brand new to owning IRN, help with taming
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brand new to owning IRN, help with taming
I am sure you get questions about how to tame all the time. I have tried to read as much as possible on my own but now I have a specific question. My IRN is 15 weeks old. I just brought him/her home last night. It is flying around in the cage frantically when we get near it. I let the bird come out on it's own today and I can get it to step up and I can pet the beak, back of the neck, etc. But he will only sit on me for just a few seconds before he flies away to hide. Is it best to let him fly(wings are clipped so, barely fly)to where he feels safe and just explore on his own, or is it better to go after him an encourage him to step up again and continue to try for physical contact? He will sit in a towel on my lap for a while. I don't want to push him before he feels ready, ya know? He hasn't eaten yet and won't take anything from my hand yet so I know he is still quite nervous. Is it true that you can tell the sex before maturity by the eye color?? What is the age they start "bluffing", around sexual maturity? Thanks!
Lily Give him more time to settle in. Leave him in his cage for a week or so, so he can get familiar with where his food and water is. This is all new to the little guy so give him as much time as he wants. If he is clipped and can still fly a little that's perfectly fine, he probably has a juvenile clip so he will learn how to land safely. Don't use any gloves or towels.
They reach sexual maturity at about 3 years old some sooner. Males will start getting a ring at about 18 months but could take up to 3 years for it to fully come in. Eye color is about the same in male and female so only a well trained person that has raised lots of babies in the past could tell but it's still would be a educated guess.
The biting stage (bluffing) could start any time usually around a year and a half old. The fact that he is already stepping up on your hand is a big plus and shouldn't take long for him to gain trust.
Donna
They reach sexual maturity at about 3 years old some sooner. Males will start getting a ring at about 18 months but could take up to 3 years for it to fully come in. Eye color is about the same in male and female so only a well trained person that has raised lots of babies in the past could tell but it's still would be a educated guess.
The biting stage (bluffing) could start any time usually around a year and a half old. The fact that he is already stepping up on your hand is a big plus and shouldn't take long for him to gain trust.
Donna
In Loving Memory
of one special husband and one special bird.
I miss you both
of one special husband and one special bird.
I miss you both
thanks for the tips. I feel like he definitely needs some time to settle in but I started getting nervous that if I didn't start right away that it would be harder to tame him as the days go by. I have handfed all my previous babies and this is something completely new to me to have to tame one and gain it's trust, plus this is the very first IRN I have ever been around in my life. I will be patient and give him a while. I feel like I am making him more nervous by keep following him and picking him back up, so I'm sure you are right. Thanks again.