Dear IRN owner's community!
I am looking for some advice, thank you in advance!
In short: get a second IRN now, later, or not?
We have a 10-month-old Ringneck birdie, Alby, sharing the flat with my partner and me. We don't know its sex yet, since so far, it didn't matter to us whether it's a boy or girl, and time will tell anyway when he/she matures at around 2 years. So bear with me if I switch between he and she all the time :D
Alby has been hand-raised and apart from some bluffing (which is greatly improving lately) is very tame. She always steps up, allows us to pet everywhere, and loves to hang out on shoulders, so when I am at home, he is pretty much always sitting on me. The only time when he will bite is when he defends his cage - he is so territorial! But I guess that is normal. In general she is an absolute delight to have and she's our dear darling.
But lately I have been wondering if it isn't so selfish to keep him as a single bird. In nature they live in flocks and never alone. Since we are both working there are days when he is alone for long hours. His cage is always open, so actually his confines are the living room/ kitchen area, so he can move a lot and has lots of toys and windows to look out, but still he is alone. Sometimes he screams heartbreakingly when he realises that we are about to leave home.
If we get a partner for her, I think it should also be an IRN so they can possibly pair bond and stay together forever. If we would ever have to rehome them, we would make sure they stay together. Also I would DNA test Alby to make sure I get an opposite-sex parter for her, because I read that same-sex pairs don't always get along, is that right? And also I would look for someone roughly the same age as her.
On the other hand, she has been kept alone all her life. We knew her since she was a featherless baby being hand-fed by the people in the pet shop. Even then she was in her baby box alone, and later in a cage alone, even though she had some siblings. She was always separated from them - we don't know why. The only times when she met another bird were when we took her to meet our friend's IRN, but that was just a few hours each time. So would she even get along with a second bird in the house? Of course they would have separate cages at first, but still... What if they won't like each other?
The other problem is that we are living on an island and we are planning to move to the mainland later this year. This means Alby would have to travel with us on a plane. If we get a second bird now, he/she would also have to travel. I know that it's possible to do, but I still worry because it will be stressful for a bird. Has anyone ever travelled with an IRN on a plane?
Would it not be a better idea then to wait until we get to the mainland and look for a partner there?
Can anyone think of some other concerns that I should look out for? What is the most responsible thing to do here?
Sorry for the long text. I'm grateful for all advice from IRN-experienced people here :)
I am looking for some advice, thank you in advance!
In short: get a second IRN now, later, or not?
We have a 10-month-old Ringneck birdie, Alby, sharing the flat with my partner and me. We don't know its sex yet, since so far, it didn't matter to us whether it's a boy or girl, and time will tell anyway when he/she matures at around 2 years. So bear with me if I switch between he and she all the time :D
Alby has been hand-raised and apart from some bluffing (which is greatly improving lately) is very tame. She always steps up, allows us to pet everywhere, and loves to hang out on shoulders, so when I am at home, he is pretty much always sitting on me. The only time when he will bite is when he defends his cage - he is so territorial! But I guess that is normal. In general she is an absolute delight to have and she's our dear darling.
But lately I have been wondering if it isn't so selfish to keep him as a single bird. In nature they live in flocks and never alone. Since we are both working there are days when he is alone for long hours. His cage is always open, so actually his confines are the living room/ kitchen area, so he can move a lot and has lots of toys and windows to look out, but still he is alone. Sometimes he screams heartbreakingly when he realises that we are about to leave home.
If we get a partner for her, I think it should also be an IRN so they can possibly pair bond and stay together forever. If we would ever have to rehome them, we would make sure they stay together. Also I would DNA test Alby to make sure I get an opposite-sex parter for her, because I read that same-sex pairs don't always get along, is that right? And also I would look for someone roughly the same age as her.
On the other hand, she has been kept alone all her life. We knew her since she was a featherless baby being hand-fed by the people in the pet shop. Even then she was in her baby box alone, and later in a cage alone, even though she had some siblings. She was always separated from them - we don't know why. The only times when she met another bird were when we took her to meet our friend's IRN, but that was just a few hours each time. So would she even get along with a second bird in the house? Of course they would have separate cages at first, but still... What if they won't like each other?
The other problem is that we are living on an island and we are planning to move to the mainland later this year. This means Alby would have to travel with us on a plane. If we get a second bird now, he/she would also have to travel. I know that it's possible to do, but I still worry because it will be stressful for a bird. Has anyone ever travelled with an IRN on a plane?
Would it not be a better idea then to wait until we get to the mainland and look for a partner there?
Can anyone think of some other concerns that I should look out for? What is the most responsible thing to do here?
Sorry for the long text. I'm grateful for all advice from IRN-experienced people here :)