A few questions about my new Indian Ringneck

[baigfaez]

Hello everyone,

I brought home a 4-5 month old IRN about 6 days ago and I've been working on building trust with him every day.

One question I have is about him starting to become loud. When I first brought him home he was very quiet, but today he started to squawk very loudly a lot. He looked very calm while doing it, so does this mean he's finally become comfortable enough to make noise around me?

Second, I've been touch/stick training him for a few days. He'll come to where I point the stick but he's still wary of stepping onto my hand for it. Will this pass over time? Also, I've been giving him sunflower seeds as treats for doing it correctly. I understand too many sunflower seeds are unhealthy for a bird, so how many should I be giving him for training?

Thank you

 

[Zara]

Welcome to the Avenue

6 days is a very short amount of time. I wouldn´t worry about the ¨what ifs¨ of the future, just focus on the now.

You can use other things as treats; smash an almond and give a small piece, dehydrated fruit/veg, pellets, a piece of a smashed nutriberry. Mix up the treats, give them out randomly and keep him interested

@cassiesdad

 

[baigfaez]

Welcome to the Avenue

6 days is a very short amount of time. I wouldn´t worry about the ¨what ifs¨ of the future, just focus on the now.

You can use other things as treats; smash an almond and give a small piece, dehydrated fruit/veg, pellets, a piece of a smashed nutriberry. Mix up the treats, give them out randomly and keep him interested

@cassiesdad

You're right, I just can't wait until the day he(or she) is comfortable enough to sit on me!

I'll give those other treats a try as well. He eats vegetables all the time, but they may also be useful for training. And much healthier than millet and sunflower seeds. I'll get some other food for him as well

 

[Hawk12237]

He'll come around. 6 days is very little time.
Many of my rescues took 4 to 9 months before they "began" to bond. Trusting is always an ongoing thing. It grows like a flower or plant, takes time. You can't push, let the bird be himself.
The screaming, flock calling. Yes they do that.

 

[baigfaez]

He'll come around. 6 days is very little time.
Many of my rescues took 4 to 9 months before they "began" to bond. Trusting is always an ongoing thing. It grows like a flower or plant, takes time. You can't push, let the bird be himself.
The screaming, flock calling. Yes they do that.

I try not to force him into any uncomfortable situations. He's even started to want to leave his cage, which I'm happy about

 

[Hawk12237]

I try not to force him into any uncomfortable situations. He's even started to want to leave his cage, which I'm happy about

That's great! Let him be independent and choose. You'll get the bond. Continue what your doing if both are comfortable with it.

 

[fashionfobie]

He will warm up to you. Just be patient. My Pi didn't leave his space for a few weeks..then one day he hopped to me and we became fast friends. Don't worry about expectations. Just be kind to him and offer him fun activities and treats. Hand fear is common with IRN and other Asiatics. Use caution when reaching toward him. Try to keep your hand lower and reach up toward his feet not down from his head. Since they aren't an allopreening species reaching anywhere near their head is very confronting. Also keep moving your hands slowly around him. Don't move to quickly. He will learn that a hand can be a stable and safe surface. At the moment your hand may seem a little scary.

Patience is always key with a bird. They need to trust us

 

[baigfaez]

He will warm up to you. Just be patient. My Pi didn't leave his space for a few weeks..then one day he hopped to me and we became fast friends. Don't worry about expectations. Just be kind to him and offer him fun activities and treats. Hand fear is common with IRN and other Asiatics. Use caution when reaching toward him. Try to keep your hand lower and reach up toward his feet not down from his head. Since they aren't an allopreening species reaching anywhere near their head is very confronting. Also keep moving your hands slowly around him. Don't move to quickly. He will learn that a hand can be a stable and safe surface. At the moment your hand may seem a little scary.

Patience is always key with a bird. They need to trust us

He takes food from my hand so hopefully he'll learn to completely trust them soon!

Because they're not an allopreening species does that mean he won't enjoy being scratched the way cockatiels do for example?

 

[fashionfobie]

He takes food from my hand so hopefully he'll learn to completely trust them soon!

Because they're not an allopreening species does that mean he won't enjoy being scratched the way cockatiels do for example?

That is right! IRN can be respective to it in time, but I caution you doing too much of it. It is very stimulating to them. Cockatiels are much more physical than your IRN will be.

This in no way means the relationship is poor. My Pi loves spending time with me all day. He runs all around my shoulders and loves sleeping and preening sitting on the arm of my chair or on my shoulder. He is actually a very sweet and easy bird

 

[baigfaez]

That is right! IRN can be respective to it in time, but I caution you doing too much of it. It is very stimulating to them. Cockatiels are much more physical than your IRN will be.

This in no way means the relationship is poor. My Pi loves spending time with me all day. He runs all around my shoulders and loves sleeping and preening sitting on the arm of my chair or on my shoulder. He is actually a very sweet and easy bird

I'm looking forward to it!