IRN CHEWING

[janice]

Hi you all,
I've been looking for all the information I can get on IRN. There doesn't seem to be a lot. I purchased a Green IRN at a yard sale in June. I thought it was so sad to sell your pet, but after she bit me the first day I think I know why she was sold. I have fallen in love my Pretty Girl in the last few months. We started with step-ups and made it to my shoulder. I take her out side when I'm working in the yard and she travels in our RV with us. The problem I'm having now is she comes from her cage to my chair (her cage is on a stand between my chair and my husbands chair) and then to my shoulder and starts chewing on my clothes. I don't mind that, but she then starts chewing on my neck and ends up biting my ear. I don't know if I should keep her off my shoulder or if there is some way to change this behavior. She is a little over a year old. She is not talking yet, but I don't really know if that will happen. Appreciate any help.

[Angela]

I would also like to get others opinions on this subject, but what they told us to do for our dogs is to offer them something they can chew on such as a small bone or piece of wood. If anyone else has something better, I'd like to know because my IRN does a similar thing but it is more like a pinch than a bite.

Angela

[ringneck]

To start off, Ringnecks are parrots and like most parrots, they love to chew. I know this can seem bothersome but I guess you could say that’s playing to them.

Stopping the chewing habit is very difficult but I am sure it could be stopped with some strategy and being extremely consistent.

My ringneck, who I really enjoy, loves to chew anything he finds interesting. An example of this might be me watching television. I know I have to hide the remote control because as soon as he sees it, he wants it to chew it. Notice I said I hide it. I believe that’s truly the key. If you know it’s going to get their attention and cause them to chew on it then just hide it. This helps a lot; however, ringnecks are very curious and will just find another object to satisfy their desire to chew. It’s really like a never ending battle.

Angela – That’s really true advice about giving parrots chew objects. The only thing I highly recommend is not to spend outrageous amounts of money on chew toys for parrots. There are many substitutions that could satisfy the parrot desire to chew. What I do for my Ringneck is to take a toilet paper roll and thread it through the perch. My ringneck will spend hours, and I do mean hours, trying to chew that sucker up and remove it form the perch. It’s cheap and very entertaining for my Ringneck. Thread some multi colored pasta through chain. Just use your imagination. I spend to much money for parrot toys only to find they prefer the homemade ones.


Janice – I would not let your female ringneck up on your shoulder anymore! I have a hen that is identical to yours. She is lovely until she gets on shoulders. We call her Regan. (The little girl from the Exorcist). She is such a sweetheart one moment then her eyes pin and she’ll give you a nasty bite if you’re not careful! So, ask yourself this. Can I trust my ringneck on my shoulders? If you can answer that question honestly then do what you think you have to do. As for me…I can’t! I am too scared to get a nasty facial bite. Not to mention her bites when trying to remove her. If you feel she must be on your shoulder start working with her. Make sure she understands the up command and is gentle towards your fingers. You’ll know when she is ready to resume her spot on your shoulders. This is not a chewing problem but a dominance problem. She is a hen and wants everything her way. Woman!!

Also, it’s great that you bought her! I can bet a million bucks you have enriched her life so much! I commend you for trying to do so much research on your new family addition!

Welcome to this forum and hope to hear more form you!


Best wishes,

I.C.