tranquil
Checking out the neighborhood
- Joined
- 2/17/21
- Messages
- 1
In November, I purchased a male Indian Ringneck who was approximated to be 18 months old at the time. Although I had owned smaller birds (such as kakarikis) before, I had not owned a Ringneck beforehand, and so made sure to extensively research advice on taming/training, dietary needs, exercise and recreational needs etc.
That being said, Aalto (my Ringneck) has proven to be incredibly difficult to work with. It was immediately apparent to me that Aalto's care before coming to us had been arguably poor - he had been kept in a medium-sized enclosure with many similarly-sized birds, had only been handled in the way of being captured via net, and is missing several claws. He also had some minor wounds, we presumed from fighting with other male birds in the enclosure. Nevertheless, he appeared to be a very active and relatively sociable bird, and we decided to take him home. I have worked very hard to remain calm and patient with Aalto, since he is a somewhat older bird with minimal handling. I spent the first 5-6 weeks of his time home gently talking to him and allowing him to become familiar with my presence, and continue to take a similar approach.
However, each time I have attempted to introduce any form of contact with Aalto, he has become incredibly agitated. When I introduce my hands to his enclosure, he instantly starts flying around and does not stop on most occasions until he is close to harming himself on the bars of the cage. There was a brief instance around Christmas where I was able to get him to take food from my hand, but even then, my hand was not fully in the cage and was simply put through the bars to allow him access to the food. I have also attempted the method where you introduce contact using a perch, but he is not confident to step up onto a perch as he notices that I am holding it and therefore am close to him. I have studied forums, advisory sites and videos that discuss Ringneck training to try and find a solution that suits Aalto, and have simply come to no conclusion. When reviewing videos, the behaviour of other Ringnecks simply doesn't match up with his; he appears to be a far more active and anxious bird. For example, in this video (
) although the bird is anxious to accept contact, it most significantly appears calm throughout the video. Aalto is generally far more flighty than this, and will settle and observe you from a reasonable distance or occasionally move closer but refuses any indications of comfortably allowing contact.
Although I am now at a stage where I can within roughly half a metre or so of him and not upset or agitate him in any way, I am unsure with how to proceed. Ultimately, I am uneducated when it comes specifically to Ringnecks with difficult temperaments. Although he is a troublesome little minx, I love his character and he is allowed out of his cage when I am present since he has learnt to return to his cage when he no longer wishes to be out (he will often do this after 4-6 hours out to fly, rest and be nosy around the room). Although he does not want to be close to people, he does seem to become somewhat upset if he is left alone for extended periods (according to my family, when I leave the house, he is quiet, and only starts making noise when I return to the house but not to his room). I do spend a large majority of my time with him and will calmly talk or sing to him, especially now, during the UK lockdown, and he comes out of his cage every day/other day when he shows interest in doing so.
I am fully prepared to accept that because of his temperament and prior treatment, he may never be a bird that enjoys or particularly tolerates being handled. However, I would like to ensure that I have exhausted all efforts or even that there is a long-term solution that may prove to better suit his temperament. In himself, he is an active and curious bird, who enjoys being spoken to and being in the presence of people (although he does also like visits from our family cat, who lies on my bed and listens to him chirp occasionally), but really, really appears to hate being handled in any way.
I am asking hopefully for any suggestions; if there are any further inquiries into Aalto's behaviour or the treatment he has had whilst I have had him, I am more than happy to provide this also, but I am unsure about the nature of his pastand have yet to fully comprehend what may have happened to him in the past.
That being said, Aalto (my Ringneck) has proven to be incredibly difficult to work with. It was immediately apparent to me that Aalto's care before coming to us had been arguably poor - he had been kept in a medium-sized enclosure with many similarly-sized birds, had only been handled in the way of being captured via net, and is missing several claws. He also had some minor wounds, we presumed from fighting with other male birds in the enclosure. Nevertheless, he appeared to be a very active and relatively sociable bird, and we decided to take him home. I have worked very hard to remain calm and patient with Aalto, since he is a somewhat older bird with minimal handling. I spent the first 5-6 weeks of his time home gently talking to him and allowing him to become familiar with my presence, and continue to take a similar approach.
However, each time I have attempted to introduce any form of contact with Aalto, he has become incredibly agitated. When I introduce my hands to his enclosure, he instantly starts flying around and does not stop on most occasions until he is close to harming himself on the bars of the cage. There was a brief instance around Christmas where I was able to get him to take food from my hand, but even then, my hand was not fully in the cage and was simply put through the bars to allow him access to the food. I have also attempted the method where you introduce contact using a perch, but he is not confident to step up onto a perch as he notices that I am holding it and therefore am close to him. I have studied forums, advisory sites and videos that discuss Ringneck training to try and find a solution that suits Aalto, and have simply come to no conclusion. When reviewing videos, the behaviour of other Ringnecks simply doesn't match up with his; he appears to be a far more active and anxious bird. For example, in this video (
Although I am now at a stage where I can within roughly half a metre or so of him and not upset or agitate him in any way, I am unsure with how to proceed. Ultimately, I am uneducated when it comes specifically to Ringnecks with difficult temperaments. Although he is a troublesome little minx, I love his character and he is allowed out of his cage when I am present since he has learnt to return to his cage when he no longer wishes to be out (he will often do this after 4-6 hours out to fly, rest and be nosy around the room). Although he does not want to be close to people, he does seem to become somewhat upset if he is left alone for extended periods (according to my family, when I leave the house, he is quiet, and only starts making noise when I return to the house but not to his room). I do spend a large majority of my time with him and will calmly talk or sing to him, especially now, during the UK lockdown, and he comes out of his cage every day/other day when he shows interest in doing so.
I am fully prepared to accept that because of his temperament and prior treatment, he may never be a bird that enjoys or particularly tolerates being handled. However, I would like to ensure that I have exhausted all efforts or even that there is a long-term solution that may prove to better suit his temperament. In himself, he is an active and curious bird, who enjoys being spoken to and being in the presence of people (although he does also like visits from our family cat, who lies on my bed and listens to him chirp occasionally), but really, really appears to hate being handled in any way.
I am asking hopefully for any suggestions; if there are any further inquiries into Aalto's behaviour or the treatment he has had whilst I have had him, I am more than happy to provide this also, but I am unsure about the nature of his pastand have yet to fully comprehend what may have happened to him in the past.
