Odd behavior between two indian ringnecks

[WhySoSerious]

Hello! I have one indian ringneck and so does my friend. They are both blue, one female and one male. We brought them over to see each other and after a few days, they started to come by each other. They have started to do a odd behavior in which my bird the male starts to kiss the female and the female Allows it to happen. She starts to make a soothing sound when they start kissing and she lets him clean them. Anyone know what is happening?

 

[Betrisher]

Well, I've got Alexandrines, not Ringnecks, but it sounds like courtship behaviour to me. Do they do a ritual little dance where they turn their heads sideways and shrink the irises of their eyes down to pinholes (pinning)? Do they regurgitate food? They could be making a pair bond, which may not be the best idea, since they live in different houses. Someone more experienced than me might chime in to say more on the possibilities, but I have a funny feeling it's probably not a good idea to let the relationship form unless you and your friend are prepared to house the birds together permanently and let them breed.

Anyone???

 

[WhySoSerious]

Well, I've got Alexandrines, not Ringnecks, but it sounds like courtship behaviour to me. Do they do a ritual little dance where they turn their heads sideways and shrink the irises of their eyes down to pinholes (pinning)? Do they regurgitate food? They could be making a pair bond, which may not be the best idea, since they live in different houses. Someone more experienced than me might chime in to say more on the possibilities, but I have a funny feeling it's probably not a good idea to let the relationship form unless you and your friend are prepared to house the birds together permanently and let them breed.

Anyone???

Yea, they are doing that funny ritual but the birds are actually not that old. The male is a year and a half and the female is a tad bit over a year.

 

[GaryBV]

Well Why that sounds very much to me like the male feeding the female. My male parrotlet does that to my female parrotlet all the time, in fact, apparently it's her favorite food :11:

 

[SpotsandSally]

IRNs don't form bonds. Some do, but not very often. Your not doing any *harm* by letting them court each other, but your female may begin to want to breed. If you'd like to breed, you can, and you both can keep your birds respectively, since once breeding is over, the female will HATE the male, but unless you have the knowledge, equipment and space (and money) and know the genetic blood lines of both birds (as to make sure they're not carrying genetic anomalies), then I wouldn't suggest it.

Bertrisher - I don't know about alexadrines, but I think they're similar in they don't form bonds. Why your 2 like each other so much? Maybe they do. I don't know. But from what I've read on IRN breeding (I've been obsessed with the idea after getting kiwi, lol) IRNs don't form bonds, and if they do, it's not that common. They can make friends, but bonds is a stretch. I, of course, have only been reading online, and it'd be nice to get an experienced IRN breeder's opinion


Edit;; monogamous bonds, I mean.

 

[Betrisher]

Omigoodness, I don't mean to imply Barney and Madge are in lurve or anything like that! They're only just over a year old and they fight like an old married couple. They both have strong bonds to me (and to a lesser degree with my kids), but not with each other. It's part of the reason I got such a big cage for them: so they could stake out their own space. Madge is very dominant, despite being the smaller, lighter bird. So much so that I wondered for a while if she might be a male. Then I remembered that hens are often far more antsy than male birds and it doesn't matter one way or the other: I won't be breeding my birds! I don't want the responsibility and certainly don't want to be finding any old home for a clutch of gorgeous babies. Barney and Madge are companion birds only and they fit that bill just fine!

Still, they do exhibit what's obviously mating ritual behaviour with eye-pinning, head bobbing and mutual feeding. Madge is still such a baby: she does that thing chicks do and thrusts at Barney (or at my finger in her bill) as if she were feeding from a parent. As soon as Barn shows the slightest interest, she's boxing at him with her bill and threatening to tear hunks off him. Madge don't take nonsense from no man!

Having said all that, though, they call to each other constantly when they're out of the cage and nine times out of ten they'll be perched together, whether it's on the shower curtain rail, the playgym or the perch over the front door. Or my head. At any given moment, I'll have a green hat that consists of one bird nibbling at my side combs and another swinging off the tail of my plait.

 

[SpotsandSally]

Oh, LOL.
In IRNs the females can be quite brats, and It sounds like its the same for Alex's

Just curious why you got a male / female pair if you don't want babies? LOL, or was it accidental?
In a few years you may be battling a persistent female who insists everything can be a nest, lol.

 

[Betrisher]

I've always kept male/female pairs of birds. I just think it's more natural for them and it's easy enough to circumvent nesting behaviours. Touch wood, but I've never had a problem with it and I've owned birds all my life.

Oh, I just remembered that King quails got away from me one year. I neglected to separate the male birds soon enough and wound up with about fifteen adorable baby quail, each the size of a marble. They ran around on their tiny little toothpick legs and were, unfortunately, gobbled up by the snake that came in from the paddock.

 

[t0mmick]

yes its true IRN do not usually form strong bonds to mates and can often be united with a new mate even after actual mating has occurred, however there are times when they can form a bond or one may be more into the relationship than the other which can result in unstoppable screaming. This happened to my friends pair , she decided to sell the male and now the female screams all day basically looking for her man!lol Id agree in saying that id only pair up for breeding if i was well equipped, experienced and had both birds in the same house just incase they did bond even tough its unusual!!