How old is my IRN?

[romobird]

I rescued a IRN the other day and I was told by the rescuers that it was a baby... but after just a few minutes of research it is CLEARLY not. Maybe they meant it was young?

I am not home to take a picture yet, but I can do my best to describe him.

His beak is a dark red with a pretty large amount of black near the bottom of it. I can't remember if the ring goes all the way around, but his front neck area is fully black. He has orange circles around his eyes and his feet are pretty light colored. His tail is very very short and his body is really small (a bit smaller than cockatiel sized). This is all I can remember.

I know the ring indicates that they are about 1 1/2 to 2 years old! If he is this old how likely am I to tame him?

 

[Sterling1113]

If he has his ring, he's probably between 18 months - two years. Or older, if it's the whole ring. Yes, it is possible to "tame" him at that age. Patience. And treats. Sit near his cage and talk to him. Offer food from your fingers through the cage bars (if he runs away, don't chase, it'll just scare him further.)

IRNs are notorious for "bluffing". This means he'll puff up his body, and lunge like he's going to sever your finger, but not ACTUALLY bite, kinda like he's testing you. If you pull away every time he does this, he'll boss you around. So don't fear the beak.

If his cage is small, that might be why his tail is short, if he's constantly hitting it on cage bars/toys/whatever. Unless he's pulling them out, which is a more serious issue and requires a vet.

Would love to see pictures once you get him home.

 

[romobird]

if he has his ring, he's probably between 18 months - two years. Or older, if it's the whole ring. Yes, it is possible to "tame" him at that age. Patience. And treats. sit near his cage and talk to him. Offer food from your fingers through the cage bars (if he runs away, don't chase, it'll just scare him further.)

irns are notorious for "bluffing". This means he'll puff up his body, and lunge like he's going to sever your finger, but not actually bite, kinda like he's testing you. If you pull away every time he does this, he'll boss you around. So don't fear the beak.

If his cage is small, that might be why his tail is short, if he's constantly hitting it on cage bars/toys/whatever. Unless he's pulling them out, which is a more serious issue and requires a vet.

Would love to see pictures once you get him home.

Sorry for the bad quality and sideways pics. I didn't want to scare him and I don't know how to flip it. But this is him! I have a feeling he's a bit old. But He seems to be warming up to me pretty decently. It's day 2 and he is sitting comfortably (as you can see he has one foot up) in my presence and I have caught him playing the "eye game" with me a couple times.

 

[SilverSage]

First of all, that is an AFRICAN Ringneck, or a hybrid congrats, they are not very easy to find.

The taming is dependant on how patient you are, not on how old the bird is

Also, Bluffing is caused by clipping an IRN and removing his ability to fly away from you, combined with a genetic predisposition to fear fingers, all at about the time of weaning, right before and right after. He will not bluff at this age, at least not in the sense mentioned above. Do keep in mind that for some reason the ringnecks do have a fear of fingers until you gain their trust. Try to keep your fingers out of the picture as much as possible until he is more settled.

 

[romobird]

First of all, that is an AFRICAN Ringneck, or a hybrid congrats, they are not very easy to find.

The taming is dependant on how patient you are, not on how old the bird is

Also, Bluffing is caused by clipping an IRN and removing his ability to fly away from you, combined with a genetic predisposition to fear fingers, all at about the time of weaning, right before and right after. He will not bluff at this age, at least not in the sense mentioned above. Do keep in mind that for some reason the ringnecks do have a fear of fingers until you gain their trust. Try to keep your fingers out of the picture as much as possible until he is more settled.

Woah, awesome! How different are Africans vs Indian? Also I was finally able to contact the rescuer who actually rescued them (the lady who sold them didn't know much I guess) and she told me the males were about 2 years old. Anyways, this WILL NOT alter my affection or want for this lovely bird, but how likely is he to learn how to talk at this age?

 

[SilverSage]

Difference is where they come from, but the easiest way to tell is the extremely dark beak rather than the bright orange of the Indian ringneck.