New Indian Ringneck, Age 3, Very scared!

[Martin93]

Hello,

It's been 2 days ago since i got my indian ringneck parrot, a green one.
The little guy is 3 years old but in those 3 years he has almost never been out of his cage. And when he got out of his cage the people would run after him like crazy and throwing towels or boxes over him to catch him.
So that must have been stressfull and scary for him.

I know the people he was with and unfortunatly they weren't taking good care of him, he's in good health though.
So now that he's home with me and my other birds i'm hoping that he will be much happier! But he's very very scared of me! especially my hands!

Getting him into his cage was terrible... My hands were bleeding all over and the extreme screaming he did was deafening even to my neighbours, little guy was so scared that he would just crawl up in the corner of the room and scream at me while rolling on his back as i aproached him.
So far i've been handling him with love and care and let myself get bitten and try not to respond to that to show him i mean him no harm.

I've got like this "bird room" where he stays with my other parrots, at day time they can all get out of their cages, so does the new little guy, he made friends with my eclectus quick!

So far i've managed to get him to sit on my finger 3 times today, but not stepping up on his own, i picked him up with a towel when he fell on the floor (he is clipped) and put him on my finger and showed him to the climbing tree.
I'm just trying to show him that i am helping him and care for him. but i leave him alone for most of the time so he can adjust to the his new surroundings first.

But... how to i tame this bird? Is it even possible for a 3 year old bird? I heard afterwards that indian ringnecks are very hard to tame, is that true?

 

[Tetly]

Sorry to hear about all that he has gone through, but it sounds like he found a great home now.
As you've said, it's been only 2 days and it's only natural for him to be scared, give him some time to adjust to new surroundings. I've had my IRN for a year and 9 months now and he doesn't step up, he will only take food from my hands, that's all. But we get along very well, I taught him few tricks and he is outside the cage all day long, although, unlike yours, he sleeps outside of it.
Also, maybe you should've kept him in a cage for a bit longer, until he got used to the new situation. Talk to him, offer him treats and give him time and love, might take some time but it is worth it.

 

[wrench13]

Strongly suggest you stop toweling him, its very traumatic for a parrot, unless he has been desensitized to it. You'll never create a bond doing that. Let him sus the new digs out and you, let it come naturally, with aid of many food bribes . May take awhile, depends on how his previous life was. Read everything in the IRN sub forum, ask questions, and have fun.

 

[Kentuckienne]

I read once that lying on the back is the last-ditch defense of a parrot that thinks it's about to be eaten. Poor guy has been well-taught by humans that if he leaves the cage, horrible things will happen. He can un-learn this but it will take as long as it takes. The first thing is don't do anything to scare him. Let him stay in his cage, maybe even put the cage near a corner so he feels protected on two sides. Sit near the cage and read to him out loud from the posts in the IRN forum. When you think he's getting calmer, you can open the door and then sit and read as before. He will gradually begin to make new beliefs such as "the human isn't going to attack me". Eventually you can sit near the open door and snack on something he loves, holding a bit out to him now and then. He may want the treat enough to come to the door and take it. The idea is to go at a very slow pace and until there are enough positive - or at least neutral - experiences to begin to replace the bad memories he has.

 

[Crayfish066]

When my IRN first arrived he was very timid although
you would never believe it to look at him now.

He was very quiet and reserved for the first 4
days or so while he adapted to his new home, and
this was an IRN who I assume had no negative associations
with humans and was only 3 months old at the time.

I'm not an expert by any means but I think it's a little too early
to assume he should be comfortable with you yet, especially considering his background.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Welcome to your new addition Martin. You have some useful tools and that is your other birds. He will watch them being handled and given treats.

 

[Martin93]

Okay happy to hear that he might not be scarred for life.
He doesnt scream as much anymore when i aproach him, only when i get very close and he feels cornered. At this point i move back a little so he has some space. getting him to step up from higher places is very hard and only happens with a lot of biting, but i wont flinch. This morning he fell to the floor and i walked towards him and sat next to him, held out my finger and he stepped up!

He's still scared but he has never done this with the other people so i think this is going the right way already.
I hope that him seeing my other birds hang out with me without fear will help him, but my eclectus doesnt understand why he's afraid of me so he's confused and is a little jumpy when i get close and he sees the little guy jump away in fear.

I try not to handle it to much yet, morning and evening only. that way he can easily adjust.

Would playing some guitar next to him help calm him perhaps? Instead of reading?
I natrualy have a deep and low voice and talking in a "sweeter" higher pitched voice is a little hard for me and hurts if i do it to long haha.

 

[Flboy]

Wow, that poor little guy! Be glad he didn’t have a heart attack, or go into shock!

 

[Martin93]

Here is the little guy:

 

[wrench13]

LOL, just don't bring the volume up to 10 ( or 11) ! Most parrots seem to respond to music. Our Salty loves to come downstairs into the studio when my boys and I rehearse, often singing along or whistling . His style, of course.

 

[LordTriggs]

I read once that lying on the back is the last-ditch defense of a parrot that thinks it's about to be eaten.

I read exactly the same thing. Essentially on the back, feet and beak ready is them being prepared to fight to the death. Peace made with the bird gods and ready to fly into the halls of Valhalla. Definitely the time to back off.

Just time, it may take weeks or years, it's up to him. The previous place wasn't "bad" that was downright torture for the poor guy, sounds like he's either forgotten how to fly or his wings were butchered.

As for the guitar it's possible, I have a deeper voice and Rio preferred it to higher pitched voices, definitely being more interested by the lower pitch and he liked checking out my guitar too whenever I played

I'd be careful about taking in more birds even in a bad situation. Think how much you've spent on Jacky so far, you were struggling with money for a while there and to take on another bird is to add another drain on the finances.

 

[Martin93]

LOL, just don't bring the volume up to 10 ( or 11) ! Most parrots seem to respond to music. Our Salty loves to come downstairs into the studio when my boys and I rehearse, often singing along or whistling . His style, of course.

Haha, i wont plug it in my amp!


LordTriggs;
Yes i know its a risk taking in another bird, but seriously i couldnt let this guy stay there. and besides physically he's healthy.
His wings are fine also! he's clipped now so thats why he does not fly at the moment. The reason i clipped his wings is becouse when he is out of the cage i dont want to be running after him with a towel, which scared him a lot. Plus when he cant fly away he's much easier to handle and its in the bird's best interest also right now. If he could fly, he'd stay scared becouse he's always a few meters away from me.


I'm seeing some improvement today, when he's on the floor i can pick him up without getting bitten. Also when i take him to the living room and put him on a stand and sit next to him he's quite calm actually.
Not eating out of my hand yet, he grabs it but then drops it instantly.
I'm really happy with the way things are improving i did not expect that so fast honestly!