Two baby IRNs and taming

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Diplodocus
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2015 11:33 am

Two baby IRNs and taming

Post by Diplodocus »

Hi all,

After 2 years of researching (and practicing with budgies!) me and my girlfriend purchased 2 IRNs (4 months old). The breeder had told us that to tame them we should split them up permanently for a few months, in essence to force a bond between us and them as they would have no other company.

Anyhow, so that too much doesn't change in a short space of time, we have kept them together for a week now so that they settle in to their new home in their own time, but now it's time for training/taming and I feel bad in splitting them up.

What are other people's thoughts on this?
InTheAir
Posts: 2040
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:24 pm

Re: Two baby IRNs and taming

Post by InTheAir »

Hi,

Congrats on your new birds.
I think keeping them together is more humane.
A bond can be built by the birds learning that you are predictable, won't force them to do anything and bring them yummy goodies. I haven't tried it with a pair, but that's what I'd be doing.

You can also use your budgies to model the behaviour you'd like to see from your ringnecks, if your budgies are take.


Here are 2 of my favourite resources:
http://learningparrots.com/blog/trainin ... ing-trust/

http://learningparrots.com/blog/trainin ... l-parrots/

Indian ringnecks do tend to be quite nervous and appear to be rather hard to make friends with, from what I have read on forums. My aviary raised girl was stepping up within a couple weeks after following the advice of the above links, but she was handled regularly as a neonate.

I think it is really important to have realistic expectations of your ringnecks, they might never be clingy shoulder-riding birds like hand raised birds can be. Are you okay with appreciating them for themselves? Even if you split them up, you may not be able to force them to be your dream birds.
I have seen many disappointed posts from people who get a ringneck and find it is not cuddly or friendly. It makes me think that the best way to be happy and have a good relationship with a ringneck is to accept it for what it is, and not expect it to be anything else.

Most breeders I've met tend to follow pretty old fashioned techniques in bird handling, like the one you met. It is lucky they aren't relationship coaches. If I met a really cute guy, do you think if I lock him in solitary confinement for a few weeks I'll be able to force him to bond with me? :mrgreen:
MissK
Posts: 3011
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:46 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: Two baby IRNs and taming

Post by MissK »

I think InTheAir makes an excellent point about expectations.

Do you really need your birds to bond most strongly with you, or are you content to just be in their lives, as it were? I have a pair of male Lineolated parakeets, and I am CLEARLY them third wheel there, but I'm OK with it, as I feel it is good and proper they should bond first with each other.

Understanding, too, in big, bold letters, that dogs are domesticated and Not Parrots. I had lots of advice in adopting my now elderly sister dogs. I was told the bond would be compromised, etc, but no. Not at all. And I have a (originally) VERY untame IRN who I housed for quite some time, after nearly a year apart, with my mostly tame IRN, He continues to become more like tame. Really, if this advice that you have to split them to really tame them were true, Sinbad would still be a hot mess around me. But he's not. In fact, and I'm realizing this for the first time RIGHT now, under the influence of a half a bottle of wine, he is adapting to strange holiday houseguests wandering into the room with amazing grace, considering what he's capable of.

And, now that I'm thinking on it, I think he had done wonderfully well, improving after his cage location was recently changed. For anybody reading, for what it's worth, I moved him from a very open area (living room/entry) to a very secluded area (back bedroom, shared with dogs) and I believe his comfort level has skyrocketed. So THAT'S worth thinking about.

Bottom line, my wine-soaked gut says letting them be together will not make taming them impossible, and bonding of some degree is going to probably happen if you're decent to them. Will you be primo-#1 most important? No. But that's not appropriate anyway. so why shoot for it?
-MissK
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