IndianRingNeck.com

I posted the other day about my recently adopted Chester. Well, our vet appt is tomorrow morning but he has seemed to have "snapped" out of the funk he was in. He's not regurgitating (or vomiting) like he did on Thursday morning. He's waking up and eating right away and vocalizing a lot more. He just seems so much happier and more comfortable.

On Friday night I offered apple from my hand (which is his favorite so far) and he actually took it. Not once but 3 times. I offered it again this morning and he took it again from me, so we are doing well there.

He has never been hand trained though. I just ordered a floor playstand and would like to be able to get him on it. I'm curious what everyone thinks about stick training? I would like to do that for now until he gets more comfortable with my hands. What would be the best way to go about doing that with him? I plan on hand training him eventually but don't want to push him too fast. All suggestions are very welcome!

Thanks and I'm so glad to have found this forum.

Jennifer & Chester

Hi Jennifer. Sometimes people have success getting a hand shy bird on their arm or wrist. Don't rule it out. My bird really prefers the wrist, though he will walk out onto the hand or finger if I make it worth his time. If you do get the bird on your arm or wrist, he may make a beeline for your shoulder or head. Discourage that by raising your bird arm above your shoulder, though don't move so quickly you startle the bird. Another move is to hold your bird hand up as if you're making a modified shadow-puppet alligator. Keep it at least face high, but far enough from your face the bird doesn't try to walk over to your head. A last resort is to block his path using a toy or large leaf or bowl of food. Avoid blocking the path with your other hand because you want to minimize that hands could be unexpected and scary, not employ that as a blocking tool.

Good luck with this. In the end, with my bird, he was reluctant to step up and I was reluctant to tolerate the testing bites, so I let another bird model the behaviour and my bird stepped up on his own after a month of that.

We have had to stick train all three of our rescues. Just consistency until they realized the stick isn't the enemy
Ultimately we want them to all step up, and Luna has started stepping up onto our wrists. But it's taking time and patience. All the time they need is what our goal is. If Oscar and Oliver never step up onto our wrists, we are ok with that. This is their boundary.
As in all things with ringnecks, consistency and patience is the key.
Dana

Hi Jennifer,

I'm glad to hear your bird seems better. It is still worth taking him in for a checkup and psittacosis test on Monday.

Stick training can be very useful, if done correctly and respectfully. A lot of people seem to get tempted to force the bird onto the stick, which usually has very unfortunate consequences for either or both parties.
I made a video of Sapphire stepping up not long after I got her (she was called Squidgette at the time. The same concept of placing a stick as a bridge to the treat is just as effective as using your hand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q61MbgvFIag I did start by opening the cage door and handing her treats from the doorway before I introduced my hand as a perch, so she was comfortable approaching my hand already.


Regards,
Claire