IndianRingNeck.com

Hi, I have a baby IRN, almost 3 months old which I have had getting close to a month now. I haven't had the DNA test done yet to find out gender but refer to it as he as I have 2 sons so it's natural around here. Things seem to be going really well except he is aggressive when sitting on top of his cage. He lunges and bites when I try to get him to step up or even if I am adjusting anything on the cage. Once I get him down, he is letting me pet him and scratch his neck. He will take food or treats from me by hand fine. He will bite me if he gets on top of my head and I try to get him down but he is fine when perched on my hand or arm. I just am not sure what is the best course of action here. He is slowly starting to let me scratch his head a little when on cage as long as he thinks I am not taking him down.

Hi Mary,

My suggestions:
Give him a treat whenever you happen to think of it if you are going near his cage when he is sitting on it.
Give him a treat, touch whatever needs adjusting, give another treat, touch the toy again for a bit longer, etc. Eventually he will probably decide that it is a good idea to hang out and wait for treats while you do stuff. Or check out "stationing parrots" on a search engine.
Give him a really good reward almost every time he steps up from cage or head for a few weeks. If he looks grumpy before you step him up give him a treat first, to butter him up. Try to avoid stepping him up to take him directly to somewhere he doesn't want to be. Do something he likes on the way.

I hope that helps.

Thank you so much, will try this out!