A whoooole bunch of questions for a bird owner noob

[Phahnax]

I'm not an experienced bird owner, so I suppose it's my bad for buying a parrot for my 10 year old brother's birthday earlier this year. However, I'm trying my best to take proper care of the young birb.

So, let me give a brief history. For my brother's birthday, my dad and I went out to the market to find a bird for him (He's an avid fan of birds). I guess I should have thought about it then, but the store I bought Chilli the Indian Ringneck from was full of sick birds screaming with no end. They were placed in sad cages with no toys and would fight for the corners to hide from people approaching them. With this upbringing, I can understand Chilli's skittish behaviour. (yes, I understand how bad and irresponsible it was to buy a bird from such a pet store. But that's over and done now and I don't want to simply give up on Chilli because's from a pet shop.)

When we first brought Chilli home, you bet there was lots of bloody fingers. Plus, when we let him out, he flies around to upstairs and tends to hurt himself, so we had to clip his wings. He did not like that.

Now forwards six months, Chilli does not bite other than to hold onto you. But he goes to hide behind his toys (which doesn't hide him much) whenever someone is the room. Almost everyone is in the living room at most times other than morning, however. Also, only in morning (as long as no one was in the room), he would practice talking and get out on top of his cage. When someone comes in, he hides behind the cage.

Sometimes Chilli would get onto my hand and hop onto my shoulders, so I could take him around the house and let him explore my room. I try to do this at least once a day as long as I manage to get him on my hand. Otherwise he would hole himself up in his cage. He only ever gets onto my hand as well, because I'm the only one who tries to interact with him. My family is scared of Chilli biting them (And I assure you, he only ever bit my ear to try and get on top of my head. ow, thanks for the piercing.)

Now that I've done the introduction for that handsome birb, I have some questions.

1. How can I help Chilli not be so scared? I thought of having him a better hiding spot in his cage, like a hiding hole for him to sit in. Kind of like one of those bird boxes you'd hang outside. Or would that cause him to retreat from everyone and do the exact opposite of encouraging him to open up to people?

2. Would getting Chilli another bird friend make him feel much more comfortable? This is a suggestion my mum made. But then we might have to deal with two birds who are too scared to be around people...

3. Chilli won't eat fruit or large nuts. We tried to encourage Chilli to eat stuff other than small seeds by replacing his food bowl with only fruit and large nuts. He didn't eat anything that day, and we got scared so we put his usual food back in. He also won't eat pellets. He will only eat apples, and spits out the apple flesh once he's done with it. What a picky bird.

4. Chilli's tail feathers look terrible. Is that normal for a (i guess 10 month old) IRN? I noticed some feathers have been falling out, not in bunches but one at a time.

I know I said a lot, but I honestly do want to be good for Chilli. I'm more than happy to explain anything in detail and provide photos (if chilli stays still for it.)

Thank you!

 

[psychocircus91]

The process will feel tedious at first, but the first step is to sit by his cage and talk to him. Even if he is used to people being in the room, sitting next to him for extended periods of time (an hour +) will help him realize you are not a threat. This is done daily, and can take weeks or months.
Never force any interaction. If he is running from you, do not chase him unless necessary for safety.
Allow him to take treats from your hand. Again, it can take time and it is best not to chase him. As he grows more accustomed to equating your presence with good things, you will start to progress.

In terms of food, the smaller you can chop up veggies, fruit, and pellets, the more likely he may be to accept them. Chopping them up as small as seeds and mixing it with a small part of his current diet can help transition him.

It is normal for a young parrots feathers to be disheveled from being caged and exploring.

With parrots, it is a marathon and not a sprint. It is all about trust. While the positive experiences stick with them, the negative ones seem to stick with them more. Gaining trust can be a step forward, but breaking it can be 5 steps back.

 

[Kiwibird]

1. Never underestimate the power of food or a gentle voice with skittish parrots! Hold off on the adventures in flying around the house for now and work with Chilli in his cage until he's more comfortable. Bring a chair over next to his cage and read to him, in a soft soothing voice. It doesn't matter what you read, he doesn't know human languages, but sitting next to him and being calm, getting him accustomed to your voice is important. You can also have a small bowl of highly desirable treats (whatever he REALLY likes to eat). Eat some in front of him while you read to him and when he eventually comes over to check out the food then offer him some, gently praising him for being a good boy who came over. Reading to them out loud and offering treats for coming over is a proven method for winning trust. Remember- Have PATIENCE and work with him at his pace, not yours.

2. NO! Never buy a bird for you bird. There is no guarantee they'll like each other and you may end up with 2 birds who hate each other and are scared of you. Work with Chilli and when he's confident and comfortable with you and your family, if YOU want another bird, then consider that option but now is the wrong time for any new additions!

3. Again, reading to him will provide you an opportunity. Bring over some fruit or veggies and eat them in front of him while you read to him. Make a big deal of how good they are, really exaggerate the "yummy" noises. Curiosity will eventually get the better of him. Many parrots who come from poor conditions are "afraid" of healthy foods because they don't recognize it as food and must be taught it is not radioactive and in fact tastes good. Monkey see, monkey do. In nature, young parrots observe older flock members in regards to what to eat, as pets they observe and learn from us. Id suggest starting with trying to get him interested in nuts and sweet fruits like apples, grapes and bananas, then once he realizes those taste good, expand his diet from there. Have patience too! It can take months to get a bird interested in new foods, but once they are, they'll be on a healthy diet for life and have learned to trust you more, so the initial effort is worth it

4. It is not uncommon for babies to have ratty feathers from being clumsy babies. You also said he came from poor conditions so that probably didn't help either. It is very normal for them to loose old or damaged feathers to be replaced by new healthy ones. Generally after a baby molt, a parrot will settle into a once a year "big molt" where they loose lots of feathers within a few week period (there should never be bald patches, though the occasional one feather gap in the tail is normal) and molt out the occasional big feather or body feather during the year. You'll find a lot of small, puffy white down feathers throughout the year. They loose and replace those constantly! For healthy plumage, parrots need to be bathed once a week with pure, clean water (and nothing else). You can either spritz him down with a clean, never been used for anything else but water spray bottle, put him in the sink and let him bathe under running water, let him bathe himself in a shallow pan of water (under supervision, remove after he's done) or even come in the shower with you if he likes (baby bath warm water, NOT hot). During the cool months, make sure to run a little space heater or use a blow dryer on low to dry him off quicker so he doesn't catch a chill. Improved diet will also help with plumage health.

 

[jm0]

When dealing with a skittish and scared bird, it's important to take it slow. Also he may still be stressed out from being in that horrible bird store you describe. Not all but most stores dealing with birds/parrots are like that, alot of different birds, screaming their heads off, no toys, only food and water. The owners are in the pet shop industry, they know the birds are only going to be there for a couple months at the maximum, although some might stay for longer. It can seriously stress out the birds, and maybe even be traumatizing for them. So that is maybe what you're dealing with here. Take it slow, be gentle, don't force the bird to do anything. It sounds like he may have settled in, and calmed down. You say you got him in the beginning of the year? So he has at least been with your family for half a year, is that about right? That should be enough for him to recover, it sounds like he has chosen to bond wih you, he trusts you. As you say you can get him on your finger and walk around the house with him. That's good! Keep doing what you're doing.

You need to understand, that you can't just change a bird from one day to the other, it takes time. As you might have already noticed Get him on a proper diet, seeds will only give him fatty liver disease and dull feathers, maybe that's why he doesn't look optimal, he's malnutritioned. Keep giving him the seed mix, but with fruits and veggies and pellets, until he starts eating it, he will, just be patient. And then slowly begin to remove the seed mix completely from his diet. You can give him sunflower seeds and other as a treat only. Also is he dropping his feathers? He may be molting, that could be one reason why he looks terrible. It's molting season, so this is compeletely natural, don't worry about that. Don't expect the whole family to be able to handle him, my bird will also bite if someone else would dare to touch him, so keep that in mind, birds are not like cats and dogs. You can train him to be more socailized with socialization techniques, look into that. Birds are very complex, keep learning and reading, and you will know what to do, don't give up, and maybe consider to give your little brother another gift next time!

Hope this helps.

 

[clark_conure]

Everything everyone above posted....everything above is great excellent advice.

 

[Phahnax]

Wow, thank you so much for all these really helpful replies! I'll be sure to try out reading to Chilli (With my physics theory book.. Hopefully he likes maths!)

Also, yes. Chilli has been with us since April.

I'll try the chopping-to-small-bits trick with the veggies as well. <3 Again, thank you guys!

 

[clark_conure]

don't be shy in giving the "thanks" button a few pushes, or the scale Icon in the top right if a member was especially helpfull.

 

[wrench13]

If Chili is scared of people in the room, try this. It takes awhile, could be month or 2 but your not going anywhere, and neither is Chili. Put your chair as far into the room as you can until CHili hides, then pull the chair back a couple of feet - until he does not hide. Now you read to him for an hour. The next day do the same thing, and so on and so on, each day trying to get just a little closer until he is no longer hiding from you. See if you can get other family members to do this too, maybe putting piece of tape on the floor so everyone knows how far they have gotten. THat way Chili will be comfortable with more then just you. But do this EVERYDAY, thats how parrots become part of your 'flock'. Patience is the key word. This method can take a few weeks or even months but well worth it. Search this board for socializing tips becasue you want Chili to be a member of the family, and not just your bird, we hope! Good luck.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Great advice. I love this place. You will too. Hang in there. And welcome.

 

[LeaKP]

Yes hang in there! All the above advice plus read the ring neck threads in the forum. Also there are plenty of YouTube videos on ring necks and working with them and parrots in general. One day something will click and you will all have an amazing friend for years to come. Don’t give up! I love ringnecks.

 

[zoeylove77777]

Hi I'm new I'm wondering does anyone have any info about buying Parrott food without sunflowers. My disruption went out of buiness I usly buy 25lb 50lb or 100lb don't matter. Can someone help me or let e know what food do u recommend. I have a afican grey Parrott a double yellow a Indian ring neck parrott. Thank u to everybody thanks my email is [email protected]. thanks again

 

[Phahnax]

UPDATE: Chilli is still pretty shy but I'm not surprised that the progress will take awhile. I noticed he loves to chatter when I'm not looking at him. It's almost like he's trying to be sassy, or test what my reaction is. He's getting out of his cage more to explore. It might be because three family members are out of town for the week so it's just me and him (and brother who is at school).

I've been adding lots of small pieces of veggies to see if he eats them... but there's so many pieces it's hard to tell if some's missing or not! I find quite a few on the floor of the cage however.

Chilli loves being scratched behind the head. He'd sit patiently on his perch and allow me to brush his feathers on his head. But if I touch his stomach he bites!

Don't blame him. I wouldn't like people touching my stomach either.