Question regarding Indian ring neck behavior

[azgardezi]

Hello everyone. I've got a green IRN that I hand raised since it was 1.5 months old. I must say this little bird is unbelievable. I was a big fan of the african grey (I have a talking hand tamed AG) and other exotic breeds when it comes to talking. This bird surprised me with its talking vocabulary. It mimics almost everything the Grey says. Hence the local myth proven wrong that the IRN doesn't talk beyond 2-3 words.


I have a few questions regarding the behavior of my IRN.

1. I want to train my bird to sit on a perch but every time I let it out it wants to roam around the premises and nibble on stuff. If I extend my hand for it to sit on, it normally chooses to hop away and just do what it likes. Is this normal?

2. My African grey sits on the shoulder or my knee without nibbling my ear and clothing. The moment my IRN sits on my shoulder, my ears and shirt are a target for its beak experiments. Will it stop doing that, eventually?

3. Can the IRN be trained to stay on the perch on all times?

4. I introduced toys in its cage. It created a racket and kept flapping its wings and screaming the entire day till the toys were removed. It is crazy for soft bottle caps (non toxic plastic), and would go crazy if it sees one. What should I do. I'd love to see it play with hanging toys and bells.

5. I am the only household member it socializes with. Early on it was friendly with everyone but for the last 2-3 months it refuses to socialize with anyone but myself. Is this normal?


I know some of these questions have been addressed earlier, therefore I apologize if this is a repetition.

[AJPeter]

Yes Yes No Yes Yes

Birds do not like hands and would prefer to fly to your shoulder, my collars are thread bare and most shirts exist with out buttons, but my hen had been been preoccupied with trying to hatch four dummy eggs and has stopped chewing my collars. I think it would be cruel to train an IRN or any bird to sit on the perch all the time they need to fly and explore. You birds is scared of the toys take them all and intro duce them on at a time, play with the toy to show it all right for your bird to play it. Yes it is quite normal for birds to enjoy one person company.

[InTheAir]

It sounds like you have a healthy, active irn. That is good.

1. Make a really interesting perch, put toys, browse and foraging on it. Make sure the perch has some high branches. If you make the perch cool enough in your ringnecks opinion, he will hang out there when he wants to play there. If you want him to sit on your hand, make sure he has things to do like play with foot toys while he is there. I disagree with ajs theory that birds are inherently scared of hands, they learn to be wary of hands because hands can be unpredictable or are not a nice safe, high perch, or hands do things they don't like.

2. Give your irn something to do when he is on your shoulder. Make a bird safe necklace or shawl with lots of fun things from him to do. Don't allow him to sit on your shoulder if there is a chance of him injuring your eyes though.

3. Can I train you to sit in one place all day? Possibly, but would it be good for you? No.

4. Introduce toys outside the cage. Lay them on the table and encourage the bird to come explore them in his own time. Don't add toys to the cage if they are scaring your bird, keep the toys somewhere be can see them until he is not scared.

5. Get other members of your family to give the bird treats and interact with him in ways he likes. It is normal for birds to enjoy the company of anyone who interacts with them well and gives them treats. Both my birds get on great with myself and my boyfriend, our handraised one gets on with almost anyone he meets (he is not very keen on the vet at the moment though), but the parent raised one is still learning she doesn't need to be shy of strangers. She likes people she has met a few times. It is not very good for the bird if it only gets on with one person.