age & gender of Indian Ringneck

[fiko]

really interesting birds. It doesn't come to my finger in the cage, it even tries to bite me, but when I put it on the outer perch, it comes to my finger and makes it stroked. I guess it will take time to understand it.

nowadays he is always standing on the curtain and trying to gnaw it. I guess we'll be without a curtain soon. maybe he wants to go outside because he sees outside.

as a result I think it will take a long time to get the parrot used to the environment and ourselves.

[Pajarita]

The best and fastest way to get a bird used to a new environment and people is to be SUPER consistent in its daily routine. Do the same exact thing every single day at exactly the same time of the day and the bird will get used to its new home in a couple of weeks. And do not put your hand inside his cage unless you have to clean it. The bird should come out of its cage on its own.

And, yes, on the imminent destruction of your curtains. Welcome to the wonderful world of parrot keeping where the house looks like a mob of moth/termite hybrids ate parts of it! But you can always put something right on top of where he chews - like a magazine, for example. The thing about the spots that they try to chew is that they kind of obsess about chewing always the same spot but, as time goes by, they switch and start chewing somewhere else so, if every time he starts on a new spot, you provide an alternative for him to chew, you will be able to 'save' your furnishings - not 100%, mind you, but they will last longer.

[fiko]

hello, my Ringneck is still so quiet. I know that it can make sounds and make various crowing even if he is female. I sometimes listen to music, constantly call and talk to him. When do you think the chirps start ?

[Pajarita]

My dear, please do not take this the wrong way but you are way too impatient and, with parrots, impatience is very much the wrong way to go. Parrots take a looooong time to do anything and trying to speed things up with them is always counterproductive. Parrots are usually quiet for two reasons:

1) it's the middle of the day and they are content, fed, feel safe and are taking their noon rest

2) or don't feel safe. Parrots are prey animals and all prey animals are born with the knowledge that sound gives them away so, when they are not completely comfortable in their environment, they do not make a peep.

Your parrot has not been with you long enough to feel safe and comfortable and, to make matters worse, you were trying to make him interact with you and intruded (putting your hand in the cage, etc) in his space when you should have ignored him so the 'feel safe' process will take a longer than it would have taken if you had simply let the bird be for a few weeks. I am not scolding you or criticizing you (I know that you did not know any better and had only good intentions), I am simply stating a fact.

Please, lower your expectations because the ONLY way you will achieve a good relationship with any parrot is for you to accept the bird as it is at any point in time so, if the bird talks, great, if it doesn't, great too. If it vocalizes, good, if it doesn't, give it time. If it steps up to your hand, great, if it doesn't, try a stick and, if that doesn't work, teach it to go back into its cage on its own. Parrots are not really pets, you know? they are companions, same as a person can be a companion, and, just like people, they need to be respected and accepted for what they are and not try to change them into something they are not. Puppies respond immediately to any loving human, kittens take a few days to a week and parrots take a couple of months to accept you and two whole years before they actually feel 100% in their new home so arm yourself of patience because you have a parrot and not a puppy or a kitten.

[fiko]

copy that, thank you for you all comments. I will share the progress here

[DancingDiva]

My dear, please do not take this the wrong way but you are way too impatient and, with parrots, impatience is very much the wrong way to go. Parrots take a looooong time to do anything and trying to speed things up with them is always counterproductive. Parrots are usually quiet for two reasons:

1) it's the middle of the day and they are content, fed, feel safe and are taking their noon rest

2) or don't feel safe. Parrots are prey animals and all prey animals are born with the knowledge that sound gives them away so, when they are not completely comfortable in their environment, they do not make a peep.

Your parrot has not been with you long enough to feel safe and comfortable and, to make matters worse, you were trying to make him interact with you and intruded (putting your hand in the cage, etc) in his space when you should have ignored him so the 'feel safe' process will take a longer than it would have taken if you had simply let the bird be for a few weeks. I am not scolding you or criticizing you (I know that you did not know any better and had only good intentions), I am simply stating a fact.

Please, lower your expectations because the ONLY way you will achieve a good relationship with any parrot is for you to accept the bird as it is at any point in time so, if the bird talks, great, if it doesn't, great too. If it vocalizes, good, if it doesn't, give it time. If it steps up to your hand, great, if it doesn't, try a stick and, if that doesn't work, teach it to go back into its cage on its own. Parrots are not really pets, you know? they are companions, same as a person can be a companion, and, just like people, they need to be respected and accepted for what they are and not try to change them into something they are not. Puppies respond immediately to any loving human, kittens take a few days to a week and parrots take a couple of months to accept you and two whole years before they actually feel 100% in their new home so arm yourself of patience because you have a parrot and not a puppy or a kitten.

This all of this. Even cats can take up to a year to fully integrate into a new home. In the past I have had birds that LOVED people and wanted to be pet, and played with all the time. I've also fostered formally feral birds that just liked being left to their own devices while they played and did bird things. In both cases I had happy, healthy birds. My current bird (she was my first 'rescue' bird) taught me that it is the bird that should define the boundaries of your relationship, and that what she finds to be a happy, fulfilling life looks so different from what you would expect. I have had her over ten years, and I am still learning her limits/boundaries.

[fiko]

Hello,
by the way Should I get the parrot to listen to various songs or would it be better to listen to similar parrot chirps ?

[Pajarita]

I don't really know the answer to that question. I don't put birds chirping for them although I would assume that if you have only one bird and have audio of birds of the same species vocalizing, it would offer a small measure of comfort to the lone bird. But I do have the radio on a soft, classic rock station on for them (at a low volume because parrots would vocalize louder than whatever 'noise' is on at the time and you don't want them to get used to screaming all the time). Actually, what I do is put my CDs on until I let them all out after eating their breakfast then I turn on the radio and turn it off when the lights come off - and, after that, there is complete silence from them. I don't know about all of them but there are a couple that really like to listen to music... Mami Amazon asks for music to be put on early in the am (she goes: "Tra la la? Tra la la?"), she also likes to sing along with me (not really sing because she doesn't say the words to the songs but she loudly goes "TRA LA LA LAAAAA" in a completely tone-deaf manner -just like me ). She also has marked preferences about the kind of music, she loves tangos and country music, especially if the singer is a woman, but she is now getting into some old Joan Manuel Serrat's (70-80's singer from Spain) songs (I got new CDs for Christmas from my husband and I've been listening to them every morning). And Linus Too asks me to sing 'his' song to him by going 'Ahhh ahhh ahhh ahhh' in a singsong while swinging his head from one side to the other to the rhythm of his song (it's a very old Spanish children song).

[fiko]

hello, I want to share joyful situation .my IRN start to come to my finger. And sometimes I am feeding in my hand. but it is still quiet ) here below updated photo.

[Pajarita]

YAAAAYYYY! Congrats!!! Now, you need to change the dowel on the stand - for one thing, it's way too big for an IRN's feet (the ideal diameter is one that allows the foot to go 3/4 of the way around) and a dowel (no dowels, not ever, only natural branches or some other sort of perch that is uneven in its diameter). And the toy is no good for an IRN - they don't really chew on wood, they have soft beaks (these birds are almost completely frugivore so their beaks are not made to chew on hard materials). Try toys made out of balsa wood, cork, dried yucca (they LOVE the kabobs!), woven grasses, cardboard, etc.