Help please

[kirstenb]

My alexandrine and I are beginning our new lives together and I’m already in trouble! All the videos etc show use of treats to help with training . . . but he won’t take anything from my hand. He just shies away. What am I doing wrong? Thank you in advance for your help and suggestions. K

 

[Flboy]

You are doing nothing wrong! Trust takes time! Respect his boundaries, and he will slowly come around!

 

[kirstenb]

Thank you so much. That is very reassuring

 

[wrench13]

Yeah, dont rush things. Develop trust with him before you start to offer stuff by hand etc. Sometimes it takes weeks or months before the parrot will actually trust you to not eat it.

 

[Cottonoid]

My ringneck just started taking walnuts from my fingers in the last couple of weeks (but not all the time yet), and he's been with me since the end of March Some parrots just take longer, and some take a lot longer, ha! I've talked to other people that have different species of ringneck parrots and some have even taken as long as two years to really "click" and fully trust their human. I think mine heard this news and decided he's going to break that record and make me wait even longer

With having a really hands off parrot myself, I think anything you do to build your relationship IS helping to build a relationship! My parrot would diiiiieeeee if I touched him, but he's a very happy fellow and eats his dinner while I eat my dinner across from him every night. He eats his breakfast and tells me stories while I drink coffee in the morning. He puffs up and stares at me sleepy-eyed when I sing his bedtime song

So don't worry that you aren't making progress when it's going so slow you feel like you'll never SEE progress! It ALL matters!

 

[kirstenb]

I’m wondering also why he sometimes makes a sort of whimpering sound. It’s a very sad noise but I don’t know what it means

 

[Chomper]

My alexandrine and I are beginning our new lives together and I’m already in trouble! All the videos etc show use of treats to help with training . . . but he won’t take anything from my hand. He just shies away. What am I doing wrong? Thank you in advance for your help and suggestions. K

Don’t worry! It’s just his personality for the time being! Not all birds are as outgoing as others, training itself takes a lot of patience and for some, it takes weeks to months just to get one topic down. You’re not alone at all

 

[wrench13]

Ringnecks are capable talkers with the cutest squeaky toy voices, start now talking to him, using A specific phrase in your highest pitch voice. I find that the first one ( a trick or a phrase) is the hardest one, and each progressive one gets easier and easier. We are currently enjoying tiktoks of Kiwi, a blue RN, on a channel My Blue CHicken. He says so many things and very cute. Try playing them for your IRN, parrots can see video very well and can learn from them.

 

[LeeC]

My alexandrine and I are beginning our new lives together and I’m already in trouble! All the videos etc show use of treats to help with training . . . but he won’t take anything from my hand. He just shies away. What am I doing wrong? Thank you in advance for your help and suggestions. K

You can try offering the treat on a spoon, perhaps even a long, wooden spoon if he is really fearful of hands coming close. Then, you just hold the spoon with more handle in your hand over time, effectively shortening the distance between the treat (spoon end) and your hand.

Warning: the spoon may be scarier than the hand, depending upon the parrot. Parrots are complex. :]

Perhaps this is inspirational.

 

[Terry57]

Great advice from everyone above, I just want to add a link in that may help as well:

Tips for Bonding and Building Trust

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