HELP! Recently flighted bird has changed his personallity

HI, So I'm in a bit of trouble here, I have a 13month old ring neck who up untill about 6 weeks ago was clipped. He has been going though a molt for about 2 months now and around 2 weeks ago seams to have been the worst of it. This means he's now got all his flight feathers back. Also his ring is just starting to come in.

Untill about a week ago he was flying, but rarely. Basically only when he HAD to. As of about a week ago he has started flying i guess for fun/getting up/off perch rather then climbing. As of 3 days ago however his personality has started to change, Before he was more then happy to step up, hang out on my shoulder for hours, would fly though the house to find me perfectly happy to have his head scratched infact when i say "Head scratch " he lowers his head and nudges towards me. He's also very relaxed, in that i could lie him down in the palm of my hand without constricting him, cut his nails open and poke around his wings etc.

However since about 3 days ago he hasnt let me near him, Every time i approach him he flys away As in from perch to curtain to lamp to perch to curtain etc. He used to "step up" 95% of the time and would even walk across his perch to do so, now if i get within arms reach he will fly. he wasnt doing it always, 3 days ago he was doing it a bit in the afternoon, yesterday he did it a few times but this morning he's been avoiding me for around 5 hours.
I've tried all possible bribes. Food, water, treats, toys etc. I haven't been chasing him for 5 hours, I have been leaving the room, trying again etc. However i managed to get him into my bedroom, at which point he was flying so much he got exhausted hit the floor and was panting HARD.
A few times he has steped up, only to fly off seconds later.

As for any illness he just had a health check up a month ago including blood work, poop smear and worming. So he appears perfectly healthy. I just dont know what to do? What made him change his mind and how to fix this?

Simple...His wings grew in. He can fly now. He feels he doesn't need you. I have a Lovebird that I have to keep clipped, or he wants nothing to do with me, or anything I want. I let his wings grow until he flies a bit, and then off they come. You're best to clip him again. Let him fly for some time to develop his wing & chest muscles. But, take away the flight. It breaks my heart to do it to my guy, but, otherwise, he'll hurt himself flying around, or fly out the door, and I have no control of him. I keep hoping he'll learn, and trust me, but it has yet to happen. In over 4 years.

My little guy is the opposite. When I let his feathers grow in he is always in our business. He won't stay away or play by himself. He also has zero fear of fire, the dogs, boiling water, steam, etc, so clipping is a must for our home.

Shameless bribery.

I spend lengthy periods just sitting with my Beaks feeding them tiny bits of treats. They know that just being with me has its own rewards and this has worked for me from the very beginning. Hold out treats for your bird until he comes to you and only give him treats while he's on your hand. He'll learn that you're a cool place to be.

Sometimes I wish Monkey wouldn't follow me all over! If I bend over she always flies over and lands on my butt....no idea why! Yoga is interesting when she's out This butt is a perch, this leg is a perch, this arm is a perch, your side looks like a perch, and this back and this stomach

Shameless bribery should work though! If he has a favorite treat try using that one. I use this method occasionally with my male cockatiel, Renji, after 5 years he still barely tolerates me. He will give me the stink eye while stepping onto my hand if there is food involved at the end of the trip. We still have catch the bird days where he doesn't want to do what I want to do... and he will sit somewhere high basically laughing at the wingless me.

I do not know very much about ring necks, but from what I have always heard, most of them are not real touchy feely birds to start with, and since he is maturing, he may be passing that baby phase and wanting to be more independent (i.e. he doesn't want to lie down in your hand anymore). A lot of amazons are that way too, they like being near you just not being touched by you. I'm not sure when ring necks hit sexual maturity, but some of the smaller parrots hit it very quickly, and that too can bring about some major behavioral changes.

Now after trying to think of every other possibility, you can look at him being flighted as a potential cause. A lot of books and resources perpetuate the idea if you clip a bird it will be a magical cure all for making it more "tame". That is not always true. For some birds, it does help, but for others, it makes things far, far worse and they become MORE aggressive and develop other behavioral issues like plucking. My personal experience with clipped vs. flighted birds is it depends on the individual bird. 2 of my parents 3 birds (the amazons) have never been clipped. Both are friendly, the female even comes when you call (the male doesn't really leave the bird area) and the male is so sweet and gentle, even strangers can handle him (the female is more iffy, they don't allow strangers to hold her but she's fine with people she knows and trusts). Their cockatoo on the other hand is pretty aggressive toward anyone but my dad. When I was really young, he started attacking me, so they had to either get rid of him or clip him and they chose to clip for a few years until I became more aware. Him being clipped made him "nicer" in the sense he is a smart bird and knew he was reliant on people for rides, but it didn't change his overall personality. Once he was allowed to fly again, he went right back to business as usual. My bird has always been clipped, and never learned to fly. He was extremely aggressive when we adopted him, and clipped wings made no difference under poor care and living conditions. He's good about stepping up to us most of the time because we took the time to work with him and gain his trust, but he will get a bug up his butt on occasion and refuse to step up. Being a non flighted bird has CERTAINLY not made him a lovey bird who wants to be petted and snuggle either. He's very independent, thats just who he is as an individual. IMO, I would give him a chance and use some of the methods suggested. However, clipped or flighted, your birds personality might just not be that of a cuddly bird. If there is a reason to clip him (like for safety, or he flies to attack) then that is your decision. However, I wouldn't put my bets on clipping him making his personality change to something he's not.

Thanks for all the replies, I've calmed down a bit since this morning. Kiwibird, your right. Alot of ring neck info seams to be they are not really cuddly birds, and my boy seams to follow that. He's normally perfectly content being in the same room as me and will speak up when i leave in a kind of "ok your there, not doing anything interesting, im just going to chill here" Then when i leave its like "Hey. What about me? What am i meant to do here? What are you doing? *flies into kitchen* Oh, your just standing around the tap. Thats boring, Well while we're both here I'm just going to chew on this" now it's more like i enter the room and he gets flighty and legs it. Wont even let me within about a meter without flying.

Thankfully i found another post at IndianRingNeck.com ? View topic - is this bluffing? about another ringneck doing the exact same thing. With almost the exact same circumstances. The poster was nice enough to immediately reply to a message saying his bird did the same thing for a month, then one day just stopped.

Personally i dont want to clip his wings, I live with a cat, dog and a semi-careless roommate/friend so i feel he needs to be flighted for his own safety. In addition to personally being against it. I suppose I'm just going to have to give shameless bribery a shot for a month or so. It's just ridiculous id spent a year building trust and one of the most relaxed bird's, only for it to flip literally over night.

sharkbait said:

Thanks for all the replies, I've calmed down a bit since this morning. Kiwibird, your right. Alot of ring neck info seams to be they are not really cuddly birds, and my boy seams to follow that. He's normally perfectly content being in the same room as me and will speak up when i leave in a kind of "ok your there, not doing anything interesting, im just going to chill here" Then when i leave its like "Hey. What about me? What am i meant to do here? What are you doing? *flies into kitchen* Oh, your just standing around the tap. Thats boring, Well while we're both here I'm just going to chew on this" now it's more like i enter the room and he gets flighty and legs it. Wont even let me within about a meter without flying.

Thankfully i found another post at IndianRingNeck.com ? View topic - is this bluffing? about another ringneck doing the exact same thing. With almost the exact same circumstances. The poster was nice enough to immediately reply to a message saying his bird did the same thing for a month, then one day just stopped.

Personally i dont want to clip his wings, I live with a cat, dog and a semi-careless roommate/friend so i feel he needs to be flighted for his own safety. In addition to personally being against it. I suppose I'm just going to have to give shameless bribery a shot for a month or so. It's just ridiculous id spent a year building trust and one of the most relaxed bird's, only for it to flip literally over night.

Click to expand...

I'm glad you've found some additional information. Many species have "quarks" that aren't universal to all parrots, and it can be difficult for people who have advice regarding the birds they have to advise on a species they aren't familiar with. I would also look into the sexual maturity thing. Hormones can do some very strange things to a bird and that is pretty universal. Kiwi is usually a sweetheart about 10 1/2 months out of the year. Come his breeding season though, it's like all his training flies out the window and he turns feral. You're kind of left scratching your head wondering who swapped your nice bird out with this evil one while you weren't looking And after his hormones have calmed down, he goes right back to his regular self. It's very important to know when and how hormones typically effect your birds species. It leads to a greater understanding of their behavior as they "grow up" and how to deal with it so you aren't shocked and horrified by something that is natural and happens every year. Good luck with him. I hope the shameless bribery works, as most birds are shameless feathered piggys

sharkbait said:

Personally i dont want to clip his wings, I live with a cat, dog and a semi-careless roommate/friend so i feel he needs to be flighted for his own safety. In addition to personally being against it. I suppose I'm just going to have to give shameless bribery a shot for a month or so. It's just ridiculous id spent a year building trust and one of the most relaxed bird's, only for it to flip literally over night.

Click to expand...

Kudos to you for travelling the path of most resistance. Your patience will pay off in time. I remember making my own thread too when Boomer's flight feathers grew in from having been trimmed at the breeder. It is challenging at first but when you both get settled and trained, it is the most rewarding. Hang in there!

If need be, keep your IRN inside his cage for 1-2 weeks, or however long it takes, and start training him while he's inside his cage. Chasing him around the house is counter-productive in earning and keeping his trust. I would say that once he follows you around while inside the cage and moves about as you ask, you can then work on being outside of the cage.


I visited with someone who also has birds and the owner loved how we think alike in regards to training - not using force if there is no need for it. Yet, this person had one bird that it took two people to remove the bird from the cage, and heaven forbid that bird got on the floor, there was no way you could get that bird to get on you! Instead of stepping up, this bird would run away in fear! If the bird was on your hand, apparently the bird was really loving and sweet! Getting to the hand though is quite a traumatic experience for the bird, which results in a lot of chasing... I couldn't say anything in regards to our training "being the same", just give some other ideas in how to interact with the bird that doesn't involve chasing - and perhaps changing the bird's cage.

It is possible though that this person is accustomed to the larger species and their behaviors, not so much a medium species like the one that would run away in fear, thus having a harder time working with the smaller bird.



Regardless of that, changing the scenery and how you interact with your bird may help change their behavior. Parrots are prey animals after all, and we are predators.

sharkbait said:

HI, So I'm in a bit of trouble here, I have a 13month old ring neck who up untill about 6 weeks ago was clipped. He has been going though a molt for about 2 months now and around 2 weeks ago seams to have been the worst of it. This means he's now got all his flight feathers back. Also his ring is just starting to come in.

Untill about a week ago he was flying, but rarely. Basically only when he HAD to. As of about a week ago he has started flying i guess for fun/getting up/off perch rather then climbing. As of 3 days ago however his personality has started to change, Before he was more then happy to step up, hang out on my shoulder for hours, would fly though the house to find me perfectly happy to have his head scratched infact when i say "Head scratch " he lowers his head and nudges towards me. He's also very relaxed, in that i could lie him down in the palm of my hand without constricting him, cut his nails open and poke around his wings etc.

However since about 3 days ago he hasnt let me near him, Every time i approach him he flys away As in from perch to curtain to lamp to perch to curtain etc. He used to "step up" 95% of the time and would even walk across his perch to do so, now if i get within arms reach he will fly. he wasnt doing it always, 3 days ago he was doing it a bit in the afternoon, yesterday he did it a few times but this morning he's been avoiding me for around 5 hours.
I've tried all possible bribes. Food, water, treats, toys etc. I haven't been chasing him for 5 hours, I have been leaving the room, trying again etc. However i managed to get him into my bedroom, at which point he was flying so much he got exhausted hit the floor and was panting HARD.
A few times he has steped up, only to fly off seconds later.

As for any illness he just had a health check up a month ago including blood work, poop smear and worming. So he appears perfectly healthy. I just dont know what to do? What made him change his mind and how to fix this?

Click to expand...

There is nothing wrong with your bird. He has just realized he can fly and now whether he wants to interact with you or not, it will be on his terms and not your any longer. So now the real work begins getting him to interact with you on a regular basis on his own. Try treats offered by hand. Don't just give him treats, make him work for them by interacting with you.