Question about getting an Un-tame Bird

[KTyne]

Hi there,

There is a bird shop near me that has a bunch of IRNs that they are trying to find homes for. They are of varying ages but I believe it's a breeding pair and their offspring. I was told that they aren't tame but when I was in there most of them seemed to at least tolerate your presence although I'm not sure how they would be outside of their cages or if you invaded their space.

Anyways, I was considering seeing if I could get one of these birds and work on taming it.

My question to you guys would be what advice would you give me in this situation? Would you advise me to go ahead with this or not and wait to get a hand-fed baby instead?

I don't have experience working with birds that aren't tame except for Budgies and the furthest I got with them was that they accepted me with my hand in their cage and if I had millet they would touch my hand to get to it.

Any and all advice would be appreciated. If you would advise against getting a parent raised bird as a novice in this area then I'd like to hear your input on that too!

Thanks for the help guys.

[ellieelectrons]

It would be very rare that a non handraised IRN would end up as tame as a handraised IRN. Even handraised IRNs can be hard work to tame some times (although they'll be quicker than a non handraised bird). So, it comes down to what you are looking for. Certainly if you do buy one, look for a bird that looks the most comfortable with you and shows an interest in you - and I'd suggest you get a baby rather than an adult unless an adult takes an interest in you... Personally, I wouldn't like to split up a breeding pair any way, that would be very traumatic for them. Also, when you get your bird home, the change of scenery will most likely take some time to adjust so don't push interaction with them too hard. Put them somewhere they can feel safe and can observe you going about your daily chores without feeling threatened by you.

Good luck & best wishes!

Ellie.

[Sweetedge]

Hi there

When I got Sullie last year he came from a breeder, but was not hand tamed at all. I have always had cockatiels and Budgies and my mum has an African Grey Parrot (Who was hand tamed) - and I did wrongly assume that we would be able to tame him quite quickly like a cockatiel. When Sul first came to us he was only 11\12 weeks old, and was totally petrified of us He wouldn't look us in the eye for months. Even if we walked near his cage he would go mad, and start flying around the cage hitting the sides Eventually, after a lot of patience and sitting with him everyday for long periods talking to him, he started to come round. Once he stopped going mad when we walked near his cage, we let him out into his bedroom only and since then we have managed to get him a lot better. He was petrified of hands, and now he will take food from our hands, and will land on my finger for food - I'm currently now trying to teach him the 'Up' command to get on my finger, but I can put my hand right up close to him now which is a MASSIVE improvement. To get to this stage it has taken us 7-8 months. Everyday, by sitting with him, he gets better and trusts us more - his new thing is now hovering infront of me, and then landing on my chair and asking me what I'm doing lol

I think what i'm trying to say is that IRN's appear to be very different than other birds I have had and seen. They are sooo intelligent, and you really have to work hard to gain their trust and keep at it everyday BUT the rewards you get from getting closer to them far outweigh the work you put in. Even though we're still taming Sullie and he still has 'his moments' where he's scared of us, or unsure - I wouldn't swap him for the world.

I hope this helps from a 'non-handraised' IRN side

Good Luck

Trace & Sullie xxx

[KTyne]

Thank-you guys for the replies!! I definitely wouldn't want to split up a breeding pair as I know how bonded they can get. When my previous Budgie's mate passed he was so depressed so I can imagine how it would be if you seperated a pair.

I have a lot of free time on my hands because I'm not working right now and I'm home with my son all of the time so I have a lot of time to spend with a bird. Taming an IRN sounds like a ton of work but I'm sure it has the rewards that come along with it!

I would be planning on clicker training the new bird and have read and been told that this can help you bond with the bird and help the bird trust you because you're working on something together. Has anyone done this with their bird(s)?
Once (s)he was comfortable in our house and with us being around her and her cage I think I'd start with stick and touch training.

Anyways, thanks for the advice again guys!

[ShirleyBird]

Hi, I haven't posted for a long time,but I had to reply. We got Laverne and Shirley from a pet store when they were 7 mths old(last summer). They were terrified of hands and still are. They are however GREAT companions. They are loud,silly, very smart and curious and I think they are just gorgeous. They are flighted and we have been working on clicker training(they step up and go home). They HATE hands and WILL bite if too near. We use a perch to step up on,it works great. They do however take treats from hands VERY gently, they just don't like hands to try and handle them. I have just came to terms with this fact over time and I think it had helped our relationship. I don't force them to be around if they don't want nor do I force myself into their comfort zones. This along with them being flighted( they weren't when they came here) allows them to be less afraid and more social with the family. They are able to fly away when feeling threatened instead of biting and if they want to be close without being too close, they can. Point being, maybe you can with TONS of time(I also stayed home at the time)to persuade them people are not scary...maybe you can't..however if things don't go as planned, you can still have a meaningful connection. Best of Luck.

[ellieelectrons]

Nice to hear from you Shirley. Great post!

Ellie.

[KTyne]

Hi, I haven't posted for a long time,but I had to reply. We got Laverne and Shirley from a pet store when they were 7 mths old(last summer). They were terrified of hands and still are. They are however GREAT companions. They are loud,silly, very smart and curious and I think they are just gorgeous. They are flighted and we have been working on clicker training(they step up and go home). They HATE hands and WILL bite if too near. We use a perch to step up on,it works great. They do however take treats from hands VERY gently, they just don't like hands to try and handle them. I have just came to terms with this fact over time and I think it had helped our relationship. I don't force them to be around if they don't want nor do I force myself into their comfort zones. This along with them being flighted( they weren't when they came here) allows them to be less afraid and more social with the family. They are able to fly away when feeling threatened instead of biting and if they want to be close without being too close, they can. Point being, maybe you can with TONS of time(I also stayed home at the time)to persuade them people are not scary...maybe you can't..however if things don't go as planned, you can still have a meaningful connection. Best of Luck.

Thanks for the input! I have watched videos of people doing clicker training as well to make hands more positive. If they were totally against that though I know pushing for it would just make it worse.
Thanks again!