The Good:
So I’ve had my male IRN Tico for about 2 1/2 years now, I got him when he was just 3 or 4 months old and he was my first large purchase, definitely one of my best decisions. I’ve always been really into animals and have always kept birds and got into reptiles about a year ago as well. Ringnecks had been a dream bird for me for awhile before I got him so I was so excited when he showed up at my local pet store, I went back and bought him a week after seeing him.
Anyway, you notice right off the bat how intelligent and food driven they are, which makes them easy to train and bond with. They definitely have personalities of their own and favorite foods (Tico LOVES apples peanuts dried peppers from his seed mix and especially stealing my breakfast cereal) It didn’t take long for him to start talking too, probably a little over a year after I got him he started saying his name “Tico Tico” which was soon followed by many more words and phrases which now include “Tico Baby” “Tico Good Boy” “Pretty Birdy” “You’re so Cute” “What Are you doing?” “Come Here Tico” and he can dog whistle, he does the catcall whistle, and knows the whistle part at the end of the Spongebob theme song. He also will kiss me and my other birds making an a adorable kissing sound. They learn very fast and even pick up on words you don’t intentionally try to teach them. The clarity of his speech is really something too, as it sounds almost human sometimes.
He’s very cuddly when he’s in the mood for affection and likes to be pet and get head scratches. He LOVES taking showers in the sink and if the water is warm enough he’ll literally sit under it for as long as I leave it on. When he was a baby he would even let me clip his nails without needing to hold him or wrap him in a towel he’d just give me his foot willingly (that changed as he got older) He has very beautiful feathers and the most adorable blue eyes that dilate like crazy when he’s excited or happy.
The Bad:
While Tico has been overall a joy to have in my life and I wouldn’t trade him for the world, he is by no means all roses and sunshine. If you’re looking to get any bird larger or smarter than a cockatiel you should know what you’re getting into. In many ways parrots can be like small children, they are VERY messy, can be extremely loud and annoying, go through tantrums and mood swings, and they need a whole lot of attention.
Up until about 1.5 years old Tico was the sweetest little Angel and I really had no problems with him whatsoever aside from the maintenance of cleaning up after his constant pooping and chewing things up (and yes they chew and destroy everything) The hormonal/bluffing stage for Indian ringnecks especially males, is very real.
Tico became very territorial over his food and his cage, striking at me and lowering his head puffing up feathers dilating pupils whenever I refilled his seed dishes, screaming very loudly nonstop for attention (and I mean nonstop), he has bitten me a few times but only ever drawn blood once, he stopped letting me clip his nails and needed to be held in a towel (which is pretty normal I’m surprised he ever let me clip them at all.)
Once his wings fully grew in (the pet store clipped them when I first got him) he would still fly to me at first, but as he became more hormonal and independent he realized that if he didn’t want to go back in his cage (even after several hours of free flying around the house) he could just fly away from me. Eventually it got to the point where he wouldn’t even perch for me anymore and it was like years of bonding and training had just gone out the window, everytime he was outside of his cage he would fly away as soon as I got near him bc he thought I’d put him back. I would have to chase him for a very long time before I’d catch him if I wanted or needed to put him away which was very stressful for both of us. It became a safety hazard as I couldn’t catch him to be sure he wouldn’t fly out the door if someone were coming over or my family members were going in and out of the house.
Also I couldn’t walk away from the room he was in while he was outside of his cage because he destroys everything he sees and likes to chew on wires, meanwhile the whole time he’s out, he’s pooping on the furniture the floors the counters the table, everything. I also can’t leave him in my room by himself if he’s not in his cage because I have heat lamps for my reptiles and he has chewed the wires in the past, which could both ruin expensive lamps, and electrocute him.
He pushes things off counters, takes bites out of my posters, throws decorations on the floor, I vacuum my floor every day and wash my bed sheets at least once or twice a week because he poops on them, he has destroyed several sets of blinds bc he likes to chew and climb on them, you get the gist. If he sees me eating anything he will try to take it from me (he’ll try to take it right out of my mouth if he can) if he sees me with food and he’s in his cage he will scream violently until I give him some or leave or cover his cage with a blanket. He loves to chew on pens and pencils particularly and he will very sneakily steal them from me and run or fly away so I can’t get it back. He probably thinks this is hilarious. Remember IRNs are intelligent and they will use this to mess with you.
With the exception of his mood swings Tico had always been incredibly tame and sweet but this really only applies to me. He is very skittish and deathly afraid of all other people no matter how much I try to get him used to being around other humans. While I can hold him upside down on his back flat on my palm and he’ll just lay there calmly (when he’s in a good mood) or pet him, preen him, pick him up etc, the only people he’ll perch for are my sister and I and it took him awhile to get used to her. If anyone else approaches him he freaks out and runs or flies away flapping like a wild bird.
He also for some reason is afraid of certain toys, I got him some chewing ropes and ladders once and he wouldn’t go near them and freaked out when I tried to put him next to them. Even after leaving them outside of the cage in the room for weeks he never got used to them or went near them for some reason. Other toys he never seemed to mind, maybe it was the size or bright colors idk.
Unfortunately this means I probably won’t be able to take him outside on a harness or leash and definitely won’t be able to flight train him ever or at least not until he’s much older and I’ve worked with him a lot. He HATES harnesses and bird leashes vehemently and won’t even stand he just flops over trying to get it off so that’s out the window. Plus if I took him outside he’d get scared by something and fly off or get lost or hurt. In conclusion, if you’re not prepared to go through all of that, don’t get a parrot, but, at the end of the day I still love him and it’s worth all the turmoil he puts me through.
The Ugly:
Idk if this qualifies as ugly but something Tico does that was kind of funny at first but has become quite annoying and kind of gross, he has an odd obsession with my feet. He’s done it to other people before but usually just me, he will perform a full courtship dance, wings lowered bowed and heart shaped and bows his head up and down dramatically pacing back and forth, drags his head on the ground, eyes pinning like crazy, he puffs up his head feathers and starts kissing and talking to my feet.
It was funny at first but when he starts doing it he is relentless and no matter how many times I move him or shoo him off he always comes back so I have to just put him in his cage. He’s even climbed on top of my feet and regurgitated food trying to feed it to me. I don’t know why my feet as opposed to any other body part, but it’s definitely odd, and I usually just put him back in his cage.
I was holding some cockatiels for a friend awhile back and he immediately tried to mate with them as well so I guess he’s just very hormonal. He’s also already got half of his ring and it’s coming in black which is odd since he’s a completely bright yellow lutino ringneck and usually their rings are usually redish pinkish so maybe he’s just an early bloomer or high in bird testosterone idk. At least I know if I ever get a female and try to breed him It’ll probably be successful lol.
Anyway, I’m glad I found this forum to share my experience with birds with others. I don’t know anybody who has parrots so that’s cool. One day I hope to have a full aviary. When I have the space and money for a larger bird, I’d love to one day own a hyacinth macaw, they’ve always been a favorite of mine. IRNs get a bad wrap sometimes bc of their skittishness and behavioral issues but these issues are a sign of their intelligence if anything and the positives outweigh the negatives. I know that was very long lol. Happy bird keeping
Some Pics of Tico
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