CONFUSED over new IRN Behaviour

[littlemisfortune]

Hi,

So I am brand new to this forum and a brand new owner to and Indian Ringneck, Anakin.
He's a lavender and only about 9 weeks old, I got him about 10 days ago from a hobby breeder and he's absolutely scared of hands. Mostly when they're inside the cage changing his water, pellets and fruit each morning he will completely freak out and throw himself around the cage even though they're not trying to touch him.

If I have him out, after a couple of the verbal step up commands, he'll step up on to my hand but will mostly try to get away once there so I think he does know how to step up.

He is also VERY shy, he will crawl on to my shoulder and hide in my hair for AGES! If i pick him up with a cloth, blanket or towel, he will throw himself into it and bury into the darkness. It's actually quite cute swaddling him like a baby because this is the only way he will allow me to scratch his head and fall asleep.

The breeder said that they sometimes become like this due to behavior and the nature of the species but my vet friend said he would have learned to be afraid of hands.

I know I need to begin training him but with him freaking our when I offer seeds or fruit out of my hand, I'm a bit lost on how I can begin this.

HELP!

He really is a cutie and he only squawks when he hears wild lorikeets screaming outside.

Any insight, tips or similar stories will be much appreciated.

[MissK]

Hi. You have plenty of company. I, personally, disagree with your vet. Ringnecks are notorious for being afraid of hands. The good news is that he can learn to overcome this fear. You have already seen that in the way he will step, even briefly, to your hand. You should use the search function to look for threads on taming and hands.

[InTheAir]

Omg I actually have to disagree with missk!
I think that fear of hands in a bird that had been handled is learnt. I would speculate that a lot of ringnecks learn this fear from being handled incorrectly. They are fast learners, it only takes being upset a couple times before they figure how to avoid what they dislike.

I agree with the rest though.

[MissK]

I have to, on the one hand, respect that InTheAir is a very smart and experienced individual, AND that she has had hands on with a baby IRN, which I never have.

On the other hand, I have to look at so many other animals that instinctively fear the unknown, the "other", and I have to say I believe they do not have to experience the hand to naturally fear it. I'm sure that many learn to fear the hand as well, on an individual basis.

WHERE does the truth lie?

[InTheAir]

What I have noticed with Squidgette is that she was scared of every part of me equally. She had fully accepted my hands now as they always have food in them. She doesn't seem worried about the rest of me now either. If I were to break her personal boundaries with my hands,for example trying to pat her, she would become nervous of my hands immediately.
Most people do try to pat their birds too soon, or chase them with their hands. Many young birds do get a bad experience of hands, being grasped to go in a cage or having a hand pressed into their belly to force them to step up. We all have made mistakes in handling our birds with our hands at one time or another, it's easy enough to do. I accidentally poked Squidgette in the belly yesterday when I wasn't concentrating on her while I was giving her some treats. ...
Not many adult humans are stupid enough to try to force a bird to do anything using their face (certainly not more than once anyway), so less birds will have a forced encounter with a face.
That's why I think it is a learned behaviour. The fear of the unknown, especially in regards to a large predator approaching is innate. I'm inclined to think any part of a large unknown predator is equally scarey.

[sanjays mummi]

Sanjay was bred and parent raised in an aviary, so he was virtually feral when I got him at 8 weeks, he accepts food, preens my hair and kisses me, but he Still won't trust hands near him.

[InTheAir]

Sanjay was bred and parent raised in an aviary, so he was virtually feral when I got him at 8 weeks, he accepts food, preens my hair and kisses me, but he Still won't trust hands near him.

That's quite interesting, I got squidgette at 12 weeks old, parent raised and feral and she's really confident with my hands, jumps all over them. I've only had her a few weeks, so I have never tried to touch her, I let her come to me. She isn't very interested in me apart from for treats.

[Skyes_crew]

Hamlet was parent raised, feral when I got him at 12 weeks and quite fearful of just about everything equally. But he got over hands quickly when he realized they were attached to food.

There are going to be difference in our birds though based on a few factors. First you have to look at the parents of your bird. How many generations out of wild caught are they? What were their dispositions like? They may be birds, but I still feel that traits like personality, tameness, and intelligence are ones that can be inherited. A baby that is out of a 10th generation partially tame breeding pair is more likely to be calmer than a 1st generation out of a wild caught pair. Just my opinion

[InTheAir]

That's interesting, skyes.
I don't know anything about Squidgettes parents, I'll have to see if I can find out more. Being in Australia, it is a fairly safe to assume that both our birds would have been captive bred for quite a few generations! I know Nilas mother hates people.


Misfortune, I hope your little one is settling in! Sorry to sidetrack your thread...

[AJPeter]

Birds that are offered for sale have to cope with prospective buyers wanting to see them talking or boucing around in their cages and these buyers will often poke the cage to get some reaction, equally birds left in their cages for long periods before being sold will be afraid of that big wide world, and if you only had a beak to ward off poking fingers would you not bite fitst and ask questions later?
Building that trust between bird and human means braving that bite but letting the bird know that this not acceptable bahaviour by walking out of the room for longer periods of time each time a bite is suffered, but also recognizing that birds are alarmed but sudden movements and need to hear you talking to them.
I do not think saying "Ouch! That hurt!" is reprehensible and equally when not bite is not given saying "You are a good bird!" All animal thrive on praise.
AJPeter