4 month old IRN - when will the biting and pinning eyes stop

[breeirn]

We adopted an IRN, Bree, when she was very little - she was just weeks old and we have been feeding her. She was very shy when she was a baby, and now that she's a little grown up ( 115 days old now) she is bitey and always pins her eyes - rarely is she in a good mood. I don't think that there was a time when this 'started', it has always been so. Both of us are very gentle people and we do not punish/raise our voice when she does this, we just ignore it and keep gently speaking/petting her.

It is just distressing that this is happening and won't stop. If this was bluffing, she would have been sweet before for at least a little bit - no? But she has always been like this. Sometimes she is sweet and she always loves to eat bananas from our hands and when we make her homemade toys, she is overjoyed. She loves being pet and will eventually fall asleep on me. I guess I am used to very friendly birds. Would someone reassure me that Bree is actually bluffing and that this will eventually stop?

we should add, we have had her vet checked and she is healthy - she goes and gets checked weekly. Her cage is full of toys, is big, and is open so she roams free.

[ellieelectrons]

Hi

Bree is still young so your relationship with her will evolve more yet. Our Janey was quite bitey. Increasing foraging helped greatly. Here are some 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

Does she have an out of cage area that you can interact with her on her own terms? Eg. a gym or a t-perch?

I would also recommend you start doing some trick training if you haven't already done so. Training provides mental stimulation and serves to strengthen the bond with your bird. Here are some links on training the turnaround behaviour:
http://www.indianringneck.com/forum/vie ... und#p68244
http://www.indianringneck.com/forum/vie ... und#p65327

Good luck and best wishes.

Ellie.

[breeirn]

This is a really good tip, I started following your advice and will start training her. What sort of treats did you feed your bird? Bree is scared of anything too big (except banana bits...)

We did step up training today, even though she already knows how to step up, just so that she will learn the basics of command + action. What do you think? Too easy?

And yes, we made her a gym with PVC pipes with dangling toys outside of the cage. She loves it.

[ellieelectrons]

This is a really good tip, I started following your advice and will start training her. What sort of treats did you feed your bird? Bree is scared of anything too big (except banana bits...)

Banana is a great treat. My guys love banana too! It is best to keep the treats small any way because otherwise they take too long to eat and your bird will fill up too quickly. You can chop things up (eg. fruits, nuts) if necessary. To see what your birds fav treats are (and they will change as your bird changes), give your bird a whole pile of things in one food container and look to see which ones it eats first. If you are introducing new foods, you might want to do this for several days in a row just so that your bird recognises it as food and can figure out which things it prefers.

We did step up training today, even though she already knows how to step up, just so that she will learn the basics of command + action. What do you think? Too easy?

Great! Definitely not too easy. In fact it is the most useful thing to teach a bird! I usually suggest turning around as a first trick because it doesn't involve you having you touch the bird but since your bird is already used to stepping up and isn't scared of it, that's a great place to start. Admittedly most of the tricks I teach my birds aren't particularly useful, but it does keep our minds active (theirs and mine!). Some other really useful behaviours that I haven't managed to teach my birds yet include being comfortable when wrapped in a towel, presenting feet for nail trimming, stepping onto a scale and taking liquid from a syringe. You can get clues for training these behaviours on Barbara Heidenreich's DVD Training for the Veterinary Exam #2 (see http://www.goodbirdinc.com/parrot-store-dvds.html). Given that your bird is quite young you might also like to consider harness training - another thing I wish I could do with my guys!

Good luck!

Ellie.