Just another newbie

[taelonsmom]

Hi there,

I have two IRNs. I am having problems with both of them at the moment. I searched the net and was very grateful to have found this site.

My first RN Taelon has been with us for almost 4 years. He is probably around 6-7. In the time he's been with us, he got injured twice but never have I had this problem with him. You see, he is plucking his own feathers and I suspect is biting out chunks of his own wings. I don't know what is causing this self mutilation. Since my sister got married we haven't been taking him out of the cage for more than 5-10 minutes. I am very concerned for him. What can I do to make him stop?

The second RN "Shanno" we got 3 months ago. I read a couple of posts on this board and it seems that she is in the endless phase of 'bluffing'. She bites everyone and displays a lot of aggression. The only person she'd tolerate/let her touch through the bars is my brother. I am in Pakistan right now and my uncle purchased her for me. He said the person who sold her said that she is a few months old (7ish) but I don't know if I trust that. Shanno has a black beak that seems to be changing to a very pale yellow one as the black seems to be coming off. I was told it's because she was a baby! Does that really happen?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[ringneck]

Hello,

Welcome! First let me start off to say that it seems you have a lot going on there! I hope this forum can help you better deal with the problems you have. It’s wonderful to hear you are trying to correct them
Plucking

Ringnecks are not feather pickers by nature— with the exception of the Alexandrines who are more prone to picking problems—yet it is still rare. Though I don’t know much about vets in Pakistan, I believe you need to find a doctor who can run some bacterial samples on your bird—blood and stool. It could be an allergy or infection that is triggering this behavior. Once these are ruled out you need to investigate the overall health of the parrot. Then all the vitamin and mineral levels need to be assessed as well. Did you know most ringnecks are deficient in Vitamin A and Calcium if fed only a seed diet? You might want to add more foods that are high in those nutrients as a lack of vitamin A can cause all sorts of ailments.

Daily you should cut up fruits/veggies and offer those before any seeds are placed into the cage. Small cuts of cooked chicken or boiled beans can be added for protein—though it is important you do not overdo it.

Toys & Cage

If the health of the parrot is in optimal condition I would give your bird a large cage and more toys to stimulate him. Add wood blocks or chew ropes to help him resolve his urge to chew. Check out the cage article here: http://www.indianringneck.com/cage/ then read this article here: http://www.indianringneck.com/feeding/
If you don’t have a vet you can try ordering some products online. Some owners take apple cider vinegar and dilute it in warm water and spray their birds with it. I have seen other successful home remedies of aloe vera and water mixed together. Be sure you do some research on the recipes as too much might be harmful.

You have to learn how to break the pattern. This means that when your parrot is picking you need to ignore it. Don’t look at him, don’t say “don’t do that,” or get yourself upset. Many times owners see their birds picking that they react so dramatic the bird continues to pick due the reaction of the owner—if mutilation is happening you should really look into getting a collar installed around the birds neck.
I hope this helps!

Do some a search on biting!

Best Wishes,

IMRAN-C

[taelonsmom]

Hello,

Welcome! First let me start off to say that it seems you have a lot going on there! I hope this forum can help you better deal with the problems you have. It’s wonderful to hear you are trying to correct them
Plucking

Ringnecks are not feather pickers by nature— with the exception of the Alexandrines who are more prone to picking problems—yet it is still rare. Though I don’t know much about vets in Pakistan, I believe you need to find a doctor who can run some bacterial samples on your bird—blood and stool. It could be an allergy or infection that is triggering this behavior. Once these are ruled out you need to investigate the overall health of the parrot. Then all the vitamin and mineral levels need to be assessed as well. Did you know most ringnecks are deficient in Vitamin A and Calcium if fed only a seed diet? You might want to add more foods that are high in those nutrients as a lack of vitamin A can cause all sorts of ailments.

Daily you should cut up fruits/veggies and offer those before any seeds are placed into the cage. Small cuts of cooked chicken or boiled beans can be added for protein—though it is important you do not overdo it.

Toys & Cage

If the health of the parrot is in optimal condition I would give your bird a large cage and more toys to stimulate him. Add wood blocks or chew ropes to help him resolve his urge to chew. Check out the cage article here: http://www.indianringneck.com/cage/ then read this article here: http://www.indianringneck.com/feeding/
If you don’t have a vet you can try ordering some products online. Some owners take apple cider vinegar and dilute it in warm water and spray their birds with it. I have seen other successful home remedies of aloe vera and water mixed together. Be sure you do some research on the recipes as too much might be harmful.

You have to learn how to break the pattern. This means that when your parrot is picking you need to ignore it. Don’t look at him, don’t say “don’t do that,” or get yourself upset. Many times owners see their birds picking that they react so dramatic the bird continues to pick due the reaction of the owner—if mutilation is happening you should really look into getting a collar installed around the birds neck.
I hope this helps!

Do some a search on biting!

Best Wishes,

IMRAN-C

Salam Imran,

That was all very helpful. Thank you so much.

First of all, AVIAN Vets and accessories for birds in Pakistan are pretty much non-existant. Never mind a toy, the vet I took him to today laughed at me before giving me a solution and telling me "it will cure all!" I was flabbergasted. I rescued birds in Canada and I know a vet visit comprises of a little more than asking "what is the problem" and not even looking at the bird! Everyone is telling me "maybe he was used to this problem blah blah" but I am a little frustrated at people taking the health of my baby as non-serious. Yeah, I know there are people dying because they don't have food that doesn't mean I can't love a parrot enough to make home made toys and spend money on that! sigh... anyways, don't mind me. It's been a tough day regarding Taelon.

Actually I DO scream at him anytime he is picking himself. I don't think there is any collar for birds available here... All I can think of is letting him ride my shoulder for most part of the day so as to keep him busy.

He eats like a healthy bird and is very active. His stool looks normal to me. I just checked.

Now that you've said that.. I do see him chewing at wood whenever I let him out. Maybe I can get them to make him a custom chew toy for Eid. hehe... He also loves to chew on chipped paint. So you see, I really can use you guys' help. lol

Thanks again. This is a god send.

[ellieelectrons]

Pine is good to create chewing bits of wood. If you can buy some from a hardware store or builders' supply shop, you can saw it into small pieces. It's inexpensive that way and I'm guessing you should be able to get it anywhere in the world providing you are handy enough to saw it into pieces (wish I was!).

Kris Porter has some information on how to make toys that stimulate your bird. It's all free and in the form of PDF e-books, videos, text and photos:
http://www.parrotenrichment.com/

The other consideration would be whether to get a second bird?

Good luck.

Ellie.

[taelonsmom]

I love my little guy too much to consider another bird.

Labour is pretty cheap around here. I will try to place an order for a block of wood with drilled hole in the middle so I can hang it or something.

Thanks for your advice.

[ellieelectrons]

Oops. When I said "another bird", I meant a second bird. That is, company for your first bird. Janey was plucking a tiny bit (i'm not sure if it was just agressive preening or what. She never had bald patches or anything.) When we got the second bird, it stopped (at least so far so good). However, this isn't always the right decision... and there is no way of knowing if they will get along... but it is one to consider.

Ellie.

[taelonsmom]

I already got a female IRN as a companion for him. They fight too much if kept together so I am keeping them in side by side cages. And this behavior started recently, a good 3-4 months after I got this female IRN.

[taelonsmom]

Kris Porter has some information on how to make toys that stimulate your bird. It's all free and in the form of PDF e-books, videos, text and photos:
http://www.parrotenrichment.com/

Ellie.

Ellie, this was such a great read! I read it all in one sitting yesterday. Today I bought them some foraging toys and their response has been so gratifying! Both of them seem to like the blocks and working for their food. Thank you Thank you Thank you. <3

[ellieelectrons]

I'm so glad you found it useful. I must admit I haven't made the time to go through it all myself yet... but the bits I've cleaned from it have ben useful and I'm looking forward to making the time to do more. I think it's really fantastic that the author has made all of this available for free!

Ellie.

[taelonsmom]

I'm so glad you found it useful. I must admit I haven't made the time to go through it all myself yet... but the bits I've cleaned from it have ben useful and I'm looking forward to making the time to do more. I think it's really fantastic that the author has made all of this available for free!

Ellie.

Yes that is indeed nice of them to make it available to people on a budget. I don't have a credit card and that deters me from ordering stuff online for my babies.