Need Advice Re: Our New Bird's age

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Teresa112757
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 5:38 am

Need Advice Re: Our New Bird's age

Post by Teresa112757 »

gandhi2.jpg
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Yesterday we put a deposit on our first bird at a well known bird store on Long Island. He is a beautiful blue ringneck. Our family of five spent about two hours in the store with the bird. He was very calm and gentle. Not active but content and he appeared healthy. He eagerly climbed onto our fingers and the climbed up our shoulders. He let most any other customers in the store pet him. In short, we all fell in love with his sweet disposition.

When I asked the owner his age, he told me 6 months. Having just attended our first parrot expo the day before, I had learned that ringnecks don't get their full ring right away, but I did not challenge the owner as I didn't know how long it can take to get rings. This bird, as you can see, has a mature ring. Having done research now, I see that they don't get full rings till about 18 months. So obviously the owner was not truthful and this doesn't sit well! Could it be that the bird is actually very old and this is why he was not very active? We are looking for a sweet pet but one that will live a long time. Is there any way to tell the age of a bird? What would you do? How should we proceed? My three boys are excited about him coming home with us on Friday (had to wait for his new cage to arrive before bringing him home).
SCB 22
Posts: 156
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2012 11:45 pm

Re: Need Advice Re: Our New Bird's age

Post by SCB 22 »

Unfortunately once the males have their complete "full" ring so to speak (such as the bird in your pic) its hard to tell age, but to have a solid ring such as that, i would say that bird is a mnimum of 3 years old... Pity about the owner not telling the truth - maybe he meant 6 years and not 6 months? That would be more accurate?
ellieelectrons
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Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:17 am
Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Re: Need Advice Re: Our New Bird's age

Post by ellieelectrons »

He is a beautiful boy though! ... and if he's already tame, that's a great start.

Ellie.
Teresa112757
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 5:38 am

Re: Need Advice Re: Our New Bird's age

Post by Teresa112757 »

The bird has a ring on his foot. Could it tell us anything or is it likely the pet shop put it on? Can an old bird still learn to talk some? Thank you for your posts. Also the pet shop's price is $500. Is that reasonable? Tia
Dixie-1
Posts: 103
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2013 12:59 pm
Location: St. David Az.

Re: Need Advice Re: Our New Bird's age

Post by Dixie-1 »

You are right about assuming that is an "adult" male Teresa . It is always nice to purchase and take home a "trained" bird, but it is also a great and very rewarding learning experience to get a younger bird and try to "do the work" youself. Plus you have found this Great forum to help you should you choose to go that way. :D your choice I guess and welcome to the forum.
Just takin a break !

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MissK
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Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:46 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: Need Advice Re: Our New Bird's age

Post by MissK »

About pinning down the age via leg band~

If you inspect the leg band carefully you might be lucky enough to find a year. The leg band info may include an ID number, frequently 3-4 digits, a breeder identification code, an indication of the state of origin, and, if you are really lucky, the year. If the band is completely closed then it was put on soon after hatching. If it is open in any way it may have been put on at any time.

Here are some examples of leg band info:
639 MACC 06
0748 MACC 07
ASC 08 2535
VTF 09 33
CSR 11 1539
MBF TX12 21926
T&M UT 5851
PBPR 1485

The first six of these bands include a 2 digit year - can you spot them? I arranged them in order - 06, 07, 08, 09, 11, 12.
The last leg band provides no helpful info as far as I can see, but the two prior indicate a state of origin.
The remainder of the numbers and letters identify the breeders and the ID number of the birds, for the breeder records.
As it was explained to me, the breeder code generally has to do with the account they hold with the band manufacturer.
-MissK
MissK
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Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:46 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: Need Advice Re: Our New Bird's age

Post by MissK »

About that particular bird~

In my opinion, if you have found a fantastic bird you are willing to pay $500 for, then it is very likely that is the bird for you. It certainly seems that taming is not an issue, and with a family of five that is likely a very good thing! You probably don't have a lot of spare time for taming birds, and the children will most likely be happier with a bird that is ready to go right out of the box, so to speak.

If you desire a younger bird, it might be helpful to ask what a younger bird has to offer that the bird in front of you does not. You might also look around to see if a younger bird is actually available, and also check what experiences others have had with the younger bird. You might well determine that you don't feel any particular need to experience the so-called bluffing stage, for instance, and you might decide that a Ringneck who is already tamed to the hand is worth its weight in gold. There's also that bonus of having no question of what gender your bird has.

On the one hand, I think $500 is pricey, but on the other hand, that's how it's going to be if you buy from a pet store. There has already been a discussion here among those who have maybe paid "too much" for their bird and at this point in time don't care at all. I, myself, feel I paid about $100 too much for my bird AND had to drive for hours to get him, BUT now over a year later I'm still tickled to death with my bird and I don't care about the price. I spent multiples of that amount, anyway, on his cage and toys.

At the end of the day, when you take your bird home, you get what you get. The bird you get will likely have potential to become more than it is, petwise, but that potential is not always realized. If you get one that is great and well-suited for you already, then you don't have to *hope* it becomes what you want. It already is.
-MissK
Skyes_crew
Posts: 1946
Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2013 12:49 pm
Location: Hawaii

Re: Need Advice Re: Our New Bird's age

Post by Skyes_crew »

I completely agree with MissK. Read through all of the taming posts in the forum. See what others go through in getting their bird to the point where your bird already is. Don't think of the bird in terms of a dollar amount. I had a breeder say to me one time, "a bird has no dollar value, he is only worth what we assign him to be worth". If you feel like this is the bird for you and your family then go for it. :D
I am owned by my birds...and I wouldn't have it any other way :D

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Teresa112757
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 5:38 am

Re: Need Advice Re: Our New Bird's age

Post by Teresa112757 »

Thank you all so much for your thoughtful suggestions and advice. I greatly appreciate the time you took to respond.

We did several things today to help us decide. I called an avian vet. who knows the pet store owner and said he is reputable, but also confirmed that the bird is at least 18 months old.

I then went to the pet store and spent about an hour with the bird. I continued to feel positive about the bird's temperament. He continued to be calm and gentle, although he did grab onto my rings a couple of times and didn't want to let go! I was able to get a picture of his band. Only the BBI 81 were visible to my eye, but the picture showed a CA11. I assume this means he was born in California in 2011. I was not able to make out the CA11 until I had left the store and zoomed in on the pic.

I gave the owner a chance to "come clean" about the bird's age, but he didn't! I also asked about the bands, why some birds have them and others don't and whether the writing had any significance. He said none at all! This surprises me and makes me uncomfortable. He is well known, written books, has a tv and radio show and been in business over 30 years.

I also went to another store and saw three young ringnecks. One was blue and about 4 months old. It was not nearly as tame as ours.

We have decided that on Friday, little "Mellow" or "Gandhi" will be coming home. Miss K is right. Our boys are going to be happiest with a bird they can handle, that is already tame. 2 - 2 1/2 is not too old for us. I'm looking forward to reading other posts and sharing our news with the group.

T
Little Buttercup
Posts: 345
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2012 12:03 am

Re: Need Advice Re: Our New Bird's age

Post by Little Buttercup »

Hi, welcome, that looks like a lovely ringneck there. I think you take Missk's advice. And even if that bird is 3 years old then too you will have many more years with it. It is young still.

Ash
Doodlebug
Posts: 319
Joined: Tue Jul 16, 2013 7:14 am
Location: Suffolk, UK

Re: Need Advice Re: Our New Bird's age

Post by Doodlebug »

Hi Teresa and welcome to you and your new addition, he is a beautiful boy :)

Ben though I agree that the pet store owner is being unecessarily dubious, and without any reason as far as I can see-there is no reason the truth would put anyone off owning this bird-this is the only negative I can find about this situation.

As others have rightly said, he is 'ready to go' in terms of taming, and you have years of joy and delight with him and it sounds like he's already taken a shine to you too!

Enjoy and do please keep us posted! Loo :)
Loo :)
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