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Question:

May 16, 2024

Finding Male for 12 yrs old IRN female?


I have a 12 yrs old Indian Ring Neck Female, She lays eggs but obviously they not fertile. I am searching a Male IRN for her. It is difficult to find the male of same age as female. So Can she pair with 4 yrs old Male? or it is too young for her? If not then what is best age range for 12 yrs old female?


Answer:

Hi,

I would try to find a male that is older than 5 years old. Even if you get a male, there is not guarantee they will get along. All you can do is try and hope they bond. If the female is a pet, it is better to try to discourage egg laying. If you get her a mate, you will lose her as a pet.

Keep in mind that to lay eggs, she needs longer daylight, warmer weather, abundant food, and a quiet, private environment. The goal is to reverse these conditions.

Limit her light to 8-10 hours by covering the cage early each evening

Do not give her anything to use as a nest – no bird huts or tents, no box, bowl, etc. If she decides to sit in a food bowl, remove it and replace with smaller cups.

Do not give her anything to shred such as paper or cardboard.

Rearrange the toys in the cage frequently.

Move the cage to a different place in the room. Move the cage about once a week, or whenever she shows signs of nesting – settling on the cage floor for example. This disrupts her idea of having a stable place to lay eggs and raise chicks.

If you feed a lot of fresh foods, stop offering any for a couple of weeks, and then only offer them in small amounts about 2 or 3 times a week. You can resume normal feeding later when the birds aren’t being hormonal.

If she is let out of the cage, do not let her get in any dark cozy places and don’t give her free roam. When you let them roam around, this mimics searching for a nesting site.

When you handle her, limit any petting to only the head and neck – do not pet a bird on the body. Only a bonded mate is allowed to groom the body. We can’t be a mate, so touching the body is off limits.

If there is no metal floor grate, then do not use any bedding or paper in the cage tray – leave it bare and clean it daily.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda

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