Trust Issues (Indian Ringneck)

Great! 😁

Just going to tag some other people with Ringnecks as they will be able to offer info too. @Michael Reynolds @Yellowchickenparrot

Just checked up on him and he is clinging on the side of the cage and I presume sleeping as when I walked closer he didn't move. Do you think I should put that bowl back where it was and just leave it empty? Don't want to stress him out anymore! haha
 

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if he is sleeping then try not to disturb him, if you suddenly wake him up he will get more frightened of you,

Is that a normal sleeping position for a bird? I can't tell from feed if he is because his eyes are open and I can see him move around.

I don't plan on going down to see now, I'm thinking more tomorrow when he is up.
 
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ok ringnecks do like to sleep with there head tucked into there wings, normally on one foot (if they fill relaxed) as for getting him into a smaller room you will need to do this at a time when you know you will not have to rush out, I use a travel cage myself, luring him back into the cage only by him being hungry or thirsty, you must never try to chase him, no sudden moves, keep your hands lower than your bird and move slowly. I have trained wild , feral, aviary ringnecks, the main thing is not to frighten these birds and have patients and get to know there body language.
 
ok ringnecks do like to sleep with there head tucked into there wings, normally on one foot (if they fill relaxed) as for getting him into a smaller room you will need to do this at a time when you know you will not have to rush out, I use a travel cage myself, luring him back into the cage only by him being hungry or thirsty, you must never try to chase him, no sudden moves, keep your hands lower than your bird and move slowly. I have trained wild , feral, aviary ringnecks, the main thing is not to frighten these birds and have patients and get to know there body language.

Yes so yesterday night I could see his head was tucked in, I guess my option for now is to put the thing back in so he feels more comfortable. Will do that in the morning. Hopefully he is fine this night as is.

Will give that a try in a few weeks! Thanks!
 
finding his favourite food can also help, try different foods and see what he will go for first, then keep that food as his main encouragement to get closer to you. I only have four ringnecks at the moment but they are my favourite species none of mine are caged and they have the full freedom of my home. they are great with the other flock members and even to a point when one was feeding my young amazon when he was younger.

if you have time try looking at some of my older posts about a ringneck called Beryl. the most loyal bird I have ever had the pleasure of knowing
 
finding his favourite food can also help, try different foods and see what he will go for first, then keep that food as his main encouragement to get closer to you. I only have four ringnecks at the moment but they are my favourite species none of mine are caged and they have the full freedom of my home. they are great with the other flock members and even to a point when one was feeding my young amazon when he was younger.

if you have time try looking at some of my older posts about a ringneck called Beryl. the most loyal bird I have ever had the pleasure of knowing

Yup I'm keeping a diary of what it's been eating etc, hopefully get a better idea in the next couple weeks.

Do you think I should cover the sides of the cages? Or atleast one side?

I will do! Plan on reading through and getting as much info as I can to get me going! Seen a couple good threads here compared to another forum that literally went and said

"You can tame a parent-raised bird but the bird will never develop the kind of bond with humans it will need to be semi-content in captivity - the ONLY option for happiness in an IRN that was parent-raised is for it to be an aviary bird that lives with another of its own species."

I got really disheartened when I got that back, but it seems like you've had a similar experience to me!
 
finding his favourite food can also help, try different foods and see what he will go for first, then keep that food as his main encouragement to get closer to you. I only have four ringnecks at the moment but they are my favourite species none of mine are caged and they have the full freedom of my home. they are great with the other flock members and even to a point when one was feeding my young amazon when he was younger.

if you have time try looking at some of my older posts about a ringneck called Beryl. the most loyal bird I have ever had the pleasure of knowing

Just took a picture of him, I've got my father sitting on the sofa next to him. He's about a meter away from him. Do you think he looks uneasy In the picture? His feathers look slightly puffed. I can try get a better picture but don't want to get any closer yet.
 

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"You can tame a parent-raised bird but the bird will never develop the kind of bond with humans it will need to be semi-content in captivity - the ONLY option for happiness in an IRN that was parent-raised is for it to be an aviary bird that lives with another of its own species."
Given a choice I will prefer parent reared birds, they are more stable and are better for training once trust has been gained. it is not true regarding the bond it will have will be less if it is parent raised and in fact the bond you can gain is far closer from one that has not been reared by its parents.
 
Given a choice I will prefer parent reared birds, they are more stable and are better for training once trust has been gained. it is not true regarding the bond it will have will be less if it is parent raised and in fact the bond you can gain is far closer from one that has not been reared by its parents.

I'm willing to put in the time and effort, as long as it's happy and can slowly build trust. 💪

Will keep you guys updated! Thanks alot already for the help!
 
It's been just over a week now since I decided to let it be and not give it any attention apart from the changing of food/cleaning. It has started to eat apples which was a amazing surprise when I heard it chewing away!

I've been sitting on the floor and shuffling towards the cage when I go to clean it and change the food, he still seems scared, flies across one or twice and then clings on to the side of the cage right at the top. The frantic flying has reduced and he only does it if I get too close while standing. There have been a couple days where he has gone down to eat within 5-10 mins of me putting his bowls in and some days where it has taken hours.

My plan is to continue with exactly what I'm doing, what do you guys think?
@Michael Reynolds @Roz @DizzyBlue @dianaT

When would it also be a good time for me to use the approach you described in this thread to get closer to his cage?

 
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Well yes slowly does it am not too sure about having to sit on the floor & shuffle towards the cage though! You may be making a rod for your own back doing that she he will have to get used to you standing & walking there as normal. So long as you move slowly and talk gently he will get used to it, otherwise it's another change for him when you do stand and go to the cage.
Good that he's eating some apple, just slowly does it I guess.
 
@dianaT When I do go up to the cage standing it'll go crazy flying across it. I remember @Roz saying that he would get down lower and kneel down when would change Ollie's food. Should I just slowly walk to his cage and kneel down instead? I know as soo as I get anywhere near the cage standing it'll go bezerk! Hahaa
 
@mehul93 That's great he is eating apples and coming to down to eat fairly quickly. I am assuming you are putting in the food bowl and immediately walking away.

Good to know the frantic flying is much less and that getting down low is working in this respect. I did indeed crawl to Ollie's cage whenever I used to approach to service the cage. But also, at other times of the day, I used negative reinforcement to begin to approach standing up.

This is starting from a spot that he is comfortable with (usually the other side of the room to the cage) and beginning your slow approach with minimal eye contact. With each step forward, the bird's relaxed body language would earn half a step back. I would work on this just for a few seconds now and again through the day always stopping the session when the bird still looked relaxed - the first few times I might have only progressed one or two steps forward. Gradually as the days/weeks passed I could get closer and closer to the cage with Ollie remaining relaxed. Eventually I could slowly approach him at full height. It is explained in detail at the beginning of this thread here:

 
@Roz Yes, putting in the food and then going back to my normal daily routine. I actually put in orange slices in today alongside the seed mix and was surprised that he went for the orange first!

I've read that and was definitely going to give that a try! When you say the RBL earns a half step back at what point do I start taking the step back? Would this be at the first sign of his body language changing from relaxed? I.e slowly walk to the cage, as soon as he looks like he will dart take a half step back?
 
@mehul93 that's great about the orange slices. His diet is slowly expanding!

You are looking for relaxed body language. So if he is changing from relaxed or looks like he will dart, it is too late - those aren't the behaviours you want to reinforce. So take a step forward and if he remains relaxed, take half a step back immediately. Just stand there, doing nothing. Then take another small step forward. Reinforce his relaxed body language with taking half a step back. You might want to leave it there for that session. Then next time repeat. If you think you can get a little closer, try one more step and half a step back again. Remember what it is you want to reinforce - his relaxed body language. You don't want to reinforce any fearful body language however small. If you see fearful body language then that tells you you have gone too far too fast. Go back to the beginning and make the steps smaller. It's almost like a dance!
 
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