hi I'm a new ringneck. owner

[Mrs Ali]

Our ringneck is so scared we bought him from a pet shop, we haven't changed the cage coz we scared he'l fly away. N it will b hard to catch him as we are new at this, I'm realy woried coz he doesn't tok or to even make a slight noise. My son bangs the cage n he got used to that but wen we go close its a. Problem,
How can I teach him to tok if he doesn't even make a noise

[Cockatielsongs]

First and foremost, welcome to the forum!

Talking should be the last thing on your mind right now!! Forget talking, the is terrified. DO NOT let your son bang on the cage. Never, ever, ever. The will become stressed out and so terrified its actually a hazard to his health and well being. Take it slowly. First of all don't allow your son around the bird without supervision. Start by sitting next the the cage and talk to it, read, sing eat. Allow the to get use to the sight of you. Do this until your doesn't freak out when you come near. Allow it to observe you from his safety zone. You should never buy a pet bird because you want it to talk, you should adopt one to love and tame to its full potential regardless of its vocal ability...

[marie83]

Leave the bird alone, almost literally, feed and water it but let it settle in.

Stop your son banging on the cage, in fact keep him far away frommthe cage before he gets a nasty bite, forget about getting the bird to make a noise, it will start making a noise when it is setled, probably screaming so I hope your ears are ready... it may talk eventually but it might not.

So once it stops acting terrified treat it with respect, sit outside the cage and talk to it, get it used to you being there, let it know you will not harm it. Use slow movements and do not stare, predators move fast and stare.
When it is happy for you to sit outside the cage then you can try feeding treats through the bars. It wont take them to start with so keep trying. Let the bird come to you to get the treat, do not chase it round the cage. Be patient.

there is much more to help tame and train your bird but I think you have enough on getting it settled in. Please tell us when you have the bird taking treats and we can help you again.

If you are not willing to treat this bird with respect and take the best care of it then please give it to someone who will.

[Eric&Rebecca]

Please please stop your son banging on the cage... for your son's sake. The bite of a ringneck can be extremely painful. Not to mention this is incredibly stressful for the bird. I would advise putting the bird is a quiet room and perhaps not allow your son in the room. After a week or so go into this room and sit with your new bird talk to him just sit with him reading a book or perhaps watching a film or play him some music.

Gradually you can start with the taming which you will find in Michael's guide on this forum. Very useful

Additionally, please ensure you bird proof your home:

No air freshners
No strong fumes
No Teflon Pans (buy stainless steel or glass cookware)
No perfumes
No candles (scented or otherwise)
No loose fittings (blinds should have the strings tucked away to prevent accidents)
No metal things that can be chewed (this will cause heavy metal poisoning) Stainless steel is fine
Use only bird safe disinfectants- f10, bird safe johnsons are two good brands.

Right now you need to create a quiet and calming environment for the bird. Your bird may never talk and this should never be a reason for buying a bird because of the novelty of talking. The noise will come but it may never ever talk. Also you need to go to an AVIAN vet for a new bird check once he's settled. You will need to train him into the travel cage which will take some time. This will be easier once you've mastered the taking treat from the hand scenario.


If you're not willing to put in the work with this bird and just want something that can talk then please allow someone with more experience to take care of the bird. I'm really not a fan of pet shops, they know very little about the animals they care for in my experience. Birds are very different from other animals.

Diet wise you will need to have pellets, seeds and fresh fruits and vegetables. Although please check before you give each food to check its not toxic. All birds are lactose intolerant also. You will also need a good selection of natural wood perches to help the feet and nails. Pellet conversion is difficult and if not done correctly you can end up starving your bird so read u[p on the various threads on this forum

make sure you clean and sterilizee bowls each day and fresh foods should not be left in the cage for longer than 2-3 hours. The dribnking water should ideally be filtered or mineral water. Tap water can contain some harmful bacteria.

Leave the bird alone for at least two weeks, it won't harm him providing he is in an adequate sized cage. Cleaning the cage can wait but if you have a remoavble grate and bottom maybe do this after a week or so as you don't want baceria building up.

Please please treat this bird with respect and compasson not a performing circus animal.

[Mrs Ali]

I guess everyone has their own way of taking care of their pets, but I'm definately giving this bird a very good life compared to what it had in the pet shop, bcoz thy stay in messy shared cages. And as for my son we got this bird for him bcoz he enjoyed going our neighbour bcoz thy have a bird that says his name and although the bird is scared of us its so scared of my son even though he was banging the cage and we were trying to him

[Eric&Rebecca]

It's good that you've taken him away from that environment. However, if the bird was kept in poor condition then he will definitely need to be seen by an AVIAN vet or the very least an exotics vets. Dirty cages can lead to many infections and diseases some like Giardia and at worst the spread of PBFD and parrot fever. I would do this within the next few months or at least take poop samples of the bird to be tested- that way you won't have to stress your bird.

I understand that you have the bird for you son's benefit. However in order for the bird to build a good relationship with your son you need to stop him banging on the cage. If you want them to bond effectively, which isn't guaranteed by the way (some birds bond with one person and that's sometimes beyond your control and not the person you intended it to bond with), then you need to tell your son to approach the bird quietly and carefully. Before this happens though the bird needs to be settled in itself, as we have all recommended, leave the bird quietly for two weeks away from everyone. You are correct people have different ways of taking care of their birds but a loud child banging on the cage is never a good thing. It will be very harmful to the bird. What we are recommending isn't a way or option but something that will be sure to help you in the long run. Hands near the cage (apart from to change food is a definite NO NO)

Once the bird is settled your son could simply sit quietly in the room with the bird. He must understand that he should not make loud noises or sudden movements. Gradually he can move closer to the cage... start talking very softly to him. Once you can get close to the cage without the bird being scared, this can take weeks and sometimes months, then you can begin holding a treat through the bar of the cage. You should stay in one position and not move, this can take hours... and hours. Once the bird can take this you can begin the processes of removing him from the cage using the hand treat technique.

Hand taming can be a long process and will require a lot of patience. Your bird will become less scared but you have to follow the advice. Stress can cause many illnesses in birds including feather plucking, malnutrition, heart problems, the list is endless.

We are being critical with you, but that's because at this stage you can do a great deal of harm (however unintentionally). If you're son can't learn to handle the bird or adjust the behaviour accordingly then its truly best to keep the bird away from him. Even though the bird is meant for him.

[pennyandrocky]

yes everyone has their own way but what you are allowing your son to do is not just harming the but your teaching your son that it's ok to torture animals. you come on here asking for advice to get your not to be afraid and when you're told how you say everyone has there own way so keep doing things your own way you'll end up with a dead bird and a disturbed child.

[Eric&Rebecca]

There are things that are optional to the owner or 'parront' but the things I and others have listed are NOT optional.

A list of compulsory actions are below:

Avian vet check- must be avian or at the very very least exotic but only once you know you cannot possibly find an avian vet,. This should be done as a first check up and then every six months or as needed
No fumes- NO perfumes, candles of any kind, air freshners or non-stick/Teflon cookware in the home
Varied diet- fruits, vegetables, seeds and pellets* *there is some debate over pellets but an all seed diet is NOT a good diet. Thing of it like feeding your son crisps for breakfast lunch and dinner.
An adequate size and good quality cage- there are many good and reasonable places: if you want advice on size etc I would be more than happy to advise you. You can't really go wrong with King's or Montana brands
Perches: NO plastic perches. Width should be varied, not all the same length or width. The foot on perches should cover at least three quarters of the perch but should not wrap the whole way around. natural wood is ideal with varied shapes. Java perches are great.
Food/Water Dishes- Stainless steel is preferable but the essential part is keeping clean
F10 or bird safe Johnsons- this is needed to disinfect your cage and items. Normal disinfectants are toxic
Environment: quiet and calm is essential even if this means excluding certain members of the family until they can adjust behaviour
Correct handling: indian ringnecks are capable of biting down to the bone and grinding and clamping down. If you react by saying owwww or the normal human reaction this actually encourages this behaviour and then you will have a bird that bites and bites and bites.
If you listen to this and heed the advice you will give this bird a very good life and it will have a chance to bond with your son. But if you continue you will end up a very stressed unhealthy bird and a confused and probably bitten son. At worst a dead bird and a very upset child.

[marie83]

I guess everyone has their own way of taking care of their pets, but I'm definately giving this bird a very good life compared to what it had in the pet shop, bcoz thy stay in messy shared cages. And as for my son we got this bird for him bcoz he enjoyed going our neighbour bcoz thy have a bird that says his name and although the bird is scared of us its so scared of my son even though he was banging the cage and we were trying to him

I have my own ways of dealing with children but you wouldn't want me locking your son up in a cage and bashing it about a bit.

Ok ok so it is a good thing that it may well have a better life in some respects but better is not always good enough. Treat the bird with love, kindness and respect and it will make a much better pet, so you know it does benefit you too even if you aren't doing it for selfless reasons...

Everyone has some really really good advice for you, it wont do you any harm to try following it but it might harm the bird and your child if you dont.
Out of interest where are you from?

[Mrs Ali]

And I thought we were not allowed to be rude on this forum, but that's all I've got so far,and my son isn't torturing the bird his too small to even know what his doing is freaking th bird out

and I wouldn't bring any harm to the bird knowingly coz I paid a whole lot for it from my own pocket