3.5 month old Ringneck- need advice

We adopted a 3.5 month old ringneck, its turquoise/blue factor. We have named him Ringo. We were told he was a male but he has not been DNA tested.

We were told Ringo was fully weaned. However, he's only eating seeds and millet. We offer him fresh fruits, veggies, eggs and a variety of other foods every day. He never touches anything except the seeds. Is there anything else I can do to introduce new foods to him? He won't even try them!

Ringo is a baby- he is clumsy, when I offer him millet from my hand he appears to be lunging to get it but I believe this is more he's trying to get it in his mouth as he never bites me. Only takes the millet from my hand.

We were told Ringo was a 'follower' and would be a very calm bird- and he is but he's also not overly friendly. He will step up onto a sleeved arm to come out of his cage but immediately wants to go on to his play perch. He doesn't want to interact with us at all. We are being patient, putting him on his perch and then giving him space. We talk to him from a distance and go on about our day. We opted to get Ringo a friend - we were told this would help him learn to 'be a bird'. We adopted a white, 6 month old male ringneck. His name is Jupiter.

Jupiter is the opposite of Ringo. He eats EVERYTHING and was showing signs of the bluffing stage but after a few days and a couple good nips he seems to be passing through that quite nicely. We introduced our new feathered friends on the play perch. At first they were a little mouthy towards each other so we distracted both of them with cards/toys. They sat next to each other for an hour or so each doing their own thing. They live in separate cages, someday if they do get along we would like to move them into a larger acrylic cage together.

My questions are- what can we do to get Ringo to try other foods? Is there anything else we can do to get him to be more friendly or adjust better? We will do whatever it takes. We want our babies to be happy and healthy!

Hi and welcome. Love to see some pics of Jupiter and Ringo?

If Ringo is such a seed junky perhaps this will help http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-food-recipes-diet/57416-sprouting-made-easy.html seeds but sprouted! More nutritious and more easily digested.

FYI http://indianringneck.com/feeding/

I'd stay with the separate cages, less risk and why shouldnt they have their own space and toys?

It doesnt sound very likely that Ringo received much if any early socialisation so start at the beginning and work forward. This will have handicapped him to life in your home. He has to start from the beginning and is probably just observing. Is he fully weaned? Wonder if some warm mushy veggies on a spoon will entice him?
http://indianringneck.com/socializingparrots/

Probably working with both is a good idea, sounds like you just have two birds with different personalties.

The fact that Ringo will take food from your hand is a good sign, even though he is a clumsy youngster. Build on this opportunity.

Hi!

You've got a very young ringneck there - and if he's been hand fed, there is plenty of potential that everything is going to work out just fine. My number one question - how long has he been home?

Plumsmum has given you some great advice on getting him to widen his diet. The other thing i would suggest is a very fine chop, and a teaspoon or so of seeds mixed in - no other seeds in his cage. To get his seeds he's going to taste other foods!

If Jupiter is a good wee eater, chuck their cages right next to each other if they aren't already. Make up a wee bowl of fresh stuff for Jupiter, and make sure Ringo can see hoe excited Jupiter is. Try a little bit of monkey see monkey do

Is Jupiter all over you? Easy to handle etc? our second IRN, Clarke, is a reasonably new addition. He was hand reared but had a fear of hands, and cage bound. I'm sure it was Henry that helped him to gain his confidence and eat well. But - it took a solid month before they'd really get to know each other and stop living independently. These two are really tight wee buddies now.

There's no guarantee's they'll like each other or interact, and I think the person who told you to have a second probably led you astray a little bit, but if you love them both and can work with them independently then it doesn't really matter

I never intended to have them share a cage - they did that by their own selves. Both doors open, they'd go to bed right next to each other every single night and then threw a cracker tanty if I went to move them. I do work from home so the cage door is open each day and they have a good play stand area - but yup, putting them together, and having it work, relies on it being their choice and not yours.

We chuck a tabletop perch on our dinner table. They love to sit on that and watch IRN video's on my computer with me. It helps them be in my space without being on me! They are both shoulder happy now, but that took time. They're certainly not cuddle bugs.

I really excited by your flock - can't wait to hear more!

Hello, and welcome to the Parrot Forum family!

Great advice above. I'll just add one more link you may find helpful: http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html