Hi,
I had a few questions for you all. First, my IRN is bobbing his\her head when fixated and playing with an object. I had read several times that this may be an indication of the sex of the bird?? Second, he is losing a few feathers, but he has lost or pulled out his two long tail feathers. His tail is now short. Is this ok??? Thirdly, he just made a year and he is still not talking. I really hope he talks. Why is he progressing so slow with this? Thank you in advance for your response. Michelle
behavior
Moderator: Mods
How do you mean bobbing his/her head? A pretty good indication of a female rigneck is the tilting of the head backwards wile being petted. While tilting her head back, she’ll cluck and pin her eyes. Males do not tilt their heads back, but they just sit there. So I am guessing that’s what you mean by bobbing.
About the loss of your bird’s feathers. That’s about right. Your ringneck is going through its first molt. He just lost his two large tail feathers. Mine did the same during his first molt. If it’s a male you can look forward to a longer tail. Just make sure he is not pulling feathers out but preening himself casually. If he starts to chew his feathers or damage his plumage seek medical advice.
Don’t worry about talking. Most ringnecks don’t start until they are a year and half. Just keep repeating your word daily and interact with him. I tried so hard to teach my ringneck “hello.” I for sure thought that was going to be his first word. Boy was I wrong! It was “good parrot.” I used that phrase during trick training. So they learn what they want. Also, another member here reported their bird talking around two and half years. You might want to start with a whistle and work your way up to words.
Good luck and keep us updated.
About the loss of your bird’s feathers. That’s about right. Your ringneck is going through its first molt. He just lost his two large tail feathers. Mine did the same during his first molt. If it’s a male you can look forward to a longer tail. Just make sure he is not pulling feathers out but preening himself casually. If he starts to chew his feathers or damage his plumage seek medical advice.
Don’t worry about talking. Most ringnecks don’t start until they are a year and half. Just keep repeating your word daily and interact with him. I tried so hard to teach my ringneck “hello.” I for sure thought that was going to be his first word. Boy was I wrong! It was “good parrot.” I used that phrase during trick training. So they learn what they want. Also, another member here reported their bird talking around two and half years. You might want to start with a whistle and work your way up to words.
Good luck and keep us updated.
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robin
whistle
Is it possible my 10 week old IRN is imitating a wolf whistle already? He hears my lovebird pair whistle with me, and I swear He did the whistle today. Was it a fluke? He seems to be too young for this already. Also, why is his water dish smelling so sour everynight? He's still handfeeding once at bedtime.