taming

[Bird_lover574]

Hi everyone
I have owned my indian ringneck for about a year now. When i got him he was very shy. I take him out almost everyday and spend time with him watching tv and playing with his toys and training him. Despite this he still bites and does not like being handled he also screams quite loudly and often. Also he is very territorial over his cage and often once he is out he tries to get back in. He also has a tendency to destroy furniture, he even flies on to the doors and chews bits off. I was wondering if anyone would be able to suggest effective methods to help me bond more with my bird and to put an stop to this behaviour as i have tried several methods i have heard of and nothing seems to work
Kind Regards
Toni

[sanjays mummi]

Have you tried either moving his cage, or moving his perches etc around?, as for biting, it means he doesn't want you to do what you're doing, he saying "don't do that!". As for damaging furniture, someone else may be able to advise you, other than spraying it with bitter apple or similar, I cannot understand Why he should do this,does he have chewable toys?, Sanjay likes a small hard dog biscuit to chew sometimes. As well as his toys. Sanjay screams at his toys when he beats them up, so that seems normal behaviour to me.

[Bird_lover574]

Yeah i have tried moving his cage and perches and i change his toys around a lot so that he doesnt get bored. He also has a tree stand with toys for him to play on but he just seems to prefer chewing doors. He bites me when i try to touch him but even if he is just standing on my arm he occasionally bites or if i try to take him out of his cage he lunges so i usually just leave him to come out on his own but once hes out he usually stays on his cage waiting for the door to be opened so he can go back in. He has plenty of chewable toys to play with as most of them are made of willow, rope or wood. He usually talks to his toys whilst playing but he has started screaming a lot all through the day and im not sure why

[InTheAir]

Do you give him rewards for stepping up or being near you?
What do you do when he chews doors?
Does your bird forage for his food?
My girl likes chewing the frame around my wardrobe at the moment, so I ensure she isn't in that room for long, it is just where we go to sit in the sun after a shower. We also used double sided tape to stick some plastic right angle stuff over door frames that she likes to chew.

[Bird_lover574]

Yeah i have clicker trained him so i usually have treats at hand to reward him. He usually climbs off the door onto my hand and i take him away but he continues to fly back again. I have a foraging toy that i got him which i have tried to use with him but he only uses it outside his cage. He seems frightened of it if i hang it inside his cage. His cage is in our hallway as it is a large area for him to fly around in and that is where he chews the doors. iv taken him into the living room but he just flies onto the door trying to get back into the hallway. How do you shower your bird as mine hates the spray bottle and wont bath in his new bowl?

[InTheAir]

We use this stuff on the door frames http://www.bunnings.com.au/our-range/bu ... ldings/pvc

Regarding foraging, wrapping food and dishes in paper and cardboard is a good way to start. Go on YouTube and checkout Kirsty's foraging channel. She has so many good ideas.

My birds like to come into the shower with me. One hangs from the screen to bathe and the other likes to bathe in cupped hands. If they don't feel like getting wet they sit on the screen out of the spray. One also baths in her dish, which is very large.

Have you looked over the articles on www.behaviorworks.org? They are under the section called "written works".

[Bird_lover574]

My doors have glass in them with carved wooden framing which that would sadly not mold to. I think i am going to try covering it up with something though. I bought a large bowl for elmo but he wont have a bath in it like he tried to do with his small old one. Were your birds scared of the shower when you first started doing that?

[InTheAir]

You could leave both bowls in there, then he can choose which one he prefers. He will probably use the big one eventually.

My birds are fairly confident about new experiences, as long as they have the choice of whether they participate or not. I don't recall either being really worried about having the shower running, but Sapphire (who was raised in an aviary) took a while before she started jumping into the spray. They can perch on the screen, which is nice and high. We did have a suction-cup perch too, but Sapph unstuck it while Nila was on it so my boyfriend threw it out.

I am wondering about whether living in a hallway is having an effect on your birds behaviour. A nervous bird can get more nervous if people are constantly passing his cage or coming around corners. Also, most hallways I've seen are pretty gloomy.
Also, does he have a couple perches in his cage that you don't move around, especially the perch he likez to sleep on?

[Bird_lover574]

Yeah i left both bowls in and he was quite unsure about the larger one so after a while i took out the smaller one and he drinks out the larger one now. He couldnt take a bath in the small one as there is a thin metal bar across the top attached to the door for perching. Elmo isnt very confident. He gets nervous with certain new toys or going into new rooms he needs reassurance and wont leave me until he becomes comfortable. The hallway is a large space and his cage is no where near corners. He is usually pretty comfortable unless there is guests round but i tell them to just leave him or keep them out of the hallway so he can just watch from the door. I read up about socialising them and i heard it was good to have them in areas where they can get used to people. I never introduce him to strangers until he has seen them a few times. No one else in my family spends time with him so he doesnt really trust them as much as me. My house is open plan and so the hallway has no roof just beams so he can fly upstairs too and there are windows above and below so a lot of natural light gets in. He has two perches. One is fixed in one position and the other can be moved but he sleeps on it so i leave it where it is. I add in swings or rope hoops which he likes to perch on and those are the ones i move

[Bird_lover574]

I just had Elmo out and i decided to use step up to teach him not to bite. I did this when i got him but after a few nasty bites i became less confident around him. I followed advice that said to avoid a situation where he could bite so iv never really used the step up command as i taught him to fly to me when i say here and he usually lands on my jumper. Today i decided to get over my fear of being bitten because if i dont trust him how is he supposed to fully trust me. So today i have had him step onto my hand and my arm and the only time his beak touched me was to steady himself and only once did he do this hard and it wasnt too bad. As for the door chewing haha i am thinking i can maybe train him to stop by giving him a treat to get him away from the door. Thank you for your help! i am yet to get him to take a bath but hopefully he will get used to his new bowl

[InTheAir]

Good on you. It is nice to learn to trust your bird.
Did you check out Kirsty's foraging channel? Although we have heaps of foraging toys, our birds still get a lot of their food hidden in simple items like paper or cardboard. I just love buying the puzzle toys so I can watch them learn to solve them, but once they have figured those toys out the whole toy needs to be wrapped in paper to make it more time consuming anyway..

[Bird_lover574]

Yeah im thinking it will help our relationship if i get over my fear of being bitten its not too painful though and by his body language i am starting to see that what looks like hes away to bite is just him steadying himself. Yeah i had a look. A lot of great idea some of which ill try. It is quite hard to find stuff at pet stores where i am because they dont tend to stock parrot toys and the ones they do have are for the likes of a macaw so i buy most of my toys online. I have noticed that during training he doesnt eat the peanuts i give him and these used to be his favourite treat. Do you have any favourites amongst your birds?

[MissK]

Helpful, maybe, is to remember that although a Ringneck can provide an honest bite, removing a piece of flesh or leaving a bruise or cut, a big creature like a human won't be much harmed in the long run, providing the most sensitive and dainty areas are not bitten and infection is prevented. You won't like getting bitten, but it certainly is clear feedback from the bird.

SO, while you are with any Ringneck at any stage of tameness, just remember to keep your face at a reasonable distance. Protect the space between your fingers and toes if possible. There is no reason to have naughty bits in range either, which should be normal life and common sense..........

Remember, too, that the bird has many ways of using the beak, and most of them don't hurt you at all. Also, every time the bird could bite but doesn't is still a learning experience for you both - a good one!

This should provide you the confidence you need as you learn to trust your bird and vice versa. If you do get bitten, please reflect on how to do better next time as you wash well with antibacterial soap. Pain can be your unfortunate incentive to improve your performance.

[InTheAir]

There is no reason to have naughty bits in range either

Parrots and nudist camps are a no then?
Over summer, when it is ridiculously hot here, my boyfriend goes shirtless around the house, Sapphire likes knead his chest hair and to try to climb into his belly button. It is hysterically funny to watch! She almost does headstands on his bellybutton! She doesn't bite it, just tries to squeeze in.
I did more damage to my finger with a bread knife today than I have ever had from my birds! I honestly don't think parrots like biting people, they only do it if we are slow or stubborn or dumb. Or maybe mine are just angels


Back on topic, for treats I use quite a few things; teeny chips of almonds, oat groats, fruit and even pellets. Because my guys have to forage for their meals, getting them off me is easy. I cut or break all treats into really, really small bits. A big treat would be the size of my bird's eye. Passionfruit is usually a winner with ringnecks, but it takes ages to eat and is messy!

[Bird_lover574]

I usually only have my arms and hands on show if i take him out so i think im okay there i do let him on my shoulder sometimes but he usually just wants to chew my jumper or i put a hat on so he sits on top while i play my piano haha. He only bit me once yesterday and it wasnt too bad i just have a bruise but whats a few bruises if it helps our relationship.

that sounds hilarious! haha hmm slow stubborn or dumb... that could be me haha! Iv never had a bird before i have wanted one since i was a kid but my parents only recently allowed me but they have had owls and cockatiels before. I did a lot of research before i got a bird i think i just have to trust im him more. Iv never tried passionfruit with my bird. I dont actually think iv had it before.. i hope he doesnt mind sharing

Elmo likes to eat grapes and that is quite messy because he doesnt eat the skin and he does the same with apples. Getting him to eat vegetables is a real problem. The only vegetable he seems to like is peas. I will try some of your suggestions and see how i get on

Thank you both for your help

[MissK]

Corn ought to be popular.

That belly button thing sounds hysterical!

[InTheAir]

Hehe I think all humans fall into the slow category compared to ringnecks. Anything that can fly around the house at top speed and not hit a person who walks into their path thinks faster than me anyway!

I can't imagine never trying passionfruit! Are you in a very cold climate? Make sure it's wrinkly and looks a bit funny from the outside, it'll taste better.

My guys are fussy about vegetables too. They will eat capsicum, carrots, peas and okra. The rest they just pick up, so every week a buy the vegetables I want them to eat and put them all through the blender together with a tiny bit of soft fruit and serve them a blended mess. That way they can't pick out the stuff they like. I'm a cruel and heartless person. The mess gets hidden in cupcake cups, boxes, passionfruit skins and things like that.
Most of the fuit they eat is used for training or is hidden inside paper straws in the hardest foraging toys and around the cage. Most fruit is high in sugar, so they aren't allowed much.
Yes, I do spend quite a bit of time setting up foraging, but having a social life is overrated anyway...

Btw pomegranates and guava are popular here too, but pomegranate stains walls/birds/benchtops if you don't clean it quickly, especially when it has been through the bird!

[Bird_lover574]

Yeah you are right there they definitely arent slow haha i have a dog aswell as Elmo and they arent allowed in the same room if elmo is out but i think he is trying to tease my dog because he goes down to the bottom of his cage and stares at my dog then runs back and forth the bottom also when he flies onto doors its usually of the room my dog is in haha

Not terribly cold but passionfruits dont grow here. I once tried to grow a pineapple from the stalk and it grew but the pineapples are small and taste disgusting

Iv tried carrots because my mum grows them but he didn't like them cooked or uncooked, i also tried corn because we grow that too. I have tried broccoli but he just pulls it apart and green beans. So far peas are the only thing. I have tried disguising vegetables by blending them with seeds to make treats for him but he just picked out the seeds. I will try blending them with some fruit that he likes and see how that turns out

Elmo has already stained the walls by flinging bits of raspberry around but its not too bad a problem because my mum wants to redecorate at some point probably when i move out so she won't have to worry about it happening again... oopsies haha

[MissK]

Look twice at stuff like corn and peas, lima style beans, etc. My guys only eat the insides.

[InTheAir]

Unfortunately it is pretty hard to create the perfect diet in captivity and get your parrot to eat it too. Seed is very much like macdonalds fries, high in fat and low most of the nutrients essential to keeping parrots healthy.
It can take time to change eating habits, so keep offering vegetables even if they don't get eaten. Things that can help is feeding vegetables first thing in the morning, cooking up some scrambled egg with heaps of vegetables in it (don't use butter or milk though). Try different ways of chopping or grating vegetable, one of my birds only eats carrot if it is cut in semi-circles. Offer lots of vegetables that are low to medium energy and use the high energy ones as treats. Here's a useful article on figuring out what to feed, it is not complete but you can also search on the web for nutritional breakdowns of anything else you want to feed.
http://www.scas.org.au/html/fresh_food_nutrients.html

[Bird_lover574]

Thank you ill check it out! Im going to just buy different vegetables and try serving them in different ways. Hopefully ill find a winner fruit isnt so bad because he eats most things i give him

Good news is that Elmo finally took a bath in his new bowl this morning! He has just started his second molt since i got him

[sanjays mummi]

I skewer Sanjays fresh food on to bamboo Skewers and peg them pointy end up to the roof bars, my mum did this with her budgies, as it mimics food growing in the wild. Also Sanjay has "grown into" a lot of foods he wouldn't touch as a chickster, I remember his first pointy pepper, he just couldn't seem to bite into it, and foods he once disdained are now demolished avidly. They are just like human toddlers!.

[Bird_lover574]

I usually dont give elmo fruit or vegetables inside his cage so that there is no spoiled food in there. He just gets his off a plate or in a java tree foraging toy i have. Tried him with corn again and turns out he has changed his mind... although seems he is still partial to some door

[MissK]

Well, we all need a little door now and then, that's what I say!....... Oh, wait, that's "indulgence" I say. Whatever. Same thing.

Keep trying and don't forget to eat that food with him. My dogs helped show Rocky that strawberries are good to eat. We did a big "one for me, one for you" thing with a bowl of cut strawberries, and Rocky seemed quite lackluster, but the next day he was a bird who ate strawberry chunks.

[Bird_lover574]

I usually eat with him because he never eats it all or usually hes eating stuff that i like too.... the exception being bird food

Dogs must have a thing for strawberries because my dog likes strawberries too haha she is a bit hyper around Elmo to set any kind of example though. They just tease each other

[sanjays mummi]

Our troop loved raw carrots, but they had to be the little Chantenay variety, an old farmer told me, if you give dogs raw carrot it keeps the intestinal worms at bay. They didn't care, they just liked them.