Advice wanted please

[Marie381]

Hello everyone I am new here and new to ring necks...on the 1st of December I bought a lovely 5 and half month old green ring neck. He is green a lovely but he seldom chirps maybe twice a day he eats well but is very nervous he is now 6 and half month but jumps on the bars and flys like a madman round the cage he is a boy by the way. I have let him out a few time but he quickly flys away then after a mad chase he goes inside himself or I have to wear leather gloves to pick him up as he bites so hard. We talk to him he looks when we say his name but as soon as we stand he goes from the perch to the side of cage then up and down crazy as we get near him. What can I do to show him he is loved and we won't hurt him. Today he sat on top of the cage I took a slow step at a time to him when I got near he jumped down walked all round room then back to cage flew up and went inside. Also please tell me what they like to eat we give him a mix from pet shop for ring necks with a few sunflower seeds in he likes apple and grapes and millet sprays please help anyone

 

[mandolynn]

Hi there! Welcome to the wonderful world of parrots! I have a 20 year old IRN, so I am quite familiar with their care. First of all, I recommend a more pellet based diet, but don't switch too quickly. You'll have to try a few brands to find one he likes but IRNs are awesome eaters. They also love fruit and veggies and they should be offered daily. Seeds and nuts should eventually be treats only, or only a small part of their diet.
Next, was your IRN handfed? I'm going to assume no since he is so aggressive. Flora, my IRN, wasn't hand fed either. The biggest thing is going to be patience. Ringneck are fairly in independent birds which can make bonding more difficult. My advice would be to make sure his wings are clipped, and bring him out onto play gym as often as possible. Just being out of the cage and around you will help him adjust to you a lot. Once he isn't so skidding then you can start working on him stepping up. It will take time and lots of patience. It took my dad 2 years for Flora to let him pet her. Hopefully it doesn't take that long for you though. Good Luck!

 

[MikeyTN]

Welcome to the forum!!!

When you do a mad chase after him, it's going to scare him and he's not gonna trust you if you chase him like that. Slowly approach him, easier to work with them when your in a contained room where he's not gonna fly everywhere around the house.

Please visit here regarding diet. ----> http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-food-recipes-diet/23367-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

 

[Marie381]

Thanks for the advice I am sorry to give the wrong feeling his wings are clipped and by mad chase I mean me going gentle and slow and him going 100 mile an hour lol I do keep it slow and soft round him it's him that is the racer lol

 

[Marie381]

Ps what are pellets sorry to ask is this sunflower seeds can the sat the shell nuts greys eat what kind of nuts are best for them

 

[WesselG]

Marie,

With a lot of patience and time he'll settle down. I have some IRN's that don't allow me to touch them at all although they're fairly tame and one that will actually approach me when I'm around but in her case touching is strictly on her terms.

One treat my IRN's love is peanuts that's still in the shell. I found that IRN's are incredibly food-motivated so if you can figure or have figured out what his favourite treat is one option is to put it about halfway between where he's perching and where you are. All you do then is sit and wait. He will figure it out very quickly that he will have to approach you to get the treat. The trick behind it is to be very, very patient and as quiet as possible and no sudden moves (so reading a good book is a nice option while you wait). Once he's willing to go halfway to get his treat you start putting it closer and closer to you.

I have to reiterate that building a bond is going to be a time-consuming thing so don't expect any quick results. In one or two cases with my birds it took me close to or over a year just to get them to accept a treat from my hand.

As for wearing gloves while handling him: some birds have an intense fear of them so trying to catch him with a glove might only worsen his reaction and the damage to any body-part he gets hold of. As painful as it is to get bit it's best to handle them with bare hands and trying not to show any reaction to a bite. They are incredibly quick to pick up on your reaction to it and will turn it into an attention-getting game.

 

[Marie381]

Thank you so much for this reply and everyone else who replied I am new to ring necks do anyone that can point me in a good direction I promise to take on board xx

 

[t0mmick]

Don't give up!! Keep going with gentle voice and easy but not hesitation! I find if I hesitate with a new bird then they know it and it can lead to more biting! My ringneck doesn't like to be tickled or scratch ,just step up and kisses ! This is apparently the way most of them are don't get discouraged. Try showing him videos of other ringneck talking on YouTube it might encourage him to talk If he won't respond to you, maybe move his cage to a area where he can see everyone all day and be part if the action , birds have a hard time adjusting to a new situations at times and stress very easily , I know u wear gloves to protect yourself but this could be another reason he won't come to you. My iron will eat anything , noodles, rice, hot peppers , meat mostly chicken , all veggies and fruit basically anything I will eat except the obvious thing that aren't good such as anything with salt , chocolate, avocado ,onions . Pellets are basically man made food packed with everything your bird needs so if he wasn't getting the right amount from fresh veggies and so on at least he will get it from the pellets seeds are very fattening and do not carry much nutrition for the bird , try tropican pellets they smell like bubble gum , after just a month on it my birds colors came out even more his feathers shine more and his breath is nice lol I started off by mixing and then gradually less and less seeds, I give them seeds about 2 times a week , some may find this too much but hey I live in Canada I need them to have a little fat on them it's been -40 Celsius here lol! fresh veggies and fruit everyday ,meat once or twice a week . Have fun seeing what he might like!! Oh and as far as nuts go leave them in the shell irn like something to do they are very active and trying to open a nut can be entertaining for them however if u notice it becomes too hard for him just crack par of it . Good luck!!

 

[Marie381]

Awe thank you for this advice ..... The only thing with gloves is I have psoriasis only fingers and hands so any broken skin doesn't heal it takes weeks and it hurts so a bite with this is unbearable however get this lol last two days he walked round the room sat on the fire gaurd and went in himself lol

 

[t0mmick]

ohh poor you psoriasis is no fun at all , ok well keep the gloves in that case lol, you could always try bribing him with his favourite food if you have figured out what he really likes yet!! im not against bribing kids and animals lol

 

[Marie381]

He love apple grapes and sprouts as well as my fingers lol poor thing is so jumpy I just want to hold him and kiss him lol