New to the Game

[rocketsmummy]

Hi everyone,
im so glad i found this site it has been very insightful for me.
I have only day b4 yesterday purchased an indian ringneck.
he is green (apparently he) and his name is Rocket.
the breeder i got him off had hand reared him and his sibblings,although i got rocket a little cheaper because the breeder thought he needed a little more work as far as being handled goes,so of course i the trained expert that im not decided i loved his naughty little face and will make him looooovvveee me ...lol hmmm.reality bites!literally in this case! so to first get use to each other i let him roam around at his pleasure which was all going well, i went into the kitchen turnned the kettle on put coffee in my cup came back into the lounge and thought where did he go??? well he was in the christmas tree chewing the lights!!!! eeek i ushered him away from the wire he then ran up the tree up the dress of my angel knocking all the baulbles down and evetuallly got the angel of his head. i have alot to learn about parrot welfare!he like i mentioned B4 does bite ..i( think from memory he is about 12-14 weeks old). so in all my wisdom i decided to wrap a small hand towel around my hand so when i first handled him the would be no anxiety.which all worked well i said to him this morn come on and he jumped on the hand towel around my hand and i lowered him to the floor to play. BUT im thinking if i keep doing this to long,eventually when i trust him and he trusts me going the bare hand might put us at square one again?i do pat himthough just gently on the tail feathers ans lower back with other hand which he seems ok with for a little bit ,and i have been hand feeding him apple in his cage.Im not ready to cop a bite yet lol although i think i will have to muster it soon.


i look forward to chatting to you all on this forum, its truely a great site!

[Lauren]

Hello and Welcome! Rocket sounds like a character already! They can be like lil children sometimes. They put everything in their beak, they chew on anything they can, constantly cleaning up their poops and they even throw temper tantrums when they don't get what they want. Providing lots of chew toys should keep him occupied and stop him from chewing things you don't want him to chew.
Always keep an eye out for dangers. Just as you would with a toddler around. I know its hard to get cords out of the way, Yodas chewed all our phone cables, had to replace them 3 times, and our roof has beak marks in it. He now knows its naughty but does it when I take my eyes off him! Cant take your eyes off them for 2 seconds or they'll get into trouble. I sometimes give him an empty egg carton to chew up instead, he goes nuts for egg cartons, its a great distraction!
Just remember to ignore biting if or when it happens. Suck up the pain.

[rocketsmummy]

thanks Lauren,
well today we have had an all daY bonding session im happy to let him sit on my arm and walk up my shoulders he hasnt bitten me "yet" but will if i put my hand out rather than my arm , i dont think he likes hands all that much but give it time. he was even looking for my arm today to help him get over to the window ledgel lol . he is fasinated with the window ledge , i think cAuse he sees the occasionally bird and can hear them chirp!im feelin the love! lol
lauren how on earth does your bird chew the celing??????

[Lauren]

Aww glad to hear your bonding well and hes looking for your help!
Oh they love to get ontop of the blinds and chew around the edges of the ceiling. They know its naughty. Jibby will stop when he sees me but Yoda will get my attention, then chew like hes just wanting to get in trouble. Even with Yodas wings clipped he still manages to climb a brick wall and get up there. I try to distract Yoda with other toys, but I think hes playing with me now. My partner just fixed up this mess..

[rocketsmummy]

omg! i will freak if rocket statrts that lol action plan now!

[kyria]

Welcome to the family and the wonderful world of IRN and their idio's .. Every bird has its own unique personality. You bet they are just like kids and they DO learn verbals, my birds understand more than I know. If I see Jordan or Pickle heading for trouble I can now yell out a strong growling NOOO! and they both stop and look at me. This came from a gentle "swipe them sideways" and a virbal NO whenever they did something naughty, now when they hear my voice they stop, and Jordan will growl and bang his head on the ground in anger at my disciplinary command .. lol .. but they stop! thats the important part. Although Jordan tests all the time, we even had stand offs (particulary him trying to bite my toes) I think he actually finds it more of a game now.

Word or advise, don't let him rule his way for too long. If you want him to get use to hands do it now. If he lunges to bite at you, push quickly past his bite and kinda gently push/sweep him off balance to make him step onto your hand. Always use voice commands with everything you do and find a favorite treat to reward his good behaviour. When he steps up without biting, make a production telling him he is good and giving him the treat. Mine love!!!! dried mellon seeds.

Just like a kid they love to be praised, they love to hear you talk and they love to play with you.

I am surprised he lets you touch his tail, even my own personal handraised Pickle, having had constant attention, is VERY protective of the tail.

Anyway your baby sounds like quite the character, had a good giggle at the visual I got from the christmas tree and angel .. lol ... classic !! IRN, quite the clowns at times.

Oh and remember they have moods just like us, some days good, somedays bad, some naughty, some playful. YOu will both learn each other over the many years you have together.

Cheers!

[Melika]

Welcome. ^_^ I think Angie said pretty much everything. Though my Hane does let me touch his tail, Tsume (his brother) won't tolerate it.

[rocketsmummy]

Thanks guys,
your little bits to help heaps! now if h goes to bite i tell him NOOO very loud and he usually stops . im lovin him sooo much and thew kids are getting great sadisfaction from him too.

[kyria]