New IRN owner from Canada

[warbuckle]

Good day to all.

Received my IRN last week, currently in his 7th day of isolation from my flock, 4 budgies and 11 lovebirds, at 1 time we had 27, all hand raised. Ringer is 15 years old, previous owner gave him up due to his eating their furniture, came with a beautiful high tower cage and lots of toys and food. This is the first large parrot I have owned, beautiful bird, although slightly louder then my flock of lovebirds.......lol. My oldest budgie is 14 years and the father of 4 clutches. Woke up yesterday to someone saying rabbit and whats up.............lol, going to be interesting for sure. He comes to me, takes food from me and is generally well behaved thus far, taking it slow with him so he can adjust gradually.

regards

Will

[InTheAir]

Hi and welcome to the forum!
It must be exciting finding out what words he knows!

Regards,
Claire

[ellieelectrons]

Welcome.

Is it just me, or does it strike anyone else as weird that someone would have a bird for 15 years and then decide to give it up because it is eating the furniture. You'd think they would have discovered he had a furniture eating problem prior to the 15 year mark and given him away sooner?.... or has the bird been rehomed several times before this?

Good on you for taking him in, I hope he's found his forever home now.

Ellie.

[InTheAir]

Maybe some people just crack after 15 years of having their furniture eaten. ...
I don't think I could stand 15 years of that. I am glad Nila only destroys cornices

[warbuckle]

Morning,

Definitely his last home, I could not understand giving up a pet after 15 years either, but, that's some folks, he has done an exploratory nibble on my desk and I simply said "no, no" and he stopped. If a bird is chewing table legs its usually a matter of training and distraction to break the habit, believe me, if u owned lovebirds you would know about feathered chainsaws......lol. I went out on the balcony for a cig this morning (do not smoke in my home - pets / children) and I waved at him, he waved back..........lol

Thanks for the replies

Be well


Will

[warbuckle]

Ringer on his 3rd day getting pretty.....lol

[MissK]

I'm not there, but Ringer looks like an Alexandrine to me. Has he got red shoulder patches? He just got a little bit cooler, didn't he?

[ellieelectrons]

I was just thinking the same MissK. Although it could just be the angle of the photograph. Does he have the red patches on his wings? He is beautiful.

Ellie.

[warbuckle]

Evening

Yes indeed, 2 red patches.............

regards

Will

[InTheAir]

That might explain the furniture destroying tendencies.
It would take my 2 little munchkins weeks of dedicated chewing to achieve what an alex can do in minutes!

Congrats on your new bird, he looks lovely!

[warbuckle]

He is a big boy for sure, but so well adjusted, as for furniture, I have 14 lovebirds, and believe me they can destroy a room in 3 days......lol.


regards

Will

[ellieelectrons]

Hi Will

I had lovebirds when I was a teenager - and for their size, their beak is a destruction machine!

With the red patches on the wings, you definitely have an Alexandrine there. Alexandrine's and IRNs are both Asiatic Parrots so you should find most advice about IRNs will suit your bird. Sounds like he is settling in okay?

Ellie.

[warbuckle]

Settling in great, friendly to both the wife and I, sat in his cage and talked all afternoon today.........amazing clarity on his speech.


Will

[Little Buttercup]

Welcome, such a lovely Alex you have there! You lucky.

Ash

[kefan1]

I have 14 lovebirds, and believe me they can destroy a room in 3 days......lol.

[warbuckle]

True

I call the wife this evening from work and he climbs up her hand with the phone, listens to me speak and then says Hi, what about you........lol

hilarious bird,

and the good part, goes to bed at 9pm and wakes up with a SCREECH at 830-9am...........life is good so far


Will

[zentoucan]

I also have a alexandrine. He just over 3 months old. being with us for six weeks has integrated into the family well. he spends most of the day out of the cage except when we go out. he is a male (DNA tested) and is starting to chew. the problem is nothing is off limits and is under constant supervision when out and the word no is being used frequently and the item is taken away and is replaced with a toy . he get bird safe toys to chew.
tip: also in older homes and furniture the timber could have been treated with chemicals for the treatment of insects and fungi. these can be toxic to birds

[warbuckle]

Good for on the 3 month old, they are beautiful birds, as for the furniture, he is not out without supervision. Four hours in the morning, and another 4 in the late afternoon, with an all day pass Saturday and Sunday except for power naps.


Good luck with your new bird.

regards

Will

[Skyes_crew]

Hello

Sorry so late to the conversation. I'm so happy to see more people taking on Alex's as pets. IMO they are more laid back and more affectionate than ringnecks, and the hours of entertainment from them is a bonus

My hand raised boy is 7 months old. He says about a dozen phrases...all together maybe about 30-40 words. They are prolific talkers and will pick up new words constantly (so be careful what you say lol) they also have some of the ability, like african Grey's, to adapt words into a new sentence. They are great mimickers. I have a barking doorbell to attest to that I also have to keep his chainsaw beak busy at all times. He can destroy a macaw wood toy from the store in an afternoon. But...that's what keeps him from destroying my house. My boy has free reign of the house unless I'm out of it. But he has play stations. Even with that though, I made the mistake of having his tree too close to the molding and he got a chunk of it give him lots of wood...balsa blocks, cured guava, the harder the better. Yucca chips are great drilled through the center and strung up. They LOVE corn on the cob. Skewer it and hang it just out of reach so he has to work for it. The previous owners were lucky all he did was chew their furniture. He most likely did not have enough structure and designated chew areas. They're lucky he didn't start plucking. A bored Alex without anything to keep him busy, will start plucking.

I wish you the best of luck with him. And I expect plenty of cute pics

[Little Buttercup]

Oh Skye, you want to make me look at Alexes as my next bird! And you say they are more affectionate! But I wonder will I be able to keep him busy all the time. Looks like alot of work to have an Alex.

Ash

[Skyes_crew]

It is a lot of work Ash. Aren't all birds lol. But, I have a very soft spot for my big beaked boy. This upcoming breeding season I'm keeping one back as a friend for him. Cyrano will get his Roxanne

For me personally, I find their learning level above that of an IRN. Their talking ability is amazing. And yes, they are more affectionate. Put it this way, other than Cyrano who has always been handled by humans, I also have a few breeding pairs that have not been handled other than for transport. All I do is talk to them. The hens of the breeding pairs will come over and lower their heads for a scratch. I've never been able to do that with any of my breeding IRN's.

If you're considering one, think about the cost involved with keeping new toys at all times. If you can harvest wood from local safe trees in the summer and cure it in the sun, that will help. If you don't want a screamer, you have to spend a lot of time talking to them. I suggest a male if you can. They are a bit quieter. They are great eaters so you shouldn't have any issues with pickiness. If you have the time and the space, I say go for it!!!

[warbuckle]

Skye

Chewing is right!!......lol, and more laid back, he has 2 poles, (used to be 2ft) that are now about 12" long after 1 week, he will come to see anyone that comes by, very friendly, only tasted me twice without much force. As for food, he will eat mostly anything put in front of him, thankfully he pretty much ignores the 14 other birds and they are adjusting to the giant among them slowly...........lol

Will