Help!

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luna01
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2014 11:39 pm

Help!

Post by luna01 »

I have an Indian Ringneck that is almost a year old, I got him as hand-reared baby so he has been with me for quite a while. He is usually so sweet and loving towards me, but now he has started to get very angry with me. I spend as much time as I can with him, but it has been hard because of school work lately. I still go and get him out of his cage almost everyday and I give him fruit and fresh seed/water everyday. The other night I was playing with him and he came and sat up on my shoulder, within a few seconds he got very angry and bit my lip as hard as he could, he has also just gotten out of the biting stage, so this makes no sense. He has never done anything like this towards me before. Everytime I go up to his cage and give him a treat or something, he goes to attack me. I dont understand why he is like this because I give him alot of attention. I have only ever been very gentle with him so I am really confused at why he has now started to not let me hold/pet him. He does puff up alot, but I leave him when he does that because I know that means he doesnt want to be touched. Please help! I want my bestfriend back!! (By the way his name is Luna).
Wessel Gordon
Posts: 408
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2011 12:02 pm
Location: South Africa
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Re: Help!

Post by Wessel Gordon »

He might be going through the bluffing stage, which is the IRN equivalent of teenage hormones (since it sounds like you're still in school I'm sure you're very familiar with that).

Your best course of action is to not react to a bite. I know an IRN bite is incredibly painful and it's impossible not to react instinctively but if you do react he might see it as a game ("wow...I got a reaction, let me do it again") and you run the risk of him doing it well past his hormonal stage.

Since you've had him for so long I'm sure you can predict what mood he's in but be extra vigilant while he goes through it. There's usually a small clue such as puffing up of the feathers or pinning of the eyes or something such as "charging" at you with an open beak...if you see any of those signs (even if it lasts for a second or two) do not handle him at that moment. Rather put his favorite treat in his foodbowl and walk away then try again in a few minutes.

If all goes well you will have your sweet bird back in a few weeks.
luna01
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2014 11:39 pm

Re: Help!

Post by luna01 »

Haha yes I know exactly how he feels in that reguard. He has started pinning his eyes alot lately, so I will try with the treats a bit more and see how he goes. See I'm not the best with pain but when he does bite I try to not react to much. Hopefully I will get him back to normal soon. Thank you for your help!
ellieelectrons
Posts: 2708
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:17 am
Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Re: Help!

Post by ellieelectrons »

My views on biting have changed over the years. I'm no longer of the opinion to ignore it and let your bird keep biting you. I'm not saying it couldn't work but I'd prefer something else. I'd prefer to try for deeper understanding and communication between the bird and the human. Bites are one way that birds can communicate what they like and don't like. I went through something similar to what you described with my girl Janey at about that age. To me, it looked like she'd changed her personality completely over night and was shocked. As birds grow up, they want to have more control over their environment and how they are treated, so things that they may not have liked but "put up with" when they were babies, they want to try to show you they don't like them when they are older.

Certainly if you do get bitten, try not to make a song and dance about it just put your bird down quietly and don't interact with him for a bit. Think about what happened in the lead up to the bite so that you can try to figure out what caused it. It's not necessarily something you did, maybe something changed in the environment (someone new walked into the room, a cupboard door opened, a scary object came into view).

The best way to deal with biting is to avoid being bit in the first place and that's what we're aiming for with this method of approaching biting. It also helps develop communication and understanding of your bird.

Some articles that I've found useful:
http://goodbirdinc.blogspot.com.au/2012 ... -bite.html
http://www.behaviorworks.org/htm/articl ... files.html (look at the articles on biting)

Another tool that I've found useful to reduce biting is foraging. You'll find more on that here:
http://www.indianringneck.com/forum/vie ... 01&p=69400
http://www.indianringneck.com/forum/vie ... =4&t=13466
http://www.parrotenrichment.com/ - this site has some free ebooks to download

Best wishes.

Ellie.
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