Adopted 2yr old Cinnamon ringneck

Ry4n · Post by **Ry4n** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 3:42 am

Hi all,
I have recently adopted a 2 an a bit yr old ringneck(blue).
I have never had one of these birds before but intrigued to find so many different people/websites stating that these birds are unsuitable or just hard to tame.
Until i found this site of course

I am wondering if my adopted bird is out of my reach because i was told before i had him that his previous owners(he had 2 homes before mine) first ones had a cat that kept climbing on the cage and stressing him out, the 2nd had 2 dogs(bull mastiff's) and they used to bark at it a lot, plus the owners didnt have much time for him.
Now i have him and have no other pets apart from a lovely non talkative canary...hehe

I am prepared to give my IRN a lot of my time in the hope that he comes out of his nervous shell, and in time he will talk and be hand friendly.
Do any of you guys think i'm fighting a losing battle becuase he is 2-odd yrs old(and had a rough life) or do i have a good chance?
Any info or tips really appreciated.
Ryan

sherry · Post by **sherry** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 10:50 am

Hey! congratulations on your new IRN, my adopted one is three years old. I am his third owner. The first owners I do not know about. The second owner is a friend of mine who found him in her backyard, they put out a cage with food and he walked right into the cage. Unfortunately they did not know enough about these birds and unknowingly neglected him. They kept him in a small cage, hardly changed it-very filthy. He was put near a window where their outside dogs would jump on the sill and stare all day at the bird and he even plucked his feathers because of the stress. He was not fed a proper diet and nobody spent time with him. Finally I asked my friend if I could have the bird because I would be willing to spend the time with him. When I took him to the vet, the vet said he was malnourished and would not have lasted a year. He was not tamed and was scared of humans and did not trust anyone. Well I have had him(Pacman) for seven months. With lots of patience, time, and kindness he is starting to trust me. He comes out of his cage, he has gained weight, his feathers grew back beautifully, he is very vocal, and best of all after seven months he will step on my forearm to be carried around. He likes to sit on my shoulder and watch what I am doing. I am telling you this to let you know that yes, there is hope for your bird becoming tamed. Be patient, feed him a healthy diet, spend time with him and gain his trust. I am still working with Pacman-still hand shy but I feel in his time he will come around. Everyday I look at him and I see a happy bird whom I feel knows that he is in a good place and wants a friend. Good luck, and please keep me updated.
Sherry
Mother to :
1 male cheeky 5 year old Quaker Parrot
1 cuddly 2 year female Lutino cocketiel
1 adopted, greedy 3 year old Lutino IRN

Ry4n · Post by **Ry4n** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:17 pm

Thanks for your reply Sherry, its good to know that there is hope for my IRN.
I bought a new cage for him today which is begger and better than the one i was given.
The perches are bigger to suit his feet and he even looks more comfortable than ever, walking aroung and climbing upside down.
I had to catch him to put him in though which was a bit scary...haha...i picked him up after he had done a few laps of the living room, the proper way(both hands over each wing) but while doing this he began to bite both my index fingers, it hurt but did not draw blood, phew!!
He seems more at home in this one but obviously still nervous.
1 thing though is that his feathers are terrible, like he has been dragged thru the hedge.....will these grow back smooth and more bright?

sherry · Post by **sherry** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 5:41 pm

Yes, with a proper diet and there is a forum here that talks about their diet, you will start to see a change in his feathers and when he has his molt that's where you will see the change. My IRN had flat feet and they were reddish and not puffy when I first got him and the vet said that was from being malnoursihed. With a proper diet his feet starting getting healthy -so check his feet also. These birds are not picky eaters so feeding him a good diet will be easy.Keep me updated and Good Luck!

Sherry

bec · Post by **bec** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 3:44 pm

the key ingredients to tamung are patience understanding &yummy treats
by understanding i mean
watch 7 your bird learn his body language & dont push him
you will very quickly learn how close you can get with out him freaking go to that spot & just talk to him as he learns to trust you the saftey zone will become smaller and smaller
eat in front of him for some reason that seems to calm them and when your cleaning his cage & filling the food bowls dont look him directly in the eye
have his cage where he can see you doing things like watching telly on the computor things that take your attention so hes not your main focus then he feels he can watch you safley & get to know you
i got my older boy kieron at well i was told he was 18 months old but he had his full ring and others on here placed him as older while he never actally has let me pat him apart from his tail he will now stand on my head while im doing the food thing for him (and hes in an outdoor avairy

Janet · Post by **Janet** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 9:27 pm

Make him part of the family. Put his cage where you can talk to him every time you go past. My birds love to interact with me even if they are in their cage.

I had a very nervous bird who had little parrot panic attacks. He is now very settled and comes running to me if the other birds boss him around. I taught him to step up onto my forearm rather than my hand because my vet told me that birds can become more confident this way. Now, instead of squawks when I get him out of the cage, he runs up my arm to say hello. He is still a little nervous about taking treats from my hand so I leave a peanut for him at the end of the perch and he knows to come and get it.