Please help...

[rupesh7000]

Hello I have a white Indian ringnecked Parrot which is 2 years old now (I think). I think in her younger days she was either mistreated or just left on her own. We have had her for a few months now and showing no signs of improvement.

In the morning when we wake her she will be silent for 5 minutes. We would give her fresh water and food. She sits on a perch next to a mirror which when in the cage spends most of her time playing with. However, in the mornings she will start screaming really loud and bang her head on the mirror. We initially thought she does this to get attention so we walk away every time but she hasn't stopped doing it. When we go near her then she does this dance where she takes one sidestep forward and moves it's neck round and round screaming like hell at the same time. Is it telling us to leave her alone or give it attention? As mentioned when we walk away she won't stop.

Then if we leave her in her cage she will repeatedly bang her head on the mirror and scream really loudly. There are plenty of toys to play with in the cage and we thought it might be boredom but we have changed the toys regularly and she hardly plays with any of them (even basic foraging ones)

If we open the doors of the cage she does eventually come out and plays with the lamp and lamp shade most of the time. She will also fly around in the room repeatedly screaming her head off. We don't know if this is a sign of leave me alone, she feels threatened by us or she wants our attention. However, giving her attention at this point does not stop neither does the walking away technique.

We give her lots of fresh fruit and nuts which she seems to happily eat. She does not talk or making any whistle noises. She just screams or makes a tongue kissing noise (usually after eating)

In the afternoon say 3pm she then goes quiet and even if we leave the cage open she will sit on her perch in the cage and sit on one leg and looks quiet content. She will come now and again for her food and water but for the rest of the afternoon she will just sit there quietly. We speak to her often with no response and when we go close to her she seems to be shaking so I don't know if she just scared but unlike the morning where she will scream and basically seems like she telling you to go away in the evening you can come closer to her. I have tried taming her and using a stick to get her on etc but she would move away, scream or usually bang her beak/head on the mirror really loudly. Her eyes do sometimes go large and small which suggest she is scared. We give her a bath via a spray which she seems to enjoy and spreads her wings for us.

At nighttime, we put a blanket over her cage and sometimes she's so scared she sits on top of her mirror when we do but I fear she won't sleep unless we do out one over due to the light in the room in the morning.

How do we stop her from being so scared and screaming like hell? How do we stop her from banging her head and beak on the mirror? How do we get her to play with her toys in the cage to avoid boredom?

Has anyone seen this before and can you help?

 

[Minimaker]

It sounds like she's "mated" with the mirror. Take it out of the cage and keep interacting with her. I think I've seen people here talk about that before. Apparently a bird can sometimes think their own image is another bird and they will bond to it instead of the people. Am I right everyone? Wouldn't you say that might be the problem?

She's probably lonely and thinks this "other" bird is all she's got. Just don't give up on her and leave her in the cage. Keep trying to win her over after you remove her "companion".

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

I would also remove the mirror. To her it's another bird, she doesn't understand it's herself. She has probably "bonded" to the mirror and is frustrated.

 

[Taw5106]

Definitely take the mirror out.

 

[rupesh7000]

Thank you I will try removing the mirror and she how she reacts. I hope she don't get too upset that I've removed her 'friend'. If she does think it's her companion then why would she bang her head against the mirror and scream? It just confuses us.

Other feedback also welcome just in case people have seen this before

 

[Minimaker]

She could be frustrated the other bird won't come out of the mirror and play with her. You're getting good advice from people who know birds really well (not me, but the long time members). The best thing you can do is trust them and try it. When I came here I got really good advice that truly helps because these people know what they're talking about. I just got my green cheek conure and their advice helped immensely. My Taz is doing well because they knew how to help me.

 

[SilverSage]

Mirrors are almost always a really bad idea with birds, it is frustrating that they are still marketed as bird friendly items, please take it away and do not return it no matter how she reacts.

Also, I am usually the one against wing clipping, but if the bird is not tame she should not be allowed out of her cage unless her wings are clipped. It is dangerous, and does not help your relationship with her.

You said your attention upsets her, could you give us some more detail on your interactions with her?

 

[Taw5106]

Interact with her, she needs to learn to fellowship with others not the mirror. Birds are social creatures and need interaction with others like humans.

 

[weco]

Hello Rupesh.....like everyone has mentioned, remove the mirror.....your ringneck will get upset and you will probably have to start from the beginning with a beginner training program. If you have not developed a bond with your bird, that should be your first goal.....once you have developed a trusting relationship with the bird, most other training comes relatively easy.....

Good luck.....

 

[rupesh7000]

Thanks for all the advice. I will remove her mirror and keep you updated on how she is.

I have thought about wing clipping and I didn't really want to do it but now I'm thinking maybe I should. Purely because she is not tame, and she often goes to the lights in the ceilings trying to bite everything in site so for her safety might be a good idea. She also fly's at high speeds darting across the room from her cage at times which is frightening if we are nearby.

I've seen reports that wing clipping can also have a negative effect on the parrot so maybe doing this and removing the mirror might be too much for her all at the same time?

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

Remove the mirror and get a "light" clip on her.

You don't want a bird who is used to being able to fly to fall like a rock, but you do want to inhibit her ability enough to be safe for her and so you can work with her without her being able to just fly away.

My bird has a "light" clip and she can fly about 15 or 20 feet across the living/dining room to get to me or back to her cage.

You can always let her be fully flighted later, after she is bonded to you and trained. Her flight feathers will molt out and grow back in within a year.

 

[rupesh7000]

Hi All,

Just an update. We have no removed the mirror and she does as expected seem a bit lost. She no longer wants to sit on the perch where the mirror was. This was the perch she used to rest on and slept on.

She still flies around the room at very high dangerous speeds so wing clipping is certainly next on the agenda.

A bad mistake of mine was to leave a small glass bird in the leaving room. She now goes to this and kisses her mouth and makes cute noises. She's clearly now 'mated' with this bird..anything but us! I've now removed the bird and see if she improves.

 

[BruceV]

I'm just guessing here, but it sounds like your bird might have been part of a breeding pair and desperately misses her mate. I don't know how long it will take for you to overcome this. Again, this is just a guess.

 

[Betrisher]

Might be an idea to completely re-decorate her cage so that she can spend a bit of time readjusting to new circumstances. It might occupy her mind enough to calm her down a bit?

Also, try and spend a bit of time just sitting with her, shovelling treats into her. Ringneck species are usually pretty food-greedy and so she ought to appreciate receiving nice things. You could use a bit of millet spray to start with because that's long and non-threatening. Maybe a stick of celery or long skinny carrot/parsnip? If there's a particular seed she likes (say, sunflower) reserve it so that the only time she ever gets it is when communicating with you.

Do please keep us informed of your progress - I hope things work out for you!

I forgot to add that another member recently contacted me with a conure doing almost the identical thing. Only thing was, he has now gone past the trigger of the mirror and is carrying on like a pork chop much of the time. I know nothing about conures, but it seems to me the Evil Mirror has been the culprit in so many cases of odd behaviour. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

 

[Delfin]

rupesh7000
first, get rid of the mirror. I do agree, that clipping the birds wings at this time would have a negative effect has the bird is already in a bad place. Clipping wings doesn't guarantee that your relationship will improve or that the bird will become tame. There is the possibility that it could became worse. My opinion is, that you would be forcing the bird to be dependant on you rather then letting it choose to. forcing a bird to do something that it doesn't what to do is not a good or productive way to interact with your bird. I would focus more on bonding and building trust with the bird.

Here is a link that could help with your problems.
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

 

[chippy]

I don't think wing clipping is a bad idea, if done right. You don't want to cut all the flight feathers all the way back... just enough to keep your bird safe. Trim a few feathers at a time, and see how that impacts flight.