IndianRingNeck.com

Hi Everyone! I have been on this board for a while. My baby Ringnecks are now a whole 6 months old. I know they may be going through bluffing, so it's not necessary for me to read up any more on this -- this is a whole different behavior entirely.

We took the babies out on a hike a month back. Blizzard was happy, calm, remained on our shoulder the entire time. This is marvelous because the rest of the story is pretty insane. Beau got out of his harness and took off into a valley. I cried like a 3 year old, it was pretty awful. We had to scale a mountain side, a 45 degree cliff on mud, with slides so steep we had to slide down and aim for a tree below. We eventually got Beau back after his crying out for me helped me locate him and we decided to not risk it again, even though Blizzard remained faithful the entire time. Maybe it's too early to tell, but I always figured that Beau had an instinctual wild side, a part of him that never wants to be tamed.

Blizzard loves kisses. He will be pat, not scratched, and will cuddle up next to you, breathe softly in your ear as he sleeps and burrows deep into my hair while I study. Beau... he'll bite at my ear no matter how much I beg him to stop. He won't stay off of me, but will not listen to me. I have trained him to do some tricks but he will randomly lose interest and start ripping my clothes apart. I can't touch him, he hates to be touched. He hates kisses. He hates pats. Does he hate me? Am I just a jungle gym to him? Someone to give him treats? My heart is absolutely broken.. I hand fed him and I can't even interact with him or he'll growl at me. What can I do?...

I'll also add that when I get home, they both get very excited. They will cry out for me and I open the cage and call out "Hi my love!" and they will crawl over me looking for treats, Blizzard wants his kisses. If I put them on the floor, they both trail behind me as I walk around the house. It's insane how cute... so I think he has some kind of attachment, just not sure why he wont even let me touch him.

He also doesn't even talk to me! Blizzard will try to mimic me all the time and if I am talking directly to Blizzard, Blizzard will chirp happily back but Beau remains quiet and pensive...........

I wouldn't worry so much...you will have seen that the forum is full of birds with different personalities, including lots who don't like being touched. Beau clearly has accepted you and trusts you, using you as a perch and following you around, and that's something to cherish IMO. It just sounds like he's not as good as Blizzard at expressing this!

I wonder whether there might be other ways to think about Beau's behaviour, other than wondering whether he "hates" you? Might you be reinforcing the ear-biting by telling Beau to stop? Parrots aren't good at telling the difference between positive and negative attention, so if it elicits a dramatic reaction from you, he might think it's a fun game. The same with the clothes-biting - maybe Beau is trying to groom you, or just finding a parroty way of keeping himself busy. You might decide that this actually an ok way for you guys to hang out together - my sun conure is a compulsive shirt-shredder, so I keep a supply of bird-shirts from the second-hand shop that he can happily destroy. Not sure about the growling...this seems strange when he seems happy to interact with you in so many other ways.

I think you've made the right decision not to risk the hiking situation again. The trauma of an escape isn't worth it, for you or the bird. I still get shaky when I think about the time one of my previous birds escaped, and two people risked life and limb trying to get him back. There was also a tragic news story a while back, of a man who actually died falling out of a tree while trying to retrieve an escaped cockatoo! I think you can offer your birds a safe, happy and hopefully long life without this kind of risk.

Good luck, and don't give up on your little wild child...

Like Jen said, all IRN's have individual personalities. My hen is a blabber mouth. She never stops talking. She loves to be scratched, pet, cuddled. I can handle her in any way. She's on me all of the time. My male is quiet and pensive. Only talks when he's sleepy. Doesn't like his head to be touched. And he decides when to land on me. My hen isn't an ear biter, my male likes to nibble. The only solution is to not allow him on your shoulder. As for the shirt biting, I've had many birds do this including my male. Other than just the second hand shirts you can also make bird necklaces. I have ones for each of my birds. It's basically a necklace made of wooden beads, acrylic shapes, leather pieces, abc blocks, and assorted colored wood shapes for the birds to chew on as an alternative to you or your clothing. Subconsciously you most likely prefer blizzards personality over Beaus personality and it shows in you're handling of them. If you're giving off any negative vibes while handling beau he will be able to feel that and he may be reacting to it. Try to stay neutral even though you're frustrated. Blizzard may be your favorite now, but if blizzard is a female, she most likely will be frustrating you in the next 6 months also with her breeding behaviors.