Untamed Indian ringneck

[Kel31787]

I had a very tame Lutino (yellow ) ringneck but he passed. I made the mistake of getting one that looks just like him (dna has not come back yet)
When the shop clipped his wings & did the dna test he screamed like a banshee and I noticed but thought he was just uncomfortable. When we go to pet him he flies around the cage and screeches. We can maybe touch a foot or wing and he flies from us. I called the shop behaviorist and she said “ ringneck females are often hateful, worse then males and if it’s a female it just may never be tame. I can look at it but my best advice is to leave him alone and let him get used to you “. Is there anything I can do? He was in a cage with “twin” of him. He gets along great with other birds. He’s caged alone but we’ve introduced him to a very tame blue Quaker we got from them and he tries to play with her. It just seems he doesn’t like people. He does stare at me a lot like he’s interested in bonding (his cage is in my bedroom). Is there any hope for this mean ringneck? Right now he’s downright hateful


UPDATE: dna results just came it is a female

 

[zERo]

I wouldn't say any bird is 'hateful' not a great mindset to adopt!

He sounds scared, how long have you had him? And how old is he?
I would not try to touch him, especially if his reaction is as extreme as feeling like he needs to fly away from you.
Stop trying to treat him like you did your previous bird, he needs a slower pace, let him see you pet and train your Quaker.
Each time you enter the room, place a treat he really loves in his bowl so he can begin to associate humans with good things.

Not all birds will be as tame as we'd like them to be, I hope this helps!
Sorry for the lose of your previous bird and happy to hear you were able to adopt another!

 

[skunkmonkey]

I have both a male (suspected) and female ringneck, they are both wonderful loving birds. They have very different personalities, and express that love in different ways. I don't know if it's a gender thing, or just their personalities.

Rio, our girl, is very hands-off. She loves to watch her favorite ringneck YouTube parrot videos, and she enjoys playing "she's quick!" That's where I group a bunch of beads together on a flap of cardboard, and she races to touch me before I can get my hand away. She's very gentle, and never bites unless I totally ignore her level of excitement. When she gets too excited I just back off and let her play with the beads without me. She won't let me pet her at all, but she will grudgingly give kisses. She's very smart, and we've trained her to do numerous tricks. I would describe Rio as a standoffish gentle sweetheart. She is motivated by toys.
Rio was a holy terror for the first 2yrs of her life. When she turned 3 she magically turned into a loving sweetheart, so you may just need to be patient and wait for the hormones to settle post-puberty.

Maui, our suspected boy, is very much the opposite. He loves being held, and while he's not excited to be touched, he will tolerate it. He's eager to give kisses, and loves training to learn new tricks. Maui is motivated by food, so training is extra exciting for him since he gets treats. He isn't happy playing alone. He wants us to play along with him or he gets bored.

Ringnecks need 2-4hrs of attention per day. If you ignore them for several days they are notorious for returning to a wild state, so make sure to give them the attention and love they need. Also note that parrots will tend to hold you to the amount of time you give them when you first get them, so be sure to provide them with the amount of attention you feel you can normally consistently provide even though you probably want to give them tons of attention initially.

 

[Kel31787]

Since the dna came back that the yellow ringneck is a girl and hatched on my late mothers birthday I guess we are calling her Debbie after my mom: anyways - Debbie acts like she wants to join in while we have the blue Quaker (dna today says boy ) but acts like she doesn’t trust us now

 

[wrench13]

Good points Skunk Monkey, from what I know about ringnecks in general. Ringnecks are not known as touchy feely type parrots and they have a tendency to revert back to a wild, untamed state if left alone for awhile. With any parrot, take your time and be patient. But every parrot is it's own bird, so to speak, very much an individual, so generalities are dangerous to be thought of as the only way they act.
The time they take to accept and welcome humans can vary wildly, but the 2 years Skunk Monkey mentioned above is not unheard of with ringnecks, some Greys and other species can be really stubborn, but with patience, love and consistency I think little Debbie will come around to the flock!

 

[Kel31787]

I got her some toys and made some too- she’s not playing with the one I made (go figure I think birds read labels / brands at the store ) but she likes the little shoe toy they sold me when I got her and the mirror swing . She’s eating food and watches the tv when I put ringnecks on but if I stuck my hand in there she won’t bite . Just flies to the other side of the cage. I guess she would bite if I got close enough-

 

[Kel31787]

Today when I cleaned her cage and she let me pet her tail feathers since she stuck them out of the cage and she didn’t move she seemed to be happy so I’m kinda shocked - does this mean she may change her ways ? One of the bird shops we go to and got Rocky our male first Quaker from who’s about 4 now said they purposely don’t carry ringnecks because of their “reputation of being mercurial “

 

[Cottonoid]

That does sound like progress in the right direction

 

[skunkmonkey]

It's definitely a good sign that the bird is letting you pet it, but it may just be still too afraid of the new surroundings to feel comfortable exerting its opinion strongly, so don't feel bad if later on it gets mad when you reach in the cage or try to pet it.

As a general rule, ringnecks tend to be defensive of their territory. As gentle as my birds are they still don't like me sticking my hand in their cage. I have to wait for them to come out on their own, or lure them out with a treat, toy, or favorite activity.

I would continue to be affectionate with your parrot, though respect their "no", when they express it. It's also important to let the parrot get socialized by interacting with other (responsible) humans, so that they learn that humans are nothing to be feared, and that they give them rewards.

If the bird will let you, a good trick to teach them early on is to spread their wings out on command. This will ease grooming, and make them less fearful of that activity. Unfortunately this is something that (at least mine) ringnecks don't really stand for. Even Maui, who allows some touching doesn't like his wings messed with, and wing clippings are a semi-annual torture session. It's important to clip their wings though because indoors are very dangerous for flighted birds. Ceiling fans, ovens, windows, etc. all pose deadly threats to your feathered friend.

 

[ctwo]

Each bird will have their own unique personality. As stated, generally IRN are not as cuddly, but many can be. Females generally dominate over males and are bit more bossy, but they can be every bit as affectionate as some other male.

Here is some info you may know but this lady has a female IRN and around 3min she shows her bonded state.

I've seen plenty of female IRN be playful and quite happy with their owners on YT.

p.s., it took a year to get my male IRN to a fully comfortable state where he'd stop lunging and trying to bite, and progression continued for another year during the pandemic quarantines. Having gone back to work, there has been some regression so even males can be a bit temperamental.