Mean Babies!

[Derkinkle]

I recently bought 2 baby ringnecks out of the nest that where about 3 weeks old from a breeder who just didn't want to feed them. I also wanted a ringneck as it is my dream bird so i decided i would keep one and rehome the other. It took them awhile to get used to me feeding them i guess, but they eventually got the hang of it (although they never ate as much as i thought they should).

Well anyways i hand fed them from 3 weeks and the previous owner had also started hand feeding them at 2 weeks. They are now fully feathered/flighted and just about weaned, but they are so mean! They act as if they were parent raised! When i want to play with them and try and get them to step up or do anything with them besides feeding them they just lunge at me and try and bite me and then run away.

My breeder friend said that you can't keep a IRN that you raised because they basically hate there parents, but would love everyone else besides me and my husband (flight instructor lol), so i tried bringing in a random person they have never met and they acted the same way.

Is there a special way you have to raise IRN? I'm just at a loss and i am very disappointed because i very much wanted a tame bird for a pet but i feel like that dream just flew out the window. I DNA'd them and they both came back as males, i was excited about that because i was always told that males were so much sweeter in the IRN world.

They are still in a cage together, which i thought might be the problem so i am contemplating separating them , I've also thought about cutting there wings. Any advice would be great and greatly appreciated!

[AlphaWolf]

HI Derinkle'
Congratulations on your new fids. I believe what you are experiencing is bluffing. This is the natural process that makes them seem mean but I assure you that it will pass. Be careful not to introduce bad behaviour at thus crucial time and focus on ignoring the bad behaviour. Do you know their favourite treat? Oh and btw what are their names. Oh and please do not clip their wings, because not only is barbaric but also will make them completely lose their trust on you and become aggressive. If they cannot flight the they will fight, which will be completely disheartening. My advice is to read this taming process performed by InTheAir with amazing results. http://learningparrots.com/blog/trainin ... l-parrots/. Know as they are weaned try to introduce them to an optimal diet, I hope MissK can correct me if I screwed up. Please ask away!

[MissK]

You're on your own, Alpha. I don't know much about the babies!

[eckythump]

separating them into different cages maybe a good idea, it sounds like they are more dependent on each other and will probably continue in this manner, if they are apart there is a chance they will become more dependent and tolerant of human contact, i'm not sure how early bluffing starts but i think its usually after they are 6 months old so if these birds are still very young then on that basis it cant be bluffing just yet. have a read of this http://birds.about.com/od/behaviorandtr ... uffing.htm

[InTheAir]

Hey Derkinkle,

Many people have hand raised their own birds. I don't think your breeder friend is completely correct.

Please don't think your birds are mean or nasty, there is just a communication issue.

I love that article that Alpha linked!

I have had great success with simply offering treats and allowing my bird to come take it, after a while she became comfortable enough that she would sit near me and eat her treats, then on my hand etc.

How do you approach the birds? Do you back off when they show discomfort?
I really recommend reading over this article, it's got a very clear case study that possibly parallels what you are experiencing and how it was overcome.
http://www.behaviorworks.org/files/arti ... arrots.pdf not to mention all the other written works on that website.


Regards,

Claire