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tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2014 1:53 pm
by tasha87
Later today I will be picking up a wild ringneck that was shot in the wing about a month ago. The people that have it have been taking care of (her?) For about a month but they aren't able to keep her any longer. From what no hear shes terrified of people (duh lol) screams when you get close to the cage and keeps trying to get out. I offered to take her because I think that even though she has to be kept in another room for a month that maybe hearing the sounds of the ringnecks I have at my house will calm her a little. Any tips on what i should do to help her calm down? She can not fly

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2014 10:11 pm
by MissK
Going to be keeping her in the house, you say?

Buy some of those little foam earplugs that squish inside your ear, and put them in. Then get some of the ear defenders designed for shooters, the ear muff style, and put those on as well. Stop by the local liquor store and get a bottle of whatever you like best. Actually, no, get a case. Honestly, prescription sedatives are what you really need, but alcohol is easier to get and also easier to explain.

Oh wait. You wanted to know what would make THE BIRD more comfortable.

I've never been in this situation, and I'm so glad about it. There are a couple of things that come to mind that have been helping here, with my untame bird. MY bird, however, is certain to be light years more tame than yours, just because he has known people for years, although from afar and not fondly.

1) A really big cage. You don't want the bird to feel trapped, although she will. You want her to have options, and one of those should be to retreat into the private section of the cage you will arrange for her. In order to have a private and a semi public area of the cage, the cage must be big enough to accommodate. Makes sense, yes?

2) Privacy, not a dark trap. For Sinbad, I tried various degrees of covering the cage, from totally with a light sheet to not at all. I found that a total cover was too much. He was afraid to seek shelter in a place with no visible (if not actual) escape route. I am sure he was interpreting it as a trap. I ended up covering the top, side, and front of half the cage with cardboard. I cut windows, actually long slits the width of about two fingers, until the bird was no longer afraid to flee me into the covered area. The back of the cage is up to a wall, so it was not covered, and lets in a little more light that way. IF I did not have the complication of other birds ending up above his cage from time to time, I would have made windows in the roof. However, I didn't want him scared by the other birds, so I left it solid.

3) Options. While Sinbad has 31 inches of covered space, he chooses to sit just a few inches into the covered area. He may choose this spot because it has a high perch and he can feel covered but retain an excellent view of the half of the room with ME in it. (Some might suggest I set it up that way on purpose..... :wink: ) This is also where he sleeps. His other choice of high perch is far into the covered area. I have not seen him spend much time there. Another reason he might be choosing the perch he does could be that it is just about smack in the middle of his total space. He does venture to the third high perch, which is entirely out in the open, and closest to his neighbor, Rocky, of whom he seems quite fond. If he gets spooked, he flies right back to his safe perch.

4) A Duck Blind. I can hear you saying "Huh??" Sinbad is not comfortable with me looking directly at him for much time, though at the start I could not look at him at all, or be in the room. So, he is improving. Earlier, however, it was impossible for me to observe him (because of his demonstration of protest) unless I hid, lying on the floor, under a sheet. I kid you not; this happened. If there is furniture you can hide behind, that's good, but you might need a sheet. Another option I was prepared to try, but thank goodness did not need, was a standing screen with a peephole. I know someone who promises me that birds won't mind you looking at them if they cannot see your eyes, so you should wear sunglasses. Another suggestions has been to use a mirror to look behind you. I have less faith in the mirror because I think it's bound to send some flashes towards the bird. Sunglasses, unless they scare the bird on their own, seem a smarter choice to me, but I didn't try either one.

5) Moving and speaking gently and only when absolutely necessary. Obviously you will need to do some cage maintenance. Take it really easy there, and be sure to call gently and quietly ahead before you enter the room. Keep gestures small and LOW. Don't wave entire sheets of newspaper around - roll and unroll them carefully right where they're needed. Be gentle, be slow, but efficient and don't linger because as long as you're there, Birdie is upset. Minimize upset. I have not changed Sinbad's papers at all. (Ewwwww!!!!) I feel it is more important to not upset him. I'll change them "soon", either when they become intolerable, or when I see it won't upset him, whichever comes first.

6) Treats. Just because she's hurt and wild doesn't mean she won't like a treat. I put Sinbad's treat cup all the way at "my end" of the cage, and drop treats through the bars as I go by, without lingering. If you read my Sinbad thread, you'll know he has figured out how the treat cup works. It cannot be bad for the bird to understand treats come from you. (Understatement. :lol: )

7) You. I might take some dissenting feedback for this, but I think you should spend time as close to in the same room as you can without eliciting a hint of protest from the bird. Note I said a hint-- a hint would be the first sign of uneasiness, not the screaming and flailing about. It would be posture, rigid gaze, possibly a way of holding the feathers. For my Sinbad, once I knew he was comfortable accessing his entire space, I did remain in the room when he displayed the hint of uneasiness FROM THE OPEN PERCH. That is to say, when he was far into my end of the open space of the cage, with four feet to flee and cover to hide in, and he instead remained without fleeing, I allowed him uneasiness caused by me. (This is where the dissenting opinions will come, and why I cannot advise you to do the same.) I felt that so long as he had the choice to flee, I would give him the choice to face me and learn about me (or, more accurately, my back....). I did not think he would be developing familiarity with me if I was never there. You should also be sure to let your bird hear the noises you make as you go about other parts of the house. She can keep tabs on you that way, instead of wondering when you;re going to pop up unexpectedly. Of course, you have to play this one by ear, and don't overexpose the bird to you, too much or too soon. Does this make sense?

8) Of course she is going to need things to make her feel at home, so I would say *natural* things like branches, sticks, leaves, etc. Give her something to do all day - bark to peel, leaves to shred, foraging to do, etc. Don't let her only puzzle be how to unlock that cage.

These are the things that occurred to me, right away. I must stress the difference between your bird's situation and mine. I'm certain your situation is much more extreme. I also hope people with more experience with "from the wild" birds will chime in.

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2014 10:41 am
by tasha87
Thank you thank you thank you miss k! I copied and saved all that...some things came up yesterday and the husband is picking her up for me today after work. Ive already named her Remi...seems appropriate considering shes survived a bullet and it a not gender specific. Shes coming with a cage im not sure how big it is though but I have many extra cages laying around and a super crafty husband in case one needs to be built (he must really love me to tolerate all my animal craziness) and as far as her noise. ...I live with 2 sun conures and a cockatoo lol I can do noise. I dont expect her to be thrilled with her new living situation, I had hoped to rehabilitate her and release her back to her wild flock but I found out her injury is about a month old and she still can not fly so she may never be able to go backnto the wild. Poor girl.

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2014 12:46 pm
by AJPeter
Another long reply from MissK, excellent advice. MissK is famous for her long replies/

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2014 8:23 pm
by SunniDai
I actually bought a case of the little foamy earplugs that you squish into the ears. I literally have a pair within reach no matter where I am in the house. And in the pocket of every article of clothing that has a pocket :lol:

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2014 9:02 pm
by MissK
Tasha~ You're welcome! Please send your husband over to make me that built-in, floor-to-ceiling flight cage I've been wanting!

AJ~ You're my best advertisement! But I'd rather be famous for taking the time & effort to provide the most helpful post I can at the moment. :wink:

Sunni~ They are so handy but if you pair them with the muffs it takes them to a whole 'nother level! :lol: :lol:

I hope there will be some more suggestions for Tasha from people who have experience with actual wild caught birds.

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2014 9:43 pm
by tasha87
She's here! Just finished putting her cage together and put pleanty of live branches/leaves in there shes still hiding but ill give her time! Just figured out she may not be a she at all......its a baby.....still has down feathers

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 12:36 am
by InTheAir
tasha87 wrote:She's here! Just finished putting her cage together and put pleanty of live branches/leaves in there shes still hiding but ill give her time! Just figured out she may not be a she at all......its a baby.....still has down feathers
That's good, she should adapt better as a younger bird. Best of luck to you.
What country do you live in? It isn't legal to release irns where I am.

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 6:37 am
by tasha87
Im in bakersfield california USA....not sure if its legal or not but they do live wild here so I dont see it being illegal if she was wild in the first place. I guess ill have to look into that :-/ I dont think shes going to be going anywhere though. Her wing is pretty messed up and doesn't even bend all the way back.down to her body. I arranged perches in her cage so she can climb from perch to perch and access all parts of her cage without flapping her wings or jumping for now until I see just how severe her injuries are.

Update 7:25am
I have Remi's cage in my bedroom...one because of the 30 day quarantine period and 2 my bedroom is much quieter and calmer than the rest of my house :-) I have the top of her cage covered with a towel and some fresh grape branches with leaves on them in her cage so she can hide (which she has been since last night) im laying in bed with my sleeping baby and googling just about any info I can find on wild ringnecks and I talking a little to Remi. Shes showing a little bit of interest. I see her climbing down her ladder just far enough to look at me...I can see only the top of her head and little eye ball. :-) already progress since the person who had her before said she was terrified of the bird because every time she seen a person she would scream and thrash in her cage. I haven't heard a peep from her other than the inital hissing when I looked in the box my husband brought her home in.

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 7:41 am
by SunniDai
You are on the right path. He/she still has down feathers? I personally would take him/her to an avian vet, to check on the status of the wing as well as an overall health check. If there are still down feathers, he/she might not be weaned yet. A vet would be able to tell you what is needed to make sure his/her nutrition needs are being met.

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 8:56 am
by tasha87
Unfortunately we dont have one in the area and I think right now the stress of the trip might do more harm than good. I do have a call into an expert breeder in the area to see if she can come over and evaluate her, ive been needing her to come groom my other birds anyhow. Shes been in the business for 25 years so I think she is qualified enough to do a check and point me in the right direction. I wish I had gotten the bird sooner after its injury, now its a month old and anything that could have been done to help her heal its too late for. She doesn't have many down feathers but I can see some grey fluff mixed in with her green

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 11:01 am
by Donovan
i'm sorry, why was this bird shot?... and shot with what?.. bird shot?.. took a pellet to the wing.. will it ever fly again??

I can't imagine bakersfield california as having so many irns that the farmers are out shooting them. I hate bird cullings anyway... reminds me of people shooting coyotes to supposedly protect the deer and livestock populations.. it's all an excuse to just shoot something.

Personally I think it's a bit more honorable to just compromise with mother nature instead of eliminating it.. if birds are eating your crop.. then enclose the crop so they can't get to it. These farmers buy equipment that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to do the farming for them, but can't spend any money other than bullets and pesticides to protect the crop.

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 1:05 pm
by AJPeter
They shoot badgers over here. They used to shoot stool pigeons, or was it clay pigeons? You could try on line vets Ask Jeeves is one. Do not be modest Missk your posts are informative, helpful, and enjoyable.

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 1:57 pm
by tasha87
I dont know the whole story of why she was shot or with what. Somehow a friend of mine ended up with her and kept her for a month before asking me to take her. Im imagining a pellet or bb and I dont know if she will flyagain. I have ssomeone coming tomorrow to look at her. We do have a pretty large population of IRN here, i want to say were one of 2 US cities that have wild ringneck flocks, ive seen them mostly in the city but I have heard farmers do complain. I dont agree with bird shootings either, they have the machines that make the noise and scare birds away just fine...

Just had my breeder lady come early! She wasnt supposed to come till tomorrow but she squeezed us in today. She says it looks like she was shot with a BB and it went straight through the wing. She probablyb will never have full use of the wing. Its healing but probably since its been so long since she was shot it didnt set right. But other that being stressed she is healthy and doing well considering the situation.

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:00 am
by tasha87
I am completely amazed at Remi and how calm she has been since I brought her to my home. I was expecting a screaming, thrashing, wild.....mess :-/ BUT she is amazing! My husband leaves for work at 6:30 every morning and my children are still asleep for a few hours so thats my "Remi time" I get my coffee and a snack and lay in bed with the lights off (I havr sheer black curtains so my room is always dim but not dark) and I drink my coffee and eat while talking to her and give her a little of my snack in her dish. Every day she shows more interest in me. Today she came and climbed on to the front part of her cage and just looked at me for awhile. I dont sence fear coming from her.....uncertainty, but not fear. Shes also making good use of the perch arrangement I have for her (I wasnt sure the extent of her injuries so I arranged her perches in kind of a zig zag pattern so she could climb to any section of her cage just on perches and not have to jump or try to fly) she's a really good bird.

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:42 am
by MissK
hey, sounds great! :o

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 8:07 am
by tasha87
MissK wrote:hey, sounds great! :o
I am shocked! (To say the least) shes coming along better than my 2 aviary birds haha I think she likes me...and apples. Ive given her quite a few different fruits and veggies and she really seems to like the apples. Im trying to figure out what the heck the wild ringnecks feed on in this town... OOh and your floor to ceiling flight cage.....we built one with about $60 in supplies from home depot....it still needs some modifications but i think its pretty great. My birds love it

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 8:36 am
by MissK
You got the cage I want? Please, please send photos! Um, and the husband. Really! :!:

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 8:58 am
by tasha87
Hahaha still trying to figure out how to post pictures. Just opened my photo bucket account

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 9:42 am
by tasha87
Image

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 10:16 am
by MissK
Tasha,

#1 make sure your photos are not locked.
In photobucket, looking at your photos, see the list of links below the photo of your choice?
Highlight (click on) the one called "IMG" and drag the link onto the body of your post, just as if it were a block of text you wanted to insert.
Sometimes it seems that it goes best if it's the only thing on that line.
Mind that photobucket gets a little "funky" at times.
If you can't get it moved out of your bucket, try making an album for stuff you want to post to the forum and see if it will go from there.
I just tested it with this photo of some plants, and it's going OK right now.

Image

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2014 9:59 am
by tasha87
Sorry been off line for a little while...its been a crazy house. Miss K I will try that with the pics asap thank you for the help.

Now....about this bird lol she seemed to be coming along nicely till about 2 days ago now shes screaming at bus every time we go into our bedroom and shes trying to chew her way out of her cage. Im wondering of this is normal wild bird aggression or maybe a bluffing thing since she is still very young. What are signs of bluffing in an untame bird?

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2014 8:53 pm
by MissK
I think she just figured out you're not going to eat her and she's trying to make a break for it before you change your mind.

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2014 10:09 pm
by Donovan
probably not bluffing... just a scared bird whose whole world has been turned upside down

Re: tips, adopting injured wild ringneck

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 5:31 pm
by tasha87
I brought my sun conure in the room with me today since shes the most playful and I let lil Remi watch her climb all over me and be silly....ill keep doing that