3 month old IRN lunging at hands

It is a very strange situation, I started feeding him millet because it gave us some distance however I have recently started feeding him seeds and other small food items and he takes them from me without any trouble, my fingers have even touched his beak a number of times. He will even tollerate my hands when I have a clicker in them and press it right next to him.

The problem is whenever I put my hand near him without anything in it he will lunge in it's direction with his mouth open, this happens regardless of whether I have a closed fist or not.

He seems to be fine with my face being near him so I'm not sure what the problem is.

When I first got him he would fly into a panic when I put my hand near him, then he transitioned to moving away from my hand but now he seems more aggressive.

The only thing I can think of is that he was afraid of me before but now he isn't.

EDIT: I say 3 month without realising i've already had him about 2 weeks now so it's actually 3 and a half months old if that matters.

Ringnecks are odd about hands.
I've been going through something similar with Clarke, but he's getting better. He's 'handshy' but has no problem eating from them!

I just ignore any behaviour I don't like. When I surprise him with an out of the blue 'step up' command I quickly present my hand on his belly....that doesn't make much sense...I'll get someone to video it later...but when I do do that, he hops on without lunging. Henry gives him lots of enthusiastic 'Good BOY's' and I give him a small treat. He'll ride around on our shoulder no worries now....this being a bird sold as 'aviary only'.

Maybe you just need a helper in the body of a parrot. Henry is a great supporter

itchyfeet said:

Ringnecks are odd about hands.
I've been going through something similar with Clarke, but he's getting better. He's 'handshy' but has no problem eating from them!

I just ignore any behaviour I don't like. When I surprise him with an out of the blue 'step up' command I quickly present my hand on his belly....that doesn't make much sense...I'll get someone to video it later...but when I do do that, he hops on without lunging. Henry gives him lots of enthusiastic 'Good BOY's' and I give him a small treat. He'll ride around on our shoulder no worries now....this being a bird sold as 'aviary only'.

Maybe you just need a helper in the body of a parrot. Henry is a great supporter

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So is it anything to do with this bluffing stage I've heard about?

Will he learn not to fear my hands eventually or is this a permenant quirk of IRNs?

I wen't through same thing with my alex, you will find they are well behaved in the beginning but that's just them being super scared from the move, your right about him being less scared now and thus showing more opinions, emotions!

I believe it could be bluffing stage and because of that they are one of the harder bird's to tame, here's a vid of my girl during first week home, that same bird started lunging and wanted my blood for a couple months but now is super sweet! It could take a you only a few days or several months, each bird is different. She's not lay flat on my chest and cuddle sweet like my galah but always steps up, gives kisses, never bites and enjoys minor petting, in general they are hands off birds!
The key things I did is not stop interacting or show fear also would take her out of line of sight from her cage for a bit everyday, she was less agrressive oh and don't be shy with giving treats from hand.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfkYMdXrcUU"]cute alexandrine baby - YouTube[/ame]

adz1984 said:

I wen't through same thing with my alex, you will find they are well behaved in the beginning but that's just them being super scared from the move, your right about him being less scared now and thus showing more opinions, emotions!

I believe it could be bluffing stage and because of that they are one of the harder bird's to tame, here's a vid of my girl during first week home, that same bird started lunging and wanted my blood for a couple months but now is super sweet! It could take a you only a few days or several months, each bird is different. She's not lay flat on my chest and cuddle sweet like my galah but always steps up, gives kisses, never bites and enjoys minor petting, in general they are hands off birds!
The key things I did is not stop interacting or show fear also would take her out of line of sight from her cage for a bit everyday, she was less agrressive oh and don't be shy with giving treats from hand.
cute alexandrine baby - YouTube

Click to expand...

Thanks, he seems to enjoy my company but as long as it is on his terms. Earlier today I left the room for about 1 hour and he was making tons of noise the entire time I was gone. I'm starting to see some progress with him it's just the lunging kind of threw me off at first but he seems perfectly content with my head right next to his perch talking to him, I should be greatful for that at the moment I guess.

Just be patient. Parrots in general are hand shy, but I would say IRN's certainly have something about hands moreso than other parrots. But that's simply because your parrot doesn't have a purely positive association with them just yet. Continue to take it slow, and don't move your hands or body around too quickly. You have to remember that parrots are instinctively on the look out for whatever is about to eat them next, and fast movements tend to scare them. Until they learn that you are a positive thing to be on, near, or around, they'll be apprehensive.

And you don't necessarily need to be physical to have a great relationship with your bird. Talking with them, being around them, staying calmly with them... they're all good relationship builders. Target training is a fun and easy way to interact, and once they pick it up you can work on target training them onto your hand. Time, patience, and love always wins out with parrots IMO.

does sound like he's getting more opinionated and quite possibly realizing that lunging makes you go away. If you don't back off he will learn that a lunge doesn't work.

The "bluffing" stage normally occurs at around 2 years old/puberty so I don't think it's that

Be patient with him. 2 Weeks isn't long and he needs to learn to trust you aren't trying to eat him

From everything i've read bluffing is usually shortly after weaning

adz1984 said:

From everything i've read bluffing is usually shortly after weaning

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strange. Stuff I've read on Ringnecks has said it's normally when a bit older, but I did just read one thing saying that it can by anywhere between 4 months and a year but it also states causes aren't fully known and there are variances in it.

Either way they all state just to push through it and not to encourage the behavior

He just lunged at my face today so I guess it's not exclusive to hands but hands do seem to rile him up more.

He's a confusing little guy, I get too close and he lunges but if I ignore him he starts making noise.

He's almost 6 months old now, he's definitely bonded with me and we get
a long well.

I've noticed he has a habit of biting if he doesn't get his own way though.
Frequently when I hold up a toy of his he will get angry, think I'm trying
to steal it from him and he'll bite. Same seems to happen when I try and
force him back into his cage, although he seems to be biting a little less hard
recently.

As I said we get a long great but he really comes across like a spoiled child
at times lol.

Will he grow out of this eventually or is it in the IRN nature to be controlling?

welcome to owning a parrot

they are all spoilt children and I think none of us would change things! Try playing with him in the cage and putting him in with the door left open a couple times a day, it seems to help with the usual going in and out

LordTriggs said:

welcome to owning a parrot

they are all spoilt children and I think none of us would change things! Try playing with him in the cage and putting him in with the door left open a couple times a day, it seems to help with the usual going in and out

Click to expand...

He actually went back in on his own the other day for the first time to
get some water, so maybe he's adjusting a little.

Is there a way to get him used to me touching him besides stepping up?
He gets really bitey when I touch his back or head.

Is this just something unique to every IRN or should I try and train him
to allow it?

Neither of my IRN's are that affectionate. If I have to I can lift their wings and that would pay to teach your parrots, incase it's a requirement at the vet.. They step up fine. If I want to pat something...well that is what my cat is for If the parrot doesn' enjoy it, then it is just for human therapy really.