Help with new IRN

[TiffandKari]

Hello,
I've had my young ringneck Kari for around 2 months now, she was aviary-raised so she is difficult to interact with, nonetheless she is basically comfortable with me putting my hand into her cage to rearrange toys, change food/water dishes, etc. she just watches curiously.

When I put my hand into the cage (daily) to try to touch her or teach her to step up she hisses and lunges at me, I know she probably doesn't trust me enough to let me touch her willingly yet, but is there anything I can do to help her to feel more comfortable around me? Is she just a very shy bird? I know the lack of human contact with her as a chick will affect her behavior now but I'm just wondering if there's anything I could do to improve my situation?

I already sit near her cage when I'm at home (most of the time at the moment, I rarely leave the house for longer than an hour or two these days) I talk to her when I'm sitting by her cage, I offer her treats (she loves sunflower seeds and apple chunks) but she never comes close, she seems interested but too scared to come over. She eats treats that I leave for her in her bowl though Her cage is in a busy room, but not in the centre of the room. When I'm cleaning her cage, I still offer her treats and try to stroke her but she just hisses and lunges. I try not to 'chase' her around the cage with my finger, or distress her so when she's stopped hissing/lunging I will take my hand out for 10 minutes or so and then try again.
She also gets covered at night by me, I talk to her while doing this too.
Interestingly, when I, or any other member of my family leaves her alone in the room she will call for us to come back, I think she is slowly getting used to us, but is feeling intimidated when I try to touch her...?

She has only bitten me once (and it hurt ) it's like she's just trying to scare me off since she doesn't act like this when I'm changing her food/water dishes... I'm not sure if it's bluffing since she's only around 6 months old.

If anyone has any advice, or if I'm doing anything incorrectly please let me know!

Edit: She is full of personality and loves to 'speak' to us, she's making sweet babbling like sounds (as well as her loud calls) as she appears to be trying to make new sounds she's so sweet

[InTheAir]

If she won't approach you to take treats, this would be the first thing to remedy before you can teach her to step up.

Make sure the treats she gets from you aren't served in her main meals so they stay special.
I am a total fan of dropping a treat and retreating, so the bird feels confident enough to approach the treat immediately. If the treats are high value enough to the bird and she doesn't feel threatened by you, she will start approaching while you are still retreating.

Here's the thread about my aviary raised bird, there's some useful stuff between all the waffling http://www.indianringneck.com/forum/vie ... =2&t=18181
I found this particular article invaluable:
http://learningparrots.com/blog/trainin ... l-parrots/

Ringnecks are not renowned for being cuddly birds. Not all of them like to be patted, in fact most don't like it at all. Our super tame boy only lets us scratch his head if he has itchy pin feathers growing in that he can't reach himself. The rest of the year it's not allowed! My female doesn't seem keen on the idea either.

It is possible to train them to put up with it and some will like scratch eventually, but that is something to work on after your bird is very confident with you. At the stage she is at currently scratches are not a good idea.

When your bird is happy to approach you to take a treat you can start working on stepping up by getting her to approach your hand and climbing on for a treat. It needs to be her choice though, so don't corner her or try to make it quicker by putting your hand inside her comfort zone.

I'm probably at odds with everyone else on the forum on sitting by the cage, I think it's something to do after the bird is tame enough to approach you. I think the author of the learning parrots site has a very valid point that it can be akin to flooding, so make sure your chair is always far enough away from the cage that you are not invading her comfort zone. I found a couch on the other side of the room was quite close enough for my bird, and by the time she was comfortable with me being close, she was allowed out of the cage and would choose to sit near me when she felt like it anyway.

I hope this helps.

Regards,
Claire

[TiffandKari]

Thank you Claire
At the moment I shall focus on offering her treats from outside the cage, and I can easily move my chair a bit further away to give her some space
thanks for the advice, your reply has been very helpful I'll have a read of that thread now