Nice to find this forum. I am considering whether to go ahead and buy two birds to keep me company. I am 46, live on my own in an apartment in London and work a 9 - 5 office job. I have never kept birds before. I visited my local pet store yesterday and they had two lovely IRN's, a green and a yellow which I very nearly impulse bought. Thankfully the pet shop owner was responsible enough to talk me out of buying the birds straight away and advised me to do some research and come to a considered decision. Reading online I have come across lots of, often contradictory, information so I hope the experienced bird keepers here will comment on my questions.
1) Are INR's suitable for (mature) beginners? Lots of contradictory advice about this...
2) Are INR's suitable for a smallish apartment? I am a bit concerned about neighbours/noise/sleep...
3) Is it better to buy two birds considering I will be away 10 hours a day? The birds are in a cage together at the moment and seem to get on ok. I have heard getting two new birds may cause the birds to bond with each other and not with me?
4) Anybody know of any good online resources (apart from this excellent site )for people new to bird keeping in general and INR's in particular?
Hi. I could venture a few opinions......... The shortest version of what follows is just that my biggest concerns for you would be the noise level in an apartment, the unsuitability of leaving a single bird alone so long, and the challenge of making a good relationship with each bird if you get the two together. Thus....
I see no reason that a mature beginner could not enjoy keeping Ringnecks *PROVIDED* that individual had an accurate idea of what would be involved and had spent some time in honest introspection regarding the suitability of this species with regard to their own likes, habits, and abilities.
For instance, my bird experience prior to Ringneck was limited to Canaries, Finches, and a well-loved Budgie. I had also kept a variety of small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and the obligatory dogs and cats. I had lived for a few years with a human child from about 1 year's age. So, I was a beginner to Ringnecks, but not to keeping animals in general. You probably also have some prior experience to draw on, even if it isn't parrot-related.
At 46 you probably have a fair amount of skills and self-knowledge, so all you really need now is a good idea of exactly what living with the Ringneck is about, so you can make a wise decision.
Regarding suitability for your apartment, your work schedule, and how many to keep......
I would not want to keep a single Ringneck alone in the house while I held a full time job. Being deprived of a flock and live stimulation, I believe, for such a long time would lead to troublesome behaviours. Such behaviours could quite reasonably include excess vocalization and overpreening, even self destruction. I'm sure people do, however, keep single, lonely Ringnecks, and maybe they can offer more insight on that.
On the other hand, keeping more than one bird does mean at least twice the noise. Have you ever seen a couple of children playing and noticed they seem to be louder than the sum of their participants? It could happen.
I think the smaller size of the birds is an asset in the smaller apartment, but do not mistake that to mean they can live in very small cages. There are discussions of cage size here you can search for. I am not the best person to discuss cage size as I am actually horrified at what I consider to be the small size of so many people's Ringneck accommodations. However, you will definitely have to rearrange the furniture if you bring in a bird cage for one Ringneck, let alone a pair.
My bird is remarkably quiet, but when he does make some loud noises, the sound carries to outdoors. If I lived in an apartment and had to listen to someone else's Ringneck through the wall I would be quite annoyed in very short order. Some other Ringnecks are very vocal indeed, and I venture to say could not be kept so close to neighbors. I believe the overly vocal Ringneck has generally got some unresolved complaint, but it may be nearly impossible for people to discover that reason. Sometimes they just like to make noise, and a pair might get rather carried away. Being the fine soul he is, my bird never wakes me, though I sleep late. I am not home most nights for his bed time, but when I am, he is never noisy just because it's getting dark. Other birds may have different habits.
If you bring home two birds, especially two that are already used to living together, you may be setting yourself up for a hard road, socially. If you chose to go that route, you should make sure the birds in question already display the amount of tameness and friendliness that you desire, if not more. Actually handle them on multiple occasions. Separate them and handle them. Handle them in sight of each other. Try petting them, if petting is what you want. Don't bring them home on a promise. What you see is what you get. It is not enough that they *could* learn more; not every bird realizes its potential, and I think you have a taming handicap when you take two together. Others may have different opinions, but I surely believe that when you leave those two birds alone together for ten hours at a pop every day, they have little choice but to be more familiar and thus more comfortable and happier with each other than with you, even more so if they are in the same cage. It's not impossible to work that situation, but it is "involved".
Do not overlook the possibility that the pair in the pet store have only recently been put together and may be just making the best of the unfamiliar situation. Once they get a home and some security, things could turn out much differently. We have already had a member bring home what was sold as a pair, only to discover one tried to kill the other in his home. They had to be separated, and that made trouble for him, since he was expecting to house them together.
We have also seen that birds may get too cranky during the hormonal season to be safely kept together. The gender of the birds also is likely to affect their relationship, with the girls tending to be more aggressive. While I mention that, there has been a lot of discussion here about the particular challenges to keeping a female. If a pair of females were housed together, I get the feeling one should just *expect* trouble, though allowances must be made for individuality.
I have read about a lot of different Ringnecks on this forum. It seems each one is an individual. Some, like mine, are perfectly happy living an independent lifestyle. Others seem to need their human always there. Some are quiet, others constantly noisy. One even needs a fresh bunch of toys every morning to be satisfied into calm quiet. Some birds eat their variety of foods well, and others won't, which leads owners to worry about their nutrition. Some birds come to the hand, and others are terrified of human presence. Some do tricks and others just grab the food and run. This is why I stress to people that they should take their birds at face value and only bring home what is acceptable at that exact time. Understand that some sellers are honest and others may misrepresent their birds. The seller you met, I would hope, sounds trustworthy. Think up questions and ask him.
I am more comfortable with actual books made of paper. I like to have them on hand and read them many times. Others may point you to good website; I can point you to a few good books. Robin Deutsch has a book called "Good Parrotkeeping" which presents a nice introduction to selecting and living with a parrot. It should be one of the first books you read, not the last. Mattie Sue Athan has written several books you should consider, published by Barron's, that deal with living with the parrot and understanding the parrot. You can search this forum for her name to get the titles that escape me right now. If you want a book about training you should read Karen Pryor. Barbara Heidenrich and Pamela Clark are online, so look for them on training.
I'm not sure I made any dent in your specific concerns. I would advise you to put on paper some decisions about what you would like in a parrot and what you could not tolerate, then compare that to what you learn about Ringnecks and other species as well. It is also possible that someone else's second hand pet might be suitable. If I could be of other assistance, please let me know.
Thanks for the thoughtful response. I am coming to the realization that IRN's are, sadly, not for me. I can't get just the one bird as I am out most of the day and two would be too noisy. Thank again for your help.
I'm sorry the IRN isn't for you, but it really *is* best to know it before a mistake is made. I would suggest that you consider having a second look at the Budgerigar. Budgies are sometimes overlooked because they are small, common, and inexpensive. This is sad, because Budgies have a lot to offer! In fact, Budgies are the most commonly kept caged bird, and not for nothing.....
For instance, Budgies......
*are more easily tamed
*can be socially satisfied with just one other Budgie
*when tamed can be handled and taught simple tricks
*can come out of the cage if you have conscientiously prepared the space
*display most characteristics of larger parrots
*DO NOT hold things in their feet (so if this is important, consider looking at Lineolated Parakeets....)
*might be taught to talk (if kept singly for a little while when quite young)
*can be housed in the same space at a greater population density
*can fly in a smaller cage than many other species would need
*are available in a staggering array of colours
*maintain a pleasant warbling "song" that is never loud enough to annoy neighbors
*display lively interactions in the flock - even a flock of two
*enjoy playing with toys, which is entertaining for us
* might breed but are said to need a flock of about 6 before they are really in the mood
*are sexually dimorphic at maturity, in case you have need
*AND if they bite you they really can't hurt you (unless they bite your nose!)
Think about Budgies. You might have to stand closer to appreciate them, since they are small, but they are truly delightful. We have several members here who love Budgies, and even a thread devoted to them called "A Thread For Budgie Fans". If you were to bring home Budgies, you would still be able to get any help you needed from the Budgie keepers here.
MissK wrote:I had lived for a few years with a human child from about 1 year's age. So, I was a beginner to Ringnecks, but not to keeping animals in general.
Sadly I can't think of anything helpful to add to the OP's inquiry, but I just wanted to point out that this particular quote is hilarious.
If you decide to get Budgies, do yourself a BIG favour and read up on how to identify the very young ones. It is quite easiest to tame them very young, and it might be best for the likelihood of talking. Have a look at all the colours, too, before you buy. Almost invariably you will see one or two you think are the greatest colours. If you look online at mutations then you will know what you want before you shop. Here in the USA, shops with Budgies have a very quick sale rate, so if you don't see the colour you want, you just wait a few weeks and look again. Or you could try breeders.
)for people new to bird keeping in general and INR's in particular?