Dear Parrots magazine,
Ringnecks in a colony
I was given one of your magazines (issue 171) and asked to read Muriel Barnes’ reply to breeding Ringnecks in the Parrot Queries page. She suggested breeding pairs should be housed separately, one pair to a flight.
I have been breeding and showing Ringnecks for the past 20 years or more and have always kept my birds in a colony aviary, comprising a 1.85m x 1.2m (6ft x 4ft) shed and a 3.65m x 1.85m (12ft x 6ft) flight. I have three pairs of Ringnecks breeding in this flight and I have never seen any aggression from any of the birds.
The trick is to put all the birds in the same flight together, so none of them claim territorial rights. I can take a hen or a cock out and replace it, at any time when they are not breeding, as Ringnecks have very little to do with each other out of the breeding season.
Ringnecks make very good show birds in the large parrot-like class and I have had Ringnecks win on many occasions and even won Best in Show on two occasions with a lutino cockbird. I keep other birds too such as African Greys, Pennants and Grey-breasted and Pearly Conures. I thought your magazine excellent and enjoyed reading it.
Harry Leese, Stoke-on-Trent