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[Toggsy]

Hi
I'm new here I've just acquired a pair of Indian Ringnecks (about 3 weeks) and I need help in hand taming them.
As I'm aware rewarding them with treats and food will help in taming them however both my birds were parent raised rather than hand fed so are very fearful of hands so at this point this is not an option I can use even when trying to offer through the bars of their cage they panic and rush to the back of the cage.
In the short time I have had them i have had some sucesss in that I have have been able to teach them to step up on to a wooden perch on command so getting them in and out of their cage is straight forward in that respect.
Any pointers on getting them used to hands we told they were 9mths old when we bought them.

Thanks in advance
Nick

[Wolf]

I would think that the first thing would be to spend lots of time hanging out where they can see and hear you as this will help them to get accustomed to your presence as well as to the sound of your voice and although they may not take a treat from you directly in these early stages you can put the treat in the cage making sure that they see you do this and leave it for them. This will plant the idea in their brains that you are the bringer of good things. It is important that once you offer a treat that you do not take it back you must leave it for them. So offer the treat from your fingers through the bars and leave it if they don't take it they will eventually try to take it from you it just takes time. The more time you spend talking and singing to them as well as telling them what great birds they are and just hanging out with them the better. They don't just give their trust you have to show them that you are worthy of it.

[Toggsy]

I've just built this stand for them to use which I've placed by where we sit to start with very wary but now they love it.

[Wolf]

Might I suggest that you cut several scallops in the dowel used as a perch to make it more foot friendly or even replace it with a bark covered piece of branch with a couple of smaller branches coming of it. It would need to be from an untreated bird safe tree or bush or maybe a vine. I am partial to lilac and grape vines for this purpose.

[Toggsy]

It's all safe wood and also untreated wood.
Good point raised with the scallops required in the perch having watched them on it I wanted tweak it a little by adding 2 additional perches by the treat dishes and also add some struts at the base of it.
Had a real good training session with them last night the cock bird is coming along really well far more confident than the hen think she just needs a little more time to adjust, he is responding really well to the training so I'm hoping his confidence will rub off on the hen.

[Wolf]

I am sure that as she relaxes and sees him getting the treats and such that she will make a sudden improvement as one of their primary ways of learning is by watching other birds.

[Pajarita]

Would you be kind enough to give us a bit of background info on them? Like, are they 3 years old or are they babies that have been DNA'd male and female? If they are 3 years old, are they mate-bonded? Who owned them before? Are they related? Diet? That kind of thing...

[Wolf]

I believe that he said they were 9 months old when he bought them and that was 3 weeks ago so that would be close to 10 months now..

[Toggsy]

I was told they were 9mths old and they were male and female the supplier I got them from is well known and highly respected in the regional area.
The supplier also sponsors several large shows I've also purchased birds from him before so I trust his information.
Diet wise they are feed a large parakeet seed mix with is supplemented with fresh fruit and veg daily I try to give them a varied diet although they love grapes and apples.
I also give them dried fruit raisins, bananas monkey nuts and dried meal worms as a treat but these are given in very small amounts.
Both are also flighted did consider clipping but after veterinarian advice decided not to have it done as I didn't want risk future behaviour issues

[Wolf]

According to my research you can visually sex your IRN after they reach the age of two or three years but not before as it takes that long for them to develop their final coloring including the neck rings. Prior to this it takes a DNA test to determine their sex. Now I don't know enough about the color mutations to know which are sex linked or not or if they have developed those in the IRN yet, but those would be the only ones that you may be able to visually sex before maturity.
I would look into changing their diet to include nuts and perhaps a food such as gloop found in the nutrition, diet and health section of this forum as it has whole grains, vegetables and legumes as well as perhaps adding a few tree nuts in a well, in addition to a good seed mix for dinner. I am not much on pellets and do not feed them to my birds.