Bitting ringneck

[kiaora]

So we got a new lacewing ringneck (about 10 weeks old) about 2 weeks ago and everything was going great.

In the beginning she would let us handle her no problems, she would step up and was easy to handle. now all of a sudden she goes bonkers when you try and get her to step up. she will in time step up but not without biting the hell out of you.

We also have a male ringneck that is aviary bred in a separate cage, we introduced them through the cages for a few minutes the other day could this be the cause?

Long story short how can we get it so she doesn't bite all the time? she is handled every day for a few hours.

cheers

[Chantilly]

Hi!
Having read people discuss this on the forum before, your ringneck was in a 'honeymoon phase' when you first got her. So at first she was being all sweet and lovely and now she is back to her normal grumpy self. Intrudicing her to the male may have triggered something and made her revert to being aggressive faster than she originaly would have, but still it was going to happen.
Dont force her to step up. If she is biting you, she is trying to tell you 'NO! i dont want to!'
Were I you I would just interact from a distance/ start over with her. If she dosnt want to step up or be touched or even come out of the cage dont make her. Sing to her and talk to her and just interact vocally. Seeing as she is only young you can definately still gain her trust and love, but let her decide when she is read for the next step. If you force her now you could easily end up with forever agressive bird. A ringnecks bond can easily break so you have to be careful and gentle and kind.
The others will be able to give you more advice and there opponion.
I wish the best for you and your birdie!!!!

[Wolf]

Offhand, I would say that the whole problem is that you may have pushed too fast and the bird does not trust you. Irn's are like other parrots in that they are very flock oriented, making a move to a strange new environment all alone a terrifying experience for them. They also usually don't know you and don't have any good reason to trust you at this time either, although they are aware that the need and must depend on you. And since they do not bond as tightly as other species of parrots to humans, they adopt or revert to their instinctive wild behaviors much quicker and more easily than many of the other species of parrots. This can make balancing out early interaction and allowing them the chance to get accustomed to your presence and your sounds a little bit ticky. During these early times as well as later on you need to learn about their body language as well as trying to understand what they mean with the sounds they make not just to avoid getting bitten but to show them that you are listening to them as this is a very big part of winning their trust. This is a time when not only do you need to spend long hours talking and singing and praising them and enticing them to come to you through the judicious use of treats, which you never take back once offered, it is also a time when you need to be very observant of them, their sounds as well as their movements and posture and the positioning of their feathers as these are the birds methods of communication with you and its own kind.
Irn's, Alexandrines, and other related species of parrots are not the easiest of parrots to build and maintain a good relationship with, they usually do better with a more experienced caregiver than some of the other species of parrots. While, just like the other parrots, you must wait and allow the bird to come to you it is also imperative that you patiently and consistently encourage it to do so if you are to gain its trust and build a good relationship together. You must coax the bird and allow it to come to you and you should not insist or be pushy in trying to teach this bird as you will only lose its trust if you don't allow this and/ or push too much. Try to always look at things from the bird's perspective as a flock oriented prey species instead of your own more independent and familiar predatory manner.
I hope that you find this helpful as well as useful. If not then please give us more details and ask as many question as you want to.

[Pajarita]

No, it's adults that usually go through the honeymoon stage, babies that were treated with love since birth are usually very agreeable to any human UNLESS they feel threatened which could be the reason why the baby is now biting. The threat could have been either not handling the baby right or not handling it enough but it was made worse by your putting a baby in an adult male's 'face'. Please don't take this wrong way, I am not scolding you as I am sure you though you were doing the birds a favor but that is a HUGE No No No when it comes to parrots. Unrelated adults and babies or even juveniles simply don't 'go together'.

Are you handfeeding the baby and offering warm, soft foods served fresh twice a day? Because babies don't only need the 'baby food' and extra nutrition but it's also a fabulous way for you to bond with it. A baby that is not offered baby food or treated like a baby will feel so vulnerable that would try to 'defend' itself... I am not saying this is the case, I am just throwing possible reasons for the change in attitude.

[Wolf]

I read it that the male is in a separate cage from the young bird and that they were introduced for a few minutes by placing the young ones cage next to the males cage or that it was just the baby that was taken and shown to the male through the cage bars. Not that the baby one was put into the cage with the male.

[Chantilly]

No, it's adults that usually go through the honeymoon stage.

Ah, ok my mistake.. well Im learning

[Pajarita]

I read it that the male is in a separate cage from the young bird and that they were introduced for a few minutes by placing the young ones cage next to the males cage or that it was just the baby that was taken and shown to the male through the cage bars. Not that the baby one was put into the cage with the male.

I didn't say they put it in the adult's male 'cage', I said they put it in the adult's male 'face' as in taking the baby and placing it facing the adult male real close which could be really scary for a baby. Babies don't usually interact with strange adult males until they are much older themselves.

[Wolf]

That is true as far as I know. I was not sure what you meant by in his face and was just hoping to get it clarified, which you did, wonderfully. Thank you.

[seagoatdeb]

No, it's adults that usually go through the honeymoon stage.

Ah, ok my mistake.. well Im learning

Babies can go through a honeymoon phase too. It depends on who bred them, if they were shipped in between, etc. etc. But they do at times.

[seagoatdeb]

So we got a new lacewing ringneck (about 10 weeks old) about 2 weeks ago and everything was going great.

In the beginning she would let us handle her no problems, she would step up and was easy to handle. now all of a sudden she goes bonkers when you try and get her to step up. she will in time step up but not without biting the hell out of you.

We also have a male ringneck that is aviary bred in a separate cage, we introduced them through the cages for a few minutes the other day could this be the cause?

Long story short how can we get it so she doesn't bite all the time? she is handled every day for a few hours.

cheers

She is a baby and is now going through the first "testing phase" Ignore the bites as best you can and dont reward them. As an example I have a baby Meyers. He was shipped across the country and then rehomed twice. When I got him he was fairly wild but became tame fairly quickly, Then he did the first testing. It was only me he bit, but it was only me he would step up on at all. We would be getting along great and then he would just bite me for no reason. He also bit me when I returned him to the cage at night. I showed no reaction, when he bit me when returning him to the cage and returned him anyway. When he bit me for no reason, I would just ignore it. Darn these Pois have sharp beaks. I began to teach him what was nice touch with his beak and what was too hard. Now I say too hard, for painfull contact and nice kiss for gentle contact. Within a couple weeks, the testing phase was over and he bonded to me and there is no biting anymore.

The next testing phase usually comes around the time they go through their juvenille moult. They want to see what they can get away with now. Now he is being stubborn about what he is allowed to do, but he does not bite anymore at all, so his juvenille stage is a nice transition in that way. He thinks he can just fly away when he needs to go back in the cage. I am persistent and he is learning I will eventually get him back in. He gets a treat when he goes in right away, either I say Good bird or give a favorite food.