First day with my new IRN!

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intog
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 7:03 pm

First day with my new IRN!

Post by intog »

Ok, I brought home my 10 week old handfed male IRN the other evening and I must say that he just seems different than other parrots I have had. I'm having trouble reading his mood and comfort level.

This morning I uncovered his cage and he was hesitant to step up, he pulled back a little when my hand entered his cage but he did step up without me pushing on his chest. I let him sit on my hand for a few minutes and he kind of just sat there staring at me. After a few minutes of me talking to him, he dipped his head and did a slight head bob and let out that cute cooing whimper sound. If you know what I'm talking about... what does it mean? It wasn't the fast head bob "feed me" sound, it kind of sounded like a puppy whimper.

I continued talking to him and every once and a while he would slowly move his head down and ever so gently... bite the hell out of my finger! It wasn't an aggressive or defensive behavior, there was no lunging or eye pinning so am I correct in assuming that he is simply exploring the squishyness of my fingers? Throughout the day I learned that if he is leaning forward to give me a kiss... not to fall for it! He slowly leaned into my lip and bit down into it. He didn't let go until my skin snapped. Now I have a puffy bruised/bloody lip. I also learned that he is not a shoulder bird (yet). He took a nice big bite out of my ear as well. The funny thing is that he does it so slow and gentle, and yet so crushingly painful. He is the largest parrot I have owned so this feeling is new to me... I'm used to the quick pinching sensation of conures and lovebirds mostly.

Anyway, I only picked him up a few times throughout the day, and most of the time he sat on top of his cage either looking around or sleeping.

He doesn't seem uncomfortable, but just cautious about things. I assume he is just adjusting to the new environment?
I showed him a few toys, but he didn't seem interested in them yet. He lets me pet him and doesn't seemed stressed about it.

I'm just wondering what the next step is to help him bond with me and explore more. Should I continue what I did today? divide his time between being with me and being alone? Spend more time with him? less time?


Any comments or thoughts are appreciated :)
ringneck
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Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2004 6:57 pm

Re: First day with my new IRN!

Post by ringneck »

Hey intog,
Welcome! I think your ringneck just needs some time to adjust to you. Ringnecks are not the “typical” parrot—they need much more guidance and will let you know when they want their space. Though most owners claim their ringnecks don’t like to be touched—mine all enjoy it. I can handle them anyway I want and they are perfectly fine with it. Start handling your bird from the very beginning and pet him often—the more you do this—the more your ringneck will enjoy this interaction as his personality develops.

These birds need constant interaction and it’s especially important it is done the first year of their lives. Their brains are hardwiring and they are so forgiving during this first year that it is in your best interest to teach the bird now. As the bird matures and becomes set in his ways—you’ll have to switch from socialization to positive reinforcement. How old is your baby ringneck?

Hold him as much as you can. The more you interact with him the more he’ll understand your boundaries. Mine are so tame, loving, and wonderful to be around—I just can’t understand how these birds have such a bad status.

As far as the biting you need to ignore it. Don’t let the bird bite you as it can really hurt you. Besides, the more your bird bites the harder it will do so and you’ll unintentionally reinforce this—so don’t let it happen. If the bird bites, move your hand away and continue your business without a reaction. Avoid eye contact; don’t say anything, or no punishments—they don’t understand it.

Please do a search as there are so many wonderful posts here! We look forward to having you here and giving us more feedback! I hope this helps a bit!

Best Wishes :wink: ,

IMRAN-C
A book I put together to help new ringneck owners.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DT1YXB52/

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intog
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 7:03 pm

Re: First day with my new IRN!

Post by intog »

thanks for the reply :)

Thanks for the welcome. I've actually been a member on this board for a month and a half. I was posting my questions about whether to choose a female or a male. I was originally going to bring home a beautiful blue female, but she was too timid around me, so i choose a green male instead. He is 10 weeks old.

i am typing with one hand because he is sitting on my other hand falling asleep...one foot up and grinding his beak. i have have been petting him and doesn't seem to mind at all. Like i said previously, the bites aren't aggressive but I been working to eliminate all bites. The first day it was 6, the second day it was 3 times and so far today it's 0! he lunged forward when i went to pick him up, but i kept moving toward him and he stepped up no problem :)

The only problem right now is that he always wants to go up high (the breeder clipped him) so i only get a few minutes with him each time before he is motioning to go on top of his cage. I'd like to distract him from wanting to go up with treats and chew toys, but once it's set in his head, he ignores everything else. I don't want him to get stressed, so i give in. Should I not give in so much?

Here are some pictures of him...

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ringneck
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Re: First day with my new IRN!

Post by ringneck »

Aw, my friend such wonderful photos! Reminds me of Archimedes when he was a baby! I love the fact that you are giving him all kinds of foods from the get go! Wonderful shots!

I think you are handling the nibbling perfect. When he does lunge at you, ask him to step up and move your fingers towards his feet--that way your hand never gets bitten and the bird will eventually stop.

He keeps going to back to his cage because he is young and wants security. This is quite normal and all baby ringnecks will do this. Just take him out and continue to cuddle with him and pet him and he'll enjoy this as he matures. How you interact with him the first year is going to make such a difference to how he will react for the rest of his life. You just gotta dive in there and work with him.

Take him places with you, let him meet new people, let him taste all kinds of foods, and let him see new objects daily--if you do this you'll have the most friendly bird in the world--I promise ;o).

Can't wait to hear about his progressions :wink: !

Best Wishes :wink: ,

IMRAN-C
A book I put together to help new ringneck owners.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DT1YXB52/

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intog
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 7:03 pm

Re: First day with my new IRN!

Post by intog »

Thanks again IMRAN-C. I watched your youtube videos a couple months ago and that's why I decided on a ringneck to complete my flock.

I spent more time with Raja today and I am happy to say that we made it through the whole day without a single bite! I took him outside with me and he freaked out at first, but settled down once I sat down on ground. I gave him some treats and he was happy looking around. When my conure is outside, he gets very nervous, but Raja was enjoying himself.

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pinkdevil
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Re: First day with my new IRN!

Post by pinkdevil »

He is so beautiful. Just wanna snuggle into his little face. lol
intog
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 7:03 pm

Re: First day with my new IRN!

Post by intog »

pinkdevil wrote:He is so beautiful. Just wanna snuggle into his little face. lol
luckily i can do that now:) I wouldn't have tried that the first 2 days!
intog
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 7:03 pm

Re: First day with my new IRN!

Post by intog »

intog wrote:
pinkdevil wrote:He is so beautiful. Just wanna snuggle into his little face. lol
luckily i can do that now:) I wouldn't have tried that the first 2 days!
UGG! The reason I can snuggle into his face is because he is sick :( I took him to an avian vet today because he is sleeping toooo much and they gave me antibiotics and unpasturized vinegar to stabilize the bacteria in his gut. (his feces had very little bacteria in it).

He is 110 grams and the vet says he is too thin, but assured he is eating... he pooped 3 times at the vet and gave her some nice samples. The blood work showed that he is fighting some type of infection and his white blood cells were active. She wanted to hospitalize him over the weekend, but I couldn't afford it, so she showed me how to create a makeshift brooder.

I post an update when I can.
pinkdevil
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Re: First day with my new IRN!

Post by pinkdevil »

Oh the poor little mite. :(

Sick birds benefit from a heat source to help them heal.
My vet told me to place a heat lamp at one end of the cage, (if cage is large, transfer to smaller cage as they need to be kept quiet and calm), and the bird can move to or away from the heat as it pleases. He told me most times the bird will be at the heat end. The couple of times my bird was sick, the vet was correct. The bird did spend alot of time at the heat end.

All these poor sick little birds around at the moment. I hope your little one will be fine.
Fingers and toes crossed for you. Good thing you have access to an avian vet. :)
intog
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 7:03 pm

Re: First day with my new IRN!

Post by intog »

Raja's breeder offered to take him in to get him back up to good health. He's been there for 3 days now and she emailed me this morning to tell me that he is starting to gain weight and is more alert! Don't know if he is out of the woods yet, but he's headed in the right direction!

The vet thought he would get worse before he got better, but so far he's just getting better... though slowly. I am feeling a little relief as he's been at a stand still for the last few days until today.

I really hope that when he is back to being himself and has more energy that he will still cuddle with me... my luck he will come back and be bluffing.
pinkdevil
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Re: First day with my new IRN!

Post by pinkdevil »

Hope all goes well.
ringneck
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Re: First day with my new IRN!

Post by ringneck »

aw, poor little guy! It's wonderful the breeder has taken him back to feed him a bit and you took him to the vet. How is he doing!? Give him a treat for us!

IMRAN-C
A book I put together to help new ringneck owners.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DT1YXB52/

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intog
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 7:03 pm

Re: First day with my new IRN!

Post by intog »

He just came home tonight ! :) He was at the breeder's house for 5 days and he's gained weight. He's now 117 grams and doesn't fall asleep. I'm going to continue his meds for another week as prescribed.

When I was visiting him this week, he would bob his head and make his call whenever the breeder's husband came in the room. I guess he would help feed the babies. This was the first time I heard Raja make that noise... it was nice to hear :)

He's seems a lot better and a lot more alert, but still cuddly:)
ringneck
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Re: First day with my new IRN!

Post by ringneck »

Wow! Really good to hear! Had me scared there for a sec. Once a bird gets sick it's usually too late--it's wonderful you were very attentive to him! Fantastic work! :wink:

Best Wishes,

IMRAN-C
A book I put together to help new ringneck owners.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DT1YXB52/

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