Ringneck untaming?

[mintytheringneck]

Hi all! Im new to this forum & also a new Rignneck owner. I’ve had minty for slightly over a month now, he is a Male and around 2 years old I believe, and while I know this is very soon to start to build any sort of bond with a new bird Ive observed a few things & have some concerns & would love some advice or feedback.
So when I got him from his previous owner, he was a shy, reclusive bird, but was hand tamed and would come onto your finger and climb his way up to your shoulder and sit there or ontop of your head at times, and he seemed very calm even for having new owners & a new environment. The first two days he was great & wasn’t aggressive at all just slightly nervous, but after that I noticed he no longer liked staying on your hand for a long time (his previous owner told me he liked climbing up to your shoulder) but started jumping off or flying off as soon as he gets on it, only for a couple of seconds he will stay on for. I am afraid he may be becoming ‘untame’ so to say, I spend time with him daily and he is always out his cage and I give him as much space as he needs, even though he is new Im just worried about that initial trust he had which seemed to have slowly dissapeared then though there isn’t a reason I can think of why. Ive treated him gently and have given him his space ect. Has anyone experienced this, and any tips on how I can get him to stay on longer as he used to before.
He is still a bit scared of hands and will try move away if you come near, he won’t let you touch him yet, he’s not aggressive like I mentioned but more nervous.
As for feeding him, I notice a lot of people saying to give snacks and feed from hand which he will take but he has trouble holding onto things with his beak, if I give him a pellet or some sort of snack directly to him he will try take it with his beak but it almost always falls, as if he cant hold onto it, he won’t take it with his feet which only he does when I give him fruit and veggies, but even when eating his seed and pellet mix he will make a huge mess as if he can’t hold or eat properly with his beak. I don’t think there’s an issue there but was just curious if this is normal with him not really being able to take anything from my hand like smaller things.
Appreciate any insight, advice for a new owner. Thank you.

 

[StormyPica]

I had a period where Stormy 'untamed' himself. I know how distressing it can be to see a previously tame bird suddenly want nothing to do with you. My advice is simple:

1. DON'T change up his routine. that'll just make him more anxious.

2. Make sure he gets 12-14 hours of sleep per day.

3. Keep it up with the training and taming, but start slow, as if you are taming a totally untamed bird. Set your expectations low. Keep the sessions short.

4. Give him 'quiet time'. I found this helped greatly with my baby budgie, Apollo, who had been rehomed 3 times in 1 month, and was too anxious to eat or drink (to the point where he forgot what water was, and developed a fear of fluids).
I would take him to a quiet room, just him and me, for about 20 minutes to an hour per day. We would chat softly, I would quietly read him books, and play soothing songs. It really helped him de-stress.

Hope this helps!
-Ollie

 

[Cottonoid]

From the conversations I've had with people that have had or worked with a number of ringnecks, it doesn't sound unusual that his behavior is a little different now after a few weeks of being home. It's kind of like, think about a 1 year old human baby, that's shy but will go to whoever you hand it to, but when it realizes you're gone for a day it isn't going to be as comfortable.

He knows this is all new and so you're both starting from scratch, really.

One of the ringneck owners I spoke with recommended target training and trick training before even trying to get them to step up. She also recommended keeping your hand covered with a cloth or sleeve if you need to at first. But she's had all her birds doing "touch" on her finger eventually.

As far as his eating, that might be worth a vet checkup. I have an African Ringneck so his beak is a little different than an IRN, but he picks up and hulls tiny seeds to carrying whole walnuts with no problem.

 

[Cottonoid]

Also welcome to the forum!

 

[Laurasea]

Welcome! Please share a picture love too see him!

 

[Dozi]

Hi all! Im new to this forum & also a new Rignneck owner. I’ve had minty for slightly over a month now, he is a Male and around 2 years old I believe, and while I know this is very soon to start to build any sort of bond with a new bird Ive observed a few things & have some concerns & would love some advice or feedback.
So when I got him from his previous owner, he was a shy, reclusive bird, but was hand tamed and would come onto your finger and climb his way up to your shoulder and sit there or ontop of your head at times, and he seemed very calm even for having new owners & a new environment. The first two days he was great & wasn’t aggressive at all just slightly nervous, but after that I noticed he no longer liked staying on your hand for a long time (his previous owner told me he liked climbing up to your shoulder) but started jumping off or flying off as soon as he gets on it, only for a couple of seconds he will stay on for. I am afraid he may be becoming ‘untame’ so to say, I spend time with him daily and he is always out his cage and I give him as much space as he needs, even though he is new Im just worried about that initial trust he had which seemed to have slowly dissapeared then though there isn’t a reason I can think of why. Ive treated him gently and have given him his space ect. Has anyone experienced this, and any tips on how I can get him to stay on longer as he used to before.
He is still a bit scared of hands and will try move away if you come near, he won’t let you touch him yet, he’s not aggressive like I mentioned but more nervous.
As for feeding him, I notice a lot of people saying to give snacks and feed from hand which he will take but he has trouble holding onto things with his beak, if I give him a pellet or some sort of snack directly to him he will try take it with his beak but it almost always falls, as if he cant hold onto it, he won’t take it with his feet which only he does when I give him fruit and veggies, but even when eating his seed and pellet mix he will make a huge mess as if he can’t hold or eat properly with his beak. I don’t think there’s an issue there but was just curious if this is normal with him not really being able to take anything from my hand like smaller things.
Appreciate any insight, advice for a new owner. Thank you.

Perhaps how he was in the beginning was the way in which he expressed his anxiety- being more obedient, quiet and calm. My conure behaved this way for a period of time before becoming un-tame. I then had to work with her from scratch. With my conure, though, she always seems to obey objects that she fears. She's afraid of my paintbrushes, but she steps up thinking that's what the brush wants. I do worry about whether she had some kind of traumatic past- I know that she was rehomed three times in one year before she came to me. I've had her for a year now and she's 3 years old.

 

[wrench13]

Welcome.

Ring necks are famous for going back into an almost wild state if human contact is not kept up, so I would recommend that you keep the one on one working with him, every day. Stormy's suggestion is very on point. Remember , parrots rate of acceptance to change is glacial compared to our quick monkey brains. Always go at his pace, and not the pace of your expectations. Think weeks/months, not days.

 

[skunkmonkey]

There are a few things you should know about ringnecks:

They don't bond as tightly to humans as many other parrots, and it can take a LOT longer than other parrots for them to bond to you, if they ever do. My oldest, Rio, didn't really bond to us until she was 3yrs old, we bought her as a hatchling. Compare that to my rose breasted cockatoo which bonded to me within a couple of weeks.

If left in their cage without daily contact they are notorious for reverting to a more wild state, and you will have to re-bond with them. They are naturally fairly wild birds. This doesn't mean that they aren't playful or intelligent. It just means that unlike many other parrots, they don't view you as the end all be all of their existence. They are like the eternal two year old. If you aren't there to care for them they will adopt an "I can do it myself" attitude, and not feel any need for you.

IRN's and parrots in general can have a difficult time being re-homed, the older they are the more difficult. It's very stressful on them. They see you as a kidnapper that has uprooted them from their life. With love, patience, and persistence you can overcome this, but it will take time, especially if they suffered abuse from their previous owner.

IRN's generally don't like being touched, they are usually fine being on your finger or shoulder, but they don't generally like touch beyond that.

When any flighted parrot flies away from you whenever you pick it up it means that it doesn't feel comfortable with you for some reason. If it wasn't flighted it would probably be nipping at you instead. If you know the previous owner, you could ask what they did when handling the bird. It may just have a preference. For instance, my wife is afraid of their beaks, so she wears a fleece glove when she holds Rio. Rio has bonded more strongly to my wife than to me, so Rio has started refusing my hand if I'm not wearing a glove. I've simply been persistent, and let her know that I won't cater to that, and she's eventually given in, but she still prefers the glove, and will balk sometimes without it.

Alternatively, you may have just changed appearance too much and the bird no longer recognizes you. Rio thought I was a stranger for weeks after I got glasses.