help with parakeet

Jenna

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Jul 30, 2010
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Huddersfield
Parrots
Indian ringneck parakeet
my ringneck parakeet is 8 months old and only got her today but she is very very timid, she flaps about and screeches when i go anywhere near her. she doesnt fly well either, she flys low and crashes to the ground.. the previous owner said her wings havent been clipped. any advice on how to tame her and if theres anything wrong with her flying??

thanks
 

greycloud

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Mar 21, 2010
1,034
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Baltimore, MD
Parrots
Sammy-Umbrella Too-rescued,
Dexter-CAG-rehomed handicapped,
Sterling-CAG-rehomed retired breeder.
Sunshine-12 yo CAG-adopted
Well welcome to the forum! Congrats on your new IRN.
purchasing an 8 month old IRN is great as long as the breeder or store you purchased from worked with the bird everyday. IRN tend to be birds that need constant attention to maintain thier tameness. Your bird might not have had this. Also remember, it is facing an entire new home, new surroundings, new people, new sounds, new cage. I find it is best to leave the bird be for about a week to let them adjust to everything. Sit in a chair, nearby, and talk quietly, read and sing to the baby. When you walk by the cage drop a treat in the food bowl and praise the bird if it does not scream or act scared. In time it will learn you bring yummy good things and mean no harm. In time you can leave the cage open and try offering teats from your fingers. Praise all good behavior. This is positive reinforcement.
As far as flying, sounds like even though the baby was not clipped it was not allowed to fledge properly. Flying is a learned and much practiced behavior. After the baby learns to trust you take it in your bedroom and close the door. Lift it up over the bed and let it practice flapping and jumping off your hand. If it falls it will land on the soft bed. With time it should master it's technique.
 
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Jenna

Jenna

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Indian ringneck parakeet
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so with time and patience she will become tame ? its not too late as someone i asked suggested it is , it seemed like the owner didnt really spend much time with her from what i could tell and i have alot of time to spend on her so im hoping that i can make her tame , if her wings aren't clipped ( which im suspicious over ) then is it just her wings are weak ? it seems like shes trying and can get about 1-2 feet off the floor but crash lands into things which seems strange i really want her to be able to fly i feel sorry for her
 

greycloud

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Mar 21, 2010
1,034
1
Baltimore, MD
Parrots
Sammy-Umbrella Too-rescued,
Dexter-CAG-rehomed handicapped,
Sterling-CAG-rehomed retired breeder.
Sunshine-12 yo CAG-adopted
Anyway you can post a picture of the wings?
Like I said, I can't make promises she will tame. IRN can be difficult. She is still young and with patience and lots of positive reinforcement she very well may come around.
 
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Jenna

Jenna

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Indian ringneck parakeet
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the bird wont let me touch her to get to the wings, she has started taking food from me from the outside of the cage when i put my finger in is this a positive sign?
 

greycloud

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Mar 21, 2010
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Baltimore, MD
Parrots
Sammy-Umbrella Too-rescued,
Dexter-CAG-rehomed handicapped,
Sterling-CAG-rehomed retired breeder.
Sunshine-12 yo CAG-adopted
Yes, a very good sign! You can take a picture from a side and back view and I can tell if she is clipped.
 

GreenCheek

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Baltimore, Maryland
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I'm going to say judging from the pictures, she definitely looks clipped. If I'm seeing things right (I may not be), it looks like 3 visible flight feathers on the one side, and only 1 visible flight feather on the other one. This uneven clip would explain the crashing. Whoever clipped her must have done one of those "one winged" clippings. It throws them off balance and they often will fly in circles and crash into things. Poor thing. :( And I do believe with time, she will come around! It may take months, or even years though. You just never know.
 
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Jenna

Jenna

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Indian ringneck parakeet
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i had my doubts that her wings had been clipped im a newbie to birds though so wasn't sure , just the way she flys is horrible . Will the wing feathers grow back so that she can fly properly again ? .. well we are leaving her be for a little while she seems to be getting slightly better already tolerating our hand in the cage without flapping like a maniac . i just hope she does come around
 

GreenCheek

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As long as there is no damage to the follicles, her flight feathers will grow back and she'll be able to fly normally again. :) It may take her a while to gain back her confidence and the strength in her wings, but she'll fly again one day! :) It'll take her a few months to molt those clipped flights. Also, is it possible to take her to the vet and have them even that clip out? I'd just be worried about her hurting herself, and at least if you evened the clip, she'll be able to gracefully glide to the ground instead of the crashing that she's doing.
 
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Jenna

Jenna

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i was thinking about taking her to a vet just to get her checked over , does wing clipping cost alot of money or is fairly cheap ? i hope that her wings aren't damaged as she is a lovely bird and would be a shame if she was hurt , i feel so sorry for her she seems to want to fly but just cant :(
 

GreenCheek

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It should be pretty cheap at your vet. I think my vet will charge $20, which is kind of expensive for just a wing clip, but at least you know it's done right.

And this is what a fully flighted Indian Ringneck looks like: http://www.ourringnecks.com/photos/****-BirdsRingnecks/Pastel%20Grey%20Lacewing%20Cock%20Ringneck.JPG

See how you can see all of the flight feathers? I'm not sure WHY the previous owner tried to convince you that your IR isn't clipped. :confused:

Edit: Ugh, I don't know why that link isn't working.

Edit: OH! Now I see. :p Replace the "****" with the 4 letter word for a male bird, or the naughty word for the male sex organ, and you'll get the picture to come up. :p I can see the forum censored it.
 
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Jenna

Jenna

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Indian ringneck parakeet
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i will give them a call asap to get it done for sure i want her to be able to fly , im leaving her in a her cage for now till she settles in , Im not sure either to be honest i think he bought the bird and then decided he didnt want it as he didnt seem to know much about it , she didnt even have a name which is quite sad .
 

GreenCheek

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That is sad. :( That's why impulse buys are so terrible, you don't really know what you are getting into.

Now, when you even her clip, she still won't be able to "fly", this is just so she stops crashing into things and is able to glide herself to the ground. The flying will come after she's molted all of her clipped flight feathers and grows back new ones.
 
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Jenna

Jenna

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Indian ringneck parakeet
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thats all i want is for her to be able to land properly at the minute when will she molt any ideas shes around 8 months old ( apparantly)
 

GreenCheek

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In my experience Cody seems to molt heavily about twice a year, and a little bit here and there in between. But to give you an idea, I purchased Cody from the breeder with a full clip, and it took him a year to grow all of his feathers back. I'm not sure if it's different for IRNs though.

And that girl is so lucky to have ended up in your care! :) I can see you really care for her well being, and I'm sure she knows that too!
 

Birdamor

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Jun 14, 2010
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Depending on the number of remiges clipped, it can take one to two years to moult them all but, usually, birds are able to fly the first year because once they get three good wing primaries, they are good to go.

Now, unless the bird has been DNA'd a female, you might have a little boy there because visually sexing IRN's is done through the ring on the neck (males have it, females don't) but they don't start growing it until 2 to 3 years old and this bird is only 7 or 8 months old.

I would not worry that she would not come around, she is still a baby and, if you play your cards right, she could still become a very good pet bird. But, mind you, IRNs are more difficult and time-consuming than most other species of parrots - especially the females.
 
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Jenna

Jenna

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Indian ringneck parakeet
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so it could be a while before he/she gets the feathers back then :( i never even thought about the sex it could be male i really have no idea i think ive rushed in a bit to get this bird i just really wanted he/she . im hoping in time she will come around i have patience so i will just keep on trying. i found a decent training tip site so with any luck it might work. are they hard to tame ? or can they be trained easily but just take time ?
 

wildheart

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Mar 16, 2010
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Welcome Jenna!

My IRN arrived at my house in March. We had to let the vet clip her wings because she attacked everybody’s heads. I felt very sad about it for a while but she soon accepted that she cant fly anymore.

My girl was abused and did not trust anything or anybody. At first I approached her with my hands behind my back and stuck my head against her cage and just gave her kisses. It took about 3 days before she stopped backing off and just stayed there and gave me kisses back. It was scary because I knew how hard she bites, but I did not show her any fear and she did not once bite me. After I got her to trust my mouth I started approaching her with one hand reaching out for her and every time that she backed down – I stopped and just stayed like that. I did everything on her terms and did not force her but I was consistent and devoted a whole week to her and approached her every half an hour. She stopped running away from my hand after a couple of days and just bit me. Yes it was very painful but also necessary – it was necessary that she sees that I will not hurt her back – scream at her or throw her with something.

You just need to take it step by step on her terms and you have to be consistent, patient and persistent.

As soon as she starts trusting your hand you can then teach her to step up.

We formed a strong bond because I am her wings, when she is not on her cage. You need to pay close attention to her – when you see she wants to get onto something or go somewhere then help her do it.

I am now happy that we clipped her wings because she goes outside in the garden with me every day, she sits in the trees go on holiday etc.

Good luck and enjoy every step.
 

Birdamor

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Jun 14, 2010
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so it could be a while before he/she gets the feathers back then :( i never even thought about the sex it could be male i really have no idea i think ive rushed in a bit to get this bird i just really wanted he/she . im hoping in time she will come around i have patience so i will just keep on trying. i found a decent training tip site so with any luck it might work. are they hard to tame ? or can they be trained easily but just take time ?


Don't worry about the feathers yet, the most important thing is for him/her to start feeling comfortable with you. Wildheart gave you a lot of good info. The best way to achieve a good long term-relationship with a parrot is to win them over on their terms. People talk about clipping, putting them in an unfamiliar room, darkening the room, toweling them and scratching their heads when they cannot bite you, etc but, IMPO, when you take your time, don't force them and respect them enough to not put them in a vulnerable situation is the best way to win their trust and love forever.

How hard a bird is to tame depends on whether the bird was hand or parent raised, what kind of experience the bird had with humans in the past and how much work you put into it. IRNs are not easy, not even for experienced parrot people. They have the capacity to bond deeply with their humans but they are extremely needy and demanding of a lot of attention on a daily basis.
 

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