IndianRingNeck.com

Hi There,

Just had my first blue indian ringneck female about 7 months old (dont have any history of how she was raised before). I got it about 6 weeks ago. when i first got "Windy" she was too scared and anxious, after little time spending on introducing to the family, she's starting to accept me around her.

First windy has a big enough cage (Aviary type) with a top that you can open and one chewing stand that she loves to stay on most of the time.

The first 2 weeks i got windy, i left the cage top open and also the cage door, since windy's wings has been clipped, she doesn't fly away but she loves to stand on top, gets in when she's hundry, sleeps on the top corner inside.

I believe i am giving her the best treatment i can. respect her space, entertain her as much as i have time (about 1 hour a day) at night i turn off all lights (just keep a little light) or cover most of the cage. Her diet is fruit, i gave her seeds for few days and then stopped as i wanted to use seeds only as a treat and then gave her only fruit (apple most of the time). in regards to seeds, she only eats sunflower even if i give her a variety she will only look for the sunflower and pick from the rest but if she had to, she will eat other stuff.

Windy is still scared inside her cage, she wouldn't let me touch her, as soon as i put my hand inside (which i do veeerrrrrryyy slowly) she starts climbing away where she could just to escape. when i get her eventually to sit on my hand, i take her away from the cage (which i use a wooden tool box as a stand) spend some time with her get her to forget the cage a little bit but there starts the problem.

If windy is next to the cage, she will do anything, even try to fly with causes her to fell off (and i bet you it hurts) and then walk to cage and climb up again.
If i take her to another room, she feels very anxious at first and NEVER accept any treat or even food not from my hand or even on the floor. (by the way windy will eat sunflower or other food from my hand in the cage). after some time even without treat windy will let me touch her on the chest, on the back, i can scratch her neck. but never climb on my hand and i can't get her to learn as she will not accept treats. if i take her back next to the cage, she will try to go back there at any cost.

Another question is: windy uses her beak to climb so even if she want to go on my hand, she will use her beak (not to bite) but to climb (like a third leg) is that normal?
Windy bites only when she's VERY frustrated which i know that NOW IS THE MOMENT.

I am still far away from taming Windy but sort of think am on the right way.

PLEASE all advises are welcomed.

and wish me luck.
Thanks
Michael

Hi Michael

Taming a non-handraised bird can be very difficult. It will take a lot of time and patience. You may find you need to spend more time with her. Is there any way you can do that?

If you can get Windy to be happy on your hand sometimes, you are off to a great start. Well done!

Others who are more experienced will know more about diets but my understanding is that they should have seeds or pellets AND fruit and veges (and not just fruit but veges too). We decided to withdraw sunflower seeds from our IRNs diet and just use them for treats. I went to my local pet store for some advice on this and they said to use budgie seed... which the IRNs are happily eating. I give them daily fruit and veg and either pellets or seed every day. I also give them millet spray some times and try to provide some foraging opportunities for them each day to keep them stimulated.

From your description, Windy obviously feels most safe in her cage which is a good thing because you want her to have a place that she feels safe. Do you interact with her at all when she is on top of the cage? If the cage opens up at the top, does a piece of dowel go in it? Can you work with her there where she feels safe and is near her cage. The first things you do with her may involve taking food from your hand whilst on the top of her cage rather than getting her to step up onto your hand. If the cage is too tall, you could try standing on something so that you are taller than her? Perhaps you could start trying to train her to turn around for a reward. This is a good trick to start with as it doesn't require you to touch the bird to do it. It also provides stimulation for your bird and helps build a trust relationship between you and your bird. You can see a guide on how to do this at:
http://www.parrots.org/pdfs/all_about_p ... %20Cue.pdf
I also purchaesd an introductory video on bird training that I would really recommend. I'm not sure if we are meant to mention commercial products on this site, so please message me if you'd like more information on the video. The video also shows the steps involved in getting a bird that has not been handraised to step up amongst other things. The general philosophy this person uses is about positive reinforcement and letting the bird come to you rather than forcing yourself on it. It is very rewarding when they learn to do things and do them because they want to do it rather than having it forced upon them.

PinkDevil mentioned in another thread that you could try exploiting your bird's natural curiousity by eating a meal in front of Windy when she is out of the cage. This may pique are curiousity and she may come to you to see if she can share your meal.

pres_mr wrote:Another question is: windy uses her beak to climb so even if she want to go on my hand, she will use her beak (not to bite) but to climb (like a third leg) is that normal?
Windy bites only when she's VERY frustrated which i know that NOW IS THE MOMENT.

Yes, that is very normal.

At the moment, biting is probably her only real way to communicate with you so you know that if she bites out of frustration it is time to give her her space (which it sounds like you are doing, which is really good).

Congrats on your progress with Windy. I am sure that if you continue to work at, you will be rewarded.... just takes patience, time and some thought.

Good luck and best wishes.


Ellie.

Hi Ellie,

Thanks for your quick response,
I might find some more time to spend with windy indeed. Also i am thinking to getting a tame male IRN to keep windy company and maybe she will learn from him (Correct me if i am wrong with this).

The cage has a dowel at the top and i do interact with windy when she's in there. I tried to teach windy how to step up on my hand, after she feels comfortable and let me touch her, i try to put my finger just above her legs with a gentle touch on her chest with the verbal work "UP" and a treat in my other hand, she will keep trying to get the treat without going into my hand, if she can't get the treat, she will just lose interest in it. sometimes she takes couple of treats (sunflower) and when i get her to do anything she will just lose interest in them (she will take one piece with her beak and throw it) then i know that she doesn't want to continue and i leave her.

I am only using sunflower for treat as well, i will start from tomorrow offering veges and i am trying to get some millet spray, i might find sometime next to get some.

If the idea about getting a tame male is good, can you recommend a place to buy one? (cheap one)

Also how can i get windy to bond with other people, at the moment she only feel comfortable with me, and if my wife move in the room, she will start jumping in her cage.

Thanks

Hi Michael

Where are you located? I only know breeders and supply stores local to me.

If Sunflower seeds don't work that well perhaps you need try another treat? And you mint need to change between treats. I use granulated nuts (although some trains of thought are that these are not good for the birds but I only give a very small amount). In the mornings I use small bits of banana from my breakfast. It all depends what your bird likes. I don't give them these things at any other time apart from training time. Sometimes they get sick of a particular food and you need to change it up.

In my experience, Bird training takes patience, time and gentleness (although not everyone trains in the same way). If your bird is losing interest then you can reward her sooner for just shaping to do part of the behavior you are trying to train. For example, when trying to train a bird to step up, you might place your hand a little away from her and give her a reward for coming a step towards is (which she does because she is coming forth treat). Gradually move the treat closer and closer to your hand (and this may occur over several training sessions) until she has to put a foot on your hand to be able to get it. This type of training is about not trying to make the bird do anything it doesn't want to do and building trust. You break down the behaviors into smaller steps and work on each step until she is confident with it before proceeding to the next step.

A few other tips just in case they are useful for you:
- make the treats really small so that she doesn't fill up on them too quick
- have a word that you use (we use "good girl") so that they know the precise moment that we liked her behavior. Follow with the reward as quickly as you can


With regards to your wife, you need to get her to interact with your IRN too. Since she is scared of your wife, you start with small approximations eg. Your wife eats breakfast a certain distance from her cage and over the course of days she gradually gets closer.

I use Barbara Heidenrich's training philosophies. Her methods are slow but they offer very little distress to the bird. There are some things I am still having trouble training my birds to do though, so I don't implement it perfectly. I have placed some videos of my birds on the video forum if you want to see the. (apologies for terrible camera work).

Birds will learn from other birds but you can't tell who is going to learn from whom. If you get a male who is younger (which is ideal for bonding him to your family), he may learn from the older bird. Also if you do this there is a chance that they won't bond and you need to think about what you will do if that happens. If you get a hand raised bird, you still need to have the time to interact with it to keep it tame.

Anyway, that's my opinions for what they're worth. Good luck without Windy.

Ellie.

Ellie.