breeding ringnecks

[bronson]

high all i have two ringnecks both 14 months old male mutation dna male ring on neck his a violet split turqose cobalt blue and a pastel blue white head lasewing i think is a hen not yet dnad but has no visible ring they feed next to each other fine take food from each other sit next to each other she tries to preen him but never seen him preen her but she does sum times chase him around the cage and nips him is this normal she is a lot bigger than him can any one give there thoughts please john

 

[SilverSage]

First, IRNS should not be bred until they are two years old. Please do much more research before even CONSIDERING breeding any kind of bird, but especially IRNs who have special requirements and considerations both as aviary birds and pet birds. For starters, do you know how to talk a new family through the bluffing phase? Do you know that IRNs do not handle wing clipping as well as most species? These are just a couple of things, but honestly if you don't know the proper breeding age it shows you have not even begun e most basic research that should be done before breeding. Breeding without the proper study leads to dead babies, sick babies, and mentally and emotionally damaged birds who seem fine until they hit maturity, and then have all sorts of issues that cause them to be bounced from home to home. This also perpetuates the idea that birds just ARE screamers and biters and nothing can be done about it, which leads to more bird suffering.

I'm not saying don't breed them, in fact I am about to set up my breeding pair of IRNs for the first time, I am saying don't do it YET. For the sake of your birds, their babies, and the new owners, please do the responsible thing and spend a few hundred or thousand more hours researching, find a mentor, and THEN begin.

 

[bronson]

i wasnt intending to breed until december i no they need to be two years aleast but you havent ansered my question i was after thanks for your input

 

[labell]

Actually she did answer your question. They are not old enough to breed, you are not sure of the sex on one. One is larger than the other. They should not be housed together until they are mature and you are seeing bonding, preening behavior from both of them. Having them out together or near each other is fine but until they are ready to be set up as a pair it is prudent that they each have their own cage and personal space at this point.

 

[SilverSage]

She shouldn't be too much bigger; too much size difference would indicate something is abnormal in one of them. Housing birds together when one of them is chasing the other is cruel and foolish. It can take up to three years for a male to ring out, so there is no reason you should think that you have a female based on no ring at that age. AGAIN, if you don't know even these basic things you should NOT be breeding yet.

 

[Dinosrawr]

I also just want to add that I know individuals who have housed IRN's together, and if they were too different in size necks were snapped and birds were killed. My IRN and my green cheek are well bonded and lost without each other - they preen one another, Shiko courts Avery, and they love cuddling or sharing their food in either of the cages - but I'd never put them in the same cage. One of them would end up with missing toes or worse.