Indian Ringneck

[eliholtman]

So I've finally decided on the bird that I'm going to get and it will be and IRN
I've been doing lots of research and ive been using the forums here to help even more and I've found a reliable breeder with whom I'm in contact with.Ill be getting him around December or January and still have some questions to ask
1. Their diet, everywhere I look its given me no specific diet I know plenty of fruits and veggies but what else; pellets?? seeds??both??? and if at all possible what brand?
2. how well do they bond with other members of the family?
3. not a question but please feel free to recommend any thing you feel need whether it be about care or asking me a question
Thank you all in advance

 

[Crayfish066]

So I've finally decided on the bird that I'm going to get and it will be and IRN
I've been doing lots of research and ive been using the forums here to help even more and I've found a reliable breeder with whom I'm in contact with.Ill be getting him around December or January and still have some questions to ask
1. Their diet, everywhere I look its given me no specific diet I know plenty of fruits and veggies but what else; pellets?? seeds??both??? and if at all possible what brand?
2. how well do they bond with other members of the family?
3. not a question but please feel free to recommend any thing you feel need whether it be about care or asking me a question
Thank you all in advance

I feed mine a seed mix and give him bits of fruit and veg most days too.
From what I can gather you should prioritize vegetables over fruit, but of course
make sure they're not toxic and clean well to get rid of pesticides (apparently this doesn't
work too well with grapes though).

I'm looking to get my IRN onto a pellet diet but like you I honestly don't know where to start yet.

Once I'd gotten my IRN used to human contact he was happy to interact with other members of my
family. Although he does show an overwhelming preference for interacting with me, probably because
I'm the one who's with him all the time.

 

[IndySE]

Not an IRN owner, but I'm under the impression their dietary needs are similar to most parrots. In that case, I can recommend you some different pellet brands that are well regarded here: Harrison's, Zupreem, Goldenfeast, and Roudybush. I give my parrot Roudybush right now, but am considering switching her to Goldenfeast because it doesn't use corn fillers and has a lot of great ingredients in it (although, for whatever reason, some parrots just don't like it).

You'll want to minimize how much seed you give them. It's an important part of their diet, but should be only used sparingly because of the fat content. My baby came to me addicted to the stuff, but I managed to convert her by sparingly adding pellets in, at first grinding them up to be more presentable, until she took to them entirely.

Some birds can be fussy about veggies and fruits. In my experience, fruits go over well because they're sweeter. Although, veggies are usually more nutritious. Really it's an art of presenting it just the right way (in my experience, using a food processor to chop finely or hanging it up if it's leafy) so they take to it.

 

[Crayfish066]

Not an IRN owner, but I'm under the impression their dietary needs are similar to most parrots. In that case, I can recommend you some different pellet brands that are well regarded here: Harrison's, Zupreem, Goldenfeast, and Roudybush. I give my parrot Roudybush right now, but am considering switching her to Goldenfeast because it doesn't use corn fillers and has a lot of great ingredients in it (although, for whatever reason, some parrots just don't like it).

You'll want to minimize how much seed you give them. It's an important part of their diet, but should be only used sparingly because of the fat content. My baby came to me addicted to the stuff, but I managed to convert her by sparingly adding pellets in, at first grinding them up to be more presentable, until she took to them entirely.

Some birds can be fussy about veggies and fruits. In my experience, fruits go over well because they're sweeter. Although, veggies are usually more nutritious. Really it's an art of presenting it just the right way (in my experience, using a food processor to chop finely or hanging it up if it's leafy) so they take to it.

Don't mean to hijack OP's thread but do you know if those pellet brands
are available in the UK?

 

[IndySE]

@Crayfish; I don't, unfortunately ^^ With online ordering, I imagine you could easily get at least one of those brands. I heard of someone who lives in Thailand ordering Roudybush (though I'm not certain if relatives outside their country are assisting).

 

[Jottlebot]

Hi, yes, they're all available in the UK apart from Golden feast, which might be, but I haven't looked for it before. I buy online because it tends to be cheaper.

I would advocate a pellet diet, not a seed-based one. IRNs don't have any particular dietary requirements unlike lorries or eclectus.

I think they're usually quite good with all the family, but everyone has to be ready to put the work in and keep it up too to maintain the bond.