Weird Behavior

[Hoshi]

I have had a small mirror on top of my Indian ringneck's cage for about a month now. He has always been very fearful of me and has been keeping to himself, so I thought giving him a mirror would help pique his curiosity. He started out giving himself kisses and stretching his neck as high as it would go (and standing on his tippy toes!). All seemed to be going well until this past week.

He has started randomly growling at what I think is his reflection. Sometimes they're just little growls but other times they're louder growls and snaps at the mirror. Here is an actual video of him growling..

 

[_aryxn_]

The first mistake is, you have given a bird a mirror. They are smart enough to acknowledge that there is a bird in the mirror but not smart enough to realize it is him. So get rid of the mirror as birds often think that the mirror reflection is another bird and bond with the mirror instead of you. Also was he hand-raised and did he ever step up on you? How old is he?

 

[Hoshi]

The first mistake is, you have given a bird a mirror. They are smart enough to acknowledge that there is a bird in the mirror but not smart enough to realize it is him. So get rid of the mirror as birds often think that the mirror reflection is another bird and bond with the mirror instead of you. Also was he hand-raised and did he ever step up on you? How old is he?

He is 10 months, he occasionally steps up but in general is very fearful. When I ask him to step up, he will usually jump off his cage and if I can't catch him, splat on the floor (he can't fly, his feathers were butchered as a baby and haven't grown back). Yes he was hand-raised but my vet said he wasn't cared for properly, his beak is slightly crooked from improper feeding. He also wasn't fed in a timely manner, his original feathers are weak which caused them to break in half so he has no functioning tail feathers.

 

[BirdField]

I agree, the mirror should be removed. Since he sees another bird, and that bird in the mirror is lookin' pretty good, it can cause him to become hormonal, territorial, or both. He may want to mate with the pretty bird in the glass or he may feel threatened by the bird looking at them all the time. It'd be best to just remove the mirror from his sight for now. Occasional interactions are fine, but having access to it a lot of the time can lead to issues.

 

[_aryxn_]

my IRN is 9 months old and is somewhat fearful but not as fearful as you. He will always step up the first time but sometimes he will get scared and fly away. My bird ALSO growls a lot when biting toys and when he is cage aggresive. A reason he might not be bonding with you is because he might already be bonded to his mirror. My bird also stretches his neck and goes on his tippie toes when interacting with a mirror. So get rid of the mirror and try to teach him to step up consistently by luring him with treats. Don’t force him and if he is uncomfortable, give him a break and try again when he is calm

 

[Hoshi]

my IRN is 9 months old and is somewhat fearful but not as fearful as you. He will always step up the first time but sometimes he will get scared and fly away. My bird ALSO growls a lot when biting toys and when he is cage aggresive. A reason he might not be bonding with you is because he might already be bonded to his mirror. My bird also stretches his neck and goes on his tippie toes when interacting with a mirror. So get rid of the mirror and try to teach him to step up consistently by luring him with treats. Don’t force him and if he is uncomfortable, give him a break and try again when he is calm

He is never really calm though, he is always very fearful and if he sees you're coming closer to his cage, he gets the heck away. I did remove the mirror, so we will see how that goes. The whole point of me adding the mirror was to see if he would interact with it. Before he had always just been facing away in the corner of his cage not interacting with anything, not even his toys. Even before the mirror (which had only been there for a couple weeks!) He showed no interest in bonding with me or any human.

 

[MauiWendy]

Does he have any forging toys?

 

[Hoshi]

Does he have any forging toys?

Yes he does, and plays with them all the time. I think I found out what was making him be so angry though. After I posted this I held him and noticed blood on his wing and upon further inspection noticed he had a broken pin feather. He had been moody for a few days so I'm guessing he has just been in pain.

 

[Monica]

1.) Every time you walk by the cage, drop a favorite treat into a cup. If necessary, walk slowly and announce your presence before walking by. Then, just drop the treat into the cup and keep going. (make sure it's *HIS* favorite treat!)

2.) Always reward him for stepping up. Even if he steps up for a second, give him a treat and set him back down. This teaches him that he gets a reward for stepping up. In time, you can train him to stay for longer and longer periods of time.

3.) Look into target training

 

[MauiWendy]

Yes he does, and plays with them all the time. I think I found out what was making him be so angry though. After I posted this I held him and noticed blood on his wing and upon further inspection noticed he had a broken pin feather. He had been moody for a few days so I'm guessing he has just been in pain.

Aww poor guy... no wonder, I’d be grumpy too.

 

[_aryxn_]

Yes he does, and plays with them all the time. I think I found out what was making him be so angry though. After I posted this I held him and noticed blood on his wing and upon further inspection noticed he had a broken pin feather. He had been moody for a few days so I'm guessing he has just been in pain.

My bird also gets super grumpy while going through molting