Where am I at in taming my Indian Ringneck?

[Nick_Ward]

I am not sure where to start.

I got Rio, my green indian ringneck, in August. I have had him for 3 months, and I believe he is about 9 months old, and I am not sure if he/she is a boy or a girl.

I believe he is boy because he has boy-ish characteristics of a male indian ringneck, but I am not sure.

He will sometimes let me pick him up, and sometimes he won't. If he flies onto the floor off of his cage or play place, he will let me pick him up. But, if he is on his cage or play place, he will not let me pick him up, except for some very rare occasions.

He will not let me touch him, unless he is very sleepy (just woke up or is about to go to sleep.)

I have no other birds.

He does scream a lot when I am not with him, I guess because he wants me to spend more time with him.
He also bites, a lot.

He LOVES food. If I have food near him, he will come right to me ( Today he hung upside down from the door of his cage because I had a piece of toast near him, haha!)

He does run from me whenever I get my hand close to him, but not whenever I am just walking by.

Please let me know where I am in the taming process, and if you need any additional information just let me know.

Thanks!

Edit: Also, please leave some suggestions for stuff to do with my indian ringneck that would increase trust and tameness.

[MissK]

I wish you the best for you and your bird. If you have success stories, please share. We could all use a little encouragement now and then!
-MissK

[Nick_Ward]

Thanks for all the information! I have already seen some improvement in Rio over the past couple of days. He let me get him out of his cage today, which he normally doesn't let me do.

I am not sure if when he is "screaming" if he is actually screaming or not. Sometimes he makes a weird, loud sound, like you said, when he is in his cage playing with this mirror that has a bell on it. I'm not sure if he is just happy and being loud, or if he is mad and he is attacking the mirror.

I also have another question, when I talk or whistle to Rio, sometimes his eyes get very small, just for a second though, and he makes a very soft little chirp. What is he doing whenever he does this? I think he is trying to talk back, but I am not exactly sure.

[willowisp71]

Hahaha! When he pins his eyes at you and makes that chirruping sound, he is kinda flirting with you! IRNs pin their eyes when they really really like something, or when they are trying to attract a mate
When my bit Skittles attacks his bell, (or rope ladder, or toys), he does this growling noise while attacking with his beak.....it's hilarious to watch!!
They are such funny characters, and well worth the effort putting in. Good luck solving your biting and hand issues

[MissK]

Hey Nick, that's very encouraging.

[Nick_Ward]

No, I have not seen him do that. I am going completely off of what somebody told me about male Ringnecks. They said that the males tend to have better postures, eyes pin more (Rio's eyes don't pin that much, just change a little, except when he makes that little noise, then they get really small), and have a broader head. None of this may be true, I have no idea.

Thanks for the responses!