Help training my Indian Ringneck

[rio indian ringneck]

Hi I go t a indian ring neck parrot in december,4 months old i was told he was hand reared (i dont think so)
he was ok when i fetched him home, i give him a few days before i let him out in that first week he sat on our finger then nothing...
i talk to him each day i let him out each day (sometimes i miss a day) he only really likes coming out in a morning so some days it difficult.
somestimes we go near the cage he flaps around, if you go to one side he goes to the other.

when he is out, if i go near him to say step up with the stick he runs off or flys a little he has had his wings clipped. he goes behind the tv or the cupboard he knows you cant get him there.
he screams out you, i tell him to calm down hes not the boss ( i think he is) but he heavy breaths so i leave him to calm down. will i ever get him to like me? will i be able to train him?

Please help

Lindsey

[Wolf]

To answer your question briefly; It's hard to say, you have made a lot of mistakes and have a lot of work ahead of you if you are to turn this around.

To start with I suggest that you go down to the basic training section and read Michael's post on training your parrot to step up and come out of cage. Michael also has a very interesting and valuable Parrot training blog at the bottom of the forums that I am sure will help a lot.

While doing the reading that you need to do, pull up a chair and read to your bird as this will help him get used to the sound of your voice as well as your presence in a non threatening fashion. While doing this don't ask anything of the bird just spend the time with him. When you get tired of reading to him get up and survey the room and fix all electrical cords so that he cannot bite or chew on them. Also look for any areas that he can get into and become trapped in or that you can't get to him and fix them so he can't get in them. The human world is a dangerous place if you are a parrot and it contains many dangers that a parrot will not recognize as a danger so it is up to the human to make it safe for the parrot.

Read up on diet and general health for your bird, check out the housing section to be sure you provide adequate housing for your friend and don't forget to scope out the toy section so that you can give safe toys to him.

After these things are done you can progress to beginning to train your friend and build the trust that you have destroyed by the mistakes you have already made. It is a lot of work, I know, but it will have a big payoff in the end.

[Pajarita]

IRN's are not like other parrots -not that any species is similar to any other but Psittaculas are more different than most. They are very independent birds that require a lot of daily handling by experienced people to keep them friendly and happy and not have them revert to wild ways. They are beautiful and good talkers but they not easy birds and do not work out well as first birds.

You have to start from minus zero because you missed the window of opportunity you had when you first brought him home so do as Wolf suggested about spending hours with him in the same room, allow him to come out of the cage by himself and perch wherever he wants without crowding him so he doesn't run away and hide from you. He doesn't trust you at all right now and, I am not going to lie to you, getting back the trust of a young IRN that has been allowed to revert to wildness is not an easy thing to accomplish. Don't ask him to step up, don't put your hand in his cage, don't do anything but use your presence (at whatever distance makes him feel comfortable) and your voice until he looks relaxed in your presence. Then and only then, start moving a bit closer to him. Just a little bit at a time and always wait until he has been feeling OK with the new shorter distance for a few days before you move closer. Eventually, you will be able to approach him without him running away from you (don't EVER go after him or you'll lose the advantage you have attained). Use treats as a bribe and bait. And, when you are able to stand next to him and he's taking treats from your hand without getting stressed out, then and only then start training him outside the cage.

[rio indian ringneck]

Thanks for your help but i am a little confused one of you say go back to basic training. and then the other says let him out!!!!

normally i let him out ( he comes out him self) he wont let me go near him really ,sometimes i manage him to step up on the stick other times he gets in his self.
what should i do keep him in or let him out?
he is in the living room so he hears me and my family all the time and he hears the tv as well.
since reading this forum i have ordered a clicker (not come yet) i have bought a stand for him to go on
(only come today so he has not been out yet)
I have tried approaching the cage and waiting for him to stop shouting and flapping then walking away is this good?
I have tried today twice to stand next to his cage with a piece of apple for him, i did it for about 30 min each time but he would not come near the nearest i got was him sitting on the same perch as where i was. I then just put it in the bars where i was standing to try and get use to feeding there, i dont know if i am doing the right thing???

confused lindsey

[Wolf]

There does not exist only one way to do something or only one right way to do it. Actually both of the suggestions you were given will work just fine or you may find that combining the two may fit your lifestyle even better. We do not know the whole situation so we can only give our opinion based only on what you say and how we think the variables will come into play but, in the end the final choice is yours alone and all we do is make suggestions that may work for you. Both of use are indeed saying that you need to start all over again with basic taming and go from there it is just that we have differing styles of doing it. Please keep us updated.

[Pajarita]

Actually, we both said to let him out. Only Wolf suggested you start basic training almost immediately while I said to wait until the bird is no longer scared of you. The goal is for the bird to learn to trust you, that you will not hurt him or make him feel uncomfortable in any way. I prefer to establish a relationship of, at least, trust if not love BEFORE starting the training but some people believe that the training itself would do that on its own. I deal with wild-caught, ex-breeders, abused and neglected birds so I start from minus zero and have to work my way into the zero point with them. And I do that by allowing the bird its space and to set the pace 100%.

But opening the cage door, allow him to come out by himself and just making the bird company by your been there (reading, watching TV, using the computer, etc) was something we both recommended because it shows the bird that you want to be its friend but that you won't impose your will on him. And, once the bird sees you as the bringer of food, treats, company and completely non-threatening in any way (no grabbing, no going after the bird, no insisting on stepping up, etc) you have won half the war.

[Wolf]

Actually, we both said to let him out. Only Wolf suggested you start basic training almost immediately while I said to wait until the bird is no longer scared of you. The goal is for the bird to learn to trust you, that you will not hurt him or make him feel uncomfortable in any way. I prefer to establish a relationship of, at least, trust if not love BEFORE starting the training but some people believe that the training itself would do that on its own. I deal with wild-caught, ex-breeders, abused and neglected birds so I start from minus zero and have to work my way into the zero point with them. And I do that by allowing the bird its space and to set the pace 100%.

But opening the cage door, allow him to come out by himself and just making the bird company by your been there (reading, watching TV, using the computer, etc) was something we both recommended because it shows the bird that you want to be its friend but that you won't impose your will on him. And, once the bird sees you as the bringer of food, treats, company and completely non-threatening in any way (no grabbing, no going after the bird, no insisting on stepping up, etc) you have won half the war.

Actually I recommended that he read and socialize with the bird and further use the time to properly prepare the environment for the bird and to begin training only after the bird had regained enough trust so as to accept him as a friend who would not hurt it.

I deal with animals that have people problems, normally due to abusive people. When doing this normal rules don't work very well so everything you do must be based upon the animals action and what that tells you. You can only proceed when the animal tells you that it is ok to do so and there can be no deviation from this .

It appears that the real difference is once again semantics.

[Pajarita]

Indeed, Wolf, because I agree 100% with what you said!