19 month Indian ringneck, need advice please

[FGuc]

Hello. My 19-month-old male Indian Ringneck has been obsessed with reflective, screen-like things for a while now. He's constantly after TVs, intercoms, mirrors, and phones, talking to them. He broke the intercom, and I'm afraid he'll break the TV too. I removed the reflective things and bought two small, noisy balls to distract him and keep him occupied while he spends time in his cage. Now he's fixated on them, playing with them constantly. He's stopped chirping, whistling, and talking. He used to whistle wonderfully and say 5-6 words, but now he's silent for three weeks. He only plays with the balls. When I tried to take the balls out of the cage, he bit my finger – he'd never bitten like that before – it pierced and bruised my finger. I used to try to get him back in when I took him out of the cage, but he wouldn't want to go back in. Now, he stays outside for 10 minutes and then comes back in on his own to play with the ball. I don't understand if he's experiencing psychological trauma. I'm very unhappy about this situation. I'm thinking of just throwing all the balls away at once, but I'm hesitant because I'm afraid it might backfire and make things even worse psychologically. I'm in a strange situation. I'd appreciate some advice.

 

[nkrbkr]

Hi there. I’m sorry you’re struggling at the moment. There are differing opinions out there, and others do things differently than me, but I personally do not give my birds anything reflective (outside of their stainless food bowls), as anything shiny can encourage hormonal/aggressive behavior. This includes mirrors, metal toys, etc. I also do not give bells or other noise making toys, for the same reasons. In fact, any toys that I purchase that come with bells, I cut them off before giving them to my birds. As much as I love bells, they can bring out aggression in a lot of birds. I’m guessing the noise making balls could be having the same effect. I would personally remove them. Does your bird have other toys he can play with? Appropriate toys include things that can be chewed on and destroyed (safe woods, sola, seagrass, mahogany pods, etc.).

 

[rheashard2]

I agree with the reflection possibly causing problems. My first avian vet way back said absolutely no mirrors or reflective surfaces for my CAG. I was a newbie large parrot owner. It was a while before I got around to finding out why. I do have some stainless steel toys. Those are rotated because of boredom rather than her actions. I never heard that about bells. I avoid bells because most are made of inferior and possibly dangerous metals that don't hold up well to beaks. My CAG has a real cow bell almost since the day my bought her just under 21 years ago. I haven't noticed anything odd about her behavior. I will keep it in mind.

 

[nkrbkr]

I agree with the reflection possibly causing problems. My first avian vet way back said absolutely no mirrors or reflective surfaces for my CAG. I was a newbie large parrot owner. It was a while before I got around to finding out why. I do have some stainless steel toys. Those are rotated because of boredom rather than her actions. I never heard that about bells. I avoid bells because most are made of inferior and possibly dangerous metals that don't hold up well to beaks. My CAG has a real cow bell almost since the day my bought her just under 21 years ago. I haven't noticed anything odd about her behavior. I will keep it in mind.

Yes, I’m sure not all birds react to noisy toys/bells negatively. That’s great that Nameliss does okay with them! Button had a ball with a bell inside that made him a very angry little bird the first time he set eyes on it. I had to remove it immediately.

 

[FGuc]

Hi there. I’m sorry you’re struggling at the moment. There are differing opinions out there, and others do things differently than me, but I personally do not give my birds anything reflective (outside of their stainless food bowls), as anything shiny can encourage hormonal/aggressive behavior. This includes mirrors, metal toys, etc. I also do not give bells or other noise making toys, for the same reasons. In fact, any toys that I purchase that come with bells, I cut them off before giving them to my birds. As much as I love bells, they can bring out aggression in a lot of birds. I’m guessing the noise making balls could be having the same effect. I would personally remove them. Does your bird have other toys he can play with? Appropriate toys include things that can be chewed on and destroyed (safe woods, sola, seagrass, mahogany pods, etc.).

ok understood. I'll remove the rattling balls and the metal food bowl from the cage. I'll try to find a wooden food bowl; there's no other option. Hopefully, this will alleviate the aggressive biting problem.

 

[nkrbkr]

ok understood. I'll remove the rattling balls and the metal food bowl from the cage. I'll try to find a wooden food bowl; there's no other option. Hopefully, this will alleviate the aggressive biting problem.

I think the metal food bowl is okay, just try to avoid anything else that’s shiny or reflective.

 

[FGuc]

I think the metal food bowl is okay, just try to avoid anything else that’s shiny or reflective.

He knocks over the metal feeder, turns it upside down, and talks to his reflection I should get rid of the metal feeder too. I have a crazy bird

 

[FGuc]

thank you for the answers. This morning I opened the cage, he went outside for a bit, and then I took the balls out. Then I tried to show him the ball in my hand to see if he would come to get it, but he didn't seem very interested. He went back into the cage and continued talking to the metal food bowl because he saw himself in it. I was surprised by this, as I thought he was very attached to the balls. He didn't seem to mind that the balls weren't there. Right now, the balls aren't in the cage, and he's doing the same thing to the metal food bowls. I bought a non-shiny food bowl where he can't see himself; it's arriving today, and I'll remove the metal bowls and put these new ones in. I also bought a natural fiber toy that he can chew on and bite; I'll put that in and see what he does then. When he went outside the cage, he immediately went to the TV and started talking to it. So, in the end, as long as he finds something where he sees himself when he's out in the open, I don't think he'll move away from this anymore. Since we can't remove all the screens from the house, it will continue like this. There's nothing I can do. But this situation is not what I wanted or hoped for.

 

[rheashard2]

I don't know if this will help with your screen issues. I was thinking about this after seeing your post. What would I try? My daughter works from home. Monitors are a must. She has several. Thinking about that I remembered her complaining. She didn't like how her face and glasses reflected back on her at certain angles. She said it distracted her for a variety of reasons. Reasons as a parent I totally ignored. She got a non reflection screen protector monitors. They reduce glare and reflection. No reason why they can't go on TV's. They come in a variety of sizes and are easy to find online. Good luck.

 

[nkrbkr]

thank you for the answers. This morning I opened the cage, he went outside for a bit, and then I took the balls out. Then I tried to show him the ball in my hand to see if he would come to get it, but he didn't seem very interested. He went back into the cage and continued talking to the metal food bowl because he saw himself in it. I was surprised by this, as I thought he was very attached to the balls. He didn't seem to mind that the balls weren't there. Right now, the balls aren't in the cage, and he's doing the same thing to the metal food bowls. I bought a non-shiny food bowl where he can't see himself; it's arriving today, and I'll remove the metal bowls and put these new ones in. I also bought a natural fiber toy that he can chew on and bite; I'll put that in and see what he does then. When he went outside the cage, he immediately went to the TV and started talking to it. So, in the end, as long as he finds something where he sees himself when he's out in the open, I don't think he'll move away from this anymore. Since we can't remove all the screens from the house, it will continue like this. There's nothing I can do. But this situation is not what I wanted or hoped for.

Hi again. At 19 months old, your bird might be reaching maturity, and going through puberty. It can be a very difficult time, but it is normal for all parrots to go through this phase. There are several things you can do to help reduce hormonal behavior & aggression caused by hormones:

1. Diet is one of the biggest contributing factors to hormonal behavior in parrots. What does your bird’s daily diet look like? A healthy diet should be composed of a combination of fresh vegetables & greens, cooked legumes, & grains, as well as healthy pellets. A lot of people make “chop” for their birds, which is a mixture of chopped veggies, legumes, & grains. I personally feed my birds a diet of roughly 50% chop and 50% pellets. It’s important to keep fats and sugars to a minimum, as they increase hormonal behavior. I personally feed nuts, seeds, & fruits sparingly, as treats ONLY, and directly from my hands.

2. Sleep is very important for your bird. Is he getting 12+ hours of darkness and quiet a night? As seasons change, birds see the shifts in daylight hours as a signal to mate. By keeping a consistent 12+ hours of darkness, it should help reduce hormonal behavior. There are differing opinions on how to do this. Some people use cage covers, as it works best for their situations and space constraints. I personally do not, as some birds can perceive their cage as a nest when it’s covered, which again, can increase hormones. I keep my birds in a separate small room at night where they sleep uninterrupted. I keep it dark with blackout blinds.

3. Reflective or shiny materials and objects should be removed from your bird’s cage. We’ve already talked about this, but reflections can cause your bird to think there is another bird. Understandably, this can cause hormonal and/or aggressive behavior. Unfortunately, there’s no way to remove every reflective surface in your home, so hopefully taking other steps can help improve the situation and reduce the behavior.

I’ll add that having LOTS of toys available that can be destroyed can be helpful. It’s a natural behavior for parrots to shred and destroy. If your bird has something to distract him and occupy his time, it can help with undesirable behaviors. Please also keep in mind that you can never completely get rid of hormonal behavior in parrots. We can only do our best to reduce it. Puberty is particularly difficult, but usually things even out a bit on the other side of it.