My new IRN friend

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asinawi
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2015 3:24 am

My new IRN friend

Post by asinawi »

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for all who made this wonderful and informative website. My name is Adnan 36 years old working for the UN in Afghanistan, I live in a compound where I work as well and I’ve been provided with a one bed room apartment. I work here for six weeks before I go to Jordan for two weeks or so. Thus, I’m spending most of my time alone here.
I decided to bring a parrot to keep my company. I went yesterday to the bird market and I found an IRN parrot, which is the only available option as well. While I’m searching in the forum and articles, I need few quick tips to make started if possible, knowing that I called him Fluffy Jr.:

1- Could confirm whether the bird I’ve brought is actually and IRN?
Fluffy2
Fluffy2
Fulfy2.jpg (86.56 KiB) Viewed 2058 times
2- Could you help to identify his age?
3- Is it fine that I smoke in the same room where he is, knowing that I’m NOT a heavy smoker?
4- I leave to work at eight, come back for one hour at lunch time and go back until five. Is it OK to switch the TV on for him?
5- When I’m going on leave, do you know what is the procedure to take him with me abroad? Otherwise can I keep him with a friend who has good experience with raising birds?
6- Is it OK to eat grape? How many pieces?
7- Yesterday he ate a chilly pepper but he starts vomiting and I immediately remove it? He stop vomiting after that and ate seeds normally. Do I have to be worry?
8- I noticed that he doesn’t go to the cage ground? How can I bath him? Is it OK to place a bowel of water in the ground? Is he gonna use it?
9- Can I cover the cage at night, knowing that I stay in the living room where he is until 12 PM. I can move him to my bed room at night if moving the cage on daily basis won’t bother him?
10- Is it OK to switch on the AC in the room where he is located?
11- How many months as an average when I can open the cage door for him to go out confidently?
Thanks very much in advance.
All the best,
Adnan
Wessel Gordon
Posts: 408
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2011 12:02 pm
Location: South Africa
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Re: My new IRN friend

Post by Wessel Gordon »

adrian,

1. It is an IRN or an Alexandrine (an Alexandrine is a bit bigger and the camera angle makes it difficult to judge the size)
2. It is a mature male since he already have a well-developed male i.e. he's at least 2 years old
3. If it's possible do not smoke in the same room as he might develop breathing issues
4. Either the TV or a radio is fine
5. Depending on which country you're going to it's worth it to double-check their import requirements first before simply showing up with him to travel
6. Grapes, or any fruit, in small quantities are a very good thing..you will notice when he had enough
7. No need to be too worried but cut the chilli peppers from his diet
8. The best you can do is put a shallow bowl with fresh water at the bottom of the cage and see if he prefers to clean himself. There's no need to bath him yourself.
9. If you cover the cage try and do it at a set time every day to mimic the natural cycle of light and dark. Moving him to a ''sleeping cage'' isn't really needed if he's comfortable sleeping in his day cage
10. Leaving the AC on for short periods shouldn't be a problem but leaving it on permanently might lead to chest/breathing issues
11. All birds are different in that way: your best option is to close ALL doors and windows (obviously) and open the cage and see how he reacts and take it from there

Wessel
asinawi
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2015 3:24 am

Re: My new IRN friend

Post by asinawi »

Thanks very much Wassel for your prompt and informative response. His size is almost the size of a pigeon, which is much smaller than my son's seven months parrot, which looks the same but without ring around the neck.

This is his second night with me but he seems much happier as he starts to tweet loudly, he gets very exited with a small piece of cucumber and also liked the almonds, which I'm planning to make it a treat.

I've stop smoking inside, and I'm switching off the AC when I'm at work.

Thank you very much again.

All the best,

Adnan
MissK
Posts: 3011
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:46 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: My new IRN friend

Post by MissK »

Hi. My first thought was "Are you sure other countries will let the bird cross borders without a big fuss, if at all?"

I rather doubt you were able to get a receipt for this bird, and I was concerned that, being an adult, it may have been stolen from the wild. However, if you can get any documentation from the seller I think it would be wise to keep that so you can prove legitimate ownership (legality) when travelling in countries where it is not legal to have one of these from the wild. I understand enforcement is lax in that context but it would be quite sad to lose your bird (and suffer legal penalty) over that sort of thing. You should definitely find out the laws regarding keeping any type of Ringneck in whatever place you take him, before you take him there or leave him with anyone who might suffer penalty for holding him while you're away.

1)Fluffy's probably an IRN. I did look twice, because his pink ring is a bit thicker than what I'm used to seeing. But, he doesn't have the red shoulder patch or cartoon-ish look of the Alexandrine, nor is his beak the dark plum colour of the African. If he really is that much smaller than your son's bird, perhaps it is your son who has an Alexandrine?

2) "Adult". Likely over 2 or 3 years old. Sorry, that's as good as it gets. I do feel that once birds get to an extreme old age you can tell by looking, but there's no way to put a number on it.

3)No, it is NEVER fine to smoke in the room with a bird. As someone who is sensitive to smoke, I can tell you it bothers me if there is someone smoking in the same house, even. Smoke moves in the air and cannot be contained. As you may know, birds are extraordinarily subject to damage from air pollution. Cigarettes contain extra bad pollutants - maybe you have seen a warning on the package? Smoke from any source also contains "gasses from combustion" which is just going to mean "pollution" that my vet says damages birds. If you must smoke, do it outside. Better yet, quit before you become a heavier smoker. It damages you, too.

4)I think he might like the TV for a short time, but if you leave it all the time it will interfere with his naps. Maybe you can spend a day with him all day and leave him alone, and notice when he tends to get sluggish and still. That will be his nap time, when he would likely be sleeping if you weren't watching him. Put your TV on a timer so it won't bother him at that time of day. I would think morning would be the best time for TV. You could put it on before you leave and let the timer turn it off a little before nap time. *If you find he never settles down for nap all day, then your presence is keeping him up. Trust me; he will need naps.

5)As above, you will need to find out the rules for any country where you plan to take him. If your home country has an embassy in the other country, maybe that would be a good first place to look for guidance on finding out the laws of the locality. I have met a gentleman from Pakistan who was able to bring his IRN to Canada but had to leave him at the border when he tried to enter the USA. That was very sad. If he had documentation for the bird and the bird had been banded as a chick, he would have been able to bring it into the USA.

6)Grapes are OK. For an effective training treat you can cut a grape into very small pieces. Birds do eat a lot relative to their size, but your bird has no chance to exercise off the calories from many grapes. I guess I would give my bird no more than three grapes in a day, but I would not give them every day. Also, my bird has a longer cage than many, and a friend to interact with, as well as out of cage time where he flies around the room and climbs around on a tree branch. It's worth noting that a high sugar diet, especially at the end of summer through early spring, is said to promote breeding behaviour - not something you really want in a pet. Here's a cute tip from my vet: Nobody needs a pile of (insert type of food) as big as their head. How many grapes big is your bird's head? :lol:

7)It's hard to say what happened there. I understand that vomit for a bird is a messy, uncontrolled, possibly violent action. It signifies a very sick bird. Intentional regurgitation, on the other hand, is a natural activity. I've never seen a bird vomit, but I have a lot of experience watching regurgitation. The hallmark of regurgitation is that the mess is placed in a specific spot by the bird, on purpose. It is frequently preceded by the bird moving his neck and head almost in a circle, as if he's gaining momentum for the action, and then stretching his neck out as he places regurgitated material where he wants it. It may be placed anywhere in the cage, on a toy, on a human, or in another bird's beak. It may occur immediately after the bird eats something, or he may move to a different location to do it. Chili peppers are fine for him to eat.

8)Your bird will probably bathe in any water you give him. I provide mine with a large bowl on the floor of the cage, and he uses that well. If there is no bath for him he will do it in his little drinking cup. For this reason, you should check the drinking water soon after you change it. My bird will bathe in his fresh water cup, even if he has his bath tub, many times. Once he has bathed in his drinking water, it may be dirty or it may be all splashed away and the cup near empty. You should check and change the water again if he has bathed in it.

9)I think you should definitely move the cage to a different room, dark and quiet, and close the door, if you'll be up that late. I come home in the middle of the night and wake my bird. He goes back to sleep unless I am in that room preventing it. On nights when I keep him awake, he always needs extra sleep the next day. If you are keeping him up late then you should NOT be playing the TV for him the next day, because he will need to catch up on his sleep. It's better to let him wake and sleep with the sun. Also, just putting a cover over his cage will not provide him the quiet and dark he needs for sleep. This is a wild animal with highly developed senses to detect any potential danger. You can't fool him just by putting a blanket over his cage. He won't be able to see what you're doing, but he'll still know you're there, and it won't block the light as well as you might think.

10)You can use the AC if you are sensible about it. One of the absolute first rules with birds is to not place them in a draft - a moving air current. If the air is blowing towards the cage, that's where you can put a cover on that half of the cage to block the air. Also, birds do not well tolerate a rapid change in temperature. Do not let your AC drop the temperature a lot in a hurry. It would be best to pick a temperature you can live with all the time and let the AC keep it close to that all the time. If you need extra personal cooling, you can run a fan that blows just on you, but not on your bird. Of note, if you are going to be taking your bird from the cool home to the heat of the outdoors, you must let the home gradually get warmer until it is close to the temperature of the outside. Very important as well, don't place a bird in a car that's been heating up outside. Cool the car first, then put the bird in. And keep him out of direct sunlight. Remember if the sun is shining on you, you might get hot and need to move into the shade. Never put the bird in a situation where he can't get away from the sun.

11)It's not possible to say how long it will be before your bird will come confidently out of the cage, though I am willing to bet he will come out right away. Getting him back in is where you will have your problem. :mrgreen: Of course, secure the area before you let the bird out and also prevent someone else from opening a door, for instance, while the bird is out. You should lure the bird back to the cage with food. It sounds so easy but it's not, until the bird is comfortable with you and your big hands. Once he is trained to step up (IF ever) then it will be much easier. Some birds do not want to be placed in the cage by your hand, and such birds can be lured from the hand into the cage with a treat. If you have no other way to get your bird back, you can capture him by throwing a sheet over him and picking him up inside it. This method should only be for emergency. You can expect it to upset the bird, damage the relationship between you, and get you bitten several times. However, if it's an emergency, you may prefer that to losing your bird. A nicer way is to get the bird accustomed to being handled inside a towel, and then you can just pick him up with a towel, until he is trained to step up. Since your bird is mature, I'm not sure how you would go about teaching him to be towelled. Might as well just go straight to teaching him to step up, since that's what you want anyway.

I'm very glad you have found a friend to keep you company. He may be with you until you're old. Use this site to learn all you can, and take good care of him. I understand that many countries they keep birds in very small cages. Make sure your cage is quite as big as you can have. Arrange a stand or an old chair or some place where the bird can play outside the cage. I have a tree branch on top of my bird's cage for this. He likes it, and it takes up no more room in the house. Teach your bird to step up, either to your hand or to a stick you hold. Let him out of the cage every day.
-MissK
Wessel Gordon
Posts: 408
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2011 12:02 pm
Location: South Africa
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Re: My new IRN friend

Post by Wessel Gordon »

MissK,

Very nice response...and you picked up on some stuff I missed. Having just spent 30 minutes to lure a bird back into it's cage (with a yummy treat) I know how tricky that exercise can be, lol.
MissK
Posts: 3011
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:46 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: My new IRN friend

Post by MissK »

Thanks Wessel, I think I said mostly the same things you did but in my, uh, "expanded" style..... :lol:
I think it's easier to get the bird back in when he's been out only a short time. I also think it's worth it to do something like 1 minute out, go back in, 1 minute out, go back in, 3 minutes out, go back in, 1 minute out, go back in, etc, working up to longer times out. I think going back in is less bad when you know you have a good shot at getting out again. Trouble is, they're smart enough to figure it out that after they are out a long time the trip back in will be a long one, too. It does seem harder to get my birds back in when they've been out a really long time, and frequently VERY hard to get their attention if they have just come out together.
-MissK
asinawi
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2015 3:24 am

Re: My new IRN friend

Post by asinawi »

Hello MissK,

First of all, I’d like to thank you so much for taking the time to brilliantly answer my quires. This is like one of the assignments of my online master degree program ;-).

Taking the bird back to Amman was an idea as I prefer not to keep him with someone else. I’m trying to get more information and talk to the Jordanian embassy in Kabul, what I do know at the moment is that the Jordanian authorities requires pet passport for dogs and cats while it’s not required for birds, but I need to make sure however, that I have a medical certificate one month in advance. The problem in Afghanistan is that such services are almost not exist or very hard to find, knowing that my movement is already restricted due to the security situation.

There is no professional pet shops here and the only available place in the city where I work is very awful to the extent that I was considering buying all the birds just to set them free :cry: . No one was speaking English for sure and the price was doubled immediately after the UN vehicle entered the premises.

- Unlike my son’s Fluffy who has a special tag around his leg, my Fluffy Jr. has nothing but its feather, and that was one of the reasons to ask for his age. On the other hand it seems that he’s trained somehow as he starts eating from my hand from the second night, a step took more than a month with my son’s Fluffy!

- Thanks for the smoking advice, which I’m taking it seriously. Since yesterday, smoking was done outside the house with an intention to quit permanently after submitting my dissertation by October 8).

- The TV’s timing and nap time were taken into consideration. The idea is to keep him company.

- The idea is to take him with me back and forth from Afghanistan to Jordan via Istanbul so he can spend my R&R with me. No intention to take him to Europe or the US.

- I gave him the whole cluster :lol: and noticed that he ate few, dropped few and left the rest. I’ve remove it immediately after reading your post. He has a two grapes head :D
- I still don’t know whether it was a vomit or regurgitation, but it stops once I removed the chili pepper. He was very active yesterday.
- I change the dirnking water daily and I give him a mineral water same as the one I drink. He had a bath using his drinking water this afternoon :P
- Sleeping guidelines have been followed. Thanks.
- He is definitely not facing the AC whatsoever. Thanks.
- I’ll try to get him out in the weekend and see what will happen :D I was bitten hardly by my sons Fluffy when I had to grap him and put him back to the cage.
- I’ll try to bring a cage from Amman as the available options here in Mazar are awful.

Thanks again MissK, I’ve learned quite a lot and I’m more confident know to use the search option in the forum. I might however, post some more questions just in case of emergency.

All the best,

Adnan & Fluffy Jr.
MissK
Posts: 3011
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:46 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: My new IRN friend

Post by MissK »

You're welcome Adnan! I do spend a lot of time on some posts, but it is worth it if it helps. I know I speak for almost everyone here when I say we all wish you the best of success with Fluffy Jr. If you do have trouble getting a big cage, you can always choose to have one built from wire and untreated lumber (if you can be sure the lumber is a safe type of wood) and just leave it when you go home permanently. You would not want to travel with a huge cage anyway, and you can buy a replacement when you get where you're going. Keep us updated! :D
-MissK
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