Just a small introduction and help needed :)

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Gems18
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2011 8:10 am

Just a small introduction and help needed :)

Post by Gems18 »

Hey I'm Gem, currently live in Devon (UK) and have just purchased a 3 month old grey ringneck roughly 2 weeks ago. Things are going very well, got him to eat from my hand and wolf whistle within 8 days. Spend every minute with my baby, I race cars in my spare time and have named my ringneck "Piston" :) he's a beauty, noisy and is my alarm clock (which I'm very grateful for considering I usually wake up at 11am, so yes very pleased
with 8am starts) haha. Have one problem with him though and need help, he is a bit aggressive and sometimes launches himself at his cage to bite you, he haunches down and opens his beak wide making a strangled noise and as mentioned launches himself at the cage. I guess this is because he is a baby? And just like a child, is going through a teething stage? Advice please :) thankyouuu :) Gems
Melika
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Re: Just a small introduction and help needed :)

Post by Melika »

It is possible this is bluffing, good article on it here: http://www.indianringneck.com/bluffing/

With Hane I didn't reward the behavior with attention, I would just walk away and come back in a few minutes. Typically, he actually wanted attention and learned quickly not to lunge or I would go away. But Hane is not Piston, so you might have to try a different approach depending on his reaction.

And welcome to the board!
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I've been called 'birdbrained' before, but somehow I don't think this is what they meant. say:hah-nay
Gems18
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2011 8:10 am

Re: Just a small introduction and help needed :)

Post by Gems18 »

Intresting! I'll take a look. He wasn't particularly pleased this morning when I took his feeding platform out to clean it, he wouldn't let me take it out or put it back in he really got nasty so I ignored him and he attacked my arm. He will get there I'm sure, there jut isn't enough information on the Internet about them. :) thankyou.
julie
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Re: Just a small introduction and help needed :)

Post by julie »

I actually do the opposite to what I think mine want me to do when they lunge ect at me. I stand my ground and look straight at them and go oooh you think your scary do you,well you dont scare me and say stuff like that to them. All 3 of my tame birds have done it and still do it.They get this really cranky look and put their heads down and kinda growl when they realize im not going away because they want me to. The only thing is I now have a bird that does the same thing to my 8yr old daughter when she chucks a tantrum (he talks to her how I talk when he is chucking a tantrum).
Melika
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Re: Just a small introduction and help needed :)

Post by Melika »

julie wrote:I actually do the opposite to what I think mine want me to do when they lunge ect at me. I stand my ground and look straight at them and go oooh you think your scary do you,well you dont scare me and say stuff like that to them. All 3 of my tame birds have done it and still do it.They get this really cranky look and put their heads down and kinda growl when they realize im not going away because they want me to. The only thing is I now have a bird that does the same thing to my 8yr old daughter when she chucks a tantrum (he talks to her how I talk when he is chucking a tantrum).
I like to give Hane what he wants in most cases when it comes to handling. I believe an adult bird should be asked if they want to come out. I ask and offer my hand. If he does want to come out he will sidle a little closer to me and I will move my hand close for a step up. If he doesn't want to come out at that time, he will move away and I let him be and try again later. I don't try to force myself upon him. When he was young, I did sometimes force him to step-up and wouldn't give in to his attitudes- I did not want him to become cage-bound or develop the habit of biting to make me go away. I just followed my instinct and knew when I could push him and when I could not. Now he is grown, and I can see the personality change and how it evolved from when he was a youth.

Hane has likes and dislikes, he has times he wants attention and times he does not. I try to respect when he does not want attention. This means I do not get bitten/lunged at/threatened. The few times I have been bitten in the past six years have been when I wasn't paying attention to his signals- and only one time did it draw blood, albeit a tiny amount, and that was because I was confusing him by being hesitant to pick him up for some weeks and he finally became extremely frustrated with me.

My only requirement of him is that when he wants attention he is not allowed to yell, scream, or nip for it. He is immediately ignored if he does any of those things. He learned very quickly that the best way to get my attention was to coo and speak sweetly and softly to me.

It takes a lot of patience and consistency, but in the long run I believe my relationship with Hane has benefited. I do not have a screaming, biting, cage-bound, unfriendly parrot. Instead I have a quiet parrot that enjoys a good head scritch and is sitting on my lap as I type this now, preening my arm gently to tell me he wants attention.
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I've been called 'birdbrained' before, but somehow I don't think this is what they meant. say:hah-nay
Gems18
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2011 8:10 am

Re: Just a small introduction and help needed :)

Post by Gems18 »

I see so when piston lunges at me, do I just walk away or continue what I was doing before hand (which at the time is talking to him/playing a game) I don't want a nasty bird, he's cute and lovely just don't want that to be spoilt by his owner having lack of knowledge.
Gems18
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2011 8:10 am

Re: Just a small introduction and help needed :)

Post by Gems18 »

You life saver. That is perfect! Just what I needed. Thankyou to everyone for your help.
pinkdevil
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Re: Just a small introduction and help needed :)

Post by pinkdevil »

Hi Gem, welcome to the forum.
haha like your name for your bird, very cute. Oh, yes, they are very good at being an alarm to lol
julie
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Re: Just a small introduction and help needed :)

Post by julie »

my birds arent rewarded by me saying anything to them when they do it to me :lol: its quite the opposite.
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