3 yr old indian ringneck
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3 yr old indian ringneck
hi all, I have a 3 yr old male ringneck called maximus. He will take biscuits and corn from my fingers but I have not been able to pat him. I have had him for around 9 months now and his previous owner had him in an avary but always spent time with his ringnecks every second day. My question is what should I be doing with Max so I can let him out of the cage and fly around have him sit on my shoulder etc?? How much time should one spend with their bird??? I will be honest and say that I have no experience with birds at all.
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ellieelectrons
- Posts: 2708
- Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:17 am
- Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Re: 3 yr old indian ringneck
Hi giantrock,
Welcome to the forum!
Taming a bird is a long process. You are off to a great start if he will take food from your fingers. Is that through the cage bars?
IRNs aren't as tactile a breed as other birds. Some never like to be pat. Our female begs for us to pat her whilst our male hates it. I'm gradually trying to desensitize him to it as he will allow it occasionally but I don't know whether I'll be successful in the long run.
Was your bird raised by his parents or by humans? Generally, a bird raised by humans will be easier to tame but it's always possible to build trust with your bird so that your bird becomes more tame.
As a starting point, I recommend you read this thread:
http://www.indianringneck.com/forum/vie ... =4&t=13254
In my experience taming a bird requires:
- patience
- kindness & consideration
- understanding of your bird's body language
- smarts - you have to think about smart ways to get the bird to do what you want. I like to use approximations to train my birds to do what I want. By an approximation, I mean instead of expecting my bird to be able to do what I want straight away, I divide it into mini-steps and reward it for doing those things first. For example, at the moment I'm trying to harness train one of our birds. I made some mistakes when I did this earlier and now when I produce the harness my bird gets quite agitated... so at the moment my approximation is just holding the harness near her body and rewarding her for staying calm. Once she is doing this regularly, then I'll try another approximation.
Here are a few links about bird training to get you started
- training terminology http://www.goodbirdinc.com/parrot-train ... ology.html
- training a scared or aggressive bird to step up http://goodbirdinc.blogspot.com.au/2009 ... up_28.html
- building trust with your parrot http://goodbirdinc.blogspot.com.au/2011 ... arrot.html
If you're looking for a resource I can't recommend Parrot Behavior and Training #1 DVD found here: http://www.goodbirdinc.com/parrot-store-dvds.html
I have several other of her resources but this is the best one that I own.
I hope that helps.
Best wishes for you and maximus!
Ellie.
Welcome to the forum!
Taming a bird is a long process. You are off to a great start if he will take food from your fingers. Is that through the cage bars?
IRNs aren't as tactile a breed as other birds. Some never like to be pat. Our female begs for us to pat her whilst our male hates it. I'm gradually trying to desensitize him to it as he will allow it occasionally but I don't know whether I'll be successful in the long run.
Was your bird raised by his parents or by humans? Generally, a bird raised by humans will be easier to tame but it's always possible to build trust with your bird so that your bird becomes more tame.
As a starting point, I recommend you read this thread:
http://www.indianringneck.com/forum/vie ... =4&t=13254
In my experience taming a bird requires:
- patience
- kindness & consideration
- understanding of your bird's body language
- smarts - you have to think about smart ways to get the bird to do what you want. I like to use approximations to train my birds to do what I want. By an approximation, I mean instead of expecting my bird to be able to do what I want straight away, I divide it into mini-steps and reward it for doing those things first. For example, at the moment I'm trying to harness train one of our birds. I made some mistakes when I did this earlier and now when I produce the harness my bird gets quite agitated... so at the moment my approximation is just holding the harness near her body and rewarding her for staying calm. Once she is doing this regularly, then I'll try another approximation.
Here are a few links about bird training to get you started
- training terminology http://www.goodbirdinc.com/parrot-train ... ology.html
- training a scared or aggressive bird to step up http://goodbirdinc.blogspot.com.au/2009 ... up_28.html
- building trust with your parrot http://goodbirdinc.blogspot.com.au/2011 ... arrot.html
If you're looking for a resource I can't recommend Parrot Behavior and Training #1 DVD found here: http://www.goodbirdinc.com/parrot-store-dvds.html
I have several other of her resources but this is the best one that I own.
I hope that helps.
Best wishes for you and maximus!
Ellie.
Re: 3 yr old indian ringneck
Thankyou for your reply. I can feed him the biscuits with my fingers in the cage close to his beak. Sometimes he will just nibble at it and other times he will politely take it of me with his claw. Yes he was hand reared by the man I bought him from. But kept in an avary with other ringnecks. The man spent every second day inside the avary with the ringnecks and they would sit on his shoulders, head he even has a special shirt to wear as they leave hole marks on his shirt.
I know that when my husband or son try and feed him the biscuits or just put their hand in the cage he flys away and gets upset but if I'm their talking to him he will just come to the side of the cage that I'm on. He is a beautiful bird and he is loved very much.
I know that when my husband or son try and feed him the biscuits or just put their hand in the cage he flys away and gets upset but if I'm their talking to him he will just come to the side of the cage that I'm on. He is a beautiful bird and he is loved very much.
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ellieelectrons
- Posts: 2708
- Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:17 am
- Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Re: 3 yr old indian ringneck
How long have you had him? They can take some time to settle into their new home. Especially if they're used to having other birds around, they may miss that. Down the track, you may like to consider getting him a friend.
Ellie.
Ellie.
Re: 3 yr old indian ringneck
I have had him for around 6 months now. I have thought about another baby ringneck but I also have 2 lovebirds that are not handraised at all and Max often chats with them. I have been playing peek aboo with him for around 2-5 mins around twice a day. Sometimes I think he looks at me and thinks you silly girl LOL
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ellieelectrons
- Posts: 2708
- Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:17 am
- Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Re: 3 yr old indian ringneck
Have you tried letting him out of his cage? If so, what happened? Do you have a play/gym area for you to interact with him away from his cage? If you are worried about getting your bird back in the cage, it might be a good idea to let him out just before sundown. Your bird will probably return to his cage of his own accord when it gets dark (providing there are no artificial lights on).
In general, you need to spend as much time with your bird as you can, some of the time you can be interacting with your bird but other times it is ok if he can just observe you going about your daily business.
Given that your bird was handraised, you _should_ be able to make significant taming progress. Are you still in contact with the breeder? He knows the bird, he may also be able to give you some tips.
I think the links in my first post should be helpful for you.
Ellie.
In general, you need to spend as much time with your bird as you can, some of the time you can be interacting with your bird but other times it is ok if he can just observe you going about your daily business.
Given that your bird was handraised, you _should_ be able to make significant taming progress. Are you still in contact with the breeder? He knows the bird, he may also be able to give you some tips.
I think the links in my first post should be helpful for you.
Ellie.
Re: 3 yr old indian ringneck
Hi Ellie,
I have not let Max out of his cage yet as I'm not sure if he would return to the cage. He does get startled quiet easily when my son or husband come around the corner and he does not know if they are their but with me he seems to know and he is quiet settled. Also Max does not have his wings clipped but I don't think that would make much of a difference it would only upset him. I do chat with his previous owner and he has been quiet good although his previous owner has suffered from a couple of strokes and lives for his birds. He only sells his birds to people that he knows and knows will look after them.
I have not let Max out of his cage yet as I'm not sure if he would return to the cage. He does get startled quiet easily when my son or husband come around the corner and he does not know if they are their but with me he seems to know and he is quiet settled. Also Max does not have his wings clipped but I don't think that would make much of a difference it would only upset him. I do chat with his previous owner and he has been quiet good although his previous owner has suffered from a couple of strokes and lives for his birds. He only sells his birds to people that he knows and knows will look after them.
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ellieelectrons
- Posts: 2708
- Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:17 am
- Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Re: 3 yr old indian ringneck
Interacting with your bird whilst he is inside his cage can be difficult especially if the bird becomes territorial. Having a birdie play area where he can hang out with you is a good idea. Do you have anything like that? You can either buy a birdy gym or make your own. The birdy gym needs to be high enough so that your bird feels safe (approximately at your eye level).
Have you tried getting your bird to step up onto your hand or onto a piece of dowel whilst he is in the cage? That might be a place to start. Then you can try to transfer him to your closeby perch on his gym. When training your bird to step up onto a piece of dowel or your hand, I don't recommend chasing the bird with the dowel (which regrettably I did when I first started out with my birds) as this scares them. It can cause fear and aggression responses which can be hard to untrain. Hold their fav treat in your hand and try to coax them towards the dowel or your hand. If you can't get the bird to step up, don't be discouraged... take even one interested half step towards you as progress and reward your bird for that. Bit by bit over several training sessions, he will come closer and closer to the dowel/hand and eventually will put one foot on it... and eventually two.
Regarding letting him out of the cage. Set yourself up for success. Make sure there is nothing around that will scare your bird (eg. other animals, let the other people in the house know what you are doing and instruct them to stay away until you let them know it's ok). Also make sure everything is as birdy safe as you can make it (eg. close doors to rooms you don't want the bird to enter, close the lid to the toilet, etc.). I think you will find that your bird feels safe in his cage and if you make sure you let him out just before nightfall he will go back to his cage on his own when the sun goes down (providing artificial lights are off). See how you go. Have his fav treats on hand. Don't feed him any of his fav treats prior to getting him out of the cage so that he will be really hungry for them when you offer them.
Good luck and best wishes!
Ellie.
Have you tried getting your bird to step up onto your hand or onto a piece of dowel whilst he is in the cage? That might be a place to start. Then you can try to transfer him to your closeby perch on his gym. When training your bird to step up onto a piece of dowel or your hand, I don't recommend chasing the bird with the dowel (which regrettably I did when I first started out with my birds) as this scares them. It can cause fear and aggression responses which can be hard to untrain. Hold their fav treat in your hand and try to coax them towards the dowel or your hand. If you can't get the bird to step up, don't be discouraged... take even one interested half step towards you as progress and reward your bird for that. Bit by bit over several training sessions, he will come closer and closer to the dowel/hand and eventually will put one foot on it... and eventually two.
Regarding letting him out of the cage. Set yourself up for success. Make sure there is nothing around that will scare your bird (eg. other animals, let the other people in the house know what you are doing and instruct them to stay away until you let them know it's ok). Also make sure everything is as birdy safe as you can make it (eg. close doors to rooms you don't want the bird to enter, close the lid to the toilet, etc.). I think you will find that your bird feels safe in his cage and if you make sure you let him out just before nightfall he will go back to his cage on his own when the sun goes down (providing artificial lights are off). See how you go. Have his fav treats on hand. Don't feed him any of his fav treats prior to getting him out of the cage so that he will be really hungry for them when you offer them.
Good luck and best wishes!
Ellie.