Hi all I am new here. We just got our first pair of indian ringnecks. They are a "breeding" pair and the person we bought them for said they are really aggressive, especially the female. I don't think they were ever let out of their cage.. they have full wing feathers but they cannot fly. They seem really scared and I feel bad for them..
The girl will take small pieces of fruit or veggie from my fingers sometimes.. the male is just too scared of hands. Now, when I approach their cage the girl will actually climb up to the top of the cage by me and put her head up and make a cute little sound (what does this mean?!), but then the male will start screaming really loud I guess he is mad.... when I walk away from the cage the girl hits her beak against the cage bars. Does she want to bite me or is she mad I leave her??
Also I open their cage so they can come out if they wish.. and sometimes they jump off the cage and have trouble getting back up. Last night I had to pick them up with a towel which must be scary for them but I didn't have another choice... what is the best way to handle them if I have to?? should I use the towel?? They are afraid of my hands..
We are going to breed them in the future but I want them to be our pets also... not just stuck in the cage all the time and used to make babies. If any one has any advice how I can move forward with them or what their behavior means I appreciate it. Thanks
Help with my ringnecks please
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pinkdevil
- Posts: 2601
- Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 11:35 pm
- Location: Central West NSW Australia
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Welcome pennythepenguin.
I wonder why the can't fly if fully flighted.
Have you asked the previous owner?
Maybe you could lean a branch or something similar for the birds to climb on to go back to their cage. Might be less stressful then toweling them.
That is good progress that the girl is taking food from you. Helps with acceping trust and in training.
Depending on how they were treated prior and what experiences they have had as to how long it will take to get them to trust you.
There should be threads from other members with similar situations to you, so if you have a quick search I am sure something will come up.
I think Bec on here has managed to quieten down her untame birds.
Takes alot of time, love, patience and trust building.
Food rewards are great, especially if they get a particular food at "training" time only. If you find something they really love and only give that to them when they have done something you have wanted them to do, (like stepping up or coming over to you etc.). Baby steps first.
Good luck
I wonder why the can't fly if fully flighted.
Have you asked the previous owner?Maybe you could lean a branch or something similar for the birds to climb on to go back to their cage. Might be less stressful then toweling them.
That is good progress that the girl is taking food from you. Helps with acceping trust and in training.
Depending on how they were treated prior and what experiences they have had as to how long it will take to get them to trust you.
There should be threads from other members with similar situations to you, so if you have a quick search I am sure something will come up.
I think Bec on here has managed to quieten down her untame birds.
Takes alot of time, love, patience and trust building.
Food rewards are great, especially if they get a particular food at "training" time only. If you find something they really love and only give that to them when they have done something you have wanted them to do, (like stepping up or coming over to you etc.). Baby steps first.
Good luck
aww
thanks pinkdevil
i have had some sucsess with taming
kieron would be my best example i think when i got him he was totally wild he would rip chunksout of me everytime i tried to touck him &if anyone had anything halfway resemble a glove he would go into fits of hysteria
through hard work &and alot of advice we figured out that kieron had been handle roughly by people & i would say hurt by someone wearing gloves
a bit over a year down the track kieron will stand on my hand if i in his avairy and will take food from my hand but still wont let me pat him
i dont thinjk he will ever be that comfortable with hands
one thing that has worked with all my freaked out birds is when standing near them either in or out of their cage hide the "scary hand thingys"
put them in pokets behind your back
the fact that you have one taking food from you will work well for you
we had a game we used on kieron & riku iwould give riku a piece of fruit and say apple for riku then i would place a bit on the cage & say apple for kieron then get another on for riku again before he could pinch kierons saying the same thing
put the birds cage where they can observe you going about your day
and talk to them watch their body language
the most important things you needa are patiennce this will not happen overnight it will be a long process it took kieron over 6months before he sat on me
trust you have to show these guys that you can be trusted with their saftey
and as pinkdevil said treats find one food they truly love and use that for the rewarding (i use popcorn for training no butter no salt
my guys go totally nuts for it ) its also good because it means you dont cut other food from the diet the other thing is if you use an airpopper like mine the bird hear it coming & work them selves up into a little frenzy (kinda like kids hearing the icecream van) so they are keen to do what it takes to get the yummy treat
wow im waffling on abit!!!!!! if you have any question feel free to ask
keep us posted &can we see pics?
thanks pinkdevil
i have had some sucsess with taming
kieron would be my best example i think when i got him he was totally wild he would rip chunksout of me everytime i tried to touck him &if anyone had anything halfway resemble a glove he would go into fits of hysteria
through hard work &and alot of advice we figured out that kieron had been handle roughly by people & i would say hurt by someone wearing gloves
a bit over a year down the track kieron will stand on my hand if i in his avairy and will take food from my hand but still wont let me pat him
i dont thinjk he will ever be that comfortable with hands
one thing that has worked with all my freaked out birds is when standing near them either in or out of their cage hide the "scary hand thingys"
put them in pokets behind your back
the fact that you have one taking food from you will work well for you
we had a game we used on kieron & riku iwould give riku a piece of fruit and say apple for riku then i would place a bit on the cage & say apple for kieron then get another on for riku again before he could pinch kierons saying the same thing
put the birds cage where they can observe you going about your day
and talk to them watch their body language
the most important things you needa are patiennce this will not happen overnight it will be a long process it took kieron over 6months before he sat on me
trust you have to show these guys that you can be trusted with their saftey
and as pinkdevil said treats find one food they truly love and use that for the rewarding (i use popcorn for training no butter no salt
my guys go totally nuts for it ) its also good because it means you dont cut other food from the diet the other thing is if you use an airpopper like mine the bird hear it coming & work them selves up into a little frenzy (kinda like kids hearing the icecream van) so they are keen to do what it takes to get the yummy treat
wow im waffling on abit!!!!!! if you have any question feel free to ask
keep us posted &can we see pics?
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pennythepenguin
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2009 7:32 pm
Thanks for your responses!! I tried approaching them with my hands behind my back and they don't get as frightened. The boy is still a nervous wreck though.. but I don't think he bites. I had to pick him up with a towel to put him back on his cage and he didn't try to bite me through the towel. The girl however will try to bite me through the towel (hurts even through the towel!!!) but she takes food from my fingers. They are goofy.
How should I respond to the screaming?? The boy yells at me if the girl comes up to me through the cage bars. He yells really really loud it hurts my ears!! But I try to just stay still in my position so he doesn't learn to scream to make me go away... I don't know. He won't scream if he is out of the cage only if he and the girl are both inside.
I am going to try to put some pics I don't know if they will work..
This is the girl
The night we got them
The boy
Another of the boy
Off topic I guess.. one of my cockatiels "R-Bird"
How should I respond to the screaming?? The boy yells at me if the girl comes up to me through the cage bars. He yells really really loud it hurts my ears!! But I try to just stay still in my position so he doesn't learn to scream to make me go away... I don't know. He won't scream if he is out of the cage only if he and the girl are both inside.
I am going to try to put some pics I don't know if they will work..
This is the girl
The night we got them
The boy
Another of the boy
Off topic I guess.. one of my cockatiels "R-Bird"