He follows me around for a few minutes then he goes off to the spare room sits in front of the mirror, plays with his chewy toys, sits on the window sill looking outside and all the time chatting away to himself. Every now and then he calls to me and if i don't hear him he comes out to check i'm stikk around then goes back and chats happily on his own for hours on end. At lunchtime i call him and he comes out by himself and then i put him up in his cage to eat and nap. At about 5 he starts chatting again and comes down and he goes around the house with me, we switch the lights on etc. Sometimes i play peek-a-boo with him or try to teach him a trick but I'm wondering does all this chatting on his own mean he's a happy contented bird or do i need to actually sit down on the floor with him and play games with him? I do sing to him and he has started to sing back to me but i'm afraid i need to do more? Is it possible that he talks so much because he's bored? I don't know if you all get what i'm trying to ask but i hope you do.Birdie happy playing alone
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Birdie happy playing alone
Hi again all. Just wondering about something. Is it absolutely necessary to have interactive play everyday with your bird? In the morning i take bibou out of his cage and talk to him as if he were a real boy. He follows me around for a few minutes then he goes off to the spare room sits in front of the mirror, plays with his chewy toys, sits on the window sill looking outside and all the time chatting away to himself. Every now and then he calls to me and if i don't hear him he comes out to check i'm stikk around then goes back and chats happily on his own for hours on end. At lunchtime i call him and he comes out by himself and then i put him up in his cage to eat and nap. At about 5 he starts chatting again and comes down and he goes around the house with me, we switch the lights on etc. Sometimes i play peek-a-boo with him or try to teach him a trick but I'm wondering does all this chatting on his own mean he's a happy contented bird or do i need to actually sit down on the floor with him and play games with him? I do sing to him and he has started to sing back to me but i'm afraid i need to do more? Is it possible that he talks so much because he's bored? I don't know if you all get what i'm trying to ask but i hope you do.
He follows me around for a few minutes then he goes off to the spare room sits in front of the mirror, plays with his chewy toys, sits on the window sill looking outside and all the time chatting away to himself. Every now and then he calls to me and if i don't hear him he comes out to check i'm stikk around then goes back and chats happily on his own for hours on end. At lunchtime i call him and he comes out by himself and then i put him up in his cage to eat and nap. At about 5 he starts chatting again and comes down and he goes around the house with me, we switch the lights on etc. Sometimes i play peek-a-boo with him or try to teach him a trick but I'm wondering does all this chatting on his own mean he's a happy contented bird or do i need to actually sit down on the floor with him and play games with him? I do sing to him and he has started to sing back to me but i'm afraid i need to do more? Is it possible that he talks so much because he's bored? I don't know if you all get what i'm trying to ask but i hope you do.Sounds to me like he’s a content little birdie and sounds very happy as he is having the run of your household. Its like if you shower or are doing something which you enjoy you maybe sing to yourself or if nobodies around even praise your self that’s what he’s doing. My IRN also sits and mumble to him self sings and calls my CAG. The more vocal a bird is the happier it is keep that in mind. If you feel he is getting bored then cover his food container with some paper and he will spend a fir bit of time trying to get to the goodies inside. Or you could use and old cotton glove and put little treats in each finger fold the fingers or put knots in them this should also keep him amused. Try different methods from time to time to keep his brain active.
Thanks IMR for the reply. You've put my mind at ease. He certainly is very vocal, all day long so i'm glad that means he's happy. Which makes me happy> Not so sure about him having the run of the household..Hmmm I must have a little chat with him about that. 
Will try to play little games with him too like the ones you suggested.
Thanks again. I just love this site. I've learnt so much about all aspects of caring for a ringneck and i'm so grateful. Now if someone could just give me a few pointers on how not to feel so guilty everytime i leave him alone at home. There are times when don't go out at all because i feel so sorry for him sitting all alone in his cage. One time when my husband was away on a trip i didn't leave the house for 3 weeks. I just couldn't leave him alone. Sad, hey?
Will try to play little games with him too like the ones you suggested.
Thanks again. I just love this site. I've learnt so much about all aspects of caring for a ringneck and i'm so grateful. Now if someone could just give me a few pointers on how not to feel so guilty everytime i leave him alone at home. There are times when don't go out at all because i feel so sorry for him sitting all alone in his cage. One time when my husband was away on a trip i didn't leave the house for 3 weeks. I just couldn't leave him alone. Sad, hey?
Hane is quite content in his cage because he has so many toys and things to do. When you leave your babe, pop a treat or two in his dish as you say "See ya later", or give him an extra shredable toy (paper rolled up in a roll with treats inside, or in a toilet paper roll- always cut open rolls though so he can't get stuck) to amuse himself while you're away. Keep him interested in his new toys by rotating them once a week (never remove the favourite toy though). That way you know he'll have plenty to do while you're not home. If he got these every time you left, I'm sure he'd hurry to his cage every time you say, "I'm going out for a while." ^_^
I've been called 'birdbrained' before, but somehow I don't think this is what they meant. say:hah-nay
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Mikaela
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I dont want to be the one always pointing out the baaaad stuff but I am a worry wart.
PLEASE remember our babies are chewers. Their favorite thing usually is the deadliest... electrical cords. I honestly dont see how you can let him roam without unplugging everything before and after each use. I warn you, both of my girls go straight for electrial cords and love how it feels to bite into them. I have caught Baby twice already.
110 voltage would literally cook your bird, if it got ahold of a 220 socket it would blow it into unreconizable bits.
Sorry for the bluntness, I lack the abilty to sugar coat I am working on it though!
Playstands are great because birds usually stay on them. Like a baby in a play pin, they are safe.
Irn + Floor = very bad things
PLEASE remember our babies are chewers. Their favorite thing usually is the deadliest... electrical cords. I honestly dont see how you can let him roam without unplugging everything before and after each use. I warn you, both of my girls go straight for electrial cords and love how it feels to bite into them. I have caught Baby twice already.
110 voltage would literally cook your bird, if it got ahold of a 220 socket it would blow it into unreconizable bits.
Sorry for the bluntness, I lack the abilty to sugar coat
I am working on it though!
Playstands are great because birds usually stay on them. Like a baby in a play pin, they are safe.
Irn + Floor = very bad things
~ Mikaela Sky
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Neokireina
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I find that indian ringnecks are fairly independant birds compared to some of the other species.
Kiva sits on the curtain rod and sings to himself or dances around on my computer monitor but he comes to me when he feels like it. Wherease my sun conures are flying magnets. If they are out they want into whatever I'm doing or whatever i'm wearing in some cases
Kiva sits on the curtain rod and sings to himself or dances around on my computer monitor but he comes to me when he feels like it. Wherease my sun conures are flying magnets. If they are out they want into whatever I'm doing or whatever i'm wearing in some cases
it's gotten to the point now where he doesn't want to be on his cage anymore. Early in the morning he starts flapping around so i can take him down and if i don't he actually jumps down by himself. Then he stays in the other room all day long. Sits in front of the mirror chewing up paper and the top of a pen which is constantly in his mouth. I don;t know what he finds so fascinating about that. 
Still chatting away and climbing up and down the curtain. Even though i keep checking on him he doesn't seem to care if i'm there or not. So much for the companion parrot. HA!. 
Just before bedtime he will come and climb on my lap and he sits quietly while i tell him stories and sing to him. Is there something wrong with what i'm doing perhaps or am i just being paranoid?
Still chatting away and climbing up and down the curtain. Even though i keep checking on him he doesn't seem to care if i'm there or not. So much for the companion parrot. HA!. Just before bedtime he will come and climb on my lap and he sits quietly while i tell him stories and sing to him. Is there something wrong with what i'm doing perhaps or am i just being paranoid?-
Neokireina
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If you really feel bad about leaving him alone and cant spend as much time with him as you would like perhaps you should consider getting him a friend.
It doesnt have to be the same species but two ringnecks look better than one right? You can get such awesome contrasts in colour.
As long as you get a hand raised young (as in weaned) ringneck you shouldnt have any problems with them "going wild" or both not loving you. I think alot of us on the forums have more than one ringneck that still loves us.
I'm in the process of raising two birds to become ringneck companions. Kiva will teach them how to be nice birds just as Niamh taught Kiva how birds should behave in my house as in what to eat, where to sit, humans arent scary, step up and so on.
Birds learn faster from other birds. So interacting with your first bird can teach your second bird how to interact with you.
So they have company when I cant be there and I get more fluffybums to cuddle.
It doesnt have to be the same species but two ringnecks look better than one right? You can get such awesome contrasts in colour.
As long as you get a hand raised young (as in weaned) ringneck you shouldnt have any problems with them "going wild" or both not loving you. I think alot of us on the forums have more than one ringneck that still loves us.
I'm in the process of raising two birds to become ringneck companions. Kiva will teach them how to be nice birds just as Niamh taught Kiva how birds should behave in my house as in what to eat, where to sit, humans arent scary, step up and so on.
Birds learn faster from other birds. So interacting with your first bird can teach your second bird how to interact with you.
So they have company when I cant be there and I get more fluffybums to cuddle.
it's not so much that i don't have time to spend with him. It's more him preferring to spend his time playing alone. At least it seems that way to me. He calls out every now and then and waits for me to reply and then he goes on chatting away to himself and doing his own thing...carrying things from one side of the room to the other, playing with his toy birds and watching the cars go by. I dont think that can be healthy. We are thinking of getting him a companion but living in an apartment we have to think long and hard. 
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Neokireina
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Ringnecks arent usually your snuggly affectionate type of bird. They like to spend their time doing their own thing.
They dont need alot of space if they have a bunch of toys they can play with and rip to shreds. Kiva spends alot of time climbing up and down the curtain looking out the window or chirping away about something.
He doesnt come to me often and would be even less inclined to go anywhere if he was clipped like Niamh was. I just accept that its the way he is. If I want snuggles and kisses I play with my Suns.
You can work on getting him to spend more time with you. Try setting up a play area near where you spend time. Once he's used to being there Offer him treats when he plays on it. Make the toys in the new play area different than the ones elsewhere. So he can only play with those things in the play area with you.
Sit with him and hand him toys for him to chew on. Niamh likes pulling the blue plastic out of coke bottle tops. (washed first and when it's done he drops them and I take the plastic bits away) Or i drop treats into the bottle top and he sits there and eats out of it.
Or another one is assembling those discs with slits in them. I put them all together. Niamh takes them apart in two minutes. Rinse and repeat see who gets bored first. You could try teaching him some tricks.
They dont need alot of space if they have a bunch of toys they can play with and rip to shreds. Kiva spends alot of time climbing up and down the curtain looking out the window or chirping away about something.
He doesnt come to me often and would be even less inclined to go anywhere if he was clipped like Niamh was. I just accept that its the way he is. If I want snuggles and kisses I play with my Suns.
You can work on getting him to spend more time with you. Try setting up a play area near where you spend time. Once he's used to being there Offer him treats when he plays on it. Make the toys in the new play area different than the ones elsewhere. So he can only play with those things in the play area with you.
Sit with him and hand him toys for him to chew on. Niamh likes pulling the blue plastic out of coke bottle tops. (washed first and when it's done he drops them and I take the plastic bits away) Or i drop treats into the bottle top and he sits there and eats out of it.
Or another one is assembling those discs with slits in them. I put them all together. Niamh takes them apart in two minutes. Rinse and repeat see who gets bored first. You could try teaching him some tricks.