Is my bird retarded? (Serious)

[TomAndGene]

Hey guys,

3 and a half months ago i got my baby green Indian ring neck Mario and all was well, i hand fed, raised and weaned him myself. He adapted into a cage just fine and it was his own little house within a few days.

He's always done some strange things such as: Eating upside down/Dangling from the roof of his cage by one foot(for surprisingly long amounts of time)/Eating seeds with the shells on, regurgitating, cracking and eating them properly later on/Biting himself on accident and having odd spasms where he flaps chirps and shakes all in about a second or two. Now I've never heard of anyone having a retarded bird but i think i might. Today i was observing him eat a peanut and he was biting his own feet then going crazy looking for the culprit not knowing it was him, he also falls off his perch sometimes when hes playing with a toy and also grasps his cage and tries to fly away without releasing his feet and just flaps for up to a minute sometimes.

Is this typical baby behavior as he's learning and growing up or is he a bit silly in the head?

PS: I love the guy no matter what!

[ellieelectrons]

I would imagine birds can have damaged brains just like other animals. When I went to the parrots in Paradise show http://www.parrotsinparadise.net/ she said that one of her birds was a "stargazer" (has autism). When it was diagnosed, the person (I think it was a vet) offered to put it down. She refused and he is now one of the stars of the show. He is the only bird game enough to ride a skateboard!

In your case, I would recommend an avian vet checkup.

Ellie.

[ellieelectrons]

P.S. some of those behaviours you described seemed normal but others sounded a bit abnormal.

[TomAndGene]

Cheers ellie, what ones sound normal to you? the biting of the feet is was makes me think strongly on the topic.

[fionalouise1989]

The wing flapping is normal my birdy does it sometimes... Also he normally eats up right but will eat upside down if he can't get to a perch... I'm no expert though
Fi

[MissK]

Well, that all does sound kind of wacky

[sanjays mummi]

When Sanjay was a chickster he often hung upside down, like a chandelier, until he got his toe stuck,, he never did it again. Eating upside down is ok too, and it took him a while to master peanuts. Have you ever watched a puppy the very first time it barks?, they Always look round to see who it was. Personally I find their baby antics quite amusing, as long as they don't get hurt, it's how they learn. The flapping is normal, but once Sanjay had room to actually fly, he stopped exercising his wings in this way.

[ellieelectrons]

Here is my summation of the behaviours:

Eating upside down/Dangling from the roof of his cage by one foot(for surprisingly long amounts of time)

Normal for some birds

Eating seeds with the shells on, regurgitating, cracking and eating them properly later on

I suspect this is him figuring out how food works. From what you've said he hasn't grown up with his siblings or his parents, so he is probably a bit clueless.

Biting himself on accident

biting himself on accident is probably normal, too for a young bird. He still figuring out how the world works. Even now, my Charlie will sometimes bite the suction cups of the shower perch that he's sitting on and then wonder why he and the perch end up on the floor!

having odd spasms where he flaps chirps and shakes all in about a second or two.

Normal.

he was biting his own feet then going crazy looking for the culprit not knowing it was him,

This one did seem weird to me but a) he might have been playing a game and b) he's probably figuring out his beak. Young ones definitely seem to curiously bite people/toys more than adult birds.

he also falls off his perch sometimes when hes playing with a toy

This one concerned me a little but if he's playing with a toy he probably just gets carried away.

also grasps his cage and tries to fly away without releasing his feet and just flaps for up to a minute sometimes.

Normal

I have read (but don't have any experience of this so it may not be right) that raising a chick away from his siblings is not as healthy as raising it with its siblings. So it is possible that these behaviours you are seeing are just him trying to understand the world.

I would still recommend an avian vet check - I have one for my guys annually.

Ellie.

[TomAndGene]

Ok cool! thanks a lot ellie. I've had his cage next to genes for a long time so im sure he's learning the basics from her. They even do the exact same chirps and squarks as each other now its quite amazing how similar they are, i can't even tell the difference between them anymore if i can't see who's chirpin. This was my first baby so i was just a bit puzzled at the behavior, I got gene at 5 months old and she was raised around all sorts of birds so yeah, Just new to the behavior.

Thanks a lot, Tom.

[TomAndGene]

Also, Thanks to sanjays mummi/MissK/fionalouise1989

[ellieelectrons]

Tom, your new bird is certainly a cutie. I love the pics.

Let me know if you ever need your IRNs baby sat when you go on holidays!

Ellie.

[TomAndGene]

Same for you ellie. Just pm me

[parrotpoop13]

hi , i was reading your post and had to reply ... i have actually said that i wonder if my Skittles has turrets sundrome ... he does the same thing with his feet "he was biting his own feet then going crazy looking for the culprit not knowing it was him" ... he is not an irn , he is a conure but does the same thing ... he is also not a baby ... he is five . he also will touch his beak to his foot over and over when i play with him with his favorite toy ... like how they say people have a nervous tick and have to touch objects , he does it to his feet ... i think its cute and just laugh and tell him he is my little weirdo ... but good to see someone else has a bird that does it too lol

[MissK]

-MissK

[TomAndGene]

nawww hahah

[sanjays mummi]

Isn't Tourettes Syndrome something to do with swearing?, I suppose if I rescued an adult, potty mouthed parrot, I could use Tourettes as an excuse?

[fionalouise1989]

Tourettes can be saying words involuntarily or moving limbs involuntarily
regards Fi

[MissK]

I worked with a guy with this challenge. Honestly, it wasn't so spectacular. I'd guestimate his cursing was possibly as low as 2% or less of his involuntary vocalization. He had some other difficulties as well, but it didn't stop him from being someone that anyone could look up to. I think he would have made an excellent Ringneck keeper.

-MissK

[subodhhire]

Hi There,
I dont know how i missed this post. But better late than never. The behavior that you mentioned is perfectly normal so please dont go looking for a avian vet unless for his regular checkups. I have the advantage of watching these magnificent birds in the wild and whatever behavior you have mentioned are perfectly normal including biting his own toes. He is still in the early stage and just discovering the world.
Since you have a original color bird i assume he must be a pure breed. In fact he seems to be a bit more intelligent than others too. With proper care and training you will become a proud owner of an extraordinary bird. Just keep it up and try to bond with him as much as you can. you will be surprised with his intelligence and witty behavior. He will respond to training very well. Congratulations on getting such a bird and good luck for his training. Please keep us posted about how he is responding to training and other things.

Subodh

[TomAndGene]

Thanks for your kind words subodhhire

I've recently got him to stop biting me now, Even though he never bit much out of aggression he would just bite my finger and keep biting harder out of curiosity. He now knows i don't like biting but also knows it has no effect on me when he does decide to bite. He still has a way to go this little one and he's only going to get more and more cheeky as the months pass, He's already a little ragamuffin now so i cant wait to see him in a year haha.

I'm pretty active on this forum so check my posts out if you see em!

Cheers, Tom, Rio and Gene.

[TomAndGene]

Some diff pics of him

[subodhhire]

Hi again,

Nice pictures. He does seem to be a pure breed and so he still has some wild instincts. But he will turn out to be the best i think.

Subodh