Help training IRN's?

[jaixion]

Hi everyone!
I'm just wondering whether anyone can offer me some advice. Two years ago I got my first feathered baby - a completely wild aviary breed ringneck. A year later, I got my second one with a little bit more luck. She was hand reared but still wasnt very tame, however you could take her out.
After some months I put them both in the same cage and they get along great, but my youngest one is no longer tame.
I'd love to take her out and train her up, I just need some advice on how.
As for my 2 year old, he does come out of the cage and is fully flighted but unfortunately he is not tame at all which makes it difficult to have him out.
Ideally I'd love them both to be tamed.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Marlin]

you have to handle ring necks everyday otherwise they go wild.
they also go through a stage called bluffing.
I have a 9 month old ring neck that was aviary bred and born. I got her/him at seven month old and spent two months training the IRN and only manage to get the bird to step up. I went to birdtricks.com and purchased one day miracles. in three days of training the IRN with step up, will not come out of the cage unless I let her/him. returns to the cage and just recently is free flying to my hand.

 

[kanundra]

My Bobby is trying to test me a little, sometimes he's as gentle as a lamb trying to get treats out my fingers that aren't there and other times he's bashing his beak against me and nipping!

I've had him 4 mths and he's just getting his ring and defo in the hormonal bad moult (just over) stage, but he's come such a long way, I adore him he's spoilt already...

I don't want no bad habits, so I'm resisting those bites, but I am not beak happy, I never owned a bird before and I was terrified, now I am learning his behaviour and how to take him on...

 

[jaixion]

Thanks Marlin - I want to handle them every day but I don't know how to ease them into it and get them used to being handled again.
Kanundra - I taught my bird to stop biting and nipping like that. When you have a treat and he tries to bite, take the treat away and hide it. If he keeps screaming and head butting and trying to bite you just put the treat away and try again later. If you do give them the treat even when they bite, they learn that they are rewarded for biting and that they can get away with it.

 

[kanundra]

Yeah, he's been pretty weird today.. screamed a lot for attention. But I'm not normally home so much (broken arm)

I only give him the treat when he's nice and quiet, and if he does come at me, he licks me not bites. If he demands it, he doesn't get it. Although I am not quite comfortable chasing him back I do use anything I can to get him off me onto a perch...


I do get that he's proper testing me, although he never used to bring me his toys to play with, but he's stated bringing them up on me as I think he wants me to help secure them so they don't roll away, lol

 

[Marlin]

until I got my own bird I was rescuing native wild birds. I would rescue revive and release these birds back into the wild had been doing this for a number of years started when I was around 9 years old I'm now 51 years old. learnt a bit about bird body language in the process. (not expert)
yes all birds can bite but this is usually because they are scared, frustrated or poorly and badly trained.
I now have an IRN and in four to six weeks I will have a Alexandrine Parakeet.
IRN will go wild and untamed if they are not trained and handle daily. they are more prone to this then other parrots. IRN go through a stage called "bluffing" this is due to hormonal changes. this can last for a couple of days, weeks or months. once it's over you will have your bird back. but it's vitally important that you continue the training during the "bluffing" stage otherwise the bird will go wild in a surprisingly short time .
My IRN was aviary bred and born with limited human contact. I don't know if it's a female or male But I can wait. so I named it Alex. Alex is a 9 and1/2 months old split lace wing Indian ringneck. I got Alex when he was seven months old and have spent over two months training him and only manage to get him to step up and this was not consistent. I needed a training system that would enable me to communicate with Alex. I looked at a lot of parrot training websites and found a lot of conflicting advice. But one system caught my eye . so I took a gamble and purchased it.
after three days, I had Alex stepping up, taking food from my hand, touch training, staying in his cage until I let him out, going to the T-perch and now I'm training Alex to free fly from the cage to the perch then to my hand and return back.
I'm home during the day at the moment and have plenty of time to spend with the Alex. Alex has never bitten me or anyone in my family.

first you need to implement a training diet, this is the foundation of the training system. get this wrong and you will find training time consuming and slow.
next you will need the following item a clicker and also understanding of parrot body language.
plus you will need treats for the bird, I find that millet cobs works well for this stage of training.

step 1
I gather that the cage is in a room. with the clicker in your hand stand on the opposite side of the room from the cage. approach the cage until the bird stands up tall and thin with his feathers tight against his body (this can be fear or aggression)
and the eye are pinning. then stop and wait until the bird relaxes (the bird will sit lower and ruffle their feathers maybe stretch) and the eyes with not be pinned. when the bird has relaxed, click the clicker once then step back two or three steps wait 20 to 30 second then approach again but get a bit closer and repeat the process until you next to the cage and the bird is relaxed.
this can take about 10 to 15 minutes. do this two or three times a day for two days.
you could get faster results, depends on the bird.

yes you can sit next to the cage, talk and sing to the bird but this could take weeks. using the clicker system this can be done in days.
the clicker is the bridge between you and your bird. by clicking when the bird is relaxed or taking treats it is signaling to the bird positive feelings and the training sessions reinforces those positive feelings and when bird has positive feelings with you, his trust will build which results in a closer bond.

step 2
standing next to the cage with the clicker in one hand and the millet cob in the other, show the bird the millet and hold it next to the cage so the bird can reach it. if the bird doesn't take the millet within 15 seconds then withdrawn the millet wait 20 to 30 seconds. show the bird the millet then offer the millet again repeat until the bird takes the millet. when the bird takes the millet at the same time click the clicker once. keep the training session to 3 to 5 minutes long and finish on a positive. do this two or three times a day for two days.

this system worked for me very well and quickly

NOTE train the bird before it morning and evening meals.
don't speak to the bird during these training sessions. if you talk to the bird while clicking, the bird will become confused. remember the bird is just starting to communicate with you via the clicker.
always finish on a positive, by this I mean that finish the session while the bird wants to train. this makes the bird want train at the next session.(positive feelings)
a tip: allocate places where you parrot can land and perch (T-perch) and train them to land and stay there. otherwise you could be cleaning bird dropping everywhere and it is safer for the bird.
remember that Parrots are a lot smarter then we give then credit for.
so train the bird don't let the bird train you.