Indian Ringneck Male

Question
I have a male Indian Ringneck Parakeet, about 8 years old. He was my boyfriend's bird for a long time, but was given to his friend to take care of because my boyfriend had a parrot at the time who was very aggressive and nearly killed the parakeet. About 6 months ago we got the bird back. He was not very socialized and mostly stayed in his cage at the friend's house. He was there for about 3 years or so. The bird gets cranky sometimes (seemingly at random) and bites. The behavior doesn't seem to be protective, as he is most attached to me, but has bitten me also. I was wondering if you have any advice for how to break him of this and possible causes of it. My boyfriend claims that before he went to stay with the friend, he didn't have this problem. I have tried to socialize the bird as much as possible; does he just need more of this?

Answer
Unfortunately Indian Ringneck parakeets easily revert back to acting "untamed" if they are not handled on a regular basis. And three years without being hanled is a very, very long time (almost half of his life). I'm so thankful to hear that he is finally back in a home where he is getting the daily attention parrots need so badly. However, it will take lots of time for him to over come what he has gone through. Also- don't be suprised if he is never the same bird again (just as if a 2 or 3 year old child was neglected for a few years- this can permanetly affect their personality as adults).

I hope this helps.

Check out these websites which have some really good information on them about parrot behavior:

www.companionparrot.com

www.parrotchronicles.com

and

www.wingedwisdom.com

I hope this helps. And good luck with this little guy.

-Maggie