rescued an abused indian ringneck, please help

[moonmoon]

the person that lives next door gave me their indian ringneck for free! she said she got it from a family for $50 including its large cage. she told me that the people that had it treated it very badly, its cage was in discusting condition, she told me their kids would poke it with sticks and they named it something I would never call a bird, because it would bite them. She asked me if i wanted the bird because she could not keep it inside her home, its cage could not fit through the door, i had purchased it a birdie bed and some toys because it had nothing! (the rain was going in its cage at night too) eventually she just asked me if i wanted it, she did the right thing by saving it! she only had him for a few weeks then he came to me. It is 12 months old and after cleaning its cage today i can honestly say i have never smelled something so vile in my life.. i almost threw up two times, it took me half an hour to clean the trays out, the poo was hard as a rock, i dont think it had ever been cleaned before.
I already have a green cheek conure, he is a huge ball of energy, i thought one was enough for me, but i could not say no to this poor ring neck, i was planning on getting a ringneck in a few years, but this one needed a home.
Anyway, he or she is terrified! if i sit up from my desk it goes spastic or any sudden movements at all.. the poor thing has been traumatized and neglected since it hatched a year ago, its going to take me ages to get him or her to warm up to me. I think today was the first day it tried fruit in its life! those first people were giving the bird "small wild bird seed mix" not good!
here are my questions:
- i know i will have to go slowly with a taming process, but does anyone have any advice with doing this with a misstreated bird? (it will take food from my hand through the bars, but it snatched it and runs away, its very scared) it has a fear of hands.
- how can i tell if its male or female? (its green with no ring, i can see the shape of the ring in its feathers, maybe its a light green ring, thats means its female right?)
- has anyone here had trouble introducing a green cheek to a ring neck? i have never introduced two birds before... they have seperate cages about 4 meters away from eachother, they are just observing eachother for now, i just really really hope they dont fight when that day comes, it wont be untill i have full trust with the bird though.
Thanks for any information, i appreciate it or even telling me some past experiences if you have been in the same situation.
- my green cheek has a large tub of toys, ones he is not interested in, do you think if i gave the indian ring neck a toy that was one of his he would be mad? i need them to get along so i dont know know if i should do that.
(and yes i will be renaming the bird something cute once i know the gender)

indian ring neck or african?

 

[amjokai]

What a sad story!
I will say that ringnecks are very smart and hard to tame down when they've had an experience like this. They go wild very easily. I don't know why. It will take you a lot of time and a lot of patience. Males usually get their ring between 1.5-2 years though some ring out early. You can DNA test him for 20$ through avianbiotech.com


I'm glad she rescued him then gave him to you! Sounds like he was a terrible situation poor baby. Just slowly sit next to the cage and talk to him. It's a good sign that it will take food from you. But patience will be the key. They are curious by nature and may get curious about you. Especially if it sees you interacting with the conure and not brutally murdering it lol. Which is probably what it thinks you will do to it. Once you can move around the cage without him freaking out just open the door and let it come out. You will have to lure him back into his cage or be prepared to leave it out cause catching it up may scare him again. Hopefully with time it will start to trust you and you can build a relationship that way! Keep us updated!!!!

 

[moonmoon]

thanks for the information, i just hope when it comes out they dont have a go at eachother. ill have to separate them for a while if that happens. i hope they love eachother!

 

[Allee]

What a beautiful IRN. Thank you for adopting a bird in need.

Taking a treat from your fingers, even if the bird runs away with it, is a very good sign, it tells me the bird isn't as terrified of hands as you may think.

Are you quarantining the bird? If so, you could work with the IRN alone during the quarantine period and by the time you introduce the two birds you should know the IRN well enough to know if he or she will be a threat.

Working with a bird that has been mishandled isn't that different from working with any other bird as long as you let the bird set the pace and don't make him or her feel threatened. Most birds will respond to kind attention and gentle interaction. Here is a link you may find helpful.

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

Good luck with your new friend. Please keep us updated.

 

[moonmoon]

hey (day 2) this morning i took the ring neck out of the spare bedroom and let it see me prepare fresh fruit with my GCC from a distance, i give them food in the exact same type of bowls each day so he can get used to it, he seemed scared of the bowl yesterday but eventually went to it around lunch time. Yesterday i just left it in the loungeroom with us to get used to the area and my voice and made small peace offerings with raisins. as for taming it... i was thinking of taking it back into the spare room where they sleep and spend some time with the cage door open and being gentle like you said. that would be better?

 

[moonmoon]

so its been a few days, ive got to the point where the bird will eat out of my hand and come to the door, it even came out to the end of the door yesterday. but when its a new day its like starting all over again at square 1, it wont come out at all or just snatches the food and retreats to the top of the cage. i keep reminding myself its only been a few days and i need to be patient! i got the bird some new toys, it seems much happier now. What really sucks though is that i went up to the cage to offer a treat and "SQWAAAAAUUUUK" vicous hissing! i thought everything was fine but we are nowhere on the same page yet... i was a fool to expect we were already friends i suppose lol.
yesterday i suffered a bite on the knuckle, but the bird was just using its beak to feel me and it was rather gentle.. but it soon became a bit too hard, i made sure i showed the bird i ignored the pain.

it took me 2 hours to get my conure to come out and step up and even want a cuddle! this is no where near as easy and may take weeks or even months, i really wish the people that had this IRN didnt treat it the way they did. i was doing some reading about the bluffing stage that IRN's have, and it said depending on how they are treated during this time in the first year can really mold their personality for the rest of its days, and if that is so... then oh my goodness, this bird was poked at with sticks, had no toys and basically ignored the whole time

 

[Betrisher]

My best advice would be to totally forget what you know of this birdie's history and just start from the beginning. You've made progress already since she'll take food from you occasionally and has already been out of the cage. Take heart!

If you think about it, th is birdie has taken 12 months to get to where she is. Logically, it should take another 12 months to tame her (it won't, though). Try sitting with your hand in the cage holding some treats in your palm so birdie has to stand on your hand to get the treats. Crushed peanuts or mixed nuts is good. Millet spray is good too, or bits of dried fruit (my Alexes LOVE dried pawpaw). Most birds will do ANYthing for sunflower seed, but you might want to go easy on those since this bird has had a poor diet. Sunflower seed is very fattening and not very nourishing.

It's good that you have your GCC to use as an example. Our dear old Galah learned a huge amount from watching my Beaks eat pellets and fruit. He also learned to play by watching them climb and swing. It might take a few weeks to get very far with this birdie, but something tells me she's already watching you and gaining trust in you. You might get a nice surprise. Just be prepared to go really slowly and let the bird set the pace.

Other tips:
- try to move slowly and quietly around the bird, at least in the beginning. Make no sudden movements or noises.
- don't allow too much loud noise from TV or stereo for a while either
- don't allow ANYONE to poke at her or speak too loudly near her
- when you present your hand, present the back of your tightly-closed fist: birdie can't get hold of that and the bite won't hurt too much (usually...)
- look up 'touch training' and 'target training' on YouTube for some other useful hints.

Best of luck with this little bird (can't wait till s/he has a name)! There's no reason you shouldn't wind up with a lovely companion if you put in a bit of work.

 

[moonmoon]

thanks for the tips yeah i have been using millet, it loves it! i really wanted a male ringneck in the future but i am convinced this is a female. I will love the birdie no matter what though i really want it to love me and know what its like to have a long and happy life! seems like this will take much time and patience though. i believe this bird, like many others was purchased on impulse and the result has been devestating, the bird did not meet the owners expectations and was put through a year of boredom and neglect -_- ill do my best to erase this

 

[moonmoon]

update on what has happened. everything was going well for a few weeks. trust was going well. sitting on my arm and all but it hated my other bird, had attempted to attack him many times, also our current living situation was not going well since the bird was so loud and we already have a green cheek, i did not want to give the bird to a pet shop so i began searching for an owner that has time and understanding for this bird, and i found someone who had owned an eclectus parrot and was ready to open up to another bird after its passing. They are doing well, went to the vet the day they got him from me and has been trick training him and going for drives and everything! the bird will have a happy healthy life and i feel the bird will be better off with its forever home! this was quite a while ago sorry i didnt update sooner

 

[Mariar]

So glad to hear!

 

[Allee]

I'm glad you found a forever home for the IRN. It sounds like it worked out for the best. Thanks for the update!

 

[danielbracey0]

What a sad story, poor little fella but sounds like he's finally getting his happy ever after. Well done, he's a little heart breaker.