IndianRingNeck.com

Hi everyone =]
i just joined this site hoping you can help me...
my ring-neck, Kiwi, is about six months old. i got him/her when it was about 5 weeks, and it was the most adorable thing, she loved absolutely every one, even if she had never met them before. unfortunately i am a student and had to leave her with someone else for the december holidays, it was about two months long. when i got back she was extremely vicious towards me, she is only nice with the only guy that leaves in the house and occasionally other guys that come around. with any girls, and specially myself, she reacts badly, and tries to bite..my fingers have been shredded to pieces and bleeding constantly. however, whenever i open her cage she climbs onto my hand with out hesitation, and once stable she tries to bite me again whenever i approach her with my hand. if i am busy with something she flies and sits on my shoulder,or my lap, but again she bites my finger. i have never ever spoken to her loudly, i am constantly treating her with the fruits and vegies that she loves and spend atleast an hour with her outside her cage everyday, at which point i do absolutely nothing but talk and sit with her. or sing for her with my terrible voice. slowly everytime she becomes nice again and sits on my finger without any effort from my side, but i have not yet been able to pet her at all =[
and usually when i have friends over i bring Kiwi to where we all are with her cage and set her up against the wall on a high table so she won't be scared but involved never the less. she loves the attention. and she hates being alone and starts screaming for company.

i love her to bits but i am so heart broken because i feel i am doing something really wrong to upset her =[ please PLEASE help me with suggestions....i want her to be happy with everyone and specially myself, that way she will enjoy herself better..
thank you in advance

another thing, do they actually like chili?

I know exactly how you feel =\

My IRN is 3 months old and was perfect when I got her. Now she will only step up and then she bites my finger REALLY hard. If I go anywhere near her she fluffs up.

I don't understand, because she is always in the same room as me and I talk to her all day but she still hates me. Really starting to upset me.... She just hates everyone. Will only step up for food or if losing balance..

Hope someone can help us!!! I'm running out of patience and ideas ='(

Birds can be so frustrating, can't they? On the other hand, biting can also be an expression of their frustration with us!

Both of you might go back to the beginning, so to speak, and tame them all over again. Try to examine what you are doing, and since it isn't working try something different.

kismplsmmism, You might want to try clipping her wings. It takes away a bit of their independence and now they have to be nice to you if they want to get up off the floor or to the playstand.

Try a stick/perch to practice your step-ups again. With two perches you can move your hands closer over time and eventually she's stepping from finger to finger. Only move your hands closer if she's stepping up without biting the perch hard.

Sometimes when Hane is being extremely grumpy, I just let him stay in his cage. Especially when I know he wants to come out. After a day or two of trying to bite me, he realizes he has to be nice to get out and to come play. I can't afford to have open wounds on my hands in my profession. But one time, he wasn't biting because he was grumpy. I was being too hesitant and confusing him, which ended in a bite. After weeks of trying to figure out why he was grumpy, I realized he was biting because of something I was doing. I fixed it by not hesitating, practically shoving him off the perch with my finger so he had no time to bite (as an afterthought he would reach down to bite and you could see the thought flash across like 'oh, I'm already on the hand, I don't have to') and by the third day he stopped trying to bite.

In my opinion, small and frequent time periods are more useful than one big chunk of time spent with a bird. If Hane is out for a few hours, he spends a lot of that time just on his playstand in the same room with me but playing with his toys and eating his mash. I go over and pick him up, spending ten minutes or so with him then put him back on his playstand for a while, then go spend a few minutes with him again. I like to wait until he's playing or occupied before going over and playing with him, to encourage him to play with his toys instead of needing me for entertainment.

Sometimes you need to change the environment- rearrange all the toys and perches inside the cage. Maybe even relocate the cage within the room or house.

Keep in mind birds can react to simple changes such as nail colour, hair styles, clothing colour, jewelry, and new furniture in the room. Often we have to look at how we are approaching the situation and adapt. If a bird is already bouncing and pinning and obviously high strung, you might be more likely to be bitten and the wise course would be to use a perch to move the bird. Try a different hand. Once the bird steps up, move quickly keeping her off-balance a little while you walk over to your playstand to prevent the biting.

Try something new for a few days. If it doesn't help, try something else.

It's difficult to give one clearcut answer when it comes to behaviour. The truth is, every animal is different and will react differently. None of us can predict what your bird will do and tell you what it needs from you. There are just too many variables- one being that we don't speak our IRN's language. So keep trying, enjoy your bird. If you can't pet her anymore, learn to accept that. Chances are that will change again in the future. I've said it before, you have thirty years and your relationship will be ever evolving.

Oh and: Chili with all it's added spices/salt might not be the best food, but you can feed beans that have been soaked overnight, rinsed well, and cooked. Beans and brown rice together make a complete protein.

Very nice reply!

Thanks for your response =)

I have JUST moved house and for some really strange reason, my lil girl seems to really be happy with where we are. Her cage is in the lounge room, and her play pen is next to her cage. The cage opens up the top where a perch is so she can come out and be with the rest of the family (bf, budgies and myself).

She seems to love being with the budgies but they don't really like her because she wants to play, and her beak is WAY to big for theirs ^_^. So I have her area far away enough for her not to get onto their cage.

Her biting seems to have subsided a fair bit, I guess i'm harassing her less. I have taught her that when I say 'Yum yuuum!!' That she is getting a nice treat. Eg A grape or tomato or some basil or lettuce etc. And i've convinced her that her pellets are 'Yum yuuuum!' which is great!

She seems to be in love with her water tube. She sings and dances to it, it's really cute.

The biting is going well. If it's quick and swift, she doesn't have time to think about biting. She just thinks 'oh I need to stand on her' asap. Then once she's up she's fine =)
I've had her on my shoulder a few times but she loves shiney things, like my earrings and my necklace so that makes it a bit hard haha... I also made a toy for her out of a toilet paper roll, and native sticks and leaves which she loves. Chews on it for hours!

I can tell how smart she is by how easily bored she is, and how easily entertained =)

Thanks for your great advice I really appreciate it !!!

I'm glad for you and your girl!

Hane goes after shiny things too, which is fine since I don't wear jewelry. I just have to remember to tell people to remove their rings when they want to hold him!

Hey Doum27,

I had the exact same issue with Tango when he was at that age.

For us we figured out that he was scared of hands as well as going through the bluffing stage so twice the fun for us .

One technique that worked for us was blowing a brief blast of air onto his nares and saying 'no' firmly every time he bit us whilst trying not to massage our sore fingers hehehe

He eventually got the point that 'no' meant stop what you're doing.

Hope this helps if Melika's suggestion doesn't help.

It does take awhile but each time Tango bit us the intensity of the bite subsided each day. I think it took nearly a month before he got the point. You need lots of patience with these guys but the rewards are huge

We have a newly acquired IRN named Alpha (2 wks ago). He steps up, gets a cuddle, pats, enjoys scritches etc... but other times he would move away if I offer treats, food etc... he'd rather I put it down and I step away hahaha He's been aviary raised so it makes it that more challenging.

Still a work in progress but I'm doing the same thing I did with Tango; I'd watch tv but sit next to their cage so he gets used to me or at least try be within his view. The advantage I probably have is we already have 2 tame IRN's and Alpha watches my interactions with them which helps teach him that humans are ok.

Alpha is now taking the seed from my fingers, crunches it for a second before dropping it. He used to just take it then drop it straight away hehehe

Just remember to be patient and keep your tone very friendly and your IRN will be taking stuff from your hands in no time!

Hey guys n girls =)

My Keekie has been awesome. She is only annoyed with hands now. But If I say UP!! And put my finger under her belly she gets up straight away. Sometimes she even comes to me!!!! I say "come on! Come on miss!!!"and she runs over to my finger and gets on it and looks at me like she knows me it's so sweet.

She is also very good with helping with chores. We hang out the washing together everyday, while she runs around the patio eating my basil and parsley and rocket.

One of my lil budgies died on the weekend... His best budgie friend is very sad and confused... But now Keekie's become good friends with Lil Blue.. Walking over to him every day and having a little Indian conversation with him.. And Bluey responds with his Budgie talk =)
Tomorrow I am getting Lil Blue a new friend...

Does anyone know what sex budgie I should get? Keekie can't physically get into their cage, but her wings are clipped and the budgies aren't. (All cages are open for flying, or walking and crawling in Keekies case)
My partner was thinking we should get Blue (male) a girlfriend (he's full of testosterone) but i've never bread birds before. I'm 100% up for the challenge (and i'm sure Bluey is hehe)

As i'm studying I have a fair bit of time at home.
But should I get Lil Blue another male friend? Or a girlfriend? He's about 2 years old now.
I know i'm supposed to only bring him a female mate over 1.5 years old, so I will only introduce him a girlfriend after quarantine and until it is of age. Cages next 2 eachother so socialisation.

Pls see attached for Miss Keekies house and play pen!! ( Site told me that the board attachment quota has been reached =[ )

Heeeyyyyy!!! Congrats on the progress!!! That's awesome news about Keekie!!

Sorry though to hear about your budgie.

I would say go with what you want since it's usually personal choice but then again I haven't been around budgies for such a long time that Lil Blue may have a preference.

Keep up the good work!

PS. I might be missing it but I can't see the attachment.