IndianRingNeck.com

Hi, I'm about to get a ringneck baby this weekend, and have been doing quite a bit of research to prepare... but cant find the answers to some of my questions...
Sorry if questions similar to these have been posted a 1000times, ... if so, please redirect me as required =]

1. I used to have birds that required a cuttlebone for calcium, do ringnecks also need one? If not, how do I provide him with the necessary vitamins and minerals?
2. Will I have to trim my ringnecks beak or nails? Or should I add branches as perches, and expect them to trim down themselves?
3. I saw that many people had heavy steel cages, but I don't. Will this be suitable ? Please keep in mind I'm getting a young ringneck (14weeks), and when he/she grows, I will purchase a larger cage if required.
http://www.hagen.com/canada/english/bir ... SUBCAT=805
4. Are they frequent poopers?
5. I only have food, a cage, and toys, on my list of things to purchase before i get him/her. Am I missing anything? (sorry if I forgot something obvious)
6. How do you give your ringnecks a bath (and how often)? Do they enjoy it? My previous birds certainly didn't.
7. I read somewhere that odors can be harmful for a ringneck, does that mean I can't put him/her in a room beside a kitchen?
8. Is there some special thing that this type of bird requires in particular? (ex. special food type, particular environment?). I had budgies before, and they are quite smaller. So basically what I want to know is if there is a difference in the requirements between small and larger parakeets?
9. Lastly, male or female? I'm only asking because the person selling me has one of each, and I honestly have no clue which to choose.

I really appreciate any help and answers.
Thank you very much!!!

Hi there,

Ill do my best to answer your questions to my knowledge.

1. Yes, all parrots should get a source of calcium. Many pellet feeds have calcium included so you shouldn't need cuttlebone.

2. You shouldn't need to trim your birds beak however you can clip its nails. Be careful in doing this because if you cut the nail too far you can cause it to bleed.

3. Cages are not cheap and IRN's do not like big changes in their environment. Its best to invest in a good cage that your IRN will enjoy for its whole life. As long as you let your bird out once a day to fly around the house, a 20" x 20" x20" cage is ample.

4. IRN's like most birds poop as much as you feed them. I noticed that my IRN has less messy poop when on pellets.

5. You need a good cage, few toys, external play gym or perch (find it very handy so I can clean out the cage while he is playing), clicker for training.

6. I usually put out a bowl of water and my IRN loves to splash around. Another method I use is a water spray and just give him a few squirts.

7. Apparently teflon fumes are harmful to birds and so are chemical fumes. Keep the cage in a well ventilated area of the house however make sure at night there is no draft.

8. Parrots love a variety of food so I usually use a ratio of 60% Veggies, 20% Pellet, 10% Seed, 10% Fruit and my IRN is very happy and active with this diet.

9. They say that males are more vocal (supposed to be better talkers) and they are also more sociable however at 4 weeks old you need to DNA sex your bird so make sure your breeder/pet shop supply you with a DNA sexing certificate. Note: At 4 weeks age, even a DNA test isnt 100% accurate.


Hope this helped. Good luck with your bird


Regards,
Sarkis

Totally agree with the above answers.

I have both male and female tame birds. The male does talk more than the female, he is also noisier, and cockier.

My birds have access to cuttlefish bone at all times, they are fed on pellets, nuts, fruit, veg and some seed. I still always mix minerals and vitamins into their food but at a lesser amount.