Un-tamed Ringneck

[mickpmc]

When I first get my Un-tambed ringneck. Will it be scared of me? Will it try to fly away
from me or go crazy in its cage when I'm around? Also, how long does it take to
teach it to step up; just want to learn the basics first,thats always good.
Could I just put it on my shoulder and walk around the house with it, maybe sit down
and hold it on my finger while I'm watching TV; let it walk on the couch? Or would it get
distracted and fly off? We have a dog at home. My younger sister got a beared dragon and
my dog isn't paying any attention to it. When I get my bird, will it be any different?
Could I teach my dog to not attack ot bark?

Regards

Mike

[ellieelectrons]

Hi Mike

Will it be scared of me? Will it try to fly away
from me or go crazy in its cage when I'm around?

This really depends on the bird and how much interaction with people he/she gets with people before it comes home to you. I think I mentioned in a previous message that even when we brought Charlie home (and Charlie was handraised), he was really frightened of us... and it took a lot of time and persistence before he was comfortable with us.

... you should be prepared for the idea that the bird may be quite scared of you at first and you will have to spend lots of time with it and have lots of patience to build trust in order to tame it.

Also, how long does it take to
teach it to step up; just want to learn the basics first,thats always good.

Once again, this all depends on how scared the bird his and how well you can motivate the bird to learn. In my experience all tricks and behaviours take time... and it can get frustrating trying to teach them. Having said that, it does depend how you intend to train the bird to step up. Some people train the bird to step up by sticking their hand against their chest and more or less forcing them to do it. I don't train like that, I try to give my birds the choice to do what they want but if they step up when I ask then they receive a reward.

Regardless of how you intend to train your bird, before you train your bird to step up, first of all, you need to have him taking treats from your hand. For some birds, this can take a while to build the trust before they will do that. With Charlie, we started by giving him treats from a baby spoon (as he found the spoon less confronting) and worked up to having him take them from our hand. Once you have him doing this, you use this as a basis for all training.

If stepping up still seems too confronting to your bird, you can try some other non-contact tricks such as turning around to build more trust with your bird.

Having said all of that, since you are getting a young bird, there is every chance that it will tame down relatively quickly.

Regards

Ellie.

[mickpmc]

Hi Mike

Will it be scared of me? Will it try to fly away
from me or go crazy in its cage when I'm around?

This really depends on the bird and how much interaction with people he/she gets with people before it comes home to you. I think I mentioned in a previous message that even when we brought Charlie home (and Charlie was handraised), he was really frightened of us... and it took a lot of time and persistence before he was comfortable with us.

... you should be prepared for the idea that the bird may be quite scared of you at first and you will have to spend lots of time with it and have lots of patience to build trust in order to tame it.

Also, how long does it take to
teach it to step up; just want to learn the basics first,thats always good.

Once again, this all depends on how scared the bird his and how well you can motivate the bird to learn. In my experience all tricks and behaviours take time... and it can get frustrating trying to teach them. Having said that, it does depend how you intend to train the bird to step up. Some people train the bird to step up by sticking their hand against their chest and more or less forcing them to do it. I don't train like that, I try to give my birds the choice to do what they want but if they step up when I ask then they receive a reward.

Regardless of how you intend to train your bird, before you train your bird to step up, first of all, you need to have him taking treats from your hand. For some birds, this can take a while to build the trust before they will do that. With Charlie, we started by giving him treats from a baby spoon (as he found the spoon less confronting) and worked up to having him take them from our hand. Once you have him doing this, you use this as a basis for all training.

If stepping up still seems too confronting to your bird, you can try some other non-contact tricks such as turning around to build more trust with your bird.

Having said all of that, since you are getting a young bird, there is every chance that it will tame down relatively quickly.

Regards

Ellie.

I sent a message to you but incase you didn't get it. I just asked if a 2 month old IRN is weaned, fully?
Or is it at the birds own pase?

[ellieelectrons]

Hi Mike

I've haven't raised IRN babies yet, so I'm not the best person to answer this. Most breeders wouldn't you give a bird that isn't fully weaned? Ours were both fully weaned when we got them. I honestly can't remember how old Janey was when we got her but she was only just weaned and not flying yet. Charlie was quite a bit older when we got him. He was already flying and the breeder had clipped his wings already.

Sorry, I don't have the answer to that one.

Ellie.