My First Parrot - IRN

[rajatbhatia]

Hi all,
First, I'm very happy to see a forum specially for Parrot owners and amazed at the kind of contribution many are putting to help solve questions of people like me.

So, I recently got an IRN parrot from a local bird shop. The guy said its a Male and 7 months old. 'His' wings were clipped and he was coming onto the hands at the shop. So, I brought it home based on trust.

Now, Its been 3 days since we brought it home.

Day 1 - Aggressive behavior to anyone and specially when we tried to put hand inside the cage. Brought him out by catching him inside the page (something terrible, I realize now) and then he was ok to come on hand but didn't want to stay for more than 10 sec. He was exploring the home but was running away from us. When I tried to bring my hand for him to perch on he didn't want to come and I eventually got bitten bad twice. Eating and sleeping well though.

Day 2 - I read this forum and realized the mistake. So I gave him his space and gradually took minute steps to bring to a point where he became comfortable with my presence or my hand inside the cage.

Day 3 (Today) - He is accepting my hand inside the cage. I am patting him on his beak, upper body and he isn't biting. He is eating from my hand - apple, sunflower seeds. But still, he isn't ready to come to my hand once he is out. He runs away.

Questions:

- So I am happy with the progress but want to be sure that what I am doing is correct and if there is anything else I should do to make him more comfortable and receptive.

- That the parrot hasn't made a single sound. When do they start screeching or making basic sounds?

- Whether its a male or female? I wanted a male and I don't know why I am feeling cheated. I am posting few pics (face, eyes, front, feet) of my parrot and appreciate expert suggestions on age and gender.

 

[Laurasea]

Hello well to the forum! Congratulations on your IRN!!

The fact the you can touch him at all is huge! I don't think they are a touchy feely species.

I'd guess male, takes time for ring to form, bit I have no experience just best guess

Oh definitely hasn't been home with you long enough to settle in and show all behavior yet!!!
Sounds like you are doing good. Love you he pictures!

 

[Laurasea]

Silversage is a member and breeder. She is Awesomely! Loves her IRN's! I copied from her web site this, I will also add link, under meneu she has lot of articles.
Taming your ringneck

*PLEASE NOTE: When you pick up your handfed “tame” ringneck, the bird should step up easily and be eager to interact with you. Do not believe sellers who claim the bird is tame but “just nervous” if the bird is clearly afraid to be handled. That is how you end up needing to know how to tame a completely wild ringneck.*





I get a lot of questions on how to build trust with a fearful ringneck, and I want to address some specific points for people starting this process. There is a lot of conflicting advice online and hopefully we can sort through some of that and help you get a good start with your new companion.



First Things First

All birds are individuals, and IRNs are one of the most difficult species to tame once they wean. Can it be done? Yes, but not every bird will become a great pet no matter how hard you work. If you find yourself with a wild ringneck you need to seriously ask yourself, “Can I love this bird and meet his needs forever even if he remains afraid of me for the rest of his life?” If the answer is no, then as you proceed with taming you should be formulating a back up plan to send your bird to a home that CAN love him if he is not within your ability to tame. If you ARE willing to love the bird no matter what, CONGRATS! Now start formulating a plan for how to keep him healthy and happy even if he is never tamed. Are you able to build an aviary? Maybe just an extra large cage with a good view of the yard? Extra foraging toys, shredables, etc to keep his mind busy if he cannot come out of his cage to interact and explore. I even know of people who let their wild birds out and have managed to train them to return to their cages for bribes even though the birds don’t trust the humans to handle them.



Setting the Stage

Imagine you find yourself trapped in a cage underwater (congrats on learning to breath underwater!) and sharks are circling you. They are circling and thrashing, and they keep opening the door to your cage and trying to get close to you! You cannot read their body language, you don’t know why you are here, you just know that they have awfully big teeth! This is as close as we can come to imagining what it is like for a wild bird to arrive in our living room. Sure, we have all HEARD that sharks aren’t blood thirsty, but up close the animal terror and the bone deep knowledge that they are predators and you are in their territory is overwhelming. For the entire time you are taming your bird I want you to keep this image in your mind. When things don’t progress as fast as you want them to, when you feel you are taking “two steps forward, one step back,” and when you don’t understand why the bird seems to hate you even though you feed, water, and adore him; you are a predator, he is prey. BE PATIENT!



Don’t Threaten

In all your dealings with your bird you need to be as smooth, calm, and relaxed as possible. Move in a relaxed manner, slowly, and predictably. When your bird begins to panic, back off just a little and wait until they calm down. Allow them to get used to you at that proximity. Some birds will be content for you to come all the way up to the cage before they get nervous, others will feel threatened as soon as you enter the room. Meet your bird where they are, be patient.





Use Bribes

Again, all birds are different. Some birds will be willing to take treats from your hands right away and that’s great! But most wild IRNs will not. For those who are too shy to take treats from the hand I suggest installing a metal dish specially for treats in a location that is easy for you to access without invading the cage more than necessary. I suggest metal because it makes a loud and unique noise when you drop in a peanut or almond, or whatever treat your bird loves the most. Each time you pass by the cage during the day, simply drop a treat into that bowl and continue on your way without even looking at your bird and especially without hanging around to watch him. The point is to get him to associate you coming around with getting his favorite treat. Eventually he will likely wait at the bowl for you instead of at the back of the cage, and from there it is a small step to taking treats from your hand. ( Not full article, didu know if it would fit)

If you can't go to link let me know I will copy other article

Taming Your Rinngneck ? Silver Sage Aviaries

http://www.silversageaviaries.com/

 

[Rozalka]

Yep, he is a male - I see the black ring is appearing.

 

[rajatbhatia]

Thank you for the replies.
I'm not sure what is the age of my Parrot. We call him Mithu
I read somewhere that the ring formation happens around 18months.
But still, Mithu should be making native sounds, which he doesn't. This concerns me.

 

[Ira7]

Thank you for the replies.
I'm not sure what is the age of my Parrot. We call him Mithu
I read somewhere that the ring formation happens around 18months.
But still, Mithu should be making native sounds, which he doesn't. This concerns me.

Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that ALL.

In a few months, you’ll look back at this quiet with fondness!

 

[Smerft85]

The ring doesn't necessarily take 18 months, my male is around 10 months and his is very visible and darkening already. He sounds like the polar opposite of yours, he screaches, calls, tries to mimic (he is good at hello, learning more) and he won't allow any petting of any sort, will only step up for me if he is in his cage and will still try to bluff me. Believe me, if he is being quiet, don't feel cheated! You aren't being cheated if he likes being touched!