Could they get along?

[rainbowfeathers77]

Hi
I was wondering if anyone could tell me if it is posiible to keep 4 IRNs together in a large cage...or would they all fight??

Thanks in advance

[megzly]

being all IRN's i imagine they would be ok- the bird shops artound keep them all together- youd just have to make sure they had alot of space- i m no expert on IRN's but

[courtzrocks]

Yeah make sure they have alot of space but yeah i would say they could be housed together...it's best to find out if they all like eachother and if some dont then figure out which do and pair them maybe?

[vankarhi]

They probably would be ok but I would want to have them in a huge cage so they can have their own space. They probably wont bond with you though with so many other feathered freinds to bond with.

[abby-oldaccount]

If you could get the IRNs from the same breeder (different bloodlines if you want to breed down the track) it would be preferable. At least that way they are kinda used to each other. I had 2 older IRNs (both females) together and they barely tolerated each other. I put them together as older birds. Make sure you're talking really large cage. An aviary would be preferable with that number.

[rainbowfeathers77]

Thanks for all your info and advice!!! Much appreciated Cheers

[Jane]

I can't say I have first hand experiance but I know a friend of mine had 2 irn's in a "patio" aviary, one of those hexangonal ones on wheels and added a third and all hell broke loose so kept it at 2. Of course unless they are going to have outside time they really need an aviary for flight space

[petiel]

They will be fine in a large aviary, breeding time there might be a few fights over which box they want to use. If you only want them as pets you won't have any problems.

[rainbowfeathers77]

Hi
I couldn't do an outside aviary coz we live in an army house so can't really do much with the yard (can't wait till I have my own house)...so for now I wanted them in a really big cage in doors...could anyone reccomend an appropropriate size??

[abby-oldaccount]

Just a question. Are you wanting to get the ringnecks for pets, possible breeding or just something pretty? before I go on I'm one for the biggest cage possible. I honestly wouldn't house more then 2 together in an inside cage. United Birds Society of SA states minimum cage size for 2 IRNs as 70cmW, 70cmD and 90cm H. Personally I would always go bigger if possible but you need to watch your bar spacing with some of the huge cages. It may be too wide for an IRN.
Are you planning on 2 youngsters or adults? IRN baby season is pretty much finished but there's probably some late babes out there. To make sure you are getting what you want please try and find a breeder. If you want to breed down the track they should be able to sort out an unrelated pair and be able to chat to you about genetics with potential colour outcomes.

[rainbowfeathers77]

Cheers for that abby...especially the cage dimensions etc!!
I can't decide whether I want them as pets or as a live ornaments ...I know if I were to have them as pets, I'd be better of with just one but I like so many colours and want a few so I guess I"d have to keep them as "untame" ornamnets ? I don't know really.
There are two IRNs that I want to rescue from our local pet store, a male and female (they're semi-tame), they are a couple-in-"love" but the pet store owners don't know if they are related or not . They've been there for a while now and I feel really sorry coz they have to live in a very tiny box - been in there for over a month now...but then I ofcourse started thinking and getting "bird-purchase" excited and wondered if I could also squeeze in another couple of different colours.

[avinet]

Ringnecks are always a bit unpredictable when housing several together. There have been times when I have had more than our present pair as house pets and there has often been problems, always between the hens, and never the cocks.

Also I have concerns about buying birds from a shop to "rescue them". By doing so you are only adding to that shop's profit and they will undoubtedly get more RNs to put back in the same cage. If you have concerns about the conditions they are being kept in then report the shop to the RSPCA.

In general ringnecks that are not pets are best kept in an environment where they can fly - an outside aviary - and not a house cage however big. If you want to keep multiple ringnecks as pets and are not interested in breeding get cocks only. Pet quality Rns can make great companions. If you want them to breed then obviously get pairs but keep one pair to a cage - they can still be pets and breed.

cheers,

Mike

[rainbowfeathers77]

Thanks for that Mike. Yeah I'm in a bit of a bird-purchase-frenzy and can't think straight. I appreciate your advice, I think maybe one IRN as a pet will probably be better for me for now - I still don't know

[avril]

I have 3 pr in an aviary and as you can see it is fairly large. These have not bred as yet but the Albinos are an unrelated pair with the green and blue ones female siblings and they will all be separated into breding aviaries next seasons.

I keep young ones in a colony until they reach breeding age and have had no problems with them.

Lutino female and Blue male are the parents of the blue and green females.

They have been put into another aviary now.

[rainbowfeathers77]

Geez thanks for that "bird-tease" Avril!!! Thats exactly what I'd like,...I'd like one of each colour...especially a blue one, a green one, a lutino one and a violet one!!!
Hey, since on this topic...could anyone explain to me what it means when an IRN is a lacewing??? Still can't figure it out!
Thanks for the inspiration, Avril!! Much appreciated!

[avinet]

I really shouldn't do this to you in your present bird fever condition but I can't resist.

We have a pair of ringnecks that I knew from their splits could produce green, yellow, blue and white babies. The odds were 16 to 1 that any nest of 4 babies would have all 4 colours. Well, first nest had 4 babies and first nest had one of each. Amazing luck, and the photo is below. Subsequent breeding ended up showing that the cock was also split to cinnamon He is green in colour and split lutino, blue and cinnamon and the hen is lutino split blue. Knowing the full splits now the odds are actually about 32 to 1 so that first nest, never repeated about 8 nests later, was even more lucky.

cheers,

Mike

[Karen]

golly that is fantastic getting 4 different colours in 1 nest! They are all gorgeous too!

[rainbowfeathers77]

Oh goodness!! I would absolutelly love that!! You just resparked the freanzy-flame...thanks alot ....plus they are all babies from the same batch so they would all tolerate each other!!! Wanna sell them to me ?

[avinet]

They are now about 5 years old so have long gone to their homes. And the pair have never repeated the nest again. We have had nests with four different colours - one was a cinnamon, a cinnamon blue (sky blue), a lutino and a white. The parents are good breeders, big strong birds that produce big strong babies which are usually of excellent temperament.

Note that buying related babies is not a good idea - if they breed in the future you don't want brother/sister pairings. If you buy unrelated baby ringnecks it is very rare to get compatibility problems, the trouble comes as the hens in particular reach maturity, especially in the spring breeding season.

cheers,

Mike

[rainbowfeathers77]

Thanks for that too...geez...where were you when I needed you ...lol... I really appreciate all this time you are taking to answer all my guestions! Cheers heaps