Ringneck Behavior help please

[sahil112]

Hi Guys

I need your every lasting help again please.

I have 2 ringnecks. Male and female both from different parents and roughly the same age of around 4 months old.

There are a few issues I am having I need your help with please.

1. In the morning and the evenings only the male will chase the female around and try to attack her or bite her. During the day otherwise they sit next to each other :S The male also fights with her over food but I have like 6 different types of food in the cage for them all over the cage( it is a big cage 1.5m in height and 0.9 in length etc) yet the male chases the female around and dosn;t let her eat. How do i get them to behave in the morning and evenings just like they do during the day? Or isit just hormones etc as I heard it is mating season or something?

2. I am the only person who cleans the cage and changes everything inside and gives them fresh fruit and vegtables etc. When ever i make the slightest movement even from across the livingroom they get scared and run into corner of the cage but when my misses or my little baby girl walks next to them or past etc they dont budge and even care :S Why do they act like that around me?

3. The beak on the female seems to be like peeling/maybe crack hard to make out etc. I understand they go through this... I have some calcium perches on the way but anything else I should provide for them?

Thank you

 

[Dinosrawr]

Hi Sahil, hopefully we can be of some assistance.

First off, is it necessary for them to share a cage? If you're worried about aggression escalating, it may be worthwhile to purchase a second cage so that the birds have more of a choice when it comes to interacting with one another. It's hard not to get into each other's hair when you're constantly inches away from one another all the time.

On to your specific questions, however:

1) At 5 months of age, no, it isn't hormones. They'll come into sexually maturity at around a year and a half of age, sometimes sooner sometimes later. I've personally found my own Ringneck male to be very food orientated, and if I give anything to my other bird he will demand that he can have it even if what I've given him is bigger and better. It's almost a, "if you have it I have to have it" mentality. Unless you can feed them in different locations, chances are you wont be able to eradicate the behaviour. You can work on station training them to eat at their own bowls, but keep in mind you will need patience and it will take a lot of time, especially based on their response to you.

Personally, I don't think you'll find a solution to their bickering other than giving them a much larger cage or giving them each their own. They don't have a place to escape conflict when they're both in the same cage, which is why sometimes it results in physical fighting. Birds will often resolve things with body language before deciding to bite/attack because someone backs down and flies away. Chances are they don't feel they can escape the situation which leads them to be more physically aggressive.

2) You may simply be moving too quickly for them. I find IRN's to be a bit skittish to quick movements, though all parrots really are for the most part. You have to remember that instinctually they are prey animals, and they can't help but be fearful of being eaten (even if they would make an awful BBQ chicken dinner). There's a few ways you can approach this:

- Threshold training: Discover where their "comfort zone" is with you, ie. how close you can get before they freak out. Once you discover that, you reward them when they calm down after hitting that threshold. That may be inches away, a few feet, a few meters really. It's hard if it's from across the room, but when you hit it and they calm down you slowly approach and give them a high reward treat then return to that threshold. It teaches them that you aren't there to force anything and that you're also the provider for delicious yummies.
- Target training: There's a lot on this. I recommend doing some forum searches. Great relationship builder.
- Clicker training: Same idea as above. Builds positive relationships and is rewarding, plus sets a basis for trick training in the future.
- Be harmless: Approach quietly, slowly, and simply sit there. Hum a tune, read a book out loud, tell them about your day, anything. But use a soft, quiet voice and don't move quickly. Reward with a treat every time they calm down with you and place it in their food bowl if they won't take it from your hand.

It could be as simple as any colours you're wearing, jewelry catching sunlight, wearing a hat, moving too fast/talking too loud, something happening behind/near you, etc. Anything that comes suddenly that kicks up their flight drive to escape danger will make them behave that way.

3) So long as the beak is not actually cracking and compromising the structure, it's the same as how your nails may lightly chip and be easily peeled near the end. I think you're doing just fine!

Your birds are beautiful, by the way, and I do love how you've set up the cage. If you haven't been already, welcome to the forums! Hope this helps a bit [emoji4]

 

[Firstgoatsnowthis]

I agree with Dinosrawr, and I wanted to add two things:

Maybe think of approaching the birds as "wooing" them. You are offering your cuddles and comfort and inviting them in, but never demanding or forcing interaction. It may be that if your family are less invested in interaction, the birds sense that and feel more secure.

Or it may be that cage-cleaning makes them nervous (even though they should be grateful!) and they associate you with that feeling. Any chance that other people could alternate into cleaning and feeding?

Our Alexandrine's beak peels mildly during molting. It could be that she's getting some new feathers. Optimum nutrition will help.

 

[sahil112]

Thank you for the helpful reply! and sorry for such a late reply back been really busy with the birds and life aha

So i have noticed a few changes in their behaviour.

1. the male always sits on the higher perch and the female now sits on the perch lower then him through out the day. The male still chases her sometimes but it is like only for 5 mins once every 2 days now or sometimes early morning at like 9 when i wake up late as they love to eat around 8ish aha. So i can assume they are relaxing a bit and becoming less aggressive towards each other etc?

2. I let them out the cage today, male has his feathers back and has flight while the female still couldnt fly so pretty much was walking around the room. they were out for half an hour and then flew back into their cage so happy with how first time out went

3. the female seems to be much more receptive to me know and much less jumpy when i walk past or go to sit next to her etc but the male is such a scardy cat he still goes to a corner very quickly. I am hoping with me sitting next to their cage etc and talking to both of them will improve the bonding even more so time will tell but good progress so far

4. I have issues with them eating their pellets, they eat all the fruit and vegtables they get everyday but rarely touch their pellet food but love eating almonds and monkey nuts when they get it. they also do have seeds in a different dish for them to eat. With regards to the eating and male not letting female eat I have seen as you described he hogs all the food and wants to be the fird to eat everything then lets the female come to eat aha. No manners ey! but I have seperate food dishes around the cage now so they should be fine.

So yes, this has been journey so far.

Hi Sahil, hopefully we can be of some assistance.

First off, is it necessary for them to share a cage? If you're worried about aggression escalating, it may be worthwhile to purchase a second cage so that the birds have more of a choice when it comes to interacting with one another. It's hard not to get into each other's hair when you're constantly inches away from one another all the time.

On to your specific questions, however:

1) At 5 months of age, no, it isn't hormones. They'll come into sexually maturity at around a year and a half of age, sometimes sooner sometimes later. I've personally found my own Ringneck male to be very food orientated, and if I give anything to my other bird he will demand that he can have it even if what I've given him is bigger and better. It's almost a, "if you have it I have to have it" mentality. Unless you can feed them in different locations, chances are you wont be able to eradicate the behaviour. You can work on station training them to eat at their own bowls, but keep in mind you will need patience and it will take a lot of time, especially based on their response to you.

Personally, I don't think you'll find a solution to their bickering other than giving them a much larger cage or giving them each their own. They don't have a place to escape conflict when they're both in the same cage, which is why sometimes it results in physical fighting. Birds will often resolve things with body language before deciding to bite/attack because someone backs down and flies away. Chances are they don't feel they can escape the situation which leads them to be more physically aggressive.

2) You may simply be moving too quickly for them. I find IRN's to be a bit skittish to quick movements, though all parrots really are for the most part. You have to remember that instinctually they are prey animals, and they can't help but be fearful of being eaten (even if they would make an awful BBQ chicken dinner). There's a few ways you can approach this:

- Threshold training: Discover where their "comfort zone" is with you, ie. how close you can get before they freak out. Once you discover that, you reward them when they calm down after hitting that threshold. That may be inches away, a few feet, a few meters really. It's hard if it's from across the room, but when you hit it and they calm down you slowly approach and give them a high reward treat then return to that threshold. It teaches them that you aren't there to force anything and that you're also the provider for delicious yummies.
- Target training: There's a lot on this. I recommend doing some forum searches. Great relationship builder.
- Clicker training: Same idea as above. Builds positive relationships and is rewarding, plus sets a basis for trick training in the future.
- Be harmless: Approach quietly, slowly, and simply sit there. Hum a tune, read a book out loud, tell them about your day, anything. But use a soft, quiet voice and don't move quickly. Reward with a treat every time they calm down with you and place it in their food bowl if they won't take it from your hand.

It could be as simple as any colours you're wearing, jewelry catching sunlight, wearing a hat, moving too fast/talking too loud, something happening behind/near you, etc. Anything that comes suddenly that kicks up their flight drive to escape danger will make them behave that way.

3) So long as the beak is not actually cracking and compromising the structure, it's the same as how your nails may lightly chip and be easily peeled near the end. I think you're doing just fine!

Your birds are beautiful, by the way, and I do love how you've set up the cage. If you haven't been already, welcome to the forums! Hope this helps a bit [emoji4]

 

[sahil112]

Well it is just me, the misses and my baby girl. my misses dosnt have anything to do with them although my little girl sometimes goes towards the cage and tries to speak to them and the female ringneck basically stretches her neck to see who it is and what they want aha!

I think your 100 percent right! they dont jump when my misses does anything near them and she has never touched their cage. She wont clean it as they are my responsibility aha so yes I cant get anyone else but just me. Although saying that they have improved quite a lot and arent so jumpy know when cleaning the cage. they just climb down towards the bottom of the cage and wait till i am done.

Beak is still same and yes the female is molting. Anything you can recommend which will help?

Thanks

I agree with Dinosrawr, and I wanted to add two things:

Maybe think of approaching the birds as "wooing" them. You are offering your cuddles and comfort and inviting them in, but never demanding or forcing interaction. It may be that if your family are less invested in interaction, the birds sense that and feel more secure.

Or it may be that cage-cleaning makes them nervous (even though they should be grateful!) and they associate you with that feeling. Any chance that other people could alternate into cleaning and feeding?

Our Alexandrine's beak peels mildly during molting. It could be that she's getting some new feathers. Optimum nutrition will help.