An aggressive IRN

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thedirtyfeather
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2013 6:41 am

An aggressive IRN

Post by thedirtyfeather »

Hi! My name is Samantha. I "rescued" an IRN last night. The owners said good things about him/her. But when I got there I could see that he was not tame. I wan't going to buy him. I was raised around large parrots that were tame, save one. I have never tamed a bird before. But she stated she was tired of him & she was going to let him loose if I didn't take him! But... She still wouldn't let me have him for free. Say what?! So. I paid for the bird. But made her reduce the price first.

I have decided not to get him out of the cage until I read more if the next few days. He has a band on his leg. She is the second owner. She doesn't know what breeder he came from but said he is a year and a half old. He pins his eyes and tries to bite. I came to this forum to research and read on taming this IRN. I didn't want to see him suffer being set free.

I know it may be a lost cause. But figured I'd try. If he doesn't tame, I might find a breeder for him. I'm not sure. I just couldn't see him suffer a horrible death. I even mentionedca bird rescue but she said she didn't own a car anymore and couldn't get him there.

I brought him home Sunday night. It is now Tuesday morning. I was eating a bananna and figured I'd offer him some. The cage he came with is really a dog crate. The bars are too far apart, but he doesn't try to escape. I have another cage for him, but I have to wire in a missing bar first.


Anyways he stuck his head out of the cage. He tasted the bananna twice. I though he was going to taste it a third time. Nope! He bit me hard! The tip of his beak drew blood. Not much but "ouch" I wanted to move my hand to him- give him the opposite reaction
thedirtyfeather
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2013 6:41 am

Re: An aggressive IRN

Post by thedirtyfeather »

he was looking for- instead of jerking my hand away- moving it gently but closer to him. I couldn't really do this since he was in a cage! Lesson learned! No more feeding through the bars! Ever!

Overall he is pretty quiet- No screaming. At least nit yet- but it is early to tell for sure.

I will do some research and attempt to work with him. I hope he is tamable. I remember tge abused African Gray my mom took in. He was petrified of people. He NEVER came out of his cage- ever. Not for her. Not for anyone. He eouldn't even come out on his own- my poor mom tried everything. And that is how the bird lived for years. In his cage- just asking to be alone.

I do have a question:

This is a white IRN. Said to be 1 1/2 years old.

Since it is white, can I still tell if it is male or female? Or do white males not show the ring? This bird is not showing a ring at all- or not that I have noticed yet anyways.
subodhhire
Posts: 300
Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:43 am
Location: India, Mumbai

Re: An aggressive IRN

Post by subodhhire »

Hi Samantha,

Welcome to the forum. You have done a wonderful thing by rescuing that poor bird.

Since you are used to already tame birds, things might look slightly difficult in the beginning, but have patience and things will be just fine.

Subodh

P.S. This is more of your case MissK
MissK
Posts: 3011
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:46 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: An aggressive IRN

Post by MissK »

Hi. Congratulations on your new bird!
Last edited by MissK on Tue Aug 09, 2016 8:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-MissK
subodhhire
Posts: 300
Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:43 am
Location: India, Mumbai

Re: An aggressive IRN

Post by subodhhire »

Hi Missk,

You simply rock.

Subodh
thedirtyfeather
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2013 6:41 am

Re: An aggressive IRN

Post by thedirtyfeather »

Wow! Thanks for all the help!

She said she bought him from her brother in law. He had the bird from a pet shop. So, if his age is correct, he has gmhad 3 owners in 1 1/2 years.

She said he used to be in a small cage, so she put him in the dog crate. And it is a BIG dog crate. He does enjoy it. She said she kept him this way for four months. I haven't seen him try to escape- but a bird is a bird and I don't trust that he never will. I only work part time. So I have time to try to rehabilitate him. But I don't want to come home from work and find a dead pretty bird hanging half way out.

Originally she said he was a pretty good bird- I knew what kind of questions to ask. So I took the 1 1/2 hour drive to see him. Originally she said he had never drawn blood but sometimes bit too hard playing. When I got there he was on top of the crate. Anytime she tried to touch him, she covered her whole hand with her sleeve. My first though was "you lied to me." And he did. He tried biting her. He tried biting me. I don't believe it yet, but she said "sometimes he is in the mood to be friendly and will fly over any he is perfectly fine." She said he has to be in the mood.

I think he did live in the crate for quite some time because her ad was a month old and showed his complete set up. He had many toys in that picture.

I will definitely keep feeding through the cage then.
thedirtyfeather
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2013 6:41 am

Re: An aggressive IRN

Post by thedirtyfeather »

Ugh. My phone keeps messing up on me! Sorry!

I will keep feeding through the cage. He definitely is a biter. I read to ignore it. Is that wise?

His cage is in my bedroom. That is where the kids and I hang out the most. He doesn't seem freaked by our typical noises. So that's good. And he gets to see all of us sleeping.

I like your idea of feeding him through the cage. I want to combine that with the clicker training with a stick he touches with his beak. I saw a link to that article here on this forum. Then I can bump it up overtime. Eventually do it with my hands in the cage, etc.

But yes! It is frustrating since I am mainly used to well socialized birds! They are such a pleasure!

He does have two things going for him! His beauty and his overall quietness. What I am saying id- I'm glad heisn't a screamer too!!!

I knew she might have been lieing about setting him loose. I didn't want to risk it though. I was mad about it because I knew that for $30 more I could go to the bird rescue in Michigan and adopt a Quaker that was already tame.

Plus, I'd have been helping out a rescue!

But maybe its time I learn how to tame & rehabilitate myself? Always room for growth!

Oh. GUESS WHAT THEY NAMED HIM!!!

Hades! That was the God of the underworld! It fits him- LOL! But I am changing it! I'm going to name him sweet pea or something- maybe it will help him settle down!!!
MissK
Posts: 3011
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:46 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: An aggressive IRN

Post by MissK »

Subodh - Hee, hee, hee. I think that was flattery! Thank you. :lol:

Samantha-
What a story you'll have to tell!
-MissK
Last edited by MissK on Tue Aug 09, 2016 7:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-MissK
subodhhire
Posts: 300
Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:43 am
Location: India, Mumbai

Re: An aggressive IRN

Post by subodhhire »

Hello MissK,

No I am not trying to flatter you at all. Its just that i also want to say so many things but somehow am not able to write it down. And you do it very very well.

Subodh
thedirtyfeather
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2013 6:41 am

Re: An aggressive IRN

Post by thedirtyfeather »

Awe! Thanks! You are definitely keeping me motivated!

Yesterday I bought a dog clicker and two sets of chop sticks. I figured I would start with touch training. I want him/her to learn that he can work with me and that it can be a good thing. If he touches the stick he can get a treat. Baby steps.

He definitely is not afraid to come right over to the cage where I stand, or sit. He eye pins me. This morning it was hillarious. My daughter had brought crackers into my bedroom. I went to pick them up and carry them out. As soon as this IRN heard the sound of the crinkly cracker bag he made a bee-line for me! He loves crackers!

I have also found that he loves strawberries. I haven't tested to find his all time favorite food. I will do that on Saturday. I am not ready to begin the touch training with the chop sticks yet. I want to give him more time. Currently I whistle to him. Ocassionally he whistles back.

This morning I went over to him (before the cracker). I made kissy sounds. He made kissy sounds too! Still! I'm not getting my mouth near that beak!

I have a website I am still building. It is thedirtyfeather(dot)com There is nothing on it right now but I hope to add this birds growth/taming there. You can also find me at "thedirtyfeather" on facebook. For the time being, it is mainly about my little bizzare chicken breeds. Oh! I love chickens!

I also just created a youtube channel called "thedirtyfeather" So far it only has one short video on it. It was the day I brought my little "pocket parrot" home. It is kniwn as a canary winged parakeet, more specifically- a white winged parakeet. I now have two of these little green guys. They were never handled- came from an aviary- but love affection so much that they are basically tame because they have a huge desire to bond.

I hope to start adding more videos of this white IRN's progress. I want to start making videos of how he behaves before, during, and after taming.

Thank you for letting me know about positive versus negative reinforcers for biting. I think it makes a lotof sense. I am trying to visualize putting my finger up in his beak when he cones for a bite. It seens like a goid idea, but I just can't "see" it because he moves so fast. I'm trying to imagine how to do it!

I need to get offline for now.

But thank you again. I do apologize for the typos. I have this touch screen phone but it scrolls as I type. This means 80% of the time I can't see what I am writing. And I do not have a computer right now!

I want to let him out of his cage so he can take a bath but an currently worried about getting him back in. Do you think it would work if I got him out closer to dark? Would he maybe go back in when the sun goes down? I would put the water IN his cage but the bottom pan is cracked. The carpet underneath would get wet. Any suggestions?
MissK
Posts: 3011
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:46 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: An aggressive IRN

Post by MissK »

Probably time to give Bird a name.............

-MissK
Last edited by MissK on Tue Aug 09, 2016 7:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.
-MissK
subodhhire
Posts: 300
Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:43 am
Location: India, Mumbai

Re: An aggressive IRN

Post by subodhhire »

Hi Samantha,

Please follow Missk. Its the right advice.

Subodh
ellieelectrons
Posts: 2708
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:17 am
Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Re: An aggressive IRN

Post by ellieelectrons »

Hi Samantha

You've been given lots of good advice here. Here are just another couple of ideas to add to the mix.

With my guys, I occasionally use a plastic baby spoon to feed them treats. I especially do this if they seem over-excited because sometimes that will bring on a bite. I can do that through the cage bars or when they are out. Initially, though, they were scared of the spoon, so I had to introduce it slowly to them.

I like this article on biting:
http://goodbirdinc.blogspot.com.au/2012 ... -bite.html

I used to find that our female, Janey, would sometimes bite me when I offered her food. Sometimes, she'd refuse the food, I'd keep it there just in case she didn't understand that I was offering it to her, I'd bring it closer to her beak... and then she'd lunge and bite me or snatch the food in a nasty way. Looking back, she obviously wasn't hungry and didn't want the food and got sick of me waving it in her face! I found increasing foraging has almost completely got rid of this behaviour. See these links for more information on foraging:
http://www.indianringneck.com/forum/vie ... 01&p=69400
http://www.indianringneck.com/forum/vie ... =4&t=13466
http://www.parrotenrichment.com/ - this site has some free ebooks to download

Regarding his crate/cage, that is the one thing that has been consistent in his life, so he may be reluctant to move to another cage. However, if it is not big enough or bad in any other way, he will be better off in the long term with more suitable accommodations. Get the biggest cage you can fit in your house and can afford. He will eventually get used to it.

Given he hasn't been in your home too long, I think he is doing really well.

Good luck and best wishes!

Ellie.
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