Confused Ringneck owner !

[RiotBoyer]

Hi, im Riot, im new here. My parrot is Lola. I got her a few months ago, she is about 8-9 months old. I came her to make sure i am doing everything right with her. She was very afraid when we got her, she would run away and screech when i tried to get close to her. Looked like her first home cut her wings really bad. Now she will climb on my finger sometimes, but her first instinct is to run. she will stand on her cage and scream for me to comeback if i leave the room. we tried bringing in a cockatiel to befriend her, but she was mean to him, altho she did pick up some of his chirps. I try and work on words with her, but she doesnt talk, im not sure when shes supposed to start, but im afraid im going to miss the window and she wont ever be able to talk. I try and use treats to help tame her, she loves treats, but she hates hands, so she will not come near a treat if its in my hand. She is very confusing and i would be glad for any advice i cant get. Also, i dont cover her at night cause she would become very aggresive, trying to attack the blanket when i tried to cover her and she would try and bit at me thru the cage each night,

[ellieelectrons]

Hi Riot

Welcome to the forum.

we tried bringing in a cockatiel to befriend her, but she was mean to him, altho she did pick up some of his chirps.

Unfortunately IRNs will not get along with a cockatiel... If given the opportunity the IRN will probably kill the tiel... so best to keep them separate.

I try and work on words with her, but she doesnt talk, im not sure when shes supposed to start, but im afraid im going to miss the window and she wont ever be able to talk.

Females are less likely to talk than males. Are you sure she is a female? You won't be able to tell visually at 8 or 9 months.. Our female speaks some words but not as clearly and not as many words as our male who is a year younger. You could also try teaching her some whistles.

If she likes treats, you could say the same simple phrase (eg. "beautiful bird" or "wotcha doin") each time you give her a treat... and she may then start to mimic it as a way to get you to give her the treat.

I try and use treats to help tame her, she loves treats, but she hates hands, so she will not come near a treat if its in my hand.

If you want to tame her, she is going to need to get used to taking treats from your hand. There are a number of things you can try... all are slow going... but with persistence and consistency it should work. Here is one idea. If you search the forum you will find others.
Eat in front of her some food you can share... when she looks interested, offer it to her through the cage bar wires... Hold it there a reasonably amount of time and if she takes a step towards you (rather than retreating from you) or looks interested... either say "good bird" (or whatever phrase you want) straight away - alternatively you can use a clicker if you want.... and put the treat in her food bowl or however you would normally give her the treat.... Make sure she sees you do it and do it as soon after you say "good bird" so that she learns to associate you saying that with the reward. Each time you do it, require her to improve her response. Eg... maybe she edges a millimeter closer than before... do the "good bird" thing as soon as she does what you want and then offer the reward.... You will need to do this several times a day. Eventually, over time you should be able to build enough trust to get her eating out of your hand. I also find having biggish treats that they can tear a bit off of is helpful... because it is further away from your hand.

Also, i dont cover her at night cause she would become very aggresive, trying to attack the blanket when i tried to cover her and she would try and bit at me thru the cage each night

Mine did this for a while... but eventually they seem to get used to it. I cover mine every night.... but not right up... they need to be able to have some light in there when its morning... I would be interested in what others think.... but I feel that covering whilst they are sleeping makes them feel more secure. I am only basing that on I notice that before I cover our two at night, they will huddle together on their swing... I'm guessing its an innate security thing... they feel safer from predators when they are together. However, once they are covered, they feel safer and seem to find their own spaces to sleep.

So whilst they may find it scary to have the cover on... my opinion is that overall, they feel more secure throughout the night when its on. How does she cope with you putting the cover on when she's already asleep? Depending on how soundly she sleeps it could scare her more... or she may be less inclined to notice it.

Sorry for the long reply.

Best wishes!

Ellie.

[RiotBoyer]

What ? No, dont be sorry. Thank you soooo much. The original owners told me she was a girl .. but now i have no idea lol. I read here the ring wont show till about 2 years.

She will crawl on us, loves being on out shoulder .. although she poops on us all the time :/ lol but the minute we put our hands near her, she freaks out. She will eventually step up on my finger tho. She doesnt really bite tho, atleast, not hard, the Tiel bit really hard. We gave him to a new home. We would love to get her a friend while she is still young. Any suggestions on what may work out ? Sadly, for whatever reason, she is less afraid of the dog then she is my hands.

[pinkdevil]

Welcome to the forum.

I LOVE the pic of Lola on the dog, very cute and what a relaxed dog to!

You mentioned Lola likes to sit on your shoulder. Have you tried offering her a treat while she is sitting there? Not really an ideal spot for her as she could think she is top dog over you but if it gets her to take treats from you, it may be a good place to start.

Do you know what her favourite treat is? Apple, grape, corn, millet spray etc? Use her fav treat as a reward food ONLY. Do not give her that food with normal feeding, reserve it for training so it will help encourage her to do what you are asking, bit like a candy bride for a child to clean their room
To find what her fav food is, offer a few different foods in a bowl and watch which food she goes for first.
When you have narrowed down what reward treat you will be using and she is sitting on your shoulder, place a piece of food on your shoulder then ignore her. If she is a typical ringie, she will not be able to resist the tempting treat. Be patient as it may take her a while to build up the courage but I am sure she will eventually. After doing this a few times (may take a few minutes to a few days) you might notice Lola not moving away or as quickly as she knows yumminess is coming her way. Once Lola has realised food is coming, hold the treat in your fingers and rest the tips of your fingers on your shoulder where you would normally place the treat and leave it there. Hopefully Lola will not be able to resist the treat and take it from your fingers. If she does, praise her (good bird/girl/Lola, whatever you say) and LEAVE your hand there for a few seconds before moving away gently as not to scare her with sudden movement. Repeat process and over time she should come to realise fingers or hands are not to be feared but have good treats in them. This is one of the methods I use if one of my birds do not respond to my other ways.
For some reason she has developed a fear of hands and you need to regain her trust.
Being partially tame/quiet I am guessing she was either hand raised or had a fair bit of time spent with her to tame her down at some stage.
Gaining her trust is not going to happen over night, it could take weeks or even months. Try giving whatever idea or method you choose a decent amount of chance and not swap after a few goes so the bird has a chance to get into a routine.

Good luck and let us know how you go.

[RiotBoyer]

thanks very much for the advice guys ! Ill be sure to apply it. ALso im typing on half a keyboard cause apparently, keys look tasty to birds

[julie]

thanks very much for the advice guys ! Ill be sure to apply it. ALso im typing on half a keyboard cause apparently, keys look tasty to birds

lol so do remotes and pretty muchly everything that is accessable.