IndianRingNeck.com

Hi there all... I bought a male IRN about 6months ago. He was about 4months old at the time. I got the people at the shop to clip him. He chewed away the remaining parts of feathers and whenever new stalks appear he chews at them. They are bloodied and look horrible and painful. Why would he be doing this?

He is extremely timid and a scared. I let him out of the cage daily and he goes straight to the window sill and will perch there all day. When I want him back in he flaps and runs away. I chased him a few times but felt like this was stressing him out so now I take the cage to him and wait for him to go in for food. I spend about an hour a day just putting my hand in the cage and talking to him sometimes offering apple but he refuses to come close. If I go closer to him he flaps about like crazy. He wont eat while I am watching. Are all males this timid when young?

My hen (assumed female) of a similar age is completely opposite. Confident, chirpy, eats anything any time, steps on to my finger, now bluffing, etc.

They did share a cage and seemed happy together but as his condition deteriorated she began to chase and attack him. It was his cage first, lol. He now has his cage back and she has a new one. She is kept at the other end of the house. I bring their cages together about once a month for a couple of days to see if the attitudes change but they never do. She is really agro to other IRNs, even my friends one.

Sorry for the really long post but I figure the more info you have the better idea of whats going on you might have

Any help is appreciated.

I have the same problem but maybe not to the extent of you but my female has more like chewed off her feathers accept for wings and tail but body completely naked, took to the vet he said she was bored, So bought more toys, perches, stuf todo, she still wont let the feathers grow back, now she doesn't do this untilt he point of bleeding but it is really worry some. Doesn't touch the toys. She is 10 months

jeezusbeams wrote:I have the same problem but maybe not to the extent of you but my female has more like chewed off her feathers accept for wings and tail but body completely naked, took to the vet he said she was bored, So bought more toys, perches, stuf todo, she still wont let the feathers grow back, now she doesn't do this untilt he point of bleeding but it is really worry some. Doesn't touch the toys. She is 10 months

He thank goodness has left his body feathers alone. Just seems to be any regrowing wing feathers.

For some reason none of the IRNs I have ever owned have been the slightest bit interested in toys at all. One of my hens used to go mental if I put any foreign objects near her cage and completely destroy them if she couldnt toss it away.

Have you taken him to vet already? Before anything else, you should do a thorough checkup to make sure the bird is physically healthy. Also, if your bird frequently bleeds, you should learn how to pull out a blood feather in case of an emergency. One every two months isn't much of a problem, but if he's bleeding often, like mine did, you have to pull them out as soon as possible (the ones that are broken/bleeding), to prevent blood loss.
You can find some more info here: External Link.

Are you working on taming him? I wouldn't let him out of the cage (provided it's large enough for him to be comfortable in it) unless you are working with him. Maybe move to a smaller room, where he wouldn't be able to get away from you so easily?

If the cause of his behaviour is boredom or stress, you have to take even more time aside just for him. It's a complex issue, where you need to take even the smallest details into account, as it varies from bird to bird and it takes a lot of trial and error to see some progress.