Ringneck multiple birds

[Endlessaley]

HeY all. I'm new to the forums. I M the proud mom of a beautiful 8 month old well almost 9 month old male ringneck. I got him at 3 months old. He was hand fed and is very tame. He's grouchy and growls a lot but is also very sweet and cuddly and loves to be held and kissed. He's my baby. I'm home all day so he's out of his cage all day. I give him attention as much as I can, but I work from home and can't play with him all day.

I feel guilty seeing him by himself and seeing him watching me andJ screaming for me to hold him. I saw an ad today for a 9 month old female ringneck. I'm considering getting this little girl as a companion for him. Is this a good idea? I don't want to jeopardize our bond, but I want him to be happy and have a constant comPanion.

Will our relationship suffer? If i do decide to get him a companion, can I house them togehr? He has a huge cage. Also, if it's a female, do they always bond as a breeding pair? Should I consider a male instead? Are there other species I can consider to house with him? I also thought about the alexandrines... But ringnecks have my heart.

Sorry for all the questions. I just want any advice I can get regarding this. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Mitchell]

House a male and female together and they will bond with each other and be defensive towards you. House them seperate and let them out seperate if you leave them flighted or they'll fly to each other and yet still bond with each other,or get another male to prevent this or clip the couples wings to keep them apart. Great birds for sure!

 

[angel2k6]

I have a male and female pair but I bought them together so they were already bonded they rarely fight with each other but he lets he know when he doesnt like something for example he was the first of the two that we could get on the swing we have hanging from the ceiling when we got her to get on he got upset and would knock her off there fun to watch they rarely fight there almost like an old married couple lol ours are not very lovey we try to hand feed them some fruits and vegetables and are working with them when it comes to stepping up it was good at first but now they run away is there any tips you may have on how to get them to let us pet them or hold them right now we have to cover them in order to hold them because they will bite so we are trying to teach them no and that biting is bad. Ours are housed together but they were housed together when we bought them I would think that the younger they are the more likely they are to bond with each other we have been trying to take them out one at a time and spending some one on one time with each and then let them out to play together to get them to bond with us and get used to the busy household

 

[HalfInsane]

Just a couple questions. Does he have a variety of toys to play with in the cage, and do you encourage him to play independently?

It is important for young birds to learn to keep themselves busy. Even when he's out of his cage, offer him small toys (cat balls, shredding toys, etc). I feel that, as a good rule of thumb, you should have 4 toys in a birds cage at all times (more is fine, so long as the bird can still move around).

 

[roxynoodle]

I agree you definitely want them to learn to entertain themselves. If they don't learn that, they can start screaming or plucking when you aren't entertaining them at every moment. And none of us can do that. We work, we go other places, clean the house, etc.

I've never had 2 of the same species, but I do agree birds seem to enjoy having other birds around as well. I would only get the other bird though if YOU want another bird. You are the one who has to take care of it and pay it's vet bills. If you let them bond to each other they may or may not still be cuddly pets that want to interact with you.

As of the moment I am still at the point where I have one bird out at a time. I do have to worry my little conure will try to boss one of the bigger birds and end up injured. And I think I may have to watch for the zon and Grey possibly trying to become mates! He is interested in her and she has done a couple of things that tell me she may be interested back!

 

[Endlessaley]

Thanks for the responses guys. He does have a ton of toys. I have 2 cages, one out on the lanai (screened in porch) and one here in the dining room where I work.
He has a playgym that he sits on. I also have a shoe box that I shred paper into and then hide treats in. He loves that and digs around in there. But he will only play on his own for so long.

I had him on my shoulder and with me all morning. I set him back down on his cage, and he played for a little bit, but after an hour hes doing his needy scream. Right now as I'm typing he's hanging off the side of the cage looking at me, flapping his wings and screaming. I don't want to respond because I know it will encourage the behavior.

Should I keep him in another room, so that he cant see me? It seems like he screams even louder when he cant see me. At least when hes in the same room, he seems a bit more content for a while.

How do I encourage him to play on his own more?

 

[roxynoodle]

Two of mine contact call as well when I'm in other rooms. I just have to call back. I suppose if you are home all the time a bird may not learn as easily to play on it's own. I used to work and so did the former owners of my other birds, so they learned because they had to. Maybe you should try working in another room a few hours a day. And ignore the screaming and hopefully eventually it will stop.

 

[Endlessaley]

I will give that a try thanks. It's just hard to ignore it, since it is so piercingly loud and I do medical transcription which I need quiet for sometimes. I definitely want another bird as well. I just wonder if getting another bird would be a smart decision, or not.

I decided against the gray ringneck since it is a female, but will still do more research and maybe get a male eventually. Would it be better to get a male of the same species or a differnt species, or maybe a female of a different species? How do ringnecks get along with Alexandrines?

 

[roxynoodle]

I have a pair of headphones that are sound proofed and also have a radio if you want to listen to music. I wear them on my tractors to protect my hearing. Maybe something like that could help you as well while you are working. It's a thought.

As for what other bird he will get along with, that is hard to say. Sometimes they welcome whatever bird into their home and sometimes they don't! And sometimes at first they are mad about not being an only child anymore and then come to like the new bird.

Rowdy was always top bird here. And Pete's former owner said the same about him when he had other birds. And Merlin was apparently top bird in her previous home. And yet they all seem just fine together. I was expecting more jealousy and other issues but am not having any (so far).

 

[angel2k6]

I also have a few toys inside the cage for them and a play gym on the top of the cage with a swing hanging from the ceiling over his cage its low enough so that he can get up on it himself and also get down on his own without hurting himself. My female bird only likes it for so long then my male bird gets very territorial with her and kicks her off right now I believe the two are breeding and he doesnt want to leave her side he gets into the nesting box and has started to make a nest for here we are in the market for a larger cage for the two of them so we can interoduce more toys and thing to them. May I ask how you got yours to sit on your shoulder because we have been doing everything we can think of to try them to sit on our shoulder but they just fly away and bite at this point we think it may have to do with them nesting because he wont even leave the cage he constantly has to be with her

 

[Endlessaley]

I got mine pretty young. He was handfed, but after he was weaned he wasnt handled much for about a month so he was a bit skittish. He was pretty scared the first day or two, but hes also very curious and brave. I basically "flooded" him from the start. Meaning, I just took him out and handled him. I think thats only recommended for very young birds, otherwise you need to go slow with thim.
Again, my boy (Dalek) is very brave and will climb all over me and just has always loved sitting on my shoulder. He's an explorer and will climb on my head and all over me and the entire house. He doesnt like to be petted when hes just sitting there, but when he loves when I hold him against my chest and cuddle him and scratch his neck. He falls asleep that way. Somtimes Il tuck him into my sweatshirt and he falls asleep. I have never seen a bird do this before., He lays his head against my chest and sleeps that way. ITs the cutest thing!

 

[Endlessaley]

hes a pic of him napping when we first got him. I went off on a tangent sorry haha.

 

[angel2k6]

Awww cute thanks were gonna try the flooding them thing but he hasnt been the same for the past day or two he has been very fiesty with her and wont leave the nest box and gets very upset when she gets inside hes been making a nest its almost as the gender roles have been reversed but we do know that he is the male because of his ring because we were beginning to think he was the female

 

[roxynoodle]

Actually in some species it is the male who makes the nest.