HELP! New Untame Alexandrine/Ringneck Parrot, HAS NOT EATEN

[cathcor99]

Hello! I am new to this wonderful community and need urgent help with my Alexandrine parrot.

I bought him yesterday from a regular pet store, where he was not in the best state. He was in a small cage for his size, had only sunflower seeds to eat from, no toys, and the cage was placed on the floor for almost his whole life. He is around 2 years old and it was very stressful for him to move him from the pet store, all the way to my home in his new cage. He shrieked like crazy, hes was very scared of humans at the pet store (would move away from the person in his cage), bit the pet store worker when he handled him with a towel, and was breathing rapidly.

When we arrived home we moved him from the small cage to his new home, a big wide cage, where he is able to extend his tail.
Yesterday after an hour of being in his new home, he seemed to be moving around side to side on the highest perch in the cage and has not moved from there since.
Today, this morning I've been coming in and out of the room he is in, and has become comfortable with me in the room. Now he does not move away from me when I get close to the cage. I can talk to him move my hand slowly towards him and does not fly in fear to the other side of the cage. Last night, finally, he got really comfortable and started climbing all around the cage, making noises, biting some toys. I also saw him drinking some water but has not eaten.

Something I have been noticing is that he is often trembling his body and wings, very slightly but constantly when I am not in the room. Then when I hang out in the room with him, he still trembles but a lot less. It is not cold in the room, his feathers are not fluffed, he is just trembling. I do not know why and will see if he continues to do so tomorrow.
The last thing I want to do is take him to the vet, as it was incredibly stressful and traumatic to take him out of a smaller cage. Please, if you know why this could be, let me know.

 

[itzjbean]

Just to be clear, any new bird should be brought to a vet to ensure they are healthy! Even if it means a stressful experience for the bird, this is SO important to get done with a new bird to make sure going forward there are no issues. The vet will also be able to discuss with you the trembling you are seeing in your new bird, which could be stress, diet or something internal no one knows about. A vet is a great resource, don't see it as a bad place.

 

[Laurasea]

Check out this link a lot of useful info.
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/stress-reduction-for-parrot-companions/

Also a bird may not eat the first couple of days home. Thank you for improving this parrots life, it sounds just awful. You will hav to feed the seeds as slowly work on switching to healthy diet and fresh veggies.

Ringnecks , we have a knowledgeable member here Silversage. She posts in Avairy life. I look for one of her links.
Here is one on taming an adult ringneck
http://www.silversageaviaries.com/tamingyourringneck-1

 

[Gabbana]

Aww bless. 2 years old is quite some time to be living in a cage that small at a pet store. Is it a girl or boy ? at 2 years it should have it's black ring by now.

Not eating is absolute fine on the first day as it's all new. When i got my ring neck he or she never ate straight away or had anything to drink. He or she was so quite too. He did ate the following day but i never seen him drink. He was when i was not around. He never made one whistle he was as quite as a mouse for over a week and then from no were as he become more settled and found trust in us and his new cage he found his voice and he has not shut up lol.

He will be quite moving around because it's all new, new cage and such a bigger cage than the one before.

Look out for his poops check the colour. Put a slice of Apple in the cage and a seedless grape and he will eat this for sure. Try some broccoli too.

Were about have you got his cage ? don't put the cage by a window and keep away from draft areas. Some were it's nice and warm is good.

If he is shaking he is just scared and everything is new to him. If he is cold he will fluff all his feathers up. Can we see some pics of him in his cage just to check his lay out in the cage to ensure there is nothing in there that is scaring him, like the height difference with perches if you have more than one ?

Don't cover your birds cage at night. That is a big no. Having a little radio on for him or leave tv on when your not around will keep him or her happy. He will get use to the daily noises like door shutting etc and once he hears this every day he will be much more confident.

I would not try to handle him yet as it's too soon but once you have had him for i'd say at least 1 week and he is settled into his cage then it's time to let him out. He has to come out and the thought of him being in that cage for 2 yrs at the pet store with no flight is heart breaking bless it.

Don't be worrying about getting him back in. Just fill his food bowls up while he is out and i can assure you he will climb back into his cage. If you use a glove a gardening glove he may feel more at ease to step up on for you to get him out of the cage.

Good luck.

 

[Betrisher]

My Alexes tremble sometimes and I've never been able to put my finger on the reason why. Often, Barney will tremble when I allow him to do his favourite thing (ie. chew on a mouthful of fabric). I've often wondered if it's a pleasure response, but I've also seen Madge tremble when someone (especially a stranger) puts a hand on her cage. She's terribly cage aggressive and bites viciously if you're not quick to move!

The thing is, this poor baby has had a rocky beginning and will need to be taught to relax and eventually to be tame. This will take a very long time and all the patience you've got. I wouldn't worry about him not eating at first. They usually eat when hunger makes them. It's probably a good idea to put a half-dozen sunflower seeds in his bowl if that's what he's been used to. With all the other huge changes going on in his life, a change in diet is a lot to handle as well. If you want, you could put an extra feeder in a place where he often perches, just so food is readily available without too much effort. Two and a half years is still a baby and he has a lot of potential to become a great friend if you work with him now.

Once he's OK with you walking past his cage, you could begin by sitting next to it and speaking or reading to him for as long as you can. Eventually, you can poke in a treat and see if he'll take it. Millet sprays are good (being long) or you could try and get some nice long grass seed heads (eg. wheat or oats or any pasture grass you can come by). Failing that, use a sharp knife to split the end of a bamboo chopstick and you can use that to offer bits of fruit or veg.

Try to think as your bird does. His entire life has been on the floor in a petshop with chaos going on all around. He must be so accustomed to being anxious! It'll take time for him to adjust and to trust you, but I'm quite sure he will if you put the work in. Do keep us informed, won't you? We like to hear how our members work out their problems, especially when their goals are reached.

PS. I cover my birds' cages at night because they live outdoors and need protection from the wind as well as flying insects.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

I have no experience with Alexes,but in general,as everyone has said,your new guy/gal is in a totally different environment than what he was accustomed to. A new bigger house,new faces,new everything! It took Jonesy ( a goffin 'too) a couple DAYS before he started to eat. I'd carefully monitor his basement papers,looking for any sign of food scraps and so nothing,then one day I look,and he had his face stuffed into his food bowl lol. Believe me,he/she WONT starve him/herself

As far as covering his/her house goes. Over the years,and because of certain circumstances,my fid's houses have been uncovered and covered. I now cover both at bedtime and I have seen a noticeable difference in both of their behavior. A GOOD night's sleep is a MUST for their physical,emotional,and physcological well-being. ( a good ten to twelve hours of un interrupted sleep is a must.) I have found that when fully covered ( Amy and BB have "cozy covers" that their uncle david got them,they don't let light in,but allow air in) and the covers work great! Amy settles right in. Beebs still talks and chirps a bit,until I tell him to shuush and go nite-nite I have noticed that the both of them are much happier and healthier because they get covered up.


Jim