Well I did it!

[Lesa1211]

I posted yesterday about visting an IRN. Needless to say I brought him home. His conditions were horrible! His feathers are a mess, she told me it's because he's molting. Only 1 perch and 1 cat toy in his filthy cage. LOTS of other birds were there along with other pets(cats & dogs). Once i got there she admitted only her daughter could handle the bird and her and her boyfriend threw a towel over the bird to get him out of the cage (no wonder he's so cage aggressive). I dont know how true it is if ANYONE was able to handle him. She wouldnt even get him out of the cage so I could take him. It wasnt just him either, her other birds were trying to bite me when I got close. She had cockatiel seed in his bowl and told me thats all he would eat, but the vet told her he needs to be on a pellet diet (duh).

Anywho, he's here now, I just couldnt leave him. Im calling him Paco. He lets me put toys, food and water in his cage, but he climbs to the top and wont come anywhere near me. If I put my hands anywhere near him he tries to bite (hard). Im not expecting miracles, he hasnt even been here 24hrs. I plan on just sitting next to is cage throughout the day and talking with him. Im not trying to take him out, pet him or anything. I dont want to stress im out.

Also he doing this thing where he's on the side of the cage and kinda like throwing his head back. I dont know it's hard to explain

Ive never dealt with an aggressive bird. She told me he was fine once out of his cage (LIE). Has anyone here dealt with an agressive bird? Im doing a ton of research on things I can try with him once he's settled in, but I would love to get some feedback here as well. I've attched some pics. These are the best ones I could get.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I can't believe how many birds are in the situation you took him out of

I always highly recommend touch training to fearful and aggressive birds because in my experience it is a amazing training method that 100% helps if done correctly.

 

[Pedro]

He looks to be a young male approx 2 years old. Yes he also looks to be in a heavy molt. You may have trouble improving his diet, altho it can be done with persistence.

As far as handling i am afraid that will be a slow process. Just take it day by day. I am sure when he gets used of his new environment & calms down you will be able to get closer to him. IRN need to be handled everyday to keep them tame. Good luck i am sure you can do it.

 

[Lesa1211]

Copperarabian do you mean target training? If not can you elaborate please? It is very sad how many birds are in situations like this

Pedro, she told me he's a year and 3 months. She gave me some of his cockatiel seed so I mixed that in with a little bit of pellet. Im watching to see what he's eating. Nothing so far. I know this is going to be a very long process. Im just hoping with time and consistency he'll come around.

 

[Pedro]

Lesa just take things slow. He's only young so gaining his trust at this point is more important than anything.

Be persistant with the fruit & veg as well. Leave the seed mix in the cage for about 30 minutes morning & afternoon then take it out. For the rest of the day give a bowl of chopped up fruit & veg also some sprouted seeds will help to get him on a more balanced diet. If the dry seed isn't in the cage he will have to eat the fruit & veg.

It's took me 6 months to be able to get close to the SC Too we adopted, now 6 years later he is such a joyous part of our life.

 

[thebirdnerd]

I got my IRN at approximately 8 months of age and he (never had him sexed, just call him a he) was hand shy and a little nippy. He is a very good eater so I used food as sort of a bribe. Once he started to take food from my hand he gained confidence. Now he is free flighted and will fly to my hand for a treat...It just takes time, especially with IRNs.