adopted beautiful indian ringneck girl...need some advice :)

[jayjay065]

hello everyone! my name is Jessica, and my boyfriend Lonnie and I adopted a gorgeous indian ringneck girl, named bonnie about 2 weeks ago. we are bonnies third home (that I know of). she is very skidish and anxious, she gets very nervous when we just walk past her cage or give her fresh food and water. im not quite sure how old she is, the previous owner estimated about 4 years old. judging by the way this poor girl acts, I think its safe to assume that neither owner was able to give her the love and attention she needs. im very excited to be her forever home, and I know its going to take lots of time and patience to earn her trust. im just not sure exactly where to start with working with her. shes not hand tamed at all, so I recently started slowly placing my hand in her cage for a minute, then when she is calm I drop her a peanut and slowly take my hand out. shes already taken a few chomps on lonnies fingers, so I know she is not comfortable with hands. If anybody can give me advice on where to start or what to do to build a relationship with her I would be so grateful!! thanks guys!

[Wolf]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
The thing for you to do is to spend as much time as you can just sitting and talking to Bonnie.
in addition to that pay attention to how close you can go to her cage before she starts getting nervous and stop and back off one step and talk to her from there. It may take a little time but eventually she will remain calm until you are right in front of her cage and are able to offer treats through the bars of the cage. When she allows that then you can open the door while talking to her and offer treats directly from your hand and then by offering the treats with the treat held so that she needs to step on your hand to get the treat.
IRNs require a lot of attention and personal interaction at least 4 to 5 hours a day, with at least one hour of that being personal interaction, which means physical contact on you. Use this time while you are learning to read your bird and building a bond with her to adjust her to a solar light schedule and to evaluate her diet and modify it as needed until she is eating a healthy diet.