Help with taming ringneck

[An.hringneck]

Got this untamed 7 month ringneck two weeks ago and as my family have never owned a bird we are unsure if things are not going well.

-In the beginning he was very scared of us and would cling to the back of his cage. He would be pacing back and forth and that didn't seem like a good sign so we started letting him out. He flies to top corners and such, he would go back in his cage on his own, when he was scared.

-As I said before, he would cling to his cage when we would come near it, but now if we give him food with our fingers he will reach out and grab it, but very quickly. oh, and he is out of his cage all day, flying around either on to the Christmas tree, onto the window which he desperately wants to get out of, and on top of our clock. we put the clock down because it was hard to give him food. It's a battle getting him in the cage at night as we don't want to grab him or anything, so we have to chase him with a stick.

-when we hand him something, Sometimes he might come from underneath our hand, which think is a sign of him trying to bite us. None of us have ever been bit as we quickly pull away.

-we have never tried to touch him, as he flies away if we aren't giving him food.

Please let me know how to go about taming him a bit better.

 

[wrench13]

Time to re-set. Look, parrots are all about trust. ANd trust takes time. Everything you do with this parrot has to be measured by that stick = does this build or destroy trust? CHasing him around - kills trust. Having him take treats from the hand - builds trust. See what I mean?

FOr now, he stays in his cage and everyone talks to him gently and softy. Offer treats thru the bars every time you pass the cage. Sit and talk with him - read to him, thye love that. GO to our Amazon subforum and read the "I LOve AMazon" thread to him - TONS of good info there for all parrots.

Ringnecks in particular are skittish of hands and hard to tame so this is going to take weeks and maybe months to tame him to the point where he comes to you and sits on you. But you aren't going anywhere and neither is he, right? DO this right and your parrot will be a joy and a member of your family. DO it wrong and well we see what happens every day - mal adjusted parrot that screams all day, afraid of people, and winds up in a sanctuary.

 

[An.hringneck]

Time to re-set. Look, parrots are all about trust. ANd trust takes time. Everything you do with this parrot has to be measured by that stick = does this build or destroy trust? CHasing him around - kills trust. Having him take treats from the hand - builds trust. See what I mean?

FOr now, he stays in his cage and everyone talks to him gently and softy. Offer treats thru the bars every time you pass the cage. Sit and talk with him - read to him, thye love that. GO to our Amazon subforum and read the "I LOve AMazon" thread to him - TONS of good info there for all parrots.

Ringnecks in particular are skittish of hands and hard to tame so this is going to take weeks and maybe months to tame him to the point where he comes to you and sits on you. But you aren't going anywhere and neither is he, right? DO this right and your parrot will be a joy and a member of your family. DO it wrong and well we see what happens every day - mal adjusted parrot that screams all day, afraid of people, and winds up in a sanctuary.

so leave him in the cage? But he paces around for long amounts of time, and it’s quite worrying to look at? How long should he be out because at this point he’s out all day except when he needs to sleep.

 

[HeatherG]

I would offer him little treats from your fingers. Like sunflower seeds, fruit, a berry, etc. if you are going to let him out, don’t chase him.

When he’s in his cage, sit nearby and talk quietly or read a book or the newspaper out loud to him. Listen to music or sing to him. Once he is more calm you can ask him to step up onto your finger or hand.

He doesn’t HAVE TO be in his cage for so many hours but he needs his food and water in his cage. And maybe when he goes to eat or drink you can shut the door of the cage and then offer him a treat from your hand.

 

[wrench13]

For now, letting him out of his cage is only stressing him, because you are chasing him around to get him back in. His cage should be large enough for him to fully spread his wings in any direction and allow short hopping flight from point to point in the cage. Some toys, food and water.

Lots of interaction thru the cage bars, until he calms down in your presence. He has to learn that people and hands only bring good things. THat takes time and consistency and care. And not scaring the crap out of him, chasing him off the curtains or lamps and back into his cage!

 

[LoveOfallAnimals]

I one hundred percent agree with everything wrench13 said. You need to work on taming him from his cage otherwise every time you chase him around with a stick at night you are only reinforcing his fears of humans. Which is the opposite of what you want. What size cage do you have him in?
It is totally normal for a parrot to grab a treat and then quickly retreat. It is a defense mechanism.
But as long as he will take a treat it is progress. Eventually he won't just take the treat and run.
He will take it and stay there. Patience is key with parrots.

 

[An.hringneck]

I one hundred percent agree with everything wrench13 said. You need to work on taming him from his cage otherwise every time you chase him around with a stick at night you are only reinforcing his fears of humans. Which is the opposite of what you want. What size cage do you have him in?
It is totally normal for a parrot to grab a treat and then quickly retreat. It is a defense mechanism.
But as long as he will take a treat it is progress. Eventually he won't just take the treat and run.
He will take it and stay there. Patience is key with parrots.

This is the size of the cage, it was the one he came in so I assumed it was fine, should I change it? (He went inside whilst I wasn’t there) Can u let me know when I can get him out of the cage?
I have read a few pages of a book to him as suggested, he just sort of stared at me calmly. I gave him food but it’s still a quick grab and run to the other side of the stick.

ps- I clean the cage everyday but some peanuts fell when I was refilling his food and I don’t want to disturb him.

 

[LoveOfallAnimals]

This is the size of the cage, it was the one he came in so I assumed it was fine, should I change it? (He went inside whilst I wasn’t there) Can u let me know when I can get him out of the cage?
I have read a few pages of a book to him as suggested, he just sort of stared at me calmly. I gave him food but it’s still a quick grab and run to the other side of the stick.

ps- I clean the cage everyday but some peanuts fell when I was refilling his food and I don’t want to disturb him.

It is hard to tell by just looking at the picture. The cage should really be at least 24LX24 WX36H inches.
You are going to want to get him some natural wood perches. Parrots love toys that they can destroy such as a mini bird kabob, bonka bird foraging star bird toy, or planet pleasures pineapple. He will destroy them but that is what a bird is meant to do.
With treats try to figure out what is his favorite be it could be a sunflower seed or a piece of almond, it just varies by the bird. Then only give it as a treat never put it in his food bowl. Gaining his trust will take time. It took a month with a RLA that I have. We are at two months, and he will now step up on a stick inside his cage, but he wants nothing to do with my hands. I can say that he now runs up to the front of the cage when he sees me and says hi. I know that he now associates me with treats. Do I hope that one day he will want to step up on my hand and allow me to scratch his head. Of course, I do, but I also realize time is on our side and I have to go at his pace. Think about it like you would yourself. Would you want someone to try to force you into doing something?

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