Young indian ringneck strange behaviour

solskynn

New member
Sep 1, 2020
1
0
Western Australia
Parrots
Lutino Indian Ringneck
Hello everyone,
I have a young indian ringneck, Oscar, who is about 10 months old now. Starting a couple of days ago he has been showing odd behaviour towards my partner that he hasn't done before.

About 8 times out of 10 when my partner will go up to his perch, Oscar will crouch down, fluff up, pin his eyes and then open his beak to make a single soft caw sound before lowering his head. If my partner then starts to scratch him on his head or neck, Oscar will pin his eyes even more and start making little cooing sounds.
I have tried to replicate him doing this with me but no luck. He won't even do it with my partner if I'm next to him. I have to just watch them being all cuddly from afar :17:

Can anyone tell me what this behaviour means? Since it looks similar to female ringneck's mating behaviour, we are discouraging it. But this unfortunately means my partner can't really interact with Oscar at all since he almost always starts doing it as soon as he comes close :(
The fact that he is so young makes me think it's something else. I am just so confused :confused:

Also probably worth noting that he shows behaviour similar to this (especially with the cooing and eyes pinning) to a specific soft monkey toy of his, but he has never acted that way towards anything or anyone else until now.
Another thing is that we also are unsure if Oscar is a boy or girl. It's seeming likely that he may be a she...
 

wrench13

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Sounds like Oscar has picked his favorite person, and it aint you. But not to fear, you can still be in his life. At this point socialization of Qscar is very important. First figure out his favorite treat, the one he LOVES, and you now are the provider of it, and only you. Have it ready to give him every time you pass his cage or his play stand. Second, play 'warm potato' with your family, gently passing Oscar from person to person, hold him for a minute or less. Do this every day for a long time, months. It will help socialize Oscar and help keep him tame, because ringnecks all too readily revert back to their wild status. Try to do all interactions away from his cage, out of sight if possible, so any shred of cage dominance is not an issue.
 

Jottlebot

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Aug 29, 2012
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In addition to the above (and it sounds like sexual behaviour to me too) teach him or her some tricks. This will allow for meaningful interactions that don't need to involve touching and might keep his or her mind off the one track it's currently on!
 

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