Hello from a newbie Indian Ringneck Owner

Well, we have now had our Indian Ringneck for just over 3 months. .
We feed him well, talk to him, sing to him and generally spend a lot of time with him but he is still totally unmanageble. When I put my hand in his cage to clean him out you would think he was being attacked.
He screams and crashes from one side of the cage to another.
What can we do to calm him down?

Do you ever just sit by the cage and read or watch TV, surf the net etc? The key is patience and a lot of non-threatening exposure. Sitting by the cage and not attempting to touch him will let him learn that you aren't a threat. You can also offer treats through the cage bars (apple and grape and sunflower seeds are favorites of many ringnecks). Once he's willing to take treats from you through the bars of the cage you can work on opeing the cage door while you sit with him and seeing if he'll come to the door for treats, next comes trying to touch him... Always move slowly and try to talk softly and reasuringly to him when attempting new things. Don't forget to tell him he's a good bird and reward him for behavior you want to see more of.

also, is your bird a young bird, an older bird? What's his/her history?

[FONT=&quot]Take one day at a time, be patient and understanding.
Spending quality time with the bird is very important, each and every day routinely. [/FONT]
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To gain your trust could take days, weeks, months even years. Each and every bird is so different. He obviously feels you are intruding in his space, his cage.
Sit near the cage, talking and singing to the bird. Let him become familiar with your voice. Leaving the cage door open, offer him treats through the bars at first. When he willingly accepts them, try placing a treat near the open door. Eventually he will starts taking the treats from the door, make no attempt to touch him. When he does come out, he will probably climb around on the cage. Let him explore in his own time. To get him back in, place a treat inside the cage, making sure it's visible.


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Good advice here for you. Please do not put your hands in the cage unless the bird is out of the cage. Many birds are like that including my own.

Thanks for the advice, we do try to offer him treats through the bars but he will not come near. I actually sat for a couple of hours holding a piece of apple to the bars but he outlasted me by staying as far away as possible. We have been reading up and understand the need for patience but was just wondering if we were doing something completely wrong.
With regard to his history...he is a young bird, 11 weeks old when we got him and he has now been with us for 3 months. We got him from an advert in the paper, as part tame and starting to talk...this was obviously not true but being new to this we trusted the advert. I guess perseverence is the name of the game.

With regard to not putting my hands in the cage....how am I supposed to remove his perches etc to clean them?

Is his wings clipped? If they are, open the door to his cage and hang special treats near the open door and see if he will come out to retrieve them. If his wings aren't clipped, then getting them cliiped would be a start. This way, he will be a little bit easier to handle or manage.

But most birds that I have seen are cage territorial and don't like us messing around in their cage especially when they are in it. Mine is the same way. So will usually wait until he comes out of his cage to have him step up on my hand.

Now, YOU ARE GOING TO GET BIT, so you might as well put that in your mind from the git go. You will just have to accept it for what it is and hope it doesn't break the skin. A major thing to remember is to not yell out or acknowledge the bite or the pain if any. This will just re-enforce the bad behaviour and make him realize that he can hurt you.

Mine eventhough some what tame will still want to nibble or try and pinch my finger or are just to try and get a rise out of me. When I see him starting to do this, I move my other hand towards him or blow in his face to distract him from what he is about to do or is doing.

PS: It sounds like your bird is very skiddish and will require a TON of work if you want to handle him. Good luck.

If I were you, what I would have done when I responded to the ad was to have the owner dimonstrate how tame the bird was. If the previous owner wouldn't do it, or the bird re-acted in a negative way, I would have backoff of the deal quick fast and in a hurry. But that is if I was looking for a tame bird. But with me, I usually wind up getting birds that have draw FIRST BLOOD, like a Mitred Conure & a few Cockatiels.

I have come to realize that most birds you see on Craigslist or in the news paper ahve wound up be de-socialized to the point of being almost unmanageable by their owners who bought the birds and even hand fed them with good intentions. But quickly realize how much work they require just to keep them social, which is one to two hours a day easily. Most folks don't have that kind of time unless your like me an old retired fart with not much else to do.

Hi, i have had my IRN Betty 2 weeks today. she was also advert. to be hand tame, talking and very sweet. she too lunges and tries to bite if i put my hands in her cage. even if i have a treat, she lunge 1st but will take it then take it from me.
i clipped her wings to gain some control. so now she can't fly away everytime i come near her. when she lands on the floor i was taking a stick for her to step up so i could put her back.
nobody wants to get bit.
BUT TODAY, she landed on the floor again. i got brave and put my hand in front of her with no reaction. then i stuck my finger out and she stepped right up!!
very nicely, no bites. woo hoo!!
so she really is hand tame but cage agressive just like my senegal Marnie is. i can do anything with Marnie, pet her and handle her any which way i want. but if i try to get her dishes out or mess with her perches she goes after me.
i guess a lot of birds are like that, we don't like people in our space either i guess .
good luck with your IRN, persistance pays off.

Marnie said:

Hi, i have had my IRN Betty 2 weeks today. she was also advert. to be hand tame, talking and very sweet. she too lunges and tries to bite if i put my hands in her cage. even if i have a treat, she lunge 1st but will take it then take it from me.
i clipped her wings to gain some control. so now she can't fly away everytime i come near her. when she lands on the floor i was taking a stick for her to step up so i could put her back.
nobody wants to get bit.
BUT TODAY, she landed on the floor again. i got brave and put my hand in front of her with no reaction. then i stuck my finger out and she stepped right up!!
very nicely, no bites. woo hoo!!
so she really is hand tame but cage agressive just like my senegal Marnie is. i can do anything with Marnie, pet her and handle her any which way i want. but if i try to get her dishes out or mess with her perches she goes after me.
i guess a lot of birds are like that, we don't like people in our space either i guess .
good luck with your IRN, persistance pays off.

Click to expand...

I have had my 11 month old Senegal "Tiki" for two weeks as of today. He was a Craigslist find. A young couple were flea marketing and happened upon a breeder selling babies. So the lady just had to have one because they were so cute. She hand fed it, but when they got a Chocolate lab dog, who wants to eat the bird, guess which one got the boot. But not until they left him in his cage in a bedroom for 3-4 months rarely taking him out of his cage. Now the previous owner was able to hold Tiki and scratch the back of his neck, which was witnesses by me. Tiki is the only bird that I have owned that hasn't drawn blood yet.

I've read that Senegals are little sneaky and have a Dr. Jeckyl & Mr. Hyde thing going on and I can sure see it with Tiki. When I see that he has that look, I don't mess with him. I let him set the pace.

"I've read that Senegals are little sneaky and have a Dr. Jeckyl & Mr. Hyde thing going on and I can sure see it with Tiki. When I see that he has that look, I don't mess with him. I let him set the pace. "

oh you are so right about that! she can be a little pistol! when she is in one her moods she actually growls and taps her cage with her beak.
almost like drawing a line in the sand. i don't go there.
she is sneaky too and tries to nail my husband on the elbow when he walks by

it took exactly one month before she let me handle her, now thats all she wants. so time is definitely a factor in letting birds adjust to their new home.

Hi Marnie

I have an adult IRN female with the lunging problem too. I just have to be within a few inches of her (not even with my hand in her cage) to sometimes get lunged at.

Fortunately she has some warning signals like lowering her head, puffing her feathers up and pinning her eyes when she's in a really bad mood. Even offering her favourite treat doesn't seem to stop her lunging in that case. The only way she gets the treat when she's like that is if she visibly calms down and gently open her beak for the treat...although that might take a few minutes of just standing there till she realises I'm not intimidated and I have a treat.

WesselG,

Your replying to a very old post and Marnie haven't been around in ages.

Oops,

My mistake, sorry.

I've had my IRN for over 10 years and she's always been aggressive with anyone but me and my Dad. She wasn't tame when I got her but bonded with me pretty quickly but that's rare. With my dad it took 5 years! He was patient n persistent but it played off. Hopefully it doesn't take you as long! Like everyone has said patience and perseverance are key.

mandolynn said:

I've had my IRN for over 10 years and she's always been aggressive with anyone but me and my Dad. She wasn't tame when I got her but bonded with me pretty quickly but that's rare. With my dad it took 5 years! He was patient n persistent but it played off. Hopefully it doesn't take you as long! Like everyone has said patience and perseverance are key.

Click to expand...

Again, your replying to a very old post!!!! It's going on 3 years for this thread.....