Hello all.
I'm new to the forum and ringnecks and was after a bit of advice.
I've had Zoidburg for 5 days now so i know it's early days, but was wondering the best routine to get him into in order tame him (he's about 6 months old).
I first let him out the cage on Sunday (day 3) for about 7 hours - which he seemed to enjoy. However, he wasn't keen to go back in the cage, despite an hour or so of trying - so in the end i caught him with a towel and put him back (it was midnight and i was afraid to leave him out unsupervised/overnight).
Yesterday i let him out for a couple of hours before i went to work but again he didn't want to go back in.
I decided to brave it, made the lounge as Zoidburg-safe as possible, then went to work - figuring that by the time i get home at 11pm he might have gone to bed.
No such luck - he fell asleep on the lamp-shade, resulting in another midnight chase to put him back in his cage.
My question is - am i better to just leave him out his cage (unsupervised) overnight so he can make his own way in when/if he wants or should i catch him?
Leaving him unsupervised causes obvious concern for his safety, plus i want him to think of the cage as his home, not my lamp-shade. However, I'm know catching him causes him distress - which is obviously counter-productive when it comes to hand-taming.
Any opinions would be appreciated.
Catch and put in or leave him out?
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Mikaela
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Youre right, towelling does pose problems. For now, towel from behind, holding the towel in front of your face.
Bigger problems can result from a lose bird though, huh... into everything!
Put him in the cage with praise and a treat. He will think YOU saved him from that mean towel that keeps falling from the sky.
Sneak ATTACK! Of course this is temporary as you build trust.
Bigger problems can result from a lose bird though, huh... into everything!
Put him in the cage with praise and a treat. He will think YOU saved him from that mean towel that keeps falling from the sky.
Sneak ATTACK! Of course this is temporary as you build trust.
~ Mikaela Sky
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chuffy_wuffy
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Hi,
I've had my ringneck now for just over a month and I used to have the exact same problem! He used to be a complete nightmare getting him back in his cage at night.
We used to have to hold the cage up and hope he would fly into it...which was very tiring as it is a big cage. After a while he let me pick him up on his perch (as he doesn't like hands very much yet) and I would right nearly get him into his cage and he would fly off.
He finally started going in to eat at about 5pm and I would shut the door then. But he learnt fast and then would shoot out of the cage at the slightest movement when he was eating. So one day I gave up trying to shut the cage when he was eating and I just sat watching TV and as it got gradually darker he went into his cage. I left the lights off and he finally went up to the perch he likes to sleep on when he got tired. Ever since he toddles in all on his own when it gets dark.
Trust me I thought I would never get him back into his cage without a fight so it just takes time but sure your birdy will get there! Good luck!
I've had my ringneck now for just over a month and I used to have the exact same problem! He used to be a complete nightmare getting him back in his cage at night.
We used to have to hold the cage up and hope he would fly into it...which was very tiring as it is a big cage. After a while he let me pick him up on his perch (as he doesn't like hands very much yet) and I would right nearly get him into his cage and he would fly off.
He finally started going in to eat at about 5pm and I would shut the door then. But he learnt fast and then would shoot out of the cage at the slightest movement when he was eating. So one day I gave up trying to shut the cage when he was eating and I just sat watching TV and as it got gradually darker he went into his cage. I left the lights off and he finally went up to the perch he likes to sleep on when he got tired. Ever since he toddles in all on his own when it gets dark.
Trust me I thought I would never get him back into his cage without a fight so it just takes time but sure your birdy will get there! Good luck!
Thanks for your help!
Cheryl
Cheryl
This morning i let him out for a couple of hours, then managed to shut him back in when he went in for food - prior to me going to work.
Unhappy he'd been tricked i came home to find food scattered all over the lounge - obviously done in a temper! Oops : (
Thanks for the advice - i'll keep you posted.
Unhappy he'd been tricked i came home to find food scattered all over the lounge - obviously done in a temper! Oops : (
Thanks for the advice - i'll keep you posted.
Smithy,
How big is the cage? Is it an interesting place to be? Have plenty of entertaining things to do for the ringneck, and spend some time talking to it through the bars without letting it out. Do this for a couple of days and it'll associate the cage with safety. Ringnecks need their haven to feel safe. My Sunni has her cage and a perch. If she's flying around the house, she's guaranteed to land on one of these. Sounds like you got yours out too soon and for too long. Don't be afraid of towelling your ringneck, but move to using just your hands as soon as you're comfortable. Towels over gloves and hands over towels is my motto! Sunni gets a thorough towel dry every time she has a shower, so she associates towelling with getting warm/losing the cold shivering.
How big is the cage? Is it an interesting place to be? Have plenty of entertaining things to do for the ringneck, and spend some time talking to it through the bars without letting it out. Do this for a couple of days and it'll associate the cage with safety. Ringnecks need their haven to feel safe. My Sunni has her cage and a perch. If she's flying around the house, she's guaranteed to land on one of these. Sounds like you got yours out too soon and for too long. Don't be afraid of towelling your ringneck, but move to using just your hands as soon as you're comfortable. Towels over gloves and hands over towels is my motto! Sunni gets a thorough towel dry every time she has a shower, so she associates towelling with getting warm/losing the cold shivering.
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darkcloudchild
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Get him used to your hands! While he's still in his cage feed him some sort of treat.
Next, start teaching him to "step-up" with treats! Never give in to him while your trying to teach or you'll continue to have difficulty with him.
I have NEVER had a problem getting either of my IRN's in their cage because they know they get a treat for going back in. One of them is very flighty of hands, but he knows when it's time to step-up, I mean it, and we don't have any issues. (My hubby on the other hand has had a little trouble with our male because he's accidentally shocked him a couple times, so poor Loki is scared of him, but if he gets on top of his cage and sees it's treat-time, he'll put himself away.)
Hope that helps a little. You really don't want toweling your bird to be a bad thing, it needs to be made into a game or something they like for when their is a real problem like a broken blood feather, or severe bleeding, that you don't have to chase them around.
Next, start teaching him to "step-up" with treats! Never give in to him while your trying to teach or you'll continue to have difficulty with him.
I have NEVER had a problem getting either of my IRN's in their cage because they know they get a treat for going back in. One of them is very flighty of hands, but he knows when it's time to step-up, I mean it, and we don't have any issues. (My hubby on the other hand has had a little trouble with our male because he's accidentally shocked him a couple times, so poor Loki is scared of him, but if he gets on top of his cage and sees it's treat-time, he'll put himself away.)
Hope that helps a little. You really don't want toweling your bird to be a bad thing, it needs to be made into a game or something they like for when their is a real problem like a broken blood feather, or severe bleeding, that you don't have to chase them around.
Rena
my IRN Yoshi was like that I have had him for 5 days... what I did was cut all his flight feathers now he knows he cant fly so he dont even try taming has been a breeze I cant beleive how fast i got him to eat out of my hand and let me pick him up just a suggestion but a bit dangerous considering if he were to fall off his cage(i watching most of the day if not my wife does)... I'm no expert though O_o..
I don't mean to sound rude, but what is a "decent size cage"?
You stated that you can pick it up, which lends me to believe it may be too small. Busey's cage is 4x3 and I can't imagine ever picking it up to get him to fly into it!
IRNs really need a cage that's at least 3 foot by 2 foot. Bare minimum. And no round cages. Parrots in round cages feel exposed, confused and vulnerable because they have no corners to hide in!
Also, the "brain toys" are sometimes made of hard plastic. That's not fun to destroy! Get him some soft wood and paper toys that he can totally rip apart! Also, stringing pony beads on a shoelace and letting him pull them off is a LOT more interesting than all the supposed "learning" toys I've given Busey! Go figure.
You need to make his cage feel like a safe fun place to be! Make sure he gets his favorite treat and lots of praise every time he goes in his cage - even if it was a struggle to get him in there!
In reality, a cage is never gonna be as fun as flying around the house, it's just our jobs to make it not quite so terrible for them.
Or at least not so terrible that they can't be bribed in with their favorite treat.
Oh, and I agree with the clipping suggestion. We got Busey a very light clip that still allows for about 5-10 feet of horizontal flight (no gaining altitude). Ask your avian vet about maybe clipping him like this.
Good luck with your birdie! They can be so headstrong sometimes.
You stated that you can pick it up, which lends me to believe it may be too small. Busey's cage is 4x3 and I can't imagine ever picking it up to get him to fly into it!
IRNs really need a cage that's at least 3 foot by 2 foot. Bare minimum. And no round cages. Parrots in round cages feel exposed, confused and vulnerable because they have no corners to hide in!
Also, the "brain toys" are sometimes made of hard plastic. That's not fun to destroy! Get him some soft wood and paper toys that he can totally rip apart! Also, stringing pony beads on a shoelace and letting him pull them off is a LOT more interesting than all the supposed "learning" toys I've given Busey! Go figure.
You need to make his cage feel like a safe fun place to be! Make sure he gets his favorite treat and lots of praise every time he goes in his cage - even if it was a struggle to get him in there!
In reality, a cage is never gonna be as fun as flying around the house, it's just our jobs to make it not quite so terrible for them.
Or at least not so terrible that they can't be bribed in with their favorite treat.
Oh, and I agree with the clipping suggestion. We got Busey a very light clip that still allows for about 5-10 feet of horizontal flight (no gaining altitude). Ask your avian vet about maybe clipping him like this.
Good luck with your birdie! They can be so headstrong sometimes.