Feathered Family Inc.

Taming the Indian Ringneck Parakeet

So often these days, I hear of wonderful Indian Ringneck's who are coming into homes from bad situations, untamed and frightened. Unlike many other birds most Ringnecks do not just bite out of fear, they bite to protect themselves. They will also thrash wildly, breaking blood feathers and abusing themselves. Taming these wild ones can be tricky, but it can be done with patience. The very first thing one must understand when working with an IRN is that these are not little birds. The body may be small, but the spirit is huge, and you must remember to treat them with all the respect you would give a Macaw. If you try to handle an IRN like you would handle a conure; you’re in for a nasty surprise.

I often get asked how I tamed Mazzie, as many people have read about her and know that she was once a vicious bird. My response is patience. It took a long time to turn that frightened abused bird into the loving affectionate bird she is today. It was worth the time though; she is more affectionate to me than even my Cockatoo.

The first, and most vital step, in taming the IRN is to earn the birds trust. You cannot force yourself on these birds, but neither can you just leave them alone. You must walk close to the cage they reside in, offer them the chance to come out via an open cage door, sit and talk quietly to them, and interact with them in a calm and gentle manner. I find that talking softly to them helps greatly, IRN's are very vocal birds and enjoy soft noises from people. If you do not interact with them at all they will content themselves with their situation and not initiate interaction with you. You must be the one to initiate interaction with an IRN, they are not like other parrots who will eventually come around to wanting to interact. These birds can be very content without human contact.

Once the bird is no longer thrashing when you near its cage, its time to begin the next step in your taming process, the hands on moment. I must, if I am to have a clear conscience, warn you that a bite from an IRN is painful at the very least. Those beaks are not just decoration, and they can easily draw blood. I don't recommend putting your hand with the bird until you have it well step up trained for a hand held perch. This can be a slow process, but it is worth the work to avoid the bites.

If you've gotten the step up training done its time to go face to face with your bird. By this point the bird should be willing to step to a perch for you, and not have panic attacks when you are close to it. If you cannot do these things, go back and get them done, you cannot tame an IRN if you cannot be near it and you cannot get it to step up.

I begin with bribery, which may not be the best method, but it has worked very well for me. I bribe the IRN to stand on my hand. A spray of millet usually does the trick. Placing the millet on the far side of the hand you want the bird to step up, present the hand to the bird along with the command to step up. Once your IRN is on your hand, hand over the millet. Repeat this over and over until you are confident that the bird will step up to your hand safely from any perch, meaning the top of the cage or a handheld perch, or even the floor.

Next, begin to work with socializing the bird in your presence. I use an ironing board, as its not much fun (not like a play area), and its off the ground. I place a bowl of water, and food on the board, along with some toys, and sit close by with a spray of millet handy. The bird will generally flutter off of the ironing board a few times, but you just place it back on top and sit by. Mazzie threw the toys from the board as hard as possible, but again, I just replaced them. I reward any interaction the bird initiates with me with millet. By doing this, I am trying to teach the bird that being with me is a fun and happy thing, but that also being out to play is a fun and happy thing. This can take as long as a month to work with some IRN's and as short as a couple days with others. It has worked very well for me. Remember, this is a two fold lesson. You are not only teaching the bird to interact with you, but to also enjoy being out of the cage and play while out of the cage. Both parts of this lesson are important in the long run. You do not want an IRN who think it must cling to you at all times.

Now, all of this is my personal method for training IRN's. There may be things in it you disagree with. I am not a veterinarian, just someone who has managed to raise very gentle loving IRN's and is happy to give advice to others. I hope that you find this useful, but if you don't, I hope you find a method that works for you.

© Feathered Family, 2003