Whats the next step

[Rebecca harry]

Ive got 2 irn. Ive been feeding thm and talking to them through cage. There 5 minths old and ive had them a week. My lutino female has started coming to me for her treat. And ive been moving it away from her to come to it snd not me go to her. Uf i get to far away she will hesitate. Wher as my male wint move unless its put directly infront of him. Any advive thnks

[Rebecca harry]

Thank you for the adive. I will admit i am a little scared as a few days ago i put my hand in cage with a sunflower sees as mini(female) loves thm. She took a bite of the sees and bit. Peicing my skin. I ddnt react to it. Buy i took my hand out and continuied feesing through the bars. I really want to interact and get her trust. Im just weiry as ive never tried to get a bird to step up

[Redzone]

Ive got 2 irn. Ive been feeding thm and talking to them through cage. There 5 minths old and ive had them a week. My lutino female has started coming to me for her treat. And ive been moving it away from her to come to it snd not me go to her. Uf i get to far away she will hesitate. Wher as my male wint move unless its put directly infront of him. Any advive thnks

Probably the first thing you need to do is build up trust with your birds, let them realise that you mean them no harm, that they can feel comfortable with you. I must say I disagree with rritoch, forcing a bird to step up by putting them off balance is just going to exacerbate the situation. You are much better off with pets that love you than pets that fear you.

I would say that you are on the right track, you have only had your birds for a week, it will take time for them to get used to the big wingless monster that is trying to get them to do all sorts of strange things.. Have you been able to find out what their favourite treats are yet? What out of their daily food do they always eat first before any thing else? Try withholding that food & use it as a treat, that way the temptation becomes stronger to take treats out of your hand...

[Rebecca harry]

They love sunflower seeds and apples. Ive just tried the stick thts was suggested. Now there pertifird and wont come near me. Not even for there apple. Am i nw bk to sqr 1. Im frightend of thm biring me me. How lng till i put my hand bk in. So i wnt gt bit again. Really want them to trust me but dnt knw how

[Redzone]

One thing that really helps to avoid being bitten is to understand the body language they display before they go for you. Watch for "slicked back" feathers, pinned eyes etc.

Yes you will need to regain lost ground, but don't be disheartened, it does take time to tame a ringneck, but they are smart creatures, the possibilities are endless with training...

[ellieelectrons]

Hi Rebecca

I think the best advice I can give you is to see if you can get the DVD Parrot Behavior and Training #1 from Barbara Heidenreich
See http://www.goodbirdinc.com/parrot-store-dvds.html

You can also look at two of her blog entries on this subject:
- Training a Scared or Aggressive Parrot To Step Up
http://goodbirdinc.blogspot.com.au/2009 ... up_28.html

- Help my Parrot won't Step Up
http://goodbirdinc.blogspot.com.au/2013 ... ep-up.html

Also, I quite like this article on biting parrots:
- Respecting the Bite
http://goodbirdinc.blogspot.com.au/2012 ... -bite.html

Barbara's approach to stepping up is different to Rritoch, as it works to get your bird to want to step up rather than attempting to force it to do it by pushing your finger into it's stomach. However, there are many people that teach their bird to step up the way Rritoch does. From what you're saying, though, I think you may be more comfortable with using Barbara's approach.

Ellie.

[Rebecca harry]

I will deffinatley try those links. Theyes pin evey time there going to bite me or when they taking something through my hand through the bars

[InTheAir]

I'm with redzone on this. Forcing an already scared parrot to do things is likely to make it bite in self defence.
Slow down and take time to learn more about training your birds, it won't hurt them if you just feed them treats for a few days while you learn more. It will probably even help.

It's my bedtime so I will leave you with this article to read http://trainedparrot.com/taming/
Also try searching this forum for posts about taming. I recommend anything Missk has written for starters.
http://www.indianringneck.com/forum/vie ... =2&t=17649

I also love the links Ellie has posted. Can't recommend them enough.


Regards,
Claire

[Rebecca harry]

Oh my i can see youve had all the ups and downs. Im not afraid if the birds thereselfs. Its jyst the bite. I have a female lutino she bite me when i put my had in cage. Its a tiny pinprick but she did break my skin causing to bleed but only for a few secs. Im trying what i knw but carnt get them any closer to me. When i change there food and water daily they will fly to orhr side of me. But wont bite me. Its only if i try to get to close.

[MissK]

Hi Rebecca,

As you are afraid of the bite, you might want to read some of the experiences I have had with blocking. It is my suggestion that avoiding being bitten is the best way to go. It will help you retain confidence and prevent, or at least fail to reinforce, the bite in your bird. You can use the search function and put it "blocking" to the first box and "missk" to the second. Because I feel the bite is self-reinforcing, I think we should all strive to avoid it, not just because it might hurt.

[Skyes_crew]

Hi Rebecca...you've been given some different ways of working with your bird. The advice I can offer you is to think about the outcome you wish to achieve. It is the opinion of most seasoned ringneck handlers that ringnecks can be stubborn, and they can be slow to tame. But they are also extremely intelligent and can be tamed eventually. While I agree you should never fear a bite from your IRN you should definitely respect one. Ringnecks bites hurt and I have scars from working with some untamed aviary birds to prove the kind of damage their beaks can cause. So like redzone and MissK have said it helps to first understand your birds body language and learn to block a bite. As intelligent as ringnecks are, the hardest step in trust for them is trusting the human hand. This barrier can take weeks sometimes to overcome. It is best to start slow with the basics. Stay out of the cage for now. Show your bird that your hand brings only good things such as food and treats. Sit with your hands placed low on the cage talking in a soothing voice to your bird. Offer treats through the bars. And please read those links Ellie provided you with. In my opinion it is so much more beneficial to have your pet respect you and love you, using positive reinforcement, than fear you from using negative reinforcement. Good luck with your birds

[ellieelectrons]

If the anti-force brigade here wants to blame me for the Chattering Lory's behavior, you can forget it. He was a murderer before we got him, he was part of a breeding pair and killed his mate, before we purchased him.

There is a movement called "force-free animal training". See http://www.barbarasffat.com/

rritoch - If you haven't already, why don't you take a look at some of the resources and see what it can offer you. I started with "Parrot Behavior and Training #1" (see http://www.goodbirdinc.com/parrot-store-dvds.html) and I found it really useful. If you don't want to spend any money, you could check out the goodbirdinc blog: http://goodbirdinc.blogspot.com.au/

My birds have their share of behaviour problems, however I have had success with trick training using force-free training methods. Here is an example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4VirZOi ... IbQxSaxzNQ

There are more on my channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ellieelectrons

Rebecca - Trick training is also a good way to build rapport with your birds. It's probably a bit early yet, since you've only had them a week but trying to teach them a trick like the turnaround is a good place to start. Keep going with the treats. You'll eventually win them over. Make sure they can see you going about your daily routines where they aren't your centre of attention. This helps them get to know you too. Share your food with them if it's birdy safe. Every time you walk past their cage, give them a treat, even if it just means letting them see you put it in their food bowl. If I'm concerned that my Janey is going to bite me when I offer her a treat, I use a plastic baby spoon to offer it to her. You could try that, however, it may create more trouble than it is worth because they may be scared of the spoon. If you do go down that path, introduce it slowly and gauge the bird's reaction. If they show nervous body language, back off.

Best wishes.

Ellie.

[ellieelectrons]

I'll just add in here that in the post referred to, rritoch clarifies that "When I say grab I only clasp for an instant"... he isn't advocating forcing the bird to do anything by grabbing its beak or hurting the bird in any way. Just wanted to post that clarification for anyone reading this thread in the future.

Rritoch - probably not a method I would personally use, although occasionally, I do give Charlie's beak a little rub but not to stop him biting, just because he likes it. Personally, I'd be too scared to do it with a biter... but then I have always been a wuss!

Ellie.

[Skyes_crew]

I would be afraid to break or crack the beak by grabbing it too hard inadvertently. It's only made of keratin. The same stuff as our fingernails. I know they are strong, but all it takes is one weak spot. My birds like when I rub their beaks. They close their eyes lol.

[Skyes_crew]

I'm sorry if you in any way felt I was implying you were mistreating your birds. I read back over my comment and I see no fault in my wording. I was actually responding to what Ellie had said about being afraid to grab the beak with a biter. I told her of my fears. I don't know what your personal issue is with me, but I withdraw from this and every other conversation that you take part in from here on out. Good day.

[ellieelectrons]

Hi All

Things got a bit out of hand on this thread, so I am going to lock it.

Rebecca - if you have any further questions, please feel free to post another thread. Please let us know how you get on with your birds.

Ellie.