Hi from confused bird rescuer

[Jenny R]

Hi, I am Jenny from North QLD Australia.

I have just adopted an IRN. She is around 2 yrs old, hand raised and then started biting so was kept in a cage 95cm(37in) wide, by 1m (39in)tall, 58cm deep(23in).

As far as i know she has not been handled for a long time. She was yelled at when people walked by and fed seed and a small bowl of apple, carrot and celery daily. When i first saw her she would squawk and flap her wings and hide in her seed bowl when anyone came near. She would throw her food at you when you fed her.

I have never been keen on keeping birds in cages but felt so sorry for her I offered to adopt her, now she is a changed bird after 3 weeks.

Thanks to your web site i have provided her with a new diet that she loves- no more throwing food. I do give her treats of popcorn and crunchy nut cornflakes which she will take from my hand through the wire. I no longer see her afraid, in fact she is very curious of everything around her and comes up to us to talk. I don't want to try to handle her, I would be very happy to just have her interact with us through the cage and ensure i provide her with a good life.

Her cage only had dowel perches all of the same size and she seemed to have foot problems, she has new perches of drift wood added to her cage and now she uses them more her feet look better. I give her fresh hibiscus branches and flowers each day and they seem to keep her occupied chewing. She seems much haoppier than before but I want to look after her as best I can, so I have some questions.

If i am not going to handle her out of the cage,
1/ would she be happier if i got her another bird for company? I don't want to breed so what type of bird would i house with her and how would i introduce them?
2/What sort of cage should we build for her ( my husband is good at building). I could build a large cage which would allow room to fly and be big enough for 2 birds but it would be away from the main traffic area of the house. I could build a smaller cage that would still be at least 4 times bigger than what she is currently in at the front entrance of the house where she would see lots of people and where we sit outdoors, she would not be able to fly but would have lots of climbing room and more company.

I hope someone can help me with suggestions. Princess Papadam is fast winning the hearts of dog lovers who never thought they would ever keep birds.

Cheers
Jenny

[Lolly]

Personally I wouldnt get another ringneck untill you can handle this one .
Yes it is possible
We got one in bad shape and just for the first 3 months talked and played with her from the cage .
After that I let my daughter start bringing her out ...supervised so I could talk her through it ...we had her wings clipped so she could be mannaged better .
The bird will bite and that needs to be corrected with grasping the beak (not hard ) and saying no biting .
but leave the cage open and dont put your arm in let the bird come to you .
takes time but you can do it ..took 2 years and my daughter has trained the bird perfectly and never bites her .
The birds have full roam of her bedroom and all her toys so they are happy .
Good luck