New member needs help

[compodave]

Hi, My name is David and my wife is Gillian. We have two children and a very animal friendly home that is becoming a little like a zoo due to our two children Charlotte and Jack.

Our latest addition Charlie is an Indian Ringneck. We have had him for about a week and are keen to get things right so he can have a happy home and compatible future with all the family.
We where told by the seller he was hand tame and talking a few words and barking like a dog.

He was delivered in a small cage with no toys, the wrong food and very weary of us. We have now provided him with a large new parrot cage, lots of toys etc and sited the cage in a family area, against a wall, high, with a view of TV / window etc.

Our problems are at this stage keeping him calm when we get close to him, avoiding him flapping and panicking when we are close. What is the best way to approach this problem. We do not want to rush things, but I worry he may get into bad habbits. He likes to be out of his cage and for the last two days we have been unable to get him back in. Any advice would be gratefully received, Many Thanks:

 

[oled]

Stay as close as possible mear the cage without him being afraid. Stay and talk..after a period try to come closer and so on. When you can have a hand in the cage without he is fraid you can start training UP and DOWN. Dont have him out of the cage before he can UP and DOWN

 

[compodave]

Hi Oled,
Many thanks for that advice, by UP and Down, do you mean on and off a perch or finger? sorry in the parrot learning stage, Thanks

 

[wenz2712]

Welcome to the forum

If he will come on your hand without biting then that is great.. If not then yes, try getting him to step onto a stick.

 

[condobirds]

good that you got a large cage and toys. But I would lower the cage to eye level. You don't want him feeling superior being so high.And the family might interact with him more if he is accessible. Also if you have him in an active family room, I would get him a smaller sleeping cage and place it in a quiet, dark place so he is out of all the activity and get a good night sleep. Typically most birds need about 10 hours uninterrupted sleep.

Be very patient. It could take a while. All my birds were handfed and "tame" but it took about a year before they became the lovebugs they are today. Going to a new home with new sights, people, routines, food,and other animals easily could have him frightened. All of my birds at first displayed aggression which was probably fear but with consistent interaction they came around. Remember birds are prey animals and they react to stressful situations differently than a dog or cat will.

What are you feeding him?

 

[itzjbean]

good that you got a large cage and toys. But I would lower the cage to eye level. You don't want him feeling superior being so high.And the family might interact with him more if he is accessible. Also if you have him in an active family room, I would get him a smaller sleeping cage and place it in a quiet, dark place so he is out of all the activity and get a good night sleep. Typically most birds need about 10 hours uninterrupted sleep.

Be very patient. It could take a while. All my birds were handfed and "tame" but it took about a year before they became the lovebugs they are today. Going to a new home with new sights, people, routines, food,and other animals easily could have him frightened. All of my birds at first displayed aggression which was probably fear but with consistent interaction they came around. Remember birds are prey animals and they react to stressful situations differently than a dog or cat will.

What are you feeding him?

While I'm sure this person would appreciate your advice, this thread was started in 2012 and the original poster has not been back in 5 years., so you are not likely to hear back.

 

[noodles123]

My bird wouldn't let me touch her for weeks but I let her out daily and prayed that she would go back in at night. Thankfully, the lighting seemed to trigger a shutdown in her birdy brain, so if you are struggling to get him back in, try closing the windows and turning off all of the lights and see if he puts himself to bed.


Establish routines and repeat the same words each time- e.g., "goodnight, love you! See you in the morning" and say them in the same way every evening. These can help indicate to the bird the direction that things are heading....I also have a bedtime song ritual that I do with my cockatoo---same 3 songs and when the 3rd is over she gets told its bedtime. I wait about 10 minutes max and if she doesn't go in herself, I put her in. She usually opts for the "easy way".


REMEMBER THAT PARROT'S WORLDS MOVE IN SLOW MOTION COMPARED TO OURS. I can personally attest to the anxiety this can create (e.g., what if they hate me forever, what if I never have another normal evening? etc etc) but please try to resist that cycle of thinking.


One day, out of the blue, things will most likely click and at that point, you will feel stunned at how something so difficult became so easy.



Be kind, calm and consistent and REMEMBER, DO NOT REACT TO BITES IF YOU CAN HELP IT!---PS- YOU WILL BE BITTEN.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Thank you for rescuing this bird!

Here's the readijg we usually recommend.
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

General Parrot Information - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community

http://goodbirdinc.blogspot.com/2012...n-parrots.html


I love your patience and willingness to work on this!

 

[noodles123]

Also- it can be tempting to assume that the bird is just being aggressive etc (knowing it was hand-tamed) but remember that in many ways, (AND I MEAN THIS IN THE KINDEST WAY POSSIBLE) birds share many characteristics with children with Autism...Shifts in routine, environment, sounds, smells etc can TOTALLY throw a bird off, so try not to take it personally and make sure your kids understand this as well.


Try doing some day-to-day activities near the bird and work on feeding it from your hand etc and this will reinforce the idea that people can be trusted. If your children are old enough to understand, you might compare the way that you act around the parrot to the way you act at church or in a play....not forever, but just until the bird isn't terrified of all of the new people and places.



Another thing----DO NOT let your kids think that birds bite to be mean...Birds use their beaks like hands so I would keep contact VERY supervised until you are sure that your children won't react in a wild or emotional way if bitten. This could be deadly (or at the least, reinforcing) to the bird, and that is not what you want.

 

[MonicaMc]

ALTHOUGH THIS THREAD IS OLD and may be good for any future people who come to the forum, I'd actually want a nervous bird up high. This gives them safety, not superiority. Birds who are afraid need to feel *SAFE*, and if height equals safety, then that's good! Also, I would provide the scared bird a 'secure', quiet place. This may be away from all the hussle and bussle of family life, possibly in a corner, and with some sort of cover they can go behind so they can feel like they are hiding.