I just wanted to say hello and thank you for making such a wonderful site. I have just gotten 3 ringnecks that the store manager says are a year old at least, by this I mean they were at the store for that long before I bought them.
I have 2 blue and 1 lutino.
While in the pet store, all three of these birds shared a space along with a parrot and while the 2 blue ones stayed in a corner to themselves, they never seemed to fight with the lutino and I was in there just about every day watching them before I bought them.
I brought the blue which is male and female home on the 19th of December and then I went back and brought the lutino home on the 31st.
But they blue ones refuse to let the lutino male in. Could it be because they are ready to mate. I have seperately placed the blue ones in the cage with the lutino and they did not fight but they will fight him when they are both together.
His cage is now beside theirs and they are doing fine
Do you think I should try to put them back together? I am afraid to put him in their cage but the store owner thinks that since they were together for so long that they would do better together.
Help I want them to be happy but I do not want my lutino to get hurt
Loretta
Quick Question For I.C
Moderator: Mods
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Jodie
to group or not to group
Hi,
No, the blues are not ready to mate. They are too young! You should not breed your hen until she is two. I have read that for the male to be mature he has to be three. But I have gotten advice from this website saying this is not always the case. The bottom line is each bird is different. These are just guidelines. The blues are bonding. Even though they were housed together at the pet shop they only tolerated the other inhabitants. The lutino is competition for the female of the group or she just does not like him this is why they are picking at one another when they are together. But then again, the time that you housed a single blue at a time with the lutino may not have been enough time to see who had the problem with the lutino. I am not suggesting this. It could be as simple as space. They might feel cramped. In my opinion keep them like you have them (the blues together and the lutino by himself). The lutino is fine just being able to see and talk to them. Hope this helps!
No, the blues are not ready to mate. They are too young! You should not breed your hen until she is two. I have read that for the male to be mature he has to be three. But I have gotten advice from this website saying this is not always the case. The bottom line is each bird is different. These are just guidelines. The blues are bonding. Even though they were housed together at the pet shop they only tolerated the other inhabitants. The lutino is competition for the female of the group or she just does not like him this is why they are picking at one another when they are together. But then again, the time that you housed a single blue at a time with the lutino may not have been enough time to see who had the problem with the lutino. I am not suggesting this. It could be as simple as space. They might feel cramped. In my opinion keep them like you have them (the blues together and the lutino by himself). The lutino is fine just being able to see and talk to them. Hope this helps!
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Jodie
followup question
Hi,
I am not sure why they would be working the nestbox. Perhaps someone else could help you with a definate answer. I do have a pair that would run in the nestbox to hide. They might just be doing this. I am sure it would be more comfortable than sleeping on a perch too! When my hen works a box they dig as far as she can go. I have shaving all over the place with certain boxes. I can see the bottom of the box. I wonder why I bother to put corn cob or wood shavings down!
From your pictures your lutino is not quite completely rung. He may be capable of fathering, but then it comes to the age of your hen. If she is under two she could experience egg binding. This is where she cannot pass the egg. If this happens you are supposed to separate them and give large amounts of calcium to her from what I read. I have not experienced this with my birds. Perhaps someone could better elaborate on this one too for you. They say it is best not to breed hens until they are two. You could pair the lutino with the blue hen. If you did you would get green split blue and lutino males and lutino split blue females. I would not suggest you do this. I have a pair that are too young to breed, but they will give me babies next year.
You said that they are all around the same age. If this is true, your blue male would be ringing. I think you were deceived. It is a shame, but this happens. When you bought them from the pet store did they offer DNA testing? Perhaps you might should do this for your own paperwork in case later you would like to sell them. I have come across some relatively good deals on feather and blood tests compared to an actual vet running the tests. One site I have right here is at www.avianbiotech.com This place runs blood for $19.50 and feather for $24.50. They also do other tests such as poloma and chlamydia. I have also ran across another place that does the testing for $7.00 a test, but this one you have to provide speciman envelopes and postage. I have that website on my other computer. I can give that to you if you want. Unfortunately I do not know of a test for age. If your bird has a band on its foot I have heard this is supposed to tell age. However, my experience only indicates the state and inventory number. But some bands do have the correct information with date of birth on the band.
Anyways, I hope this helps.......
I am not sure why they would be working the nestbox. Perhaps someone else could help you with a definate answer. I do have a pair that would run in the nestbox to hide. They might just be doing this. I am sure it would be more comfortable than sleeping on a perch too! When my hen works a box they dig as far as she can go. I have shaving all over the place with certain boxes. I can see the bottom of the box. I wonder why I bother to put corn cob or wood shavings down!
From your pictures your lutino is not quite completely rung. He may be capable of fathering, but then it comes to the age of your hen. If she is under two she could experience egg binding. This is where she cannot pass the egg. If this happens you are supposed to separate them and give large amounts of calcium to her from what I read. I have not experienced this with my birds. Perhaps someone could better elaborate on this one too for you. They say it is best not to breed hens until they are two. You could pair the lutino with the blue hen. If you did you would get green split blue and lutino males and lutino split blue females. I would not suggest you do this. I have a pair that are too young to breed, but they will give me babies next year.
You said that they are all around the same age. If this is true, your blue male would be ringing. I think you were deceived. It is a shame, but this happens. When you bought them from the pet store did they offer DNA testing? Perhaps you might should do this for your own paperwork in case later you would like to sell them. I have come across some relatively good deals on feather and blood tests compared to an actual vet running the tests. One site I have right here is at www.avianbiotech.com This place runs blood for $19.50 and feather for $24.50. They also do other tests such as poloma and chlamydia. I have also ran across another place that does the testing for $7.00 a test, but this one you have to provide speciman envelopes and postage. I have that website on my other computer. I can give that to you if you want. Unfortunately I do not know of a test for age. If your bird has a band on its foot I have heard this is supposed to tell age. However, my experience only indicates the state and inventory number. But some bands do have the correct information with date of birth on the band.
Anyways, I hope this helps.......
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Jodie
other DNA address
Hi,
I found that other website that offers cheap DNA testing for $7.00 it is at www.birdsrusintampa.com
Hope this helps!
I found that other website that offers cheap DNA testing for $7.00 it is at www.birdsrusintampa.com
Hope this helps!