age & gender of Indian Ringneck

[fiko]

Hello, Could you please advise for estimated age and gender of attached Indian Ringneck ?

thank you

[Pajarita]

Welcome to the forum! Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to tell the difference between a juvenile male and an adult female but, if I had to make a guess, I would say that this is an adult female one year old, at least. And I'll tell you what makes me think that (although I reiterate, it's nothing but a guess). The plumage (even-ness, brightness, length of tail, etc) is not of a baby - it could be an older juvenile though BUT young males with a plumage like that would already start showing something around their neck. Not an adult ring, mind you, but they start showing a difference in the green color with a very faint ring of a different kind of green (more blue than the body plumage) around their neck. They also start showing a tinge of blue around the head and I don't see any blue on the picture (of course, it could be the picture and the bird could be showing the bluish tinge when you look at it in person). Then look at how the bird sits on the perch. See how low the body is on the second picture? That 'low to the perch' sit is typical of females.

Again, don't take this as the gospel because it's nothing but a guess from a couple of pictures but, in any case, all you have to do is wait another year or so and you will have your answer. In the meantime, please, please, please, do in-depth research about their diet because almost everybody feeds them wrong -starting with the breeders.

[fiko]

Welcome to the forum! Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to tell the difference between a juvenile male and an adult female but, if I had to make a guess, I would say that this is an adult female one year old, at least. And I'll tell you what makes me think that (although I reiterate, it's nothing but a guess). The plumage (even-ness, brightness, length of tail, etc) is not of a baby - it could be an older juvenile though BUT young males with a plumage like that would already start showing something around their neck. Not an adult ring, mind you, but they start showing a difference in the green color with a very faint ring of a different kind of green (more blue than the body plumage) around their neck. They also start showing a tinge of blue around the head and I don't see any blue on the picture (of course, it could be the picture and the bird could be showing the bluish tinge when you look at it in person). Then look at how the bird sits on the perch. See how low the body is on the second picture? That 'low to the perch' sit is typical of females.

Again, don't take this as the gospel because it's nothing but a guess from a couple of pictures but, in any case, all you have to do is wait another year or so and you will have your answer. In the meantime, please, please, please, do in-depth research about their diet because almost everybody feeds them wrong -starting with the breeders.

I'm glad to be here and thank you for reply. Attached I sent a different photos of my ringneck. I would be very pleased if you can check one more time for gender and age. If she 1 year old I think it will be difficult to taming. and if it a female I think it can not speak and it can not do the sound imitation. Also can you write me differences between male and female ringneck.

thank you again

[Pajarita]

OK. These pix show a faint ring around the neck and a more 'upright' pose on the perch so, yes, it could be a young male. But I do not agree at all with your comments on what each gender can or cannot do for you. For one thing, speech or sounds imitation are not what makes a parrot a good pet
but both male and female IRN talk and there is no difference in taming them. The ONLY difference when it comes to the type of relationship a human can have with a parrot is whether the parrot is aviary or companion and whether it was hand-fed or parent-raised. A companion parrot that was handfed does not need to be tamed because it has imprinted to humans - only the parent-raised need to be tamed and, although very young birds tame faster and easier, the end result is the same. It's not the gender or the age of the parent-raised companion parrot that makes the difference, it's the human and the technique it uses. When it comes to aviary parrots, the ONLY thing that keeps them semi-attached to their human is loneliness which translates into a miserable and unhealthy life for the bird. Needless to say, bird lovers do not keep single aviary parrots as pets.

Was your bird hand-raised or parent-raised? Because that is the only thing that really matters right now as you would have to use completely different techniques to achieve a relationship with it. And how come you don't know the age? Didn't the breeder know? Mind you, IRNs are not really and truly companion parrots... they are more aviary than companion.

[fiko]

OK. These pix show a faint ring around the neck and a more 'upright' pose on the perch so, yes, it could be a young male. But I do not agree at all with your comments on what each gender can or cannot do for you. For one thing, speech or sounds imitation are not what makes a parrot a good pet
but both male and female IRN talk and there is no difference in taming them. The ONLY difference when it comes to the type of relationship a human can have with a parrot is whether the parrot is aviary or companion and whether it was hand-fed or parent-raised. A companion parrot that was handfed does not need to be tamed because it has imprinted to humans - only the parent-raised need to be tamed and, although very young birds tame faster and easier, the end result is the same. It's not the gender or the age of the parent-raised companion parrot that makes the difference, it's the human and the technique it uses. When it comes to aviary parrots, the ONLY thing that keeps them semi-attached to their human is loneliness which translates into a miserable and unhealthy life for the bird. Needless to say, bird lovers do not keep single aviary parrots as pets.

Was your bird hand-raised or parent-raised? Because that is the only thing that really matters right now as you would have to use completely different techniques to achieve a relationship with it. And how come you don't know the age? Didn't the breeder know? Mind you, IRNs are not really and truly companion parrots... they are more aviary than companion.

hello, I did not know that female IRN could talk. thanks for the info. my parrots is parent-raised. nowadays it was started gradually to come my finger. But I think I need a few months for best taming. lots of people Said to be a difficult breed to taming.

I started to put it on outer perch and at night I put in cage. but it never eat anything in cage. I suppose it wants to stay all day on outer perch. The reason I put it in the cage I want it to perceive the cage as her home. for taming I am trying to feed the bird by hand and yes it is eating from my hand. sometimes I make her listen to music also. I would like to receive your suggestions for taming.

[Pajarita]

I hope we are not talking about a bird that was poached from the wild in India or thereabouts...

In any case, although people like to say that the cage is the bird's 'home', it's only to make us feel better because the only parrots that understand the concept of a 'home' are the quakers who live in communal nests all year round. Birds don't live in homes, their home is the sky. A cage is a jail and no animal will ever like a jail.

Now, I do not know how you are teaching the bird to eat from your hand but I do hope it's not through hunger because although it works in the short term, it actually backfires in the long term. Parrots are highly intelligent animals and know very well when you are doing something bad to them - and depriving an animal of food so it would do something we want them to do is very bad (it's called a flooding technique, something that is a complete NO NO in training or taming). He or she will know what you are doing and remember it all its life so, if this is what you are doing, I would strongly recommend you stop immediately. What you need to do with a parent-raised bird is show it that you mean it no harm at all, that you want to be its friend and that only good things will come from you. So, the first order of business is to make sure it always has food available (NOT seeds, these birds are mostly fruit eaters and seeds end up killing them by destroying their liver) and that it does not fear you. Give it fresh food (cooked grains mixed with pureed veggies and fruits with raw produce on the side) every dawn and put it on a white paper plate on the bottom of the cage (the cage needs to be open when the sky first starts to show a little light and the bird should be allowed to come out on its own -tie a couple of branches to the side of the cage so it has a good perch and can climb up). And then ignore it while you do your normal routine. Talk, whistle, sing to it but do not stare at it (only predators stare) and, every now and then, offer it a little treat (maybe a little piece of a millet spray?) but, if the bird doesn't take it from your fingers, leave it where it can reach it once you walk away. You will have to be very patient and wait for it to make the first step toward a better relationship with you but please take into consideration that it will never have a close relationship with you - it's parent-raised and semi-aviary and that's why people say, correctly, that it will be very difficult to tame although maybe I would not use the word 'difficult' because it's not that it's hard to do, it's that it will take a long time.

I have a parent-raised Green Cheek conure and, most likely, my quakers are also parent-raised so I have a bit of experience on the subject but I've never tried to tame a parent-raised bird because, in truth, birds do not benefit from it. The only benefit is to the human and this is only because the human wants a pet bird but I couldn't care less if they are my pets or not - I get my kicks out of just living with them. If they are content and healthy, I am happy. The only thing I have taught these not-people-friendly birds is to go back into their cages when told. The male quaker (Turqui) is super obedient and I never have to tell him twice to 'Go home!' (the command for them to go into their cages), he has learned to step up to a stick and is now learning to step up to my hand (but this is mostly because he is handicapped and cannot fly) so he is no trouble at all. The Green Cheek (Annie) knows her name, perches on my head, my shoulders and my arms, preens my clothing and hair and takes treats from my fingers so, as far as I am concerned, she is great. The female quaker (ZeZe) is a typical female quaker, a character and a pistol She vocalizes loudly just to hear herself do it, scolds everybody and everybirdy, comes out of her cage flying ilke a bat out of hell, flies all over the house (up and down the stairs, goes into the bedrooms, etc), 'preens' my hair (doesn't really preen it, it's more like a 'soft' attack when I am cleaning her cage and my head is close enough), gets into all the other birds cages, eats their produce and dismantles everything she can find (pulls out and/or knocks down bowls and toys, tears the paper off the bottom trays, etc), gets on my back or head to scold the birds that are perching on my shoulders and generally watches me like a hawk and, most likely, she will never become close to me because she is parent-raised and has her boyfriend. But she is beautiful (a mutation called pale green opaline), healthy, happy, gets along with the other birds, goes into her cage when told (although sometimes I have to tell her several times) and is SUPER smart (she is actually beginning to try to talk!) so, as far as I am concerned, she is great and I enjoy her and her antics tremendously - so much so that she is one of my favorites!

As you can see, the whole thing of whether a parent-raised bird 'works out' or not depends entirely on what the human wants out of the bird and what type of care the bird gets. If you want a true pet bird that interacts with you and loves you to pieces, you will be disappointed and the bird will be unhappy/stressed out because it's all alone but, if you love birds and enjoy them for what they are and give the bird what it needs to be happy and healthy, it works out wonderfully well for everybody.

[fiko]

hello, I definitely don't try to starve the my parrot. a manufacturer even suggested me to cut his wings, but I objected. let it fly in the house as he wants.

but they have only accustomed the bird to eating seeds since it was born. unfortunately that's why he only ate seeds when he first arrived. I got used to eating some pear and apple right now.

for the moment it does not eat anything other than these. but I'm trying to get used to it.

[Pajarita]

Switching them to a better diet is easy and it only takes a few days. All you have to do is make a simple grain-only gloop - use whole grains like oats, kamut, wheat, barley (not the pearled one but the one where they just take the hull off), millet, spelt, etc. but put emphasis in millet (because it's lower in protein and fat) and oats (because they are so very good for birds) and whole grain rices (I use red and/or black rice because it's more nutritious than plain brown). Cook them a l dente (meaning, a bit soft on the outside but still a bit hard inside). Take out the seeds at night (after the bird falls asleep) and, in the morning (at dawn) put a paper plate on the bottom of the cage with a couple of heaping spoonfulls of the grain mix and a little sprinkle of seeds mixed in and raw produce stuck between the bars of the cage. At the beginning (maybe one or two days), the bird will not eat anything but the seeds mixed in it but, as the days go by, it will start eating the grains (you will find something that looks like little white empty 'skins). Once it eats the grains without hesitation for a few days, start adding veggies. Start with fresh sweet corn (they all LOVE corn with a passion), then add cooked peas, then carrots diced and cooked until they are soft, then sweet potatoes and/or any type of yellow/orange pumpkin or squash and last but not least chopped broccoli (make sure it is chopped or the bird will simply pick up the piece and throw it aside). In the evening (at dusk), take out the gloop and give it one single tablespoon of a good quality budgie mix (it cannot have any sunflower seed!).

It will be a bit hungry during the day for the first two days but it won't starve because it will get the seed dinner so don't worry if it doesn't eat the gloop at the beginning. I have transitioned, literally, hundreds of birds to a good diet and I've never had a problem - well, that's not true, I once had a quaker that refused to eat the gloop for weeks when, in desperation, I let her out of the cage (I used the quarantine to switch them to a good diet) and, as soon as she was out, she ate all the gloop! She just refused to eat it in the cage so observe yours (out of the corner of your eye, NEVER stare directly at a bird you are trying to tame or gain its confidence) and see if it wants to eat outside the cage.

[fiko]

Thank you very much for your advice. There is one more thing I wonder about, when he wakes up in the morning he gets very aggressive. Even though he does not eat all night, when I want to give food, he does not eat and flies constantly. but after 2 hours it calms down a bit.

Moreover, I have not put him in his cage for a week because he does not like it, he always stays in the outer perch, but his morning aggression continues.
what is the reason of this ? is this normal behavior

I'll get a big outer perch for my bird and hang toys on it. I want to buy toys to keep it busy. Do you think it would be good to buy toys?

And I would like your advice on something else. Do you think I should buy a outer perch with a feeder and a drinker, or should the parrot learn to eat in its cage and not have a feeder on perch ?

[Pajarita]

Are you allowing two hours of dawn before you turn on the artificial lights in the am? Are there other animals nearby? Any loud noise? There must be a reason why he is like that early in the am because when I open the doors to the cages for my birds to come out, none of them shows any 'weird' behaviors... Some stay inside the cage until there is a bit more light while other come out right away (not to fly because it's still quite dark but they do climb up or down the cages). Observe carefully and evaluate to see if there is anything going on that might make the bird behave like that - although I have to tell you that if the only thing the bird does is fly around, it's not really aggression.

I never know what to say about toys because, in truth, although my bird do have them, they hardly ever play with them... And that's another thing, people say 'toys' and use the verb 'to play' but, in reality, birds don't play, they interact with the 'toys' through natural behaviors. For example, when a bird beats the crap out of a toy, they are not playing, they are re-directing anger - and when they chew or shred a toy, they are showing breeding behavior. What my birds love most is cardboard or a rolled up magazine - my cockatoo goes through lots and lots of boxes every week and he ADORES the white foamy stuff that is used for packing -not the 'peanuts' (little things that resemble the shape of a peanut) but the blocks that are carved in such a way that the appliance or whatever is safe and secured in them. He can spend a good couple of hours taking a bite of them at a time until we end up with millions of little pieces all over the place

As to where to feed the bird... well, that is up to you. Personally, if the bird lives in a human area (like a living or a dining room), I put the food inside the cage because it's a bit cleaner (only a bit because they still throw food all over the floor and walls) and because it's always useful for the bird to be used to getting its food inside the cage as it provides a way of making them go into the cage on their own (you put a high value item in the bowl inside the cage, give the command to go back into the cage and the bird will go in gladly just to get its favorite food). But my birds that live cage-free in their own room get their food either on the top of a cage (the kind that has a flat top) or on a platform.