Hi - I have a 15-week old turquoise blue IRN (Petey) who came to me at the age of 5 weeks. When I got Petey I had to hand feed him baby formula several times a day, and he was a real cuddle bug. In fact, the way I got him was that I was in the pet store to buy food for my cockatiel, and Petey climbed up the side of his pen, up my arm, and into my jacket, and there was no way I could leave the store without him. So he and I bonded from the first moment, and I believe we will remain bonded forever. We sleep together, shower together, play together, and eat together, but I have to say that he is no longer a cuddle bug. In fact, he doesn't like having his head or his back touched at all. He growls when I try to do this. But he does love to give me kisses. I kiss his beak and he responds by pushing back and rubbing his face against my lips. in spite of not liking to cuddle, he is attached to me like velcro. He is always on my head, my shoulder, or my hand.
Petey weaned at about 12 weeks, and now he's entered the "bluffing" stage that many parrots, and especially Indian Ringnecks, go through after weaning. It's a time when the young birds seem to become aggressive and nippy, and many bird owners give up at this time thinking that the birds are simply nasty. But that's not the case. It's a stage they need to go through, and it DOES pass. Personally, I think it may be hormonal. Petey can be sitting on my hand as cool as can be, and then all of a sudden he stretches his neck out long, his eyes begin to pin, and he goes into a display of opening his wings and slowly bobby his head, and sometimes regurgitating. Other times he'll be just fine and then suddenly without any warning, begin to growl and pin and lunge at me, biting my fingers. HARD. And then when it's all over he'll cry for me to pick him up and he'll crawl up and go to sleep against my neck, sweet as can be.
This has been going on for about three weeks now. Today, however, it didn't happen, so I'm hoping that he may be beginning to come out of it. The important thing during this period is NOT to allow his apparent aggression to put you off. He needs to be handled and loved just as if it were not happening. Whenever Petey lunges at my fingers, I simply say, "No, no, that's not allowed," and hand him a chew toy, and he promptly transfers his focus to the toy. Then when it's over I hold him and kiss him and tell him how much I love him, and he responds beautifully. If you yell and pull away and make it a big drama, the bird will learn that he can manipulate and control you by biting, and you'll have a problem forever. And if you punish the bird in any way, he'll learn not to trust you. If, however, he sees that nothing changes when he bites, the aggression will eventually die of neglect and when the phase is over he'll go right back to his natural sweetness. It's worth a few bitten fingers, in my opinion.
Another thing to understand about IRNs is that they are very high-energy birds and extremely intelligent, so they need CONSTANT activity and stimulation. An IRN is not a bird that is going to sit quietly on your shoulder while you go about your business. It's just not going to happen. And they're not going to beg for head rubs and cuddles. But they WILL become very bonded and affectionate in their own way if you spend a LOT of time interacting and playing with them, and you'll have a loyal friend and companion forever.
Good luck with your new sweet baby!!!
- Susan
Susan A. Maurer
Enkidu (Cockatiel)
Petey (Indian Ringneck)
). As i have never interacted with a tame IRN before, are there any particular suggestions regarding further training and maintaining his/her tameness ?
