Mating or friends?

[abedkh]

Hello everyone, i posted a new topic a while back and would like to thank everyone who replied and tried to help! I have had my Indian ring neck parrot for about 5 months now, I want to get it a partner! However my question is, Does it have to be of opposite sex? would 2 males get along in the same cage? or would 2 females get along in the same cage? I love my Indian ring neck, her name is grumpy!

My second question is this, Grumpy lovess to always come out of her cage, shes always excited when shes out! I had to take a business trip a while back, and my fiance had to take care of her, she has little experience with taking care of birds, however she told me that she would feed it all the time the yummiest treats, apples, berries, and everything that indian ring necks find to be so yummy, so i guess she spoiled her.

Even though grumpy loves coming out of her cage, she still doesn't let me pet her, she seems to have a phobia from fingers, she doesn't mind standing on my finger, but when it comes to fingers trying to pet her, she goes crazy and bites, i don't get it, she may think that my fingers are not a part of my body or something, because she is so friendly with me, but when it comes to the fingers petting she goes nuts. when i pet her with my lips gently, she doesn't mind that.

any suggestions on how i can kill this finger phobia for her? thank you so much for taking the time to read this, any sort of help is greatly appreciated.

[bec]

i was told that fingers can remind birds of snakes therefore very scary things
some of my irns have been totally tame but will not ever let fingers touch them
here are some things i have used before that have helped
1: try keeping your hand as a closed fist then attempt to pat their chest
2: try placing apple slices between your fingers for them to eat as they get more comfortable around your fingers use smaller treats getting down to sunflower seeds
3:try telling her what your doing eg "grumpy want pats?"
then try patting if you have any other animal (another bird cat dog) put grumpy in her cage and bring the other pet into the same room & "ask" them eg "puppy want pats?
then pat them so grumpy can see firsthand that pats are fun
as for another bird ... well irns are flock birds so another bird could be good for her
but i wouldnt force them into the same cage females can be very territorial of their cages & i have had one female irn kill another before
in seperate cages would be my advice with supervised out of cage interaction
but another bird could also lessen the bond between you & grumpy too

[abedkh]

@bec Thanks for the help, I appreciate it! Will definitely try everything you have told me and let you know within a couple of days or weeks how it all goes. Wow i never knew they can be so aggressive to an extent of killing, you opened up my eyes, i was planning on putting them in the same cage, i will put them in separate cages. I will have them play with each other and see if they make good friends. I do feel she guards her territory all the time. I never knew it was mostly females though!

[ellieelectrons]

Generally, my understanding is that two males will usually get along, two females will never get along (especially during breeding season)... and if a male and female bond they will get along... but it is a risk, sometimes a male and female won't bond.

We have a male and female and they get along fine but we were worried at first.

The male is yet to reach sexual maturity.... he hasn't got his ring yet.

With regard to patting.... I think some birds may never like to be pat..... Our female loves it --- begs for it... when we pat her, our male comes down to inspect... gets really close.... but doesn't like it at all if we pat him... Occasionally he will put up with it, but he really doesn't like it... If I tried to push it, he might get used to it... but I figure if he doesn't like it, he doesn't like it.... and I let him be.

Good luck!

Ellie.

[PythonzEve]

It's good to know that a bird can be completely tame and yet still dislike petting. Sukha isn't too fond of it though he may allow a stroke or two before turning around with an open beak, but I was wondering why he seemed fine with all of us but wouldn't let us touch him! I do yearn for a bird I can bury my face or fingers in though, which is a little disheartening hearing I may never be able to do that with Sukha.