IndianRingNeck.com

Hello everyone! So glad to have found you!

My name is Jamie and I have just adopted my sisters IRN, which she adopted through the vet she worked at. She's had him for quite a few years now, I'm not exactly sure how many. His name is Dorsey.

I was nervous because I haven't seen him out of his cage, so I wasn't expecting him to be very social. But he's very comfortable here and started eating the very next morning. He seems to love grapes, but not carrots. He's very noisy in the evening. When he's jabbering away I'll go over and talk to him (not sure if I should, but I can't help it!). He shies away from me when I'm over at his cage, but he's not afraid and doesn't go crazy.

Right now he's hanging upside down trying to reach something at the bottom of his cage. He's hilarious.

I'm able to put my hands inside the cage to clean it, I move slowly. And I can clean the outside of the cage without any fuss from him. He takes grapes from me with no hesitation. But he is a little shy when I don't have food in my hand and am holding my finger out to him.

I'm really looking forward to having a new feathered friend again! I had an "evil" budgie a long, long time ago that was given to me by a college professor because the bird hated everyone. But after a few months the budgie would sit on my head and groom my hair, and would follow me around the house, and sit on the back of the kitchen chair when I sat at the table. So I'm excited to have Dorsey! I can't wait until he's comfortable with me and will come out of the cage and play!

Welcome and congratulations on your new bird!

I'd suggest giving him some more time before you stick your finger at him without food. If you want to be sneaky, maybe you can hold that grape in such a way that he might choose to step on your arm to get to it. And if he's leery when you approach the cage, again, bring food. You can cut a grape into quarters easily, and if you're ambitious, you could try even smaller or just try apple.

I just had an experience tonight that I imagine might have left me feeling rather like Dorsey or countless other birds who are offered a finger before they're ready.... Let me set the scene: I went to the pool hall and happened to see a guy I had met there last month. We had talked and exchanged numbers and tried to meet there again, but failed, a few weeks ago (there was a giant storm). Tonight I was there with a friend and saw this guy was there, too, so when my friend left, I went over to say hi before I went home. We exchanged a few words and I when I said I was leaving he went to hug me goodbye. I don't hug strangers. I'm not comfortable with it. That was my Dorsey moment.

Now, I'm a human, so my thoughts are probably more complex than Dorsey's, but I faced the same choices: Flee, comply, or bite. Now, he was with his friends and I didn't want to embarrass him, so I offered weak compliance with a complaint ("Hugs for Strangers??") and left it at that. If we had been alone I would have stepped back, which is what I think Dorsey is doing, maybe? If I had not been interested in cultivating a friendship, I would have chosen to bite, or, since I'm human, probably said "Dude, I'm not gonna hug you."

In all honestly, I could probably happily hug this man, once we know each other better, and I think the same sort of thing is probably true for Dorsey. I provide my anecdote as food for thought.

Thank you for the nice welcome!

I am giving Dorsey plenty of space, and waiting for him to let me know when he's ready. I only put my finger to the cage to gauge when that is. I'm just glad that he doesn't get upset when I'm near him. And he has no trouble coming to me to get his treats. So that's a good sign!

I have a lot to learn about him. Like...is he normally going to be so loud in the evening, or is he asking for treats or attention? Yesterday evening he was being particularly loud so I sat next to him and talked to him. And when I'd leave he'd start up again. I finally gave him a treat. I don't want to train him to "misbehave" by squawking for treats. But if that's normal to be so vocal in the evening, I'm okay with that.

Lots of reading to do. And I see plenty of information on the forums for me to read!