Newbie to Ringnecks
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Newbie to Ringnecks
Hi all, I'm a newbie to ringnecks, but not to parrots - I have a beautiful sun conure named Larrikin and I have owned cockatiels in the past. I don't have a ringneck yet, but soon I believe I will be taking in a blue ringneck female. She has not had the best life so far. Her first (I think) home was with a person who was addicted to drugs and treated her poorly. They gave her up to a friend of mine who is an animal lover but has no experience with birds and wasn't able to connect with her. It doesn't help that he has a lot of other animals that he gives priority to over her, including two dogs that she hates. She is withdrawn and quiet in her current home, and I've talked her current owner into giving her to me. I will have to go slowly, I know, because she is afraid of people. She threatens to bite through the cage but if you open it and ask her to 'step up' she panics and flees around the cage. I am willing to put the time in and go slowly with her to win her trust. I figure that worst case scenario, she will at least be happier here with no large dogs to torment her and another bird to talk to. Any advice is gladly welcome!
Re: Newbie to Ringnecks
take a stroll through the forum .. and do a search for "taming" or "tame".. you'll find a wealth of information about indian ringnecks
You are going to need to keep your distance from this bird for a while...
She needs to see you acting normally while ignoring him... She needs to very simply Observe her environment for a while and not participate in it until it suits her to do so.
Now your greatest challenge is going to be building trust. So.. at first.. let her get used to her new environment for a few days... .. get to know her habits, likes and dislikes (food wise).
Have her cage positioned near your living area (couch, computer chair, whatever) You will want to take that favorite treat and simply hold it through the bars.
Do Not look at or speak to her during this time. Just act normal while holding that treat up. Chances are she will pay attention but she won't come take the treat. But she will remember. And then, the next day do it again. Continue ignoring her. She will be more comfortable if you're not messing with her. Hold the treat in the cage while doing your thing. Eventually .. through many (or few) sessions of this she will eventually come and take the treat from her.
Do NOT deprive her of food for this or it will produce a negative effect in the long run. The treat itself will be motivation enough..... Eventually she'll inch her way down and test drive it. She may touch it without taking it. Once she sees that nothing terrible happened (like you looking at her or reacting in some other way) her confidence will sky rocket. And the seeds of trusting people will have been planted.
She will know that this situation produces her very favorite food.
So ... baby steps... let's get her taking food from your fingers.
You are going to need to keep your distance from this bird for a while...
She needs to see you acting normally while ignoring him... She needs to very simply Observe her environment for a while and not participate in it until it suits her to do so.
Now your greatest challenge is going to be building trust. So.. at first.. let her get used to her new environment for a few days... .. get to know her habits, likes and dislikes (food wise).
Have her cage positioned near your living area (couch, computer chair, whatever) You will want to take that favorite treat and simply hold it through the bars.
Do Not look at or speak to her during this time. Just act normal while holding that treat up. Chances are she will pay attention but she won't come take the treat. But she will remember. And then, the next day do it again. Continue ignoring her. She will be more comfortable if you're not messing with her. Hold the treat in the cage while doing your thing. Eventually .. through many (or few) sessions of this she will eventually come and take the treat from her.
Do NOT deprive her of food for this or it will produce a negative effect in the long run. The treat itself will be motivation enough..... Eventually she'll inch her way down and test drive it. She may touch it without taking it. Once she sees that nothing terrible happened (like you looking at her or reacting in some other way) her confidence will sky rocket. And the seeds of trusting people will have been planted.
She will know that this situation produces her very favorite food.
So ... baby steps... let's get her taking food from your fingers.
Re: Newbie to Ringnecks
I do plan to take it very slowly with her like you described. Luckily I have experience with fearful birds so I'm hoping I get her to come around and trust people. She will accept food from my hand through the cage bars where she lives now, although of course I know that once I move her and change her environment I may have to start from scratch, and I'm okay with that.
Re: Newbie to Ringnecks
keep us updated on the situation... i'm sure there will eventually be an abundance of experienced IRN advice from various people.
Re: Newbie to Ringnecks
I look forward to hearing how it goes with your new charge. I hope you'll give her a nice new name that reflects the new and better life she can expect with you. 
Since you have other birds in the home I can suggest you let them model behaviours for her, even the simplest behaviours such as "letting the human come near" and "take food from the human". My own Ringneck conquered his misgivings about stepping up simply by watching a young Budgie learn to do the same. I am a true believer in Ringnecks learning through observation after that.
Since you have other birds in the home I can suggest you let them model behaviours for her, even the simplest behaviours such as "letting the human come near" and "take food from the human". My own Ringneck conquered his misgivings about stepping up simply by watching a young Budgie learn to do the same. I am a true believer in Ringnecks learning through observation after that.-MissK