taming

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keith

taming

Post by keith »

hi i just picked up my 2 month old irn (yellow) he always opens his mouth and acts as if he wants to bite but actually just taps my finger. will he turn this into a hard bite as he gets older? or is it something that will just past. i did buy him as a hand fed bird and he seems to be pretty mild tempered which is great. im new to parrots so any info will be greatly appreciated.


thanks
keith
kingtutone
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Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2004 1:00 am

Post by kingtutone »

Your Indian Ringneck is starting to test its hierarchy by “bluffing.” Bluffing, as aviculturist think, is a rebelling period that lasts for a short time in parrots; mainly during fledging and after weaning. This bluffing stage usually begins early in Indian Ringnecks. This phase will pass; however, you can help it pass smoothly with a little advice. My recommendation is to use gentle dominance and positive reinforcement. :wink:

When you decide to hold your IRN (Indian Ringneck), always use the up command, if the bird lunges, simply keep your hand there until the bird has stepped up. Most of the time, the bird is only testing to see a reaction out of you. Never pull your hand back or yell at the bird, both are pointless and present three negative messages to the IRN. First negative message the IRN might interpret, “This hand is unstable and if I bite harder it might be steadier!” Second, “Is this human scared of me? This could be a fun game. Maybe I should watch his reaction every time I bite him.” The third and final negative message is by verbal discipline, such as statements like: “No bite! Stop it! NO!,” will only work against you. I’ll explain why. By screaming, your IRN is getting a reaction out of you. What you might not know is that parrots are vocal by nature, so yelling only promotes this social activity of communicating; in turn, only reinforcing this bad habit. So yelling to a parrot might be very enjoyable to the bird and only promote this negative tendency.

Also, use positive reinforcement. This my friend is the major key to a successful friendship between both of you. This will stop the biting and return your IRN to the friendly parrot it was meant to be. When you offer your hand to the Ringneck and it lunges, then hops on your hand/finger praise the bird with “Good parrot, Good boy, etc..” The bird will quickly learn that no biting and listening allows me to spend more time with my human friend. Continue this routine until the biting stops. Hang in there, once the phase has passed you’ll know it. Sometimes is can last weeks or months, the key here is to keep reinforcing positive behavior and use gentile dominance. In time you’ll have a Ringneck that’s a phenomenal pet and will no longer bite.

Hope this helps and if you have anymore questions please feel free to ask. :D

Thanks,
Imran
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