Hello from Illinois!

[XxExoticPsychExX]

Hi everyone,

My name is Kelly and I'm fairly new to ringnecks. I've been doing research and am currently looking for a breeder in my area, so I do not have a ringneck yet! However, I'm not new to fids and currently have a Congo African Grey named Solomon and two juvenile house sparrows named Jack and Juicy Fruit. The boyfriend and I rescued them from being attacked by a blue jay when they were just tiny nestlings.

I can't wait until I can bring in the new addition to our family!

[KiwiMangoMama]

Hi Kelly!!

Very nice to meet you! We just got our first IRN 3 days ago, though we have a ARN and have had conures, cockatiels and love birds in the past. We absolutely adore these birds, they are as amazing as research leads to believe! You will not regret the decision to get one.

I am in California now, though from Germany, I lived in IL for a few years before CA...I loved it! I am unsure if you have heard of the town before but I lived in Tinley Park I absolutely loved the Christmas Market in Chicago, it was always a welcoming taste of home (Germany) to me .

- Krissi

[pinkdevil]

Welcome.
I also have a African Grey, his name is Rafiki and out smarts me more often than I care to say. lol Sometimes they are just too smart for their own good.

[MissK]

Welcome.

[Melika]

Welcome to the board- kudos for doing research first!

[XxExoticPsychExX]

Thanks everyone! I've been getting conflicting reports about IRNs and their bluffing stage. I have not been able to find a breeder in Illinois so, unfortunately, I haven't been able to physically see these little guys in action, let alone trust what I've been told. I went through the Myths section on here and the majority of it has been what I've been hearing (i.e. they don't make good pets, they're very aggressive, etc.). People tell me to get a quaker instead, but they don't really interest me at all.

If anything, the bluffing stage almost sounds like what I experienced when trying to gain my African Grey's trust. Solomon use to bite, attack, lunge and everything when I first brought him home 2 years ago. If I could get through 6 months of that plus his occasional chomps of correction, I feel that I should be able to handle an IRN's bluffing stage.

Now if I could only find a good breeder. . .

[Skyes_crew]

A lot of those myths come from people who struggled because of the lack of research. You seem like you're off to a good start with IRN ownership. (They own you lol) breeding season in the states if you want a hand reared chick starts around January with chicks ready to go home around march and April. If your ok with an older bird, try looking in bird rescues. If Illinois doesn't have any, you may have to try neighboring states. Some breeders will ship if you are interested in going the baby route. I know Michigan, Kentucky, and Indiana have breeders. You may have to do a ringneck breeder search for surrounding areas.

[Dixie-1]

Hi and welcome.