Littleredbeak
Well-known member
- May 27, 2020
- 621
- 870
I have a Ringneck. I got her from a bad situation at a pet store- she was sick, had a severely imbedded ankle band and wings clipped way too short. She was at the petstore for 7months and I’m assuming with little contact (they just kept transferring her to different sister stores trying to sell her at their asking price- the employees at the last two stores talked about how mean she was). I am honestly surprised she survived all this.
After several months she is finally healthy but wants nothing to do with human hands. She is very curious about the world around her and likes watching.
I used to take her out regularly after she got over her infection and her ankle healed. I stopped recently to try to get her to come out on her own to no avail. I’ll leave the cage open for her to come out on her own- A perch is right outside the door.
When I take her out I have to chase her around in the cage and I have to pick her up with a shirt (so she doesn’t bite me - she bites hard! ) I have somewhat taught her step up with a perch to take her back into her cage (she has a flight cage) but again I have to follow her around the room.
She wants to get away from hands constantly (I’ve even played videos of Ringnecks being friendly to people - she tries to bite the hands in the videos).
Part of the problem is one of her wings is being over preen( vet is not sure if this is from her wings being clipped too short Or if it’s behavioral) so she can’t fly and I think this freaks her out . When I first brought her home she would land hard on the bottom of cage because she couldn’t initial perch well either. I installed a platform in the middle of the flight cage and then had the perches near the plat form so the falling distance would not harm her. Her world is pretty small just being in the cage. She also will wait for her two tail feathers to grow long before she will pull them out. So far I’ve only seen two long tail feathers. WhenI got her, her tail feathers were shorter than a lovebirds.
Once she is out of the cage she genuinely enjoys being out and exploring. In the beginning I had no choice but to take her out because of her medications, foot baths and appointments. She enjoyed the car rides tho! It has been two weeks of me leaving the cage door open for her to come out on her own because I don’t want to cause her anxiety chasing her or forcing her to come out. I also don’t want to leave in the cage all the time :/
I have researched trying to find solutions and advice. I have tried the slow process of getting her used to hands with associating them with good things. I have tried are treats and stick/clicker training, just sitting by the cage And showing friendly parrot videos. She is not into toys - she has them but she doesn’t play with them. Her favorite thing to do is to tear apart her expensive giant Timothy hay hut.
She has a flight cage, an avian light and lots of foraging and enrichment in her cage. She gets a variety of healthy mostly organic foods.
I am looking for recommendations on helpful books and videos, advice and insight on what else I can try? Anybody else have or had a similar situation with a parrot?
Thank you!
After several months she is finally healthy but wants nothing to do with human hands. She is very curious about the world around her and likes watching.
I used to take her out regularly after she got over her infection and her ankle healed. I stopped recently to try to get her to come out on her own to no avail. I’ll leave the cage open for her to come out on her own- A perch is right outside the door.
When I take her out I have to chase her around in the cage and I have to pick her up with a shirt (so she doesn’t bite me - she bites hard! ) I have somewhat taught her step up with a perch to take her back into her cage (she has a flight cage) but again I have to follow her around the room.
She wants to get away from hands constantly (I’ve even played videos of Ringnecks being friendly to people - she tries to bite the hands in the videos).
Part of the problem is one of her wings is being over preen( vet is not sure if this is from her wings being clipped too short Or if it’s behavioral) so she can’t fly and I think this freaks her out . When I first brought her home she would land hard on the bottom of cage because she couldn’t initial perch well either. I installed a platform in the middle of the flight cage and then had the perches near the plat form so the falling distance would not harm her. Her world is pretty small just being in the cage. She also will wait for her two tail feathers to grow long before she will pull them out. So far I’ve only seen two long tail feathers. WhenI got her, her tail feathers were shorter than a lovebirds.
Once she is out of the cage she genuinely enjoys being out and exploring. In the beginning I had no choice but to take her out because of her medications, foot baths and appointments. She enjoyed the car rides tho! It has been two weeks of me leaving the cage door open for her to come out on her own because I don’t want to cause her anxiety chasing her or forcing her to come out. I also don’t want to leave in the cage all the time :/
I have researched trying to find solutions and advice. I have tried the slow process of getting her used to hands with associating them with good things. I have tried are treats and stick/clicker training, just sitting by the cage And showing friendly parrot videos. She is not into toys - she has them but she doesn’t play with them. Her favorite thing to do is to tear apart her expensive giant Timothy hay hut.
She has a flight cage, an avian light and lots of foraging and enrichment in her cage. She gets a variety of healthy mostly organic foods.
I am looking for recommendations on helpful books and videos, advice and insight on what else I can try? Anybody else have or had a similar situation with a parrot?
Thank you!
Last edited:
