The natural range of this bird is India but as this species is highly adaptable it has proved itself a good aviary subject. Care should be taken to allow it access to a nest box or covered shelter all year as it is susceptible to frost bite during extreme periods of cold weather. Ringnecks are early breeders in the UK and can be subject to infertile clutches and it is sensible to check the eggs to see if they are fertile. They will quickly lay again if clear eggs are removed and normally the second clutch will be fertile. Ringnecks make good parents and brood their young for a long period, a great benefit during the early part of the breeding season.
There are now many primary mutations and combinations available in the Indian Ringneck, enough to rival and possibly surpass those available in the Budgerigar, leading to a popularity explosion in colour mutation breeding in the species in the UK, USA, South Africa, Australia and Europe.
Some of the primary mutations now available are Lutino, Blue, Turquoise, Grey-green, Aqua, Dark Factor, Violet Factor, Cinnamon, Lacewing, Fallow (three known types), Cleartail, Opaline, Misty, Dilute, Recessive Pied and Dominant Pied. The combinations of all these mutations are seemingly endless creating an array of colours and patterns.
The longest established are the Lutino a sex-linked mutation and the true Blue a recessive mutation. Other common colours include a Grey, a combination of Grey-green and Blue and have a dominant inheritance; an Albino which is sex-linked and bred from the pairing of the Lutino and Blue; and Cinnamon, again a sex-linked mutation, is a modifying mutation and is also fairly common.
As the normal Ringneck has a bright green appearance the Blue mutation is of high quality and was very sought after when it first appeared. As a recessive mutation if a Blue bird is paired to a Green all the young are visually Green but both cocks and hens are split for Blue. Once one of these split birds is paired to a Blue the resulting young should be 50% Blue and 50% Green split for Blue, the colour is no indication of the sex of the birds bred.
If a Lutino hen, a sex-linked mutation is paired to a Green cock all the young will be visually Green but the cocks will be split Lutino. A Green hen can not be split for Lutino or any other sex-linked mutation. By pairing a split Cock to a Green hen 25% of the young produced should be Lutino hens. Once a Lutino hen is bred to a split cock, 50% of the young are Lutinos, both cocks and hens. The Lutino cocks are most valuable in genetic terms because when paired to a normal Green hen the youngsters produced are Lutino hens and split cocks, this allows you to sex all the young in the nest.
Some time ago a Turquoise mutation appeared. After it was established it was found to be recessive and to partially activate the Blue gene creating an intermediate colour part way between green and blue, it is however dominant over Blue. This mutation is extremely useful and can be used to stunning effect with virtually all other mutations creating combinations such as Creamino when combined with Lutino, a creamy yellow and white bird and Turquoise Grey when combined with Grey, a bird with a light green and cream haze over its head, wings and breast. Another stunning combination using Turquoise is with the Lacewing (pallid on the Continent) mutation where it has the effect of turning the normal yellowish head and wings of a lacewing to a creamy yellow colour and the body and tail become pastel blue.
The most notable mutations to appear in recent times are the Cleartail, Dark Factor, Violet Factor and Pied mutations.
The Cleartail is an impressive mutation as it maintains the original depth of colour on its breast, nape, back, wings and rump and gives way to yellow ground colour in the normal Green bird on its belly and tail, and its head above the ringneck marking (in cocks only). This makes for beautiful combinations with Blue, Grey, Turquoise, Dark Factor and Violet Factor where the contrast between the various colours is spectacular. This mutation is thought to only occur in the Indian Ringneck and is recessive and so inherits the same as other recessive mutations such as blue.
The Dark Factor and Violet Factor are co-dominant mutations which in basic terms means they are different colours in single and double factor birds, unlike the dominant Grey-green mutation which is the same colour whether single or double factor. The Dark Factor is a dark green bird in single factor, darker than the normal green wild type. The two longest tail feathers are dark blue as opposed to bright blue in the wild type and a blue haze is clearly visible on the wings. A double factor bird is olive green and has mauve tail fathers instead of dark blue as in the single factor. This mutation combines beautifully with the Blue mutation producing Cobalt birds in single factor and Mauve birds in double factor.
As described, the Violet Factor like the Dark Factor is a different colour in single and double factor birds but the changes aren’t as marked as the Dark Factor. A single factor bird is dark green with a greater degree of blue throughout than the Dark factor and its two longest tail feathers are violet blue. The double factor Violet is simply more intensely coloured than the single factor. Once again this mutation combines well with Blue, creating a Violet Blue in both single and double factor birds. When Violet Blue and Cobalt are combined they produce a stunning purple which is further intensified when double factor Violet Blue and Mauve are combined.
Pieds – The most common Pieds are recessive and so like the Cleartail, follow the same inheritance patterns as Blue. These Pieds are well marked as young birds but progressively lose the pied markings as they mature resulting in a less impressive contrast between green and yellow, blue and white, grey and white and so on. They also lack sexual dimorphism (the coloured ring round the neck and nape in males) i.e. male markings and colours, therefore, these birds need to be DNA sexed to be identified correctly for breeding. By comparison, the dominant Pieds retain their neck/nape ring and also their pied markings into maturity and is a very striking looking bird, but this mutation isn’t yet as widely available as the recessive mutation. Both mutations are capable of producing some attractive combinations when bred to Blue, Grey, Cobalt, Violet and Turquoise etc. and are best not bred with Cleartails and Lacewings as the resultant Pied marked offspring detract from the beauty of the parents.