IRN not liking my hands

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nadz12
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2016 7:40 pm

IRN not liking my hands

Post by nadz12 »

HI I have a new 4 month old indian ringneck. I am new to this and owning IRN. I got him off a couple who had previously bought him off a breeder. Hes pretty friendly but I am having major problems with getting him out of his cage, we have transferred him into a new big cage as his other one was quite little and hes loving it. He has major problems with hands trying to get him out of cage he just runs away and trys to get away and will eventually get on my hand and then he is quite happy you can pat him cuddle him he sits on my head while im walking around but then to get him again he bolts as soon as my hands go near him to get him back onto myself or to put him away..... any help would be great :)
MissK
Posts: 3011
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:46 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: IRN not liking my hands

Post by MissK »

Hey, #1 advice is don't chase him with your hand. Hold great treats and l;et him come to you. Be patient. try as many times as need be.
-MissK
nadz12
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2016 7:40 pm

Re: IRN not liking my hands

Post by nadz12 »

MissK wrote:Hey, #1 advice is don't chase him with your hand. Hold great treats and l;et him come to you. Be patient. try as many times as need be.
Thank you I have noticed he looks a bit panicked when I go to the cage now:( Just thought weird as when hes out hes happy as can pat him hold hin etc just not good at coming to hand. I have bn feeding him apple watermelon etc So shall i just give them to him now as treats?? to get him to come to me??
InTheAir
Posts: 2040
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:24 pm

Re: IRN not liking my hands

Post by InTheAir »

nadz12 wrote:
MissK wrote:Hey, #1 advice is don't chase him with your hand. Hold great treats and l;et him come to you. Be patient. try as many times as need be.
Thank you I have noticed he looks a bit panicked when I go to the cage now:( Just thought weird as when hes out hes happy as can pat him hold hin etc just not good at coming to hand. I have bn feeding him apple watermelon etc So shall i just give them to him now as treats?? to get him to come to me??
Yes. Then you can start offering him treats to put a foot on your hand, then 2 feet. Also try letting him come out on his own if he doesn't want a lift.
sanjays mummi
Posts: 2050
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:07 pm
Location: Bedfordshire UK

Re: IRN not liking my hands

Post by sanjays mummi »

I was talking to a lady from my local parrot society, and when I told her Sanjay detests hands, she said it is because he'd been grabbed at some stage, this makes perfect sense to me, dogs become "hand shy" for exactly the same reason.
InTheAir
Posts: 2040
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:24 pm

Re: IRN not liking my hands

Post by InTheAir »

sanjays mummi wrote:I was talking to a lady from my local parrot society, and when I told her Sanjay detests hands, she said it is because he'd been grabbed at some stage, this makes perfect sense to me, dogs become "hand shy" for exactly the same reason.
It doesn't necessarily have to be being grabbed. If hands bring more negative experiences than positive or are unpredictable to the bird, that can be enough. Both my birds have been grabbed a couple times, but aren't hand shy with us. This is because all the experiences they have found hands rewarding outweigh the few emergency situations that they did not like. Susan Friedman and Steve Martin have both written about the concept of a "trust account" with your parrot, interesting stuff.
nadz12
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2016 7:40 pm

Re: IRN not liking my hands

Post by nadz12 »

Ok so we have not really got anywhere at all with this hands things he hates hands now he has got to the point he puffs up his eyes turn white and he lunges. I am training him to come out of his cage to get his food then we can shut the door so he can hang out as once he is out he is fine still not liking hands but hangs out with us and the kids and sits on our heads just chills out but as soon as the hands go near him he just refuses to go anywhere near them we have to put our heads next to him so he will climb on our heads. HOw can I train him out of this so he can trust our hands again???? I was thinking take his food out of the cage and feed him by hand but we do that now an its ok he knows he can get away with eating food out of our hands but as soon as no food he gets all towey..... Im stuck????
Tully
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Mar 25, 2016 2:28 am

Re: IRN not liking my hands

Post by Tully »

I'm also interested in the outcome and advice as Tully hates hands also, we can get him out of the cage but cannot stroke or pat him which is such a shame he loves kisses and faces just not hands oh and he could be a she :roll:
sanjays mummi
Posts: 2050
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:07 pm
Location: Bedfordshire UK

Re: IRN not liking my hands

Post by sanjays mummi »

Goodness! That could've been written by me! ^#(^
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