Taming Older IRN
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michelle051
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Mon May 27, 2013 11:31 pm
Taming Older IRN
I have bought 6 years old IRN. Her name is Lexi and a have got her home for almost 2 weeks but she is still scared of me..i have read a lots of taming tips on this forum but i can see very small progress.. she wont take a treat from me.. actually she will go away when i come closer to her cage..and when im changing her water and food she is really crazy - flying in cage and she is so scared..maybe if you can give mi some special taming tips for older birds ? Or if you can tell me if it is possible to tame her..
Re: Taming Older IRN
Small steps is correct - i managed to tame a 2-3 year old female a few years back but it was a lot of hard work - i found that clipping its wings helped (when i got to the stage of it feeding out of my hand as it then couldn't fly away while stepping up).
However it was never as tame as one's that i have handraised and i don't think it ever will be.
Just make sure you give it plenty of space and don't try and rush getting to handling it - and be prepared for the fact that some IRN will never allow you to handle them, especially if they have been wild at some stage.
However it was never as tame as one's that i have handraised and i don't think it ever will be.
Just make sure you give it plenty of space and don't try and rush getting to handling it - and be prepared for the fact that some IRN will never allow you to handle them, especially if they have been wild at some stage.
Re: Taming Older IRN
Hi Michelle,,
Yes it is possible to tame an adult IRN. When I brought home my (then 10 year old) IRN, he did not want me to come close to him and was afraid of me. I don't think he was quite as wild as yours.
A year later, my bird will climb on the cage bars to be close to me when I come near, tug of war with me over certain items, step onto my wrist, and fly to me when I call him. It is debatable whether you want to call these behaviours evidence of taming or rather training. However, he did learn them since coming with me.
My bird is still shy of my fingers. He will get over this eventually, but he will need my help. It's not a high priority for me, so we're not really working on it often. My bird also cannot be petted. Again, not a priority for me. When I researched this species before buying, I learned they are frequently hand shy and unwilling to be touched, so I *expected* this. These birds are very smart, so I believe these taming issues could be overcome in time, if I, the human, were willing to work on it. I'm pretty lazy where low priorities are concerned, so this may not happen any time soon.
There are many threads here on taming. Perhaps you could read them while you are sitting near your bird?
-MissK
Yes it is possible to tame an adult IRN. When I brought home my (then 10 year old) IRN, he did not want me to come close to him and was afraid of me. I don't think he was quite as wild as yours.
A year later, my bird will climb on the cage bars to be close to me when I come near, tug of war with me over certain items, step onto my wrist, and fly to me when I call him. It is debatable whether you want to call these behaviours evidence of taming or rather training. However, he did learn them since coming with me.
My bird is still shy of my fingers. He will get over this eventually, but he will need my help. It's not a high priority for me, so we're not really working on it often. My bird also cannot be petted. Again, not a priority for me. When I researched this species before buying, I learned they are frequently hand shy and unwilling to be touched, so I *expected* this. These birds are very smart, so I believe these taming issues could be overcome in time, if I, the human, were willing to work on it. I'm pretty lazy where low priorities are concerned, so this may not happen any time soon.
There are many threads here on taming. Perhaps you could read them while you are sitting near your bird?
-MissK
-MissK
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michelle051
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Mon May 27, 2013 11:31 pm
Re: Taming Older IRN
Thank you for your help and support 
my main priority is to change her water and food without flying in cage..
my main priority is to change her water and food without flying in cage..Re: Taming Older IRN
OK. The problem is bird freaks out when you service the cage.
For this you will want to be spending lots of time in the same room, doing your boring and non-threatening activities. You'll position yourself at a level of proximity to the bird that is very close to, yet not crossing, the line where bird panic begins. You will gradually reduce the space between yourself and the cage as the bird's reaction permits. When you get to the place where you can open the door of the cage you'll want to open and close the door without doing anything else, and then progress to opening the door and resting your hand inside, putting your hand inside, touching stuff, etc, all as the bird comfort level increases. You should proceed based on the bird's comfort because every time you freak the bird out you take the chance on moving backwards. The more times the bird gets upset, the greater is your chance of doing damage to your progress.
I hear you saying "Hey, that's great, but what do I do RIGHT NOW?" Right now put a perch very high up in one end the cage, if you haven't already, so high the bird's head almost touches the roof. Leave room for the tail not to get smashed on the side. Respect that perch as a human off-limits zone for now. Now move the food and water cups as far away from that perch as you can, and at the same time close enough to a door that you can service them while putting the smallest part of yourself into the cage as possible.
Service the dishes as discretely and quickly as possible, ensuring you do not make any abrupt gestures. This is best done with an extra set of dishes, all prepped and ready. You just switch them and step away. If you can approach the cage and wedge a treat in the bars by the high perch, you can lure the bird to his safe spot before you begin. If it uncomfortable for bird, skip that, and just wait until the bird is closer to the safe spot than he is to the dishes before you begin.
Make sure to include a small treat of the highest appeal with the food to encourage your bird to look forward to a new dish. This will make him desire to approach the dish as soon as it is available and more willing to face his fear of you to get it. As time passes, your bird will begin to look forward to the new dish of food and he will associate that with you. Eventually he will look forward to you coming near because he will expect you are bringing him a treat. That expectation is a key that unlocks a gold mine for your relationship.
As far as changing the papers is concerned, try this: Prepare a week's worth of papers and put them in all together in a stack. Then you can simply slip out the top layer and move away to minimize the time and commotion required. Be sure to crouch down and make yourself small as you do it. It's all about minimizing bird distress. Later, when bird is more comfortable, you can change papers however you like.
These instructions may seem a little wacky, but they are designed to minimize the perceived threat to your bird. Understand, every time you approach the bird closer than he is willing, you feed his fear. However, you must approach to care for him. I appreciate and sympathize with the situation, and I don't intend to minimize the very real problem. Let us know how it goes.
-MissK
For this you will want to be spending lots of time in the same room, doing your boring and non-threatening activities. You'll position yourself at a level of proximity to the bird that is very close to, yet not crossing, the line where bird panic begins. You will gradually reduce the space between yourself and the cage as the bird's reaction permits. When you get to the place where you can open the door of the cage you'll want to open and close the door without doing anything else, and then progress to opening the door and resting your hand inside, putting your hand inside, touching stuff, etc, all as the bird comfort level increases. You should proceed based on the bird's comfort because every time you freak the bird out you take the chance on moving backwards. The more times the bird gets upset, the greater is your chance of doing damage to your progress.
I hear you saying "Hey, that's great, but what do I do RIGHT NOW?" Right now put a perch very high up in one end the cage, if you haven't already, so high the bird's head almost touches the roof. Leave room for the tail not to get smashed on the side. Respect that perch as a human off-limits zone for now. Now move the food and water cups as far away from that perch as you can, and at the same time close enough to a door that you can service them while putting the smallest part of yourself into the cage as possible.
Service the dishes as discretely and quickly as possible, ensuring you do not make any abrupt gestures. This is best done with an extra set of dishes, all prepped and ready. You just switch them and step away. If you can approach the cage and wedge a treat in the bars by the high perch, you can lure the bird to his safe spot before you begin. If it uncomfortable for bird, skip that, and just wait until the bird is closer to the safe spot than he is to the dishes before you begin.
Make sure to include a small treat of the highest appeal with the food to encourage your bird to look forward to a new dish. This will make him desire to approach the dish as soon as it is available and more willing to face his fear of you to get it. As time passes, your bird will begin to look forward to the new dish of food and he will associate that with you. Eventually he will look forward to you coming near because he will expect you are bringing him a treat. That expectation is a key that unlocks a gold mine for your relationship.
As far as changing the papers is concerned, try this: Prepare a week's worth of papers and put them in all together in a stack. Then you can simply slip out the top layer and move away to minimize the time and commotion required. Be sure to crouch down and make yourself small as you do it. It's all about minimizing bird distress. Later, when bird is more comfortable, you can change papers however you like.
These instructions may seem a little wacky, but they are designed to minimize the perceived threat to your bird. Understand, every time you approach the bird closer than he is willing, you feed his fear. However, you must approach to care for him. I appreciate and sympathize with the situation, and I don't intend to minimize the very real problem. Let us know how it goes.
-MissK
-MissK
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michelle051
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Mon May 27, 2013 11:31 pm
Re: Taming Older IRN
So i think that our relationship is better but way too far from perfect..she likes to play on the top of the cage and i can sit near her and i can watch her play. It had been only a month since i got her so i think it is a great progress..I change her food and water while she is outside her cage - she is okay with it ..
..