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Indian Ringneck Care Questions

BluFeather

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Hi! I recently got into birds, and though it’ll be a good 5-10 years before I get one, I want to start learning now! I have quite a few questions on Indian ring necks (they seem awesome), so please bear with me :) thank you!

  1. What are some good sources to research them (and other birds) when it comes to care guides/videos?
  2. What is the basics of an Indian ringnecks diet (how much of what, suggested brands, etc.)?
  3. Would an Indian ringneck be a good bird for a new bird owner?
  4. Can anyone suggest some good cages on Amazon? What should their cage look like (images would be awesome)?
  5. So they tend to be super loud overall (like, when I’m not actively interacting with them, will they be screeching all the time?)?
  6. Can anyone who has/has had Indian ringnecks tell me about their experience? What level of cuddling/hands on interaction (such as chin scratches) were they comfortable with?
  7. What’s the difference (big ones) between Indian ringnecks, budgies, Quaker parrots, bourse p
  8. Any other birds to research?

  9. thank you! :)
 

Shezbug

ASK ME FOR PICTURES OF MY MACAW!
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Hey, welcome to the Avenue :hiya:

I can't really answer all your questions but I will do my best to give you somewhere to start :)


The good, the bad, and the ugly about Indian Ringnecks. These good, bad and ugly threads are all in green at the top of each species forum section- you can read this stuff about budgies, ringnecks, lovebirds, macaws etc. and they may give you some insight into different species.

Avian Avenue is the best place I have yet found to research anything and everything bird.

If you are not yet familiar with companion birds in general then I really suggest you keep your mind open to what species you would like- most of what you will see on youtube/social media is not really what being/living with a bird is like all the time, most people only really show the good fun loving stuff- there is plenty of not fun loving stuff that goes on too. Destruction, noise, mess, sensitivities, weird, odd or unexplained behaviours, illnesses, problems accessing vets- oh boy this list goes on and on and is most likely much longer than the fun lists ;)

Meeting as many birds as you can is the best thing to do and may help you find a bird you fell you understand better or prefer the general behaviours of.

Your cage will need to be right for your chosen species- a macaw cage is an awesome size of cage for a cockatiel but unfortunately the bar spacing is way too wide so it is not safe- cages are not really something you go get before knowing what species of bird it is for or you will end up with a dangerous or unusable cage. When you choose what bird you'll eventually bring home then ask this question again ;)

The kind of bird that is suited to a new owner is the kind of bird the new owner really dreams of having and wholeheartedly wants- if that happens to be a macaw or an emu then you need to be prepared for all that comes with a macaw or an emu, so, knowing your limits, strengths and weaknesses is probably more important as a new owner than the type of bird you choose.

All birds can and will be loud from time to time, not all choose to be, some choose to make some racket each day to remind us they are still wild at heart, some rarely shut up and some will sit quiet a lot of the time- there is no predicting what your bird will be like noise wise, they really are all individuals, just bank on it being ear splitting crazy loud and you won't feel put out or annoyed if you happen to end up with a constant screamer.

From my understanding and from the few people I do know of with IRN's they are not as much a hands on bird as many of the other species.... we really should not be hands on a tonne of the time anyhow regardless of species- birds are best off when touch is limited to head and feet only- cuddling is not really something that is good for the bird even if it is a rarer one that seems to love it.
 

Sparkles!

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Shezbug covered a lot of ground. Good info in her post. I’ll add:

Ringnecks really can scream, and they seem to have a very polarizing pitch. Some humans readily tune out the sharp scream they have; others absolutely find themselves nuts with the sharp trills of ringnecks/asiatics . Make sure you familiarize yourself with this birds’ calls *before* you buy. Rings are certainly not the only species known to reverberate off the walls- but it’s a distinct call. I myself can handle *hours* of macaw yelling, Amazon caterwauling and hooting, too shrieking, conure bellowing, and the like…but Ring cries? I’m breaking out the ear plugs and noise cancelling head phones or I’ve got a migraine coming for sure.
IRNs can be trained and habituated to hands. Many keepers do have meaningful relationships with them taking treats from fingers and learning human speaking, but I do not know of a single IRN that actively seeks out pets or cuddles from their humans. They have a well earned reputation for being independent thinkers who prefer hands off keepers.

As far as the other species mentioned, they’re pretty different from IRNs. IRNs are the only asiatic species on that list. Budgies and Bourkes are Australian, a granivore and a grass keet respectively. Of the two, Budgies have the better “pet” personality. Bourkes stress a bit more than Budgies if not aviary kept, in my opinion. Both can be nice pets. Quakers/Monk parakeets are from South America and a whole different ball of wax. Quakers are the only one on that list besides IRNs that are going to have the propensity towards a large vocabulary of human words/phrases. And if you’re in the US, many states do not allow the ownership of monk parakeets due to their invasive species status.
 

Phocyn

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I have a very mixed flock. Owning my first and likely only IRN has been an experience. But I came from a flock of lovebirds, cockatiels, and parakeets as well as a few others. Pitch level it’s very sharp. Like opera glass breaking if they’re upset. I find that if I keep my bird engaged, happy, loose most of the time I’m home he’s easy to keep quieter. Now if he’s just a bit disturbed an example being he sees a coyote or a hawk he’ll pitch a fit. These are NOT apartment birds.

Jade is a very lovely fellow but I’d encourage any new bird owner who wants one of these guys to get a female peach face first and get some experience on the male IRN personality first. Jade is very nippy for the sake of love, but again birds bite. They can also pluck which is what I’m dealing with if under the wrong side of stress.

If you can find a rescue that you can volunteer with that’d be a good place to start. Also locate an avian vet because they do need to be checked at least once in a while.


I’ve fed a variety of foods but found Harrison’s to be best for my birds to date. They do like fresh foods and their are lists on their diets and what’s bad for them as well.

Research the ton out of unsafe and safe household products. I got thrown for a loop at the discovery.

ill post more if I think of anything later.
 

Phocyn

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I just remembered. A bird can reject its owner for another party. Not that it won’t accept you, but they can be picky about people.
 
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