Hello and thank you!

[ShirleyBird]

I'm a new pet shop victim....my husband and I got 2 blue ringnecks about a month ago(Laverne and Shirley). We were only looking but they convinced us to buy.lol.How could we not?They were absolutely they most BEAUTIFUL birds I've seen! We were told they're 7 mths and both girls and just came in 2 mths ago as a pair.* after reading abt bands and other info I'm not even sure of that* As I'm a mother and a typical woman I felt sorry for them and even though the pet store gave us a GREAT deal for them and told us they needed" work", I still felt my love could change them( lol). Now realization set in! They're afraid of almost everything! They do come out of their cage and eat and play and are vocal, they even will eat from u between the bars....I definitely would have gotten them younger and from a breeder if I known what I do now Thanks to this site...Sorry I'm rambling! Anyways ill have lots of questions later on and just wanted to introduce myself. I love my birds and just want the best for them...so any stress free advice is appreciated! Thank you again!

[Azure]

how long have you kept them for? and can you specifiy at least some of the things they are afraid off? they may just need a real quite environment to settle down. make sure any interaction with them awards them verbal praise
welcome to the site and all the best luck with your beautiful birds!
p.s. post pics! we love those!

[ShirleyBird]

[quote="Azure"]how long have you kept them for?] It will be a mth on the 7th. They're afraid of anything new or changed...toys, any movement( even slow ) towards cage..Should I even be letting them out yet? They do go back without a chase...I'm training the word home, and they seem to understand. I just want to build trust with them...some say handle them daily, some say don't try to handle until they trust you...which is correct? Being they are under a yr and due to life span, are they a baby or an adolescent as in some species? Thx 4 responding and as soon as I figure how to post a pic I will.lol. computer illiterate...

[ShirleyBird]

[quote="Ariahna"] Thank u for the warm welcome and the good info! They are currently in the same cage ( hopefully soon they will be separated). They are also clipped. We never reach inside their cage unless we're cleaning( I want their cage to be their safe place. They don't nip or anything being we don't wave our fingers in their faces.I do the clicker training for going "home" or coming to bars when their names are called.I will post pics as soon as possible hopefully someone can "age" them correctly. I can'ttrust what the pet shop says.lol. I'm starting to think maybe Laverne is a Vern! I'm noticing a light black line on the underside of its neck..plus it just looks different than the other. I want to get them sexed DNA but live in the country where not much is available. Can the shop where purchased from be able to help? They however are starting to make different noises other than their typical high pitched call...that's a big plus.lol. maybe they are feeling more at ease? We have a bird room where they are free to go out and play(while supervised ). I just can't wait to love on them, their so cute! Right now I guess ill just have to enjoy watching them.I just keep telling myself in due time.lol. thx again for info!

[ShirleyBird]

[quote="Ariahna"]

Since you are target training them with a clicker already does that mean they are taking treats from your hands?

They will only eat out of hands if they are in the cage! So I click if they respond to name , when they come to bars when called, when they reenter the cage on command. They ara afraid of hands outside of the cage...I couldn't even think about touching them....they would never left me get close enough, they run and hide or go inside the cage. I mentioned before I don't impose myself on them in their cage( I want them to feel safe in there). I wish someone else in my situation would reply! I don't want to damage them any further by not handling when I should be, or trying to handle them and ruin any chance of a close bond. I'm at a loss....I don't know how to approach this....Birds are definitely more of a challenge than training a dog.lol. thx for the response and the venting....

[ShirleyBird]

[quote="Ariahna"]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE21LmzmMjU[/quote]

Thank u for the video! Can't wait to try it! Ill let u know if its a success.... :)

[kyria]

Some amazing advice here already .. great sharing. My first IRN was an aviary wild 12 month old blue male I called Kai. I too had purchased before researching, having seen a tame IRN in the store when I was younger, only to find when I brought him home he was scared and took a huge chunk out of my thumb.

Clipping is the first thing (already suggested) great, so many other fantastic things shared for you to try. All I can add is the knowledge that my Kai turned out to be a really tame, very interactive part of the family, although he still was a little scared of hands going behind his head. We worked with him for months before he trusted us enough to be able to scratch him a little, step up and play on us happily. Give it a good six months before you really see good changes. Trust takes time. Let him take it at his pace and have the time to adjust to his new flock, he will soon come out to see who you are and what everything is all about.

Find their favourite food (dried melon seeds ended up all my birds fav treats) and give these to him as rewards for progress. Eventually we would hold the seeds in places where he would have to put his head through our fingers to get to it, building trust in our hands etc. I remember the first steps were sitting quietly by the cage talking to him, getting closer each day, until he came out to see me one day. Taking them into a quiet room and just talking or singing to them also is a great idea.

Anyway, all great advice, but the most important thing is time and patience and let trust build. Reward and beautiful calm voice. They will learn to love you in their way.

Cheers
Ange

[ShirleyBird]

[quote="kyria"]

Thank u for ur response. I believe the main advise is patience...maybe some prayer also, being the patience is hard to have being they're SO cute, lol, just want to touch them! I can see a slight change since we brought them home...they are more vocal and are enjoying toys and treats from btwn the bars now..before they just huddled, back towards us, shaking. Now we can walk up to the cage without much disturbance. They LOVE to be outside of their cage just checking things over...we made a climbing tree out of a branch ( thx for the list of poisonous trees), and they are happy just sitting and " talking". We are currently looking for another cage being that one constantly is bullying the other for food( each has own bowl but Shirley likes to play bowl swap) and for the toys or perches! She doesn't even have to nip at Laverne, body language says it all. Anyways, they supposedly always have been together while at the shop...do u think its the right idea to separate them? I want TWO happy birds. Thank u again for the reply and the welcome! This site has been SO helpful on many levels.

[Lushen1600]

Welcome to the forum