The eyes have it!

[carrie]

Okay, my ringneck has just reached the bluffing stage - much to everybody's dismay - lunging, biting etc. Although he hasn't done anything to me yet, I know my turn is coming. I have read all the advice on this problem in the forums and have learnt a lot, but I was wondering whether anyone has had the problem of their bird lunging at the eyes. On a couple of occassions when he has been sitting on someone's chest quite calmly he suddenly attacks their eyes. He was punished by being put in his cage to chill out for 5 minutes or so. Now we have decided that he is not allowed to sit above the stomach. My only problem is that at night after dinner and before bedtime he likes to roost on my chest for an hour or so while I pat him. Like I said he hasn't bitten me yet but I'm just waiting for it to happen. If he goes for my eyes what should I do - say NO!, say nothing and put him in his cage, pretend it didn't happen??? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Tweets]

my bird did that to me this past weekend. I freaked out and yelled and she flew off my shoulder. She was upset with me for 2 days but now she is ok again.

By yelling at a bird, they think its a good sign.. When they are happy, they make noise.. Birds don't understand humans. Thats one thing to remember.. The best thing to do is to give the bird a dirty look to show your dissaproval. In a quiet but firm tone say NO.

Eventually, your bird will learn that what it is doing is wrong. This takes patience tho..
Good luck!

[indian ringneck]

I totally agree with Tweets. Any screaming, shaking of the hands, or anything such-as, will make your bird even more, wild.

I have listed some info on "Socializing the pet bird" on Kiki's Page.
http://members.dodo.com.au/~johanp/Parr ... ticles.htm

This site also lists some helpful tips on taming the IRN.
http://www.featheredfamily.com/tamingirn.htm

Remember, paitience, persistence, and love will get you far .