Pros & Cons of a Second IRN

[Hossinn]

Hello All,

We adopted our IRN, Neelo, approximately 4 months ago (he'll be 2 years old on December 1). We love having Neelo around and he gets a lot of attention from our family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children, ages 9 & 11). We prefer to actually handle Neelo, however, much of the time he prefers to do his own thing (cruising around the top of his cage, flying to the perch in the living room, walking around on the couch, etc.).

Our attempts at "training" have not been great. We bought a training perch to train "target", which was okay, but he becomes uninterested very quickly and just throws the treat aside (from what we've been able to determine, his favorite treat is pine nuts). This leads me to believe that either 1) Pine Nuts are NOT his favorite,or 2) we're doing something incorrect with the training technique. I've stood on many occasions, holding a pine nut in front of Neelo, trying to get him to make a "pleasant" sound, but many times he just stares at me, or squawks, in which case he generally doesn't get a treat. A bi-product is also that he doesn't seem to like the training perch very much...

Interesting Happening: The first couple months we had Neelo, he would whistle quite a bit and make fun "talking" sounds (not actual words), especially with my 9 year old daughter would scratch the back of his neck. I was the most "chopped liver" in the family. We moved Neelo to our local bird store while we were on vacation for 2 weeks and when we returned, 1) Neelo almost NEVER whistles and 2) Neelo now seems to be most excited about MY presence than the other members of the family (this is difficult because I'm home the least (I'd prefer he like my wife most because she's home most often)). I'm not sure if something happened while at Birdy Camp, or simply the experience of being moved from home caused these changes. It's hard to imagine "something" happened, because from what I can tell the owner and employees are sweet, bird loving individuals. Not sure if it had anything to do with it, but Neelo started a pretty heavy molt during this time, which may have been unpleasant for him...

To my question (sorry, I wanted to provide some back story), I'm wondering if it would be a positive in our situation, to bring a second IRN into the picture. For one, having another bird could double our fun. Two, might this be a fun/positive experience for Neelo, to have a buddy to hang out with? I'm wondering if having another IRN would encourage Neelo to whistle and make more pleasant sounds again. Of course, the other side of me wonders if having another IRN might make Neelo less interested in us humans, and more interested in retreating deeper into his wild bird world, with a companion.

I'm sure there are many people here who have experience going from 1 to 2 birds. I'd appreciate any comments regarding the pros and cons of this action.

Thanks so much!

Hossinn

 

[LordTriggs]

I'd say stick with 1

You put on there that you like the idea of the nice things about a second but you have to unfortunately plan for the worst. Which is either they like each other to the point they're violent against the family which especially with a 9 year old in the house isn't sustainable or they're violent towards each other which means any attention for neelo is cut in half. Plus you have to think of the money, the space for a second cage, more toys, more food ETC. Plus you haven't experienced a full hormone blow out yet which can be rough and is the main reason birds get rehomed. Having a second will triple all the associated behavior in the house.

For now I'd focus on Neelo, maybe he's bored of the treats? Try putting a load of different treats on a plate and see which ones he goes for first. As for training noises it's tricky, from observations I've found that specific noise training rarely works and it's more a round the clock style training. Meaning bad noises get 100% ignored, just carry on with whatever, but a good noise gets immediate attention.

I'd give it a year or 2 before thinking of another bird so that way you can really assess if another is right for you

 

[Hossinn]

I appreciate your comments, LordTriggs. Interesting observation about your own experience with "specific noise" training. Makes sense. Thanks!

 

[itchyfeet]

The academic or logical response will never be one in which a second bird is encouraged. The worst case scenario, as outlined above, requires double the resources, double the time and all for no reward and a more complicated lifestyle, in which no one wins.

A second parrot is a very risky move. The bond and lifestyle with one is very different to the dynamics of managing a flock. It needs to be done for all of the right reasons, and requires effort, skill and resources. It needs to be a desire of yours, and not to meet the needs of your first parrot, given there is no certainty on what they want or how they will react.

Plenty of us here are successful owners of flocks, not just singletons. If, down the track, a second is what you desire, and you've done the ground work, there is no reason you shouldn't investigate it further.

We got lucky. A best case scenario, but proof it can be done, too.
http://www.parrotforums.com/indian-ringnecks/68511-out-quariantine-new-arrival.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/indian-...-probably-start-thread-thingee-these-two.html

Life with a flock that get on:
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/71014-realities-working-home-parrots.html

So take it slow, work hard with your ringneck, don't rush the second, but don't rule it out either. Two together is a very magical experience.

 

[Hossinn]

Thank you itchyfeet. I very much appreciate you sharing your experience and knowledge.