IRN Bluffing & handling?

[bek.kay]

Hi! I’m a new mama of a blue male IRN baby. We picked him out at 3 weeks and were encouraged by the owners of the store to come in and handle him often before taking him home. We went in 2-3 times a week to hold him and spend time with him & got very used to him being such a loving little guy who very much enjoyed being held. Well now he’s definitely in his bluffing stage, which we read a lot about and we know it’s just a time we have to love & work with him through. I’m caught in between allowing him his independence and space while still chatting with him through his cage & when he’s out and about. But he hates being held now, won’t even let us get close. Do I continue to try and hold him regardless of his reluctance? How should we be physically handling him during this? I know they can easily revert back into being people shy or aggressive and I certainly don’t want that, but I also don’t want to lose trust by doing something he is uncomfortable with. Any tips? Thanks

 

[wrench13]

Welcome and be welcomed. IRN's in general are not known as touchy feely type parrots, most do not like being scratched or petted; if you do scratch him, go with the grain of the feathers, not reversed, like an Amazon or conure might.

And it's wise to never force something on or with a parrot. You can try it once in awhile to see of he has changed his mind, but dont repeatedly try to hold him if he doesn't like it. There are many other ways of maintaining the personal connection with parrots other then holding them. My 'Zon likes to be scratched (when he is in the mood), but hates being held.

 

[MissMac]

Hi! I’m a new mama of a blue male IRN baby. We picked him out at 3 weeks and were encouraged by the owners of the store to come in and handle him often before taking him home. We went in 2-3 times a week to hold him and spend time with him & got very used to him being such a loving little guy who very much enjoyed being held. Well now he’s definitely in his bluffing stage, which we read a lot about and we know it’s just a time we have to love & work with him through. I’m caught in between allowing him his independence and space while still chatting with him through his cage & when he’s out and about. But he hates being held now, won’t even let us get close. Do I continue to try and hold him regardless of his reluctance? How should we be physically handling him during this? I know they can easily revert back into being people shy or aggressive and I certainly don’t want that, but I also don’t want to lose trust by doing something he is uncomfortable with. Any tips? Thanks

I am a mum of two female IRN's and they are about 9 months old now and I'm still yet to see a bluffing stage. I am guessing it will come when our summer approaches. One of my girls I reared from about 5 weeks on, the other was reared by the breeder till she was about 3 - 4 months old. There is a definite difference between the girls re me. Missy, the one I reared has no issue with me but Gracie, although she will come to me of her own volution, she still nips me, even when she herself chooses to sit on my shoulder - she will nip my neck. Right now she is sitting on my sleeved arm, if she were sitting on any skin she would be nipping it. Oh and I am fully retired and sit with them all day. All I can suggest is to give it time. I believe that that is a normal for IRN's

 

[Cottonoid]

Welcome to the forum!

How long have you had your IRN? If he's still pretty new to your home, it's completely normal for any parrot to be more nervous than they were at the store/breeder.

If he's been with you for, say, six months already, then you might need to go back to basics of building trust. Does he come to you for a treat? Take a treat from your hand? Your fingers? You can build on those things and do things like target training to help you both learn how to interact with each other in a fun way.

I agree I'd skip trying to hold him. Like others mentioned, I've heard from many ringneck owners that their birds don't like being touched, and definitely nowhere besides the head 'with the grain' like wrench mentioned. They are not a species that preens each other, so they don't take physical contact as a friendly gesture like a Quaker would. Babies of all species like warmth so they tend to be ok with cuddles when they're little, especially if they associated being held with getting fed, but an adult ringneck not so much

Good luck and keep us updated I'm still working on my little man trusting me at all some days, so I'll share any good tips as I find them!

 

[bek.kay]

Welcome to the forum!

How long have you had your IRN? If he's still pretty new to your home, it's completely normal for any parrot to be more nervous than they were at the store/breeder.

If he's been with you for, say, six months already, then you might need to go back to basics of building trust. Does he come to you for a treat? Take a treat from your hand? Your fingers? You can build on those things and do things like target training to help you both learn how to interact with each other in a fun way.

I agree I'd skip trying to hold him. Like others mentioned, I've heard from many ringneck owners that their birds don't like being touched, and definitely nowhere besides the head 'with the grain' like wrench mentioned. They are not a species that preens each other, so they don't take physical contact as a friendly gesture like a Quaker would. Babies of all species like warmth so they tend to be ok with cuddles when they're little, especially if they associated being held with getting fed, but an adult ringneck not so much

Good luck and keep us updated I'm still working on my little man trusting me at all some days, so I'll share any good tips as I find them!

Hi! Thanks so much for the info we’ve had him home with us quite literally 2 weeks just today. So I know it’ll definitely take more time & that he is still adjusting to his surroundings and new life here. He pretty much won’t get closer than 2 feet to us if he’s out and about, in his cage he doesn’t shy away at all, he will sit and look at us or groom himself. So we are working on praising him when he gets closer to us and offering treats (he won’t take from the hands yet).
Any tips on getting him to take treats from my hand?

 

[MissMac]

Any tips on getting him to take treats from my hand?

I would drop the treat for him to take and slowly do it more and more closer to your hand. I find Gracie doesn't like any treat offer on the palm of my hand and prefers if I hold it with my fingertips bunched up around it. The palm is a big object, the scrunched up fingertips, not so. Missy, I reared her from 5 weeks lets me give her what I call head scritches... she will actually push her head into my loosely relaxed hand if I stop. Then again she was all up for bedtime cuddles when she was a baby and still comes to me to be put into her cage for bedtime... even tho she can do it herself (she sometimes does if she sees I am busy)head.https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VAaau7Q0Fu8

 

[bek.kay]

I would drop the treat for him to take and slowly do it more and more closer to your hand. I find Gracie doesn't like any treat offer on the palm of my hand and prefers if I hold it with my fingertips bunched up around it. The palm is a big object, the scrunched up fingertips, not so. Missy, I reared her from 5 weeks lets me give her what I call head scritches... she will actually push her head into my loosely relaxed hand if I stop. Then again she was all up for bedtime cuddles when she was a baby and still comes to me to be put into her cage for bedtime... even tho she can do it herself (she sometimes does if she sees I am busy)head.https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VAaau7Q0Fu8

Awesome, will definitely try that with him! That’s so sweet, I’m hoping he will eventually get back to letting us give him lil scritches on his head (my partner calls them the same thing haha).

 

[MissMac]

Awesome, will definitely try that with him! That’s so sweet, I’m hoping he will eventually get back to letting us give him lil scritches on his head (my partner calls them the same thing haha).

The video link worked?

 

[Squeeing_Onion]

Hi! Thanks so much for the info we’ve had him home with us quite literally 2 weeks just today. So I know it’ll definitely take more time & that he is still adjusting to his surroundings and new life here. He pretty much won’t get closer than 2 feet to us if he’s out and about, in his cage he doesn’t shy away at all, he will sit and look at us or groom himself. So we are working on praising him when he gets closer to us and offering treats (he won’t take from the hands yet).
Any tips on getting him to take treats from my hand?

If your handsome fellow is getting that close to you guys, its huge progress, especially for how short a time you've had him! I brought home my first IRN baby about two months ago now.

Echo, who we estimate about 10-11 months old max right now, started off very afraid of us, and had been poorly handled before his first rescuer brought him home. His transition into our home was very stressful - It took about a week or two before he was truly 'comfortable' in our home daily, then about another week of daily work with him before he was taking treats from our fingers.

By 'comfortable,' I mean that he was beginning to play with his toys even when we were present, eating food, and preening himself. Showing signs of being relaxed, if not content. By week two, he was showing signs of being content - beak grinding even when I was present, taking naps when we were nearby and trusting us to "keep watch" while he napped, beginning to vocalize and make happy IRN noises. He was almost completely silent the first three days home, trying not to draw notice to himself and "hide" from us in doing so.

My first two parrots were/are both conures, and I've noticed some distinct differences in my interactions with them versus Echo.

Body language seems to be used much more often and subtly by him - Not that my other birds aren't also highly communicative through silent gestures, but Echo seems to take it to the next level.

Bongo is big on voice tone and is highly treat motivated; Echo often prefers me to be silent and 'speak' to him through gesture and body position. I've been learning when he likes noises and when he doesn't. Sometimes, if he is stressed, me speaking calmly can help; but I have noticed that taking a few deep, calming breaths to calm *myself* helps him even more, sometimes without a word said.

All I have to do when he is stressing out is look at him so he knows I see his stress signs, then relax myself, and go "back to normal" -- This does a lot to calm him, since he's taking cues of whether or not he is in danger or is safe from his "flock" and i'm now flock to him.

Versus, if I speak to him in a soothing voice, sometimes this stresses him more (I think because to his perspective, me looking at him and speaking is basically alerting anyone to the fact he is there, and he prefers to hide to feel safe).

If I'm not calm myself and try to hide calmness in my voice and pretend to be, this will also stress him, as he notices the mixed signal. He is much more relaxed with me when my emotions are open; not dramatic or overreacting, but open. He doesn't like people who pretend to be happy and calm, likely wondering what they are hiding. In fact, they downright terrify him.

He is exceptional at sensing ulterior motives. Bongo doesn't seem to mind much, provided food is involved. I honestly am not sure if she recognizes when she's being lured with food, she's so excited for and distracted by it. Echo? He absolutely knows if you're luring him with food. If he goes for it, it's because he decided to, not because he was tricked. He'll ignore his favorite of favorite treats if he doesn't like the situation or want to do it.

So, I guess I'm saying, at least from what little experience I've had with my new baby boy so far -- with IRNs, I think actions speak louder than words to them. They are hyper-aware of you. Your emotions, your body language, how focused you are or aren't on them. And they have exceptional memories for patterns. They learn your habits whether you're aware of them or not.

Be genuine, and they'll be genuine back. Be scheming, and they'll do everything to outwit you so they can feel safe.

Really paying attention to what cues your parrot gives in response to X, Y, and Z stimuli will go a long way towards helping you understand the individual birds' body language and be able to tell when you're doing things 'right.'

Echo isn't handleable yet; he's only just beginning to calmly take treats from my fingers, so we haven't begun target training or anything yet. Everything I've done with him, including him now beginning to go peacefully into his cage when asked, has been without touching him.

I want to pet and cuddle my soft floofy cloud-like feather baby so bad sometimes, I just settle for picking up his molted feathers Oh, the temptation.

I read a story recently on someone who's had their ringneck for six+ months and the bird still lunges at the bars to attack them whenever they come near.

So, your ringneck letting you come as close as he is and not showing signs of fear, is a huge accomplishment in your guys' relationship with him <3 Just keep doing what your doing, respecting his personal space and finding ways to include him that avoid the spooky-scary touching thing for now, and eventually, he'll decide he's curious enough and ready to try something new.

When he's relaxed, it says a LOT of good things about his comfort with you.

 

[Cottonoid]

This is the most perfect description of ringnecks! Always always observing, mine is!

 

[bek.kay]

If your handsome fellow is getting that close to you guys, its huge progress, especially for how short a time you've had him! I brought home my first IRN baby about two months ago now.

Echo, who we estimate about 10-11 months old max right now, started off very afraid of us, and had been poorly handled before his first rescuer brought him home. His transition into our home was very stressful - It took about a week or two before he was truly 'comfortable' in our home daily, then about another week of daily work with him before he was taking treats from our fingers.

By 'comfortable,' I mean that he was beginning to play with his toys even when we were present, eating food, and preening himself. Showing signs of being relaxed, if not content. By week two, he was showing signs of being content - beak grinding even when I was present, taking naps when we were nearby and trusting us to "keep watch" while he napped, beginning to vocalize and make happy IRN noises. He was almost completely silent the first three days home, trying not to draw notice to himself and "hide" from us in doing so.

My first two parrots were/are both conures, and I've noticed some distinct differences in my interactions with them versus Echo.

Body language seems to be used much more often and subtly by him - Not that my other birds aren't also highly communicative through silent gestures, but Echo seems to take it to the next level.

Bongo is big on voice tone and is highly treat motivated; Echo often prefers me to be silent and 'speak' to him through gesture and body position. I've been learning when he likes noises and when he doesn't. Sometimes, if he is stressed, me speaking calmly can help; but I have noticed that taking a few deep, calming breaths to calm *myself* helps him even more, sometimes without a word said.

All I have to do when he is stressing out is look at him so he knows I see his stress signs, then relax myself, and go "back to normal" -- This does a lot to calm him, since he's taking cues of whether or not he is in danger or is safe from his "flock" and i'm now flock to him.

Versus, if I speak to him in a soothing voice, sometimes this stresses him more (I think because to his perspective, me looking at him and speaking is basically alerting anyone to the fact he is there, and he prefers to hide to feel safe).

If I'm not calm myself and try to hide calmness in my voice and pretend to be, this will also stress him, as he notices the mixed signal. He is much more relaxed with me when my emotions are open; not dramatic or overreacting, but open. He doesn't like people who pretend to be happy and calm, likely wondering what they are hiding. In fact, they downright terrify him.

He is exceptional at sensing ulterior motives. Bongo doesn't seem to mind much, provided food is involved. I honestly am not sure if she recognizes when she's being lured with food, she's so excited for and distracted by it. Echo? He absolutely knows if you're luring him with food. If he goes for it, it's because he decided to, not because he was tricked. He'll ignore his favorite of favorite treats if he doesn't like the situation or want to do it.

So, I guess I'm saying, at least from what little experience I've had with my new baby boy so far -- with IRNs, I think actions speak louder than words to them. They are hyper-aware of you. Your emotions, your body language, how focused you are or aren't on them. And they have exceptional memories for patterns. They learn your habits whether you're aware of them or not.

Be genuine, and they'll be genuine back. Be scheming, and they'll do everything to outwit you so they can feel safe.

Really paying attention to what cues your parrot gives in response to X, Y, and Z stimuli will go a long way towards helping you understand the individual birds' body language and be able to tell when you're doing things 'right.'

Echo isn't handleable yet; he's only just beginning to calmly take treats from my fingers, so we haven't begun target training or anything yet. Everything I've done with him, including him now beginning to go peacefully into his cage when asked, has been without touching him.

I want to pet and cuddle my soft floofy cloud-like feather baby so bad sometimes, I just settle for picking up his molted feathers Oh, the temptation.

I read a story recently on someone who's had their ringneck for six+ months and the bird still lunges at the bars to attack them whenever they come near.

So, your ringneck letting you come as close as he is and not showing signs of fear, is a huge accomplishment in your guys' relationship with him <3 Just keep doing what your doing, respecting his personal space and finding ways to include him that avoid the spooky-scary touching thing for now, and eventually, he'll decide he's curious enough and ready to try something new.

When he's relaxed, it says a LOT of good things about his comfort with you.

Thank you so much for the insight! I am definitely learning to pay attention to his cues & also learning his little internal clock (he’s a happy playful boy up until about 6pm and then he’s ready to be left alone). He is a VERY chatty guy, he will sit on his perch on top of his cage and chitter or occasionally screech & he loves when we talk back. I just for the first time today got him to take an apple slice from my fingers! I think he was unsure of it, but he never bit my finger and he definitely enjoyed the fruit. Baby steps we are certainly very happy with his progress. It was a little discouraging at first simply because he was held so much as a baby & loved it but now I’m just happy that he’s comfortable with me so close and is starting to not be as weary of hands near him, though I won’t try to handle him for quite a while just to keep that trust until he’s ready to venture out.

 

[Squeeing_Onion]

Thank you so much for the insight! I am definitely learning to pay attention to his cues & also learning his little internal clock (he’s a happy playful boy up until about 6pm and then he’s ready to be left alone). He is a VERY chatty guy, he will sit on his perch on top of his cage and chitter or occasionally screech & he loves when we talk back. I just for the first time today got him to take an apple slice from my fingers! I think he was unsure of it, but he never bit my finger and he definitely enjoyed the fruit. Baby steps we are certainly very happy with his progress. It was a little discouraging at first simply because he was held so much as a baby & loved it but now I’m just happy that he’s comfortable with me so close and is starting to not be as weary of hands near him, though I won’t try to handle him for quite a while just to keep that trust until he’s ready to venture out.

D'aaaawwwwwww that is great progress!

This might be helpful information; I wish I could cite my source, but I cannot for the life of me remember where I read it. Someone mentioned that Indian Ringnecks do not preen each other in the wild; the babies tend to love cuddles because they enjoy the warmth. (If I'm wrong on that, someone please let me know! I can't find where I read it >.<)

They also don't mate for life like many parrot species do, which helps them more easily adapt to being a 'family bird' instead of a 'one-person' bird.

Be prepared for when your feathered baby does show interest in trying to touch you guys. My Echo started by reaching out with his beak to touch my hand instead of a treat I was holding, and let me tell you, it takes so much willpower to hold still and let him with that big, dangerous looking red beak opening wiiiiiiiide....

...and he barely touched my hand with teh tippy-tip of his beak before yeeting himself away in case I spooked or something Yesterday, he tried gently squeezing my armseveral times in a row. I let him until he was pressing just too hard, then told him "Gentle, Echo" and hebacked up, looked at me --then tried again more cautiously and gently, and I praised him.

I try to set it up now so his easiest "touch me" option is my forearm. If he's going to bite me to see what I do, I'd much rather have him chomp me there than on a finger, as I know I can handle it way better, and he can't get as solid a grip to 'latch on' if he decides to.