IndianRingNeck.com

hi, i am new here. i have an irn and his name is Peppy. He is about 18 years old. i would like to know about how long their life span is? he was my grandfathers bird. my grandpa was able to hold him and everything. they were very close. my grandpa passed away about 15 years ago. then he was with my grandma. she passed away about 6 years ago. then he was with my aunt then my mom and now he is with me. i wouldnt let him go anywhere else. he doesnt let anybody touch him or get to close. he will try to bite you if you do. he never does it hard unless he feels really threatened. he is very playful and noisy. he doesnt say any words. he does whistle and mimick sounds. i give him lots of attention. he loves to watch my kids and (i think he makes fun of them) mock them. i have told you some of his background. i dont know how old he was when my grandpa got him. is there hope that maybe he will become closer to me. like being able to touch him or hold him? or is he set in his ways? too old? he has such a great personality. sometimes i get notes of sarcasism from him. lol but with his personality i just know that he would absolutely love to be touched and stuff. does anybody have any ideas? should i just catch him and hold him to show him that i am not going to hurt him? i am scared he is just to old and he gets so scared. i dont want him to have a heartattack. thanks for any help you could give me.

Hi,

I have read under right conditions, IRNs can live up to 30 yrs, (even reported cases of 50! ), but average life span is around 25-30yrs.

There have been plenty of other members who have successfully tamed or quietened down a aviary bred ringie with food results, it you do a search you might find their posts/threads.
At 18yrs+ he is pretty set in his ways and it will take a very long time to gain his trust after so many owners and moves. What could take an average bird a couple of weeks to achieve may take him months for the same result.
Just take baby steps and don't push him too hard or fast or you could undo all your hard work.

Some things you could try is eating in front of him, ringies are very food orientated birds. He will be watching your every move. When it seems like he has shown interest or moved towards you, you could try offering some bird friendly treats. Some people have had success with popcorn, apple, corn, peanuts etc. It will be a slow process but in time he could just gain enough trust to eventually take it from your hand.

Another thing you could try is shown in this video of a aviary or untame ringneck.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzJqEu75Zfw
The good thing with this type of reward is you don't need to actually touch the parrot or be too close to him for him to be rewarded. Don't be put off by the title 'Negative Reinforcement'. I was like 'What the....' when I first saw the heading but I watched the video and read some comments and breathed a sigh of relief.

There are quite a few different ways you could try to tame your boy down. Just have to find a way both you and him are comfortable with and gets results in a positive direction.
Just remember, ANY positive result is a good result no matter how SMALL it is. Do not be too discouraged it one day you get to place your hand near him and the next day he wont allow you within 3 feet of him. Just take a step back and repeat until he is comfortable with you being in his space again. It is going to be a slow slog but will be worth it end in the end. Remember, he has been like this for 18 yrs+ so it will not be undone is just a few months.

It may be helpful if his wings were clipped so he could come out of his cage if household environment allows this. This is a personal choice as there are plenty of arguments for and against clipping.

Good luck.

thank you. he does take things from me when i hand him something. yes, he is very nosy when you are eating. i can get closer to him than anybody else can. i keep his cage open all the time. so he gets to come out when he wants to. he takes flight around the living room. lol especially if he wants your attention and your busy. he is a funny little thing. if i get him clipped will he still be able to fly? i am new to all this. he really enjoys to fly after he takes a bath. i hate to take that away from him. i will watch that video and see if i can get some ideas from that too. i have only had him about two months and am still trying to learn what he can eat and what he cant. and how much. i am alot like my grandpa and i think he can sense that. i think thats why he lets me interact with him as much as i do. i hope he will learn to trust me soon. thanks for talking to me. i just found this site today and it has really been helpful.