Any ideas or tips greatly welcome!!!!

[lilamy]

Hi I have posted before some may know I adopted percy about 9 months ago we don't know how old he is and don't know what kind of life he had as family. Member who had him was lead to believe he was 8 month old but he already had his ring!
He was very very nervous in their house and pretty much lived clung to the back of the cage. Our home is a lot quieter for him but he is in our lounge so around us a lot he has made improvements and now moves around cage sits on perch and will go for food while we are sitting close all things he didn't do at first but we seem to have hit a brick wall!
If our hands go anywhere near cage he freaks out he only eats a very small range of fruit even tho we have tried nearly everything we can think of I have bought different toys and the only thing he ever bothers with is his mirror. I just worry he sits on his perch all day and when we let him out he just sits on top of cage he must be so bored I don't want to think he is unhappy but don't know what else to do!!!

 

[EAI]

Since he wasn't really in the best of situations at his old home, it's expected that he'll still be wary about his environment. It might even take him a year for him to get completely used to where he is now.

Have you thought of having a piece of millet when you sit near him? If he's really afraid of hands theres a lot of options for something similar. There's a lot of people who had an empty dish in their bird's cage and would drop a piece of millet in there to have the bird recognize they aren't threats.
About the food, keep trying! It took my parakeets 3 months to start eating fresh foods, but it's mostly just nibbles. Try introducing new things everyday with his favorite fruit. I put an egg mix on my fruits to interest the birds even more.
If you'd like him to play with toys, try moving them where he usually perches, or near his food/water bowl. Foraging toys are my favorite toys to give to a bird first. You could also move his food bowls around each day so he has to move around to find his food (foraging again).
Sitting on top of a cage could just mean that he's observing everything that's going around. Does he have a play gym he could go on? If not, you could put foot toys on top of his cage to see if he'll play with those.

Sorry, i tried to keep it the shortest I could since I'll be sleeping soon.
Hopefully someone can go more into depth about what you could do and help you out more.

 

[Betrisher]

I couldn't agree more with what EAI is saying! My Dominic took over a year to learn to come out of his cage again, to play, to fly and to socialise appropriately. He's still not 100% 'there' yet, but is a different bird from the almost comatose one that came home with me.

Millet spray is a great idea because it's long. You can hold it and gradually decrease the length as your bird nibbles at it. Or, work hard to find out what Percy's very-most-favourite treat is and use that to coax him to your hand. This coaxing can take the patience of a saint, so be prepared to sit for long periods holding out your little reward.

As I've advised many members, try peanut butter. You could smear a bit on the end of a chopstick to introduce it (not a great lump, mind, just a modest smear so birdie can get the taste of it). Once Percy is hooked on peanut butter (most birds really love it), you can use that as your 'carrot'. Eventually, you want to aim for being able to put a wee smear of peanut butter on each fingertip and have birdie climb onto your hand in order to get it. This may take weeks to achieve, but once you do achieve it, the rest of your relationship with Percy should be easy. The ringneck species are notoriously food-greedy, so I reckon food rewards are the way to go.

The other piece of advice I have is to watch the technique Barbara Heidenreich uses in this video and see if it can work for you.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe0pW5v7vOs"]Parrot Training Clips from Parrot Care & Training Seminar - YouTube[/ame]

I love the way she sneakily holds the perch with her hand and puts all the focus on the food item, not the hand. As the bird approaches the food, she gradually draws it away so the bird must walk onto her hand in order to have his piece of food. Really, how clever is that? There's no mess, no fuss, no stress and that's how all our training should be, right?

Do keep us in touch with your progress and I wish you well with Mr Percy.

 

[lilamy]

Thank you very much for replies coincidentally I bought some spray mullet today. I have tried this in his cage before and he went no where near so I have bought a different brand with 3 different ones in so I have broke a piece of each off and put it in his spare food bowl and hope he has a go and I will pick some peanut butter up this week!!

He doesn't have a gym just toys in his cage when he comes out of his cage the only places he will go are the top of my curtain and top of his cage and we have tried putting apple which is his fave around the room to get him to explore but he won't budge haha but will try again and see if I coax him on to a gym. My partner has been using his spare perch to gentle touch him and stroke his belly which he seemed to not mind and over time he has tried to slowly edge his hand up the stick but our percy is one step ahead and knows exactly what we are doing! Haha I will have a look at the video I followed some step up training before but he just looks at me like I have lost it haha
I will Def have a go at these tips I just want him to be happy and not just sat on his perch all day bored! Thanks again x

 

[MrsKay]

Since he likes the mirror I'm thinking he's lonely. Just a thought, but maybe a companion would help. Good luck

 

[SilverSage]

This is an IRN right?
IRNs are special - they are not like other birds. The majority of them go through a phase called "bluffing" which is BADLY misunderstood, and when handled wrong can lead to horrible results. Disregard all the internet nonsense about them becoming aggressive during this time - that is brought about by fearful birds being clipped and forced into situations which scare them.

Think about it like this. Some time about when adolescence hits, IRNs are hit with a crazy fear of human finger, no matter how tame they were before. They can be fine with the rest of you sometimes, but man oh man do those fingers scare them! This can be true of other birds sometimes, but it is a RULE with IRNs.

So look at the situation with that in mind. Close your hand, earn his trust in YOU before bringing your hands out from behind your back. When feeding and watering, try to keep your fingers together in a fist or a plank, or maybe even drape a cloth so he can't see your hands. Basically let him get comfortable with YOU before having to face your HANDS.

Then, start offering treats sitting on your fist. Work toward having it lay on a flat hands with fingers together, and EVENTUALLY you will get to where he no longer fears your fingers. Do not be discouraged, this issue is often quite misrepresented online.

 

[lilamy]

Thanks silver sage yes percy is an irn I didn't realise fingers could be such as issue and feared maybe he had been hurt in the past and that could be why hands are such an issue for him! He is still nervous around people when you get close but he is eating loads better at this but hands are still a major problem for him.
He is defiantly improving slighty as wen out he would always sit near the wall but now likes to be at the front and only hops bk of we get too close and wen he is eating us just looking in his direction wud cause him to panic and move to the back but I'm sitting watching and talking to him now and he is sitting munching away!!
I will definitely try all of the tips suggested and will let u know how we get on I will try and pop sum pics on although he is a bit camera shy haha x

 

[EAI]

Wow, thats great progress! Quite often, birds that are rehomed have been either mentally (most likely) or physically which causes people to give up on them. Cheers to you for working so hard with him!
I'd keep watching him minimal, since we ARE predators and they're prey, and it could translate that we're on "the hunt".
Can't wait for the pictures!

 

[SilverSage]

How are things going with this, any news? I wanted to share with you the story of my IRN, Blue. She was hand raised and used to cry for love and attention from humans. She was about 4 months old when I brought her home, and she seemed to INSTANTLY turn wild. The more I worked with her, the wilder she got. I am a long time bird owner and I am also a breeder, and I had NEVER seen this happen! I had read about "bluffing" and was prepared for her to bite me, but she never did! She simply hurled herself against the cage bars and screamed and flapped! I called the breeder, distraught! WHAT HAVE I DONE TO THIS SWEET, SWEET BIRD???? The answer? Nothing, I just have fingers. Sure enough, once I took my fingers out of the equation, things began to settle down. Blue now comes when called and lands on my hands for a peanut. Female IRNs are known for being stand-offish as adults, and Blue is no exception. She is tame, but she has Scout and has not desire to spend time with me, unless I have treats for her! But she is no longer afraid of me. If she were my only bird I would spend a lot of time working on this, and maybe someday I will but she is happy and healthy and well loved for now, and has a large avian flock - none of them have fingers!

 

[lilamy]

Thanks everyone
Well I have swapped his food and water bowls round and now his food bowl is at the front and he has used it straight away whilst we r in room so he is now at the front nearer us which is great! !
Also a couple of days ago I had some visitors who hadn't met him before the kids really wanted to see him fly I opened the top of his cage thinking he prob wouldn't come out and I was not going to pressure him too but after a few minutes if thinking about it he climbed up to the top and then had a fly around. One of my friends was next to the cage and clearly wanted to be past her and he flew towards her and then back to his spot on the curtain each Try getting closer to her and he didn't appear distressed as when he is he fly erratically which he wasn't doing and as soon as she sat down he happily perched himself in top of his cage I was very proud of him!!

I have tried to attach pics I hope they work!!

 

[Allee]

The pics worked fine. Percy's a lovely fellow! It sounds like you've made wonderful progress in nine months. A lot of people are surprised by how much time, patience and training are required before a re-homed parrot really starts to thrive. It's not uncommon for a bird to reach a plateau or a brick wall as you mentioned. I've never had the pleasure of working with an IRN but the tips from SilverSage and Betrisher sound very promising. Percy is lucky to have found someone who is willing to put in the time and attention he needs to live a happy life. Please keep us posted on his progress.

 

[lilamy]

Thank you I am defiantly going to try all the tips I have been given!
I must admit it's a little frustrating at times but only because I would love to be able to interact with him more and get closer but I am prepared to wait and work hard to get there!

My partner is keen to get another irn as a mate for him we have looked at advice and have a smaller cage we could use to keep them apart while they get acquainted but we have been advised it could be a great thing for him or really bad so we are totally in 2 minds of what to do!! We just thort if we got a handreard bird it would give him some company as he loves talking to his reflection and if he saw a bird interact with us it may help with his confidence but we just can't decide what to do for the best!

 

[SilverSage]

In most cases I encourage having a second bird, but not with an irn until they are 100% settled, tame, etc. they are particularly likely to have no desire to interact with you once they have an avian friend. I am not saying never do it, but I recommend waiting if possible.

 

[Betrisher]

On the other hand, I've had my pair for two years now and each is far more bonded to me than to each other. (NB. I've got Alexes, but they're still Psittacula genus).

I belong to the school that says always keep birds in pairs if not flocks. I know others disagree, but that's just my opinion.

 

[SilverSage]

I belong to that school as well, but with the stipulation that if you want a tame bird, and that bird is not yet tame, it is best to wait until he or she is tame before you add more, provided that you are actively working toward that goal

 

[lilamy]

Thanks for the advice I didn't know about that I will defiantly wait and hope percy becomes a little more sociable ! X

 

[lilamy]

Just an update on percy
We have been trying out things you have all suggested and we are defiantly seeing some improvements!!!
He has coped no problem with food dishes being moved around and now comes to the front for his dry food even with people sitting close. I tried the spray millet I put a little in his cage but he's not interested but I'm going to get sum peanut butter this week and try that instead!
We have also been using a closed hand and keeping fingers hidden and have got approx a foot away from him and he didn't fly away which is amazing for him!!! He is also allowing us much closer with his spray bottle and with our spare perch we use to stroke him thanks again for all the advice we r defiantly seeing improvements!! Xx

 

[Betrisher]

That's great news about Percy! Thanks so much for updating us too - so often owners will forget that the people who offered suggestions are wondering how they got on.

All you need to do now is keep doing what you're doing and have the patience of a saint. Percy will progress in his own time and that might or might not be the same as yours!

 

[SilverSage]

Fantastic! He is fortunate to have an owner willing to work with him. It will be worth it!

 

[lilamy]

I will definitely keep you all informed as we greatly appreciate all of your suggestions they have been great for percy and are tips I haven't been able to get reading books and online.
We are prepared to go at percy pace and are just glad we now have a few extra tips that will help him. As we didn't want to just give him the time incase we were doing things wrong but now we seem to know what's working for him and what isn't hopefully we won't make too many mistakes !! X