Ask Lafeber

Bird behaviour

I find that my indian ringneck enjoys to “nest” in my blanket while I’m watching movies or even sleeping,he’ll sit on my stomach or right beside me and actually enjoys cuddling but I try not to enforce the behaviour as he matures(he is only about 1 year old and he has had a blood test)and I dont know how to stop his separation issues.He can be aggressive or nervous around any other people than me.Its not that he isn’t tamed or that I dont enjoy having such a tamed irn but he is constantly becoming more attached to me and it’s in an almost sexual manner and I’ve had many people tell me he thinks I’m his mate or he wants to mate with me and I do not know how to make him loose this behaviour and hes began to play with his toys less and less,do you k ow how I can help these behaviors?

Hi Skye,

IRNs are great birds but they seem to come in two extremes – either they are hand shy and aloof or they are super affectionate to the point of obsession. You need to make some changes in how you interact with him. Petting should be limited to the head and neck and never on the back, chest or around the tail. In the wild, flock members will preen each other on the head but only the mate is allowed to preen feathers on the body.

You will have to stop letting him nest on you or snuggle. Get him a playstand he can sit on instead. Besides the risk of you rolling over on him when you fall asleep, the nesting and cuddling is triggering his hormones. He is becoming sexually mature at a much younger age than he would in the wild – something common among captive raised parrots.

It’s normal for him to not want to be friendly with guests. A parrot with a mate will not have much interaction with other birds – they are generally viewed as rivals.

It’s best to start making these changes now. Otherwise hiss behavior issues will get worse, and he could start feather plucking. Make sure he has time alone in his cage with his toys so he can learn to be more independent. And don’t give him anything he can get inside of or anything to shred.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda