New Ringneck saved from another owner, questions

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echodreamz
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:11 am

New Ringneck saved from another owner, questions

Post by echodreamz »

We received a ~5 year old ringneck from an owner that was terrified of her, she did not interact with her very much due to being afraid of her, she would lunge at you with her beak open, her cage was a wreak and IMO was too small for her. When we got her she would not come to you, she would actively try to hurt you, the lady said she has drawn blood from her a few times. However her behavior was not always like that, she said she was a sweet bird and one day just lost it.

We took her into our home where we have 3 Cockatiels that are happy go lucky talking, chirping playing machines, my hopes were maybe they would make her feel more comfortable. She has a very large cage now with TONS of toys, good food, we keep her cage spotless etc. The first week or so you get remotely close to her cage she lunges at you making god awful sounds that sound like she is being attacked. I did some reading about "bluffing" and figured maybe this is what she was doing, so balling my fist up etc. she would lunge at it make contact but would never break skin. She eventually crawled onto my arm only to fly away. My cockatiels have all had their wings clipped since the day we got them, so we went to get her wings clipped and her nails trimmed. Since then another 2 or so weeks have went by and she now does not lunge, I can put my finger out she uses her beak and pulls herself up on to me, but she will not stay she tries to get on your shoulder, your head etc. And will not stay, she tries her best to get away from you at all costs.

She loves being out of her cage (who doesnt), she will get on your finger, but then instantly "flies" off back to her cage. She makes 0 sounds other than those ear drum shattering screeches, she does not talk etc.

It just seems like she does not like people and does not want anything to do with anyone. She has only met 1 of my cockatiels up close, they seemed to enjoy each other for about a week, now... if she sees any of them out near her, she goes for them. I am trying everything I can to make her life more enjoyable and make her happy. When we got her she looked like a homeless bird, feathers were all ruffed up, now she looks like a nice clean bird, but still seems unhappy.

Sorry for the long post, just trying to see if there is anything I can do to get her to a happier state of birdie.
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Last edited by echodreamz on Wed Oct 16, 2013 2:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
echodreamz
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:11 am

Re: New Ringneck saved from another owner, questions

Post by echodreamz »

Sorry for the double post...

http://www.indianringneck.com/forum/vie ... f=2&t=6156

I read this topic and...
1. We took her to a vet, no issues with her physically

2. We feed her well, not sure what the brand of the food is, our local family owned pet store as a bunch of fresh feed that they put out in bins that we get food from. Seeds, dried fruit, and other things.

3. Cage is large I would say 4 feet tall (not including the base) x 3 feet wide by 3 feet deep.

4. I am not sure exactly what to do on this one...

5. I work from home, so the birds are always out having fun, I talk to them, along with my wife and the kids love talking to them as well

6. The birds are in my office, I am there 99% of the time

7. Not many people come over, however my parents etc. do come over and see them and talk to them.

8. They all get plenty of sleep with covered cages

9. Not sure how to teach her that I am safe. This is why I assumed the other birds i have would kinda help her see that we are not bad people...

10. Oh totally :) My cockatiels are nuts and make huge messes.
ranechild
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Location: Baltimore, MD

Re: New Ringneck saved from another owner, questions

Post by ranechild »

Here's one of the first questions that any of the regulars on this forum are going to ask.... where are you from? Females in particular can have mood changes at particular times of year--breeding season. That could be part of the reason for a sudden change of behavior. Do a search on the forum for "female behavior".
Now I'm not saying that necessarily is the case with your pretty bird (what's her name?). Sometimes birds can change just based on a small change in the environment ("You rearranged the furniture!? How dare you!?"). And then if the previous owner compounded that by no longer spending time with her, there could be a tameness issue. You can also read extensively on the forum about taming.
But it sounds like you are definately on the right track. You have birds that can show her how to be happy and how to do the right things socially. The cage sounds pretty awesome. She will probably just need more time to develop a trusting relationship with you and the other birds. I recommend hand feeding treats. It's really good that she will step up even if she flies away or goes for the shoulder. I probably wouldn't recommend shouldering her right now--trust goes both ways.
echodreamz
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:11 am

Re: New Ringneck saved from another owner, questions

Post by echodreamz »

Her name is Mattie and we are located in Texas. Oh she had a HUGE environment change, she came from a house with 7 yappy loud dogs to here where it is pretty quite for the most part (minus the tiels going nuts). She takes seeds, apples (my god she can put away some apple slices) all day from you. She takes them, then halls butt away from you. And I trust her on my shoulder, if she bites me she bites me, I am not afraid of that she shows no signs of wanting to bite you when she is up there. When she gets on your shoulder, she will stay there all day long (though she prefers your head). She will sit on your shoulder until you move her.

She liked the bird we have in the picture above, Yoshi, she bonded with him it seemed, they should share apples play with toys (tug o war!!) but now she does not even like him, she lurches for him anytime he (or the others are around).

I dont know if it is OK, but they are all out of their cages for probably... 10 hours or so a day. She sits patiently waiting for you to take her out of her cage, but then after you get her out, SEE YA!!!
Skyes_crew
Posts: 1946
Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2013 12:49 pm
Location: Hawaii

Re: New Ringneck saved from another owner, questions

Post by Skyes_crew »

Correct me if I'm wrong...but in that picture she was still flighted right? How long after you clipped her did she stop interacting with Yoshi?
I am owned by my birds...and I wouldn't have it any other way :D

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echodreamz
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Re: New Ringneck saved from another owner, questions

Post by echodreamz »

We never let the tiels out when she was flighted as I did not want her to fly over to them and hurt any of them etc. However here she was clipped, and here it was probably... 2 weeks or so. The other tiels are not interested (or at least do not seem like it) in her, he climbed off his play area and walked to her cage and climbed up.
Skyes_crew
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Re: New Ringneck saved from another owner, questions

Post by Skyes_crew »

My gut feeling is that when you clipped her, you clipped her spirit. Birds have two options when they feel scared or threatened. Fight or flight. You took away the easiest option for her. She's only left with fight now. So anytime she feels threatened or frightened or cornered or even overly excited, she will bite in response. It's easy for us to say this bird is untamed, I will clip him to make it easier for me. But in reality, you've made it more difficult for you. IRN's are the polar opposite of tiels. Tiels are easy to tame. IRN's are much more difficult and require more of a trusting relationship. Right now, she doesn't trust you very much.

Females tend to be territorial of their cage, that is normal. But it doesn't have to be the way of it. MissK used a blocking method with her Rocky when he was like that. She anticipated the bite based on his body language and blocked it with a toy or piece of food in his beak. When his beak hit the toy or food, she praised him.

My suggestion would be to work with her daily in trick training. Something to occupy her time while her flights grow back in. As they grow back in, start working with her on flight recall and gaining that trust back. I would also be careful about interaction with the tiels during breeding season which is mid to late winter until late spring early summer. Females can get very aggressive and they can hurt your tiels. Good luck with her :)
I am owned by my birds...and I wouldn't have it any other way :D

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echodreamz
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Re: New Ringneck saved from another owner, questions

Post by echodreamz »

Thank you all for the responses.

We interact all the time, pretty much constantly as they are in my office area. So they see me all day, and I talk to them as well as play with toys etc. I will work more with her :) and see what happens!

Thanks!
echodreamz
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:11 am

Re: New Ringneck saved from another owner, questions

Post by echodreamz »

It has been 5 months since my last post. Constant attention, good food, lots of love, lots of toys. She makes 1 sound and 1 sound only. It sounds like someone is stabbing her with a knife.

Literally no other sounds come out of her. I do not understand...
MissK
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Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:46 pm
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Re: New Ringneck saved from another owner, questions

Post by MissK »

Well, sorry about that unattractive sound! I'll confess, I passed on a bird because of the less than melodious noises coming out. I'm lucky with my bird, soooooooooo lucky.

How to get a change of audio? I don't know. However, if it were me, I would be trying to teach a whistle. My bird has a variety of noises and some limited speech. He does sometimes get stuck on the extra loud chirp, and that can get a little old. When this happens, and I object (note, I don't always object-sometimes it's just cute) I will generally prompt him into a kind of whistle exchange with me.

We do have a few call and answer style whistle exchanges that we worked out together. I feel this satisfies his need to be in contact with the flock in a more socially (to humans) acceptable way. It's so much fun to see what combinations he will follow and when he instigates a different combination. He will even go so far as to answer with the appropriate call even if I break the sequence and repeat what he did instead of doing my own part. This makes him reply with my part within a very few repetitions. It's a gas, and it also helps non-parrot-people understand there is actual communication going on there.

Why don't you try whistling to your bird? I realize people say if your bird learns to whistle you really cut down on the chance she will talk, but hey, do you really care so long as she isn't screaming? Start with any two-note combination. Do the first part, mentally count to two or three, and then do the second part. Do it again. And again. Get some eye contact and smile. Wouldn't kill you to make some goofy head gestures or slow-motion dance moves. You want to get birdie's attention and interest. I have *not* done this, but I bet you can even get a whistle language going if you try - one whistle for food, another for coming out. You got nothing to lose here. Try it.

And let us know what you do and how it goes. You're not the only one with this problem!
-MissK
echodreamz
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:11 am

Re: New Ringneck saved from another owner, questions

Post by echodreamz »

I do whistle at her, our cockatiels know like 15 different songs by us whistling, she really just doesn't seem to give a crap about us, being around us, us talking to her anything. She is like a cat, as long as there is food and water, she couldn't care less about us.

Its almost been a year and she hasnt really changed, I am thinking it is really time to rehome her.

The cockatiels love us, they talk, they play, they interact, sing songs, they are all happy. We try to engage with her and she just doesnt seem to care.
MissK
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Re: New Ringneck saved from another owner, questions

Post by MissK »

Well, I would say review the achievements she has made and her skill set. See if there is something you missed, such as luring and holding the best treats for training, as well as using the smallest treat possible. If you really need the bird to pay attention to you in order to feel satisfied with her then she may indeed do better in another home. I really, hope, however, that you can get the noise under control because, as you see, not many people want a screaming bird. It would be sad for her to get passed house to house to house for the rest of her life.
-MissK
echodreamz
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:11 am

Re: New Ringneck saved from another owner, questions

Post by echodreamz »

She really hasnt changed. Her behavior is still the same... I've dedicated hundreds if not thousands of hours to her and nothing has really changed.
MissK
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Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: New Ringneck saved from another owner, questions

Post by MissK »

It seems odd that in all that time nothing would change. Really. Is there another parrot keeper you know who might come by and see how things are going with you? Is there a parrot rescue around that might send someone to help sort things out? I know those folks are passionate, and if you tell them you are so disappointed by not getting results that you are considering rehoming, they may send someone out to assess your situation and see if they can help you not rehome the bird. Maybe they have some new tricks.

You do sound kind of tired of the whole thing, but if you have the energy to describe the strategies you have been using lately, maybe the group here will be able to find a way to tweak them to be more effective. Certainly, there is not a lot of sense just repeating something that doesn't work. There may be some new ideas here. Please, tell us what you've tried, and try to be specific. I'm sure we'll all try to help you.
-MissK
SkyeBerry
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Location: Vancouver, BC Canada

Re: New Ringneck saved from another owner, questions

Post by SkyeBerry »

Hi. I just wanted to quickly add something here. Specifically regarding your comments pertaining to the sound the bird makes - It sounds like she is being stabbed with a knife and you do not understand. I also hope someone else comments regarding this.... I have a male ringneck. He talks using words and also makes his 'ringneck noises.' Well, not long ago I was at the avian vet and there was a smaller female IRN there. She made a noise that I would imagine is similar to what you are describing. I was very surprised by it. Thank goodness my bird does not make that noise I thought. I went home and several days later my bird was making his bird noises and I realized he did make the same call but my bird's 'voice' is deeper. Although you may not like the sound your bird makes, it may not indicate she/he is as unhappy as you think. That is where the other behaviours will come into play. The other thing to realize is some parrots including IRNs may not like being handled as much as your cockatiels - assuming the cockatiels are handtame. Do you actually try and catch/touch/scritch/scratch this bird?
Mary
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