cages. If not I might have to re-home them as I do not have the mental stamina to keep them from each other.

Also any tips on house training birds so they don't poop on my bed will be much appreciated.

PS I have attached a picture of their cage currently in which they only go in during the night.
 

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Sparkles99

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Welcome! I have budgies, but here is my advice. Separate cages, even small ones, would help. Please take the second cage your friend is offering ASAP! Separate food dishes are a good idea; this helped my first two budgies. I'd block access to your bed, as birds can't be toilet trained. Then I'd not let them out together. This will hopefully prevent access to each other & thus prevent fighting. If all else fails, consider separating them & rehoming one.
 

tka

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That cage is barely big enough for a single budgie, let alone two IRNs. By the time you've added enrichment, food bowls and so on, the birds don't have space to move. Imagine if you were constantly sharing a small room that you barely had room to move in with someone else. They would be constantly in your face and you would end up annoying each other and fighting.


The average IRN's wingspan is 19", meaning that one can barely spread its wings lengthways without hitting the bars of the cage you have. They are active birds with long tails, and really benefit from more space. The absolute minimum cage size for one IRN is 32x21" (approx 80x54cm) and for two, I would go much larger to make sure that they have enough space. I think something like 40x30"/100x80cm would be the smallest I would be comfortable with for a pair.

Take the spare cage, but I would try to get hold of much bigger cages as soon as possible. These cages should only be considered a very temporary arrangement.

Put a sheet or blanket on your bed. They will poop on it regardless and a sheet is easier to wash.
 
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KASHISH

Moving in
Joined
2/24/21
Messages
9
Hello everyone!
After listening to all of you I decided to use a quarter of my savings since it is really important for them to have a good cage!
I wanted to update you all on the new cage I got.
I know I need to add more perches and enrichment. But I just got the cage two hours ago and it’s night time here so I’ll go and get some toys and add the perches from the old cage in here.
Thank you everyone for your help❤
 

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