Should I give Kylie a larger cage ?

I adopted Kylie recently from a woman whom I had been contacted by 6 months prior to my actually bringing her home. Kylie hasn't been out of her cage much at all in the past several years ( She is 6 now ) . She knows the step up command, but will NOT step up from inside her cage, she will run all around the cage to avoid me. The cage has a playtop and probably one day out of 7 she will come out to sit on top, and she will step up from the top. She will also fly out of her cage maybe one day a week to want attention. She is currently in the living room where Ruby is also, and when I play with Ruby She will get jealous and talk much more and say step up. The cage she came with is small ( 24 x 22 x 40 plus the playtop ) and I have a cage twice this size that is not in use at the present time ( it is dome top though ). Do you think I should change her to the larger cage and place her in the kitchen, and simply get her a java tree for the living room ? I don't have the space for the larger cage in my living room. Do you think If I change Kylie's cage she may obey the step up command better ? Or would it freak her out and only make matters worse ?

I would use the larger cage, unless this bird is a plucker who is so neurotic changing anything around causes her psychological distress.

New toys, new surroundings, new attitude.

I would also start leaving her out on a playstand away from the cage, but in the room with you, just to get her used to it again. Give it 6 weeks to two months of this and you will probably have an entirely different bird on your hands (and much, much happier!)

Right now, it sounds like she's cage bound, and attention/stimulation deprived. Don't overwhelm her with it, but gradually increasing the attention and stimulation should coax her out of her shell.

One of the things I did with cage bound birds, was leave the door open all day when I am home. (Of course, now all my cages are open 24/7, but mine are trained.)

I do leave her cage door open all day, and I have been taking it very slowly with her. She isn't a plucker, but she is a bit nervous still. I took her in knowing it would take a long time to rehab her and I have plenty of time to give her. She does seem to really want attention and begs for it when I play with Ruby, but when I put Ruby back on her cage and go over to get Kylie to step up out of her cage, she just runs all over the cage to avoid it. That is why I thought a cage change may assist in her behaviour. In the past when I fostered I have done the cage change up and sometimes it was effective and sometimes not. I guess it can't hurt to try it out, if she seems too upset, I can go back to her old cage. It just seems like such a small cage for her, and doesn't allow for many perches or toys. She has begun to finally play with a toy or two, mainly she likes the leather on the toys. It is the same toys that she came to me with, but I could tell they were brand new just to make it look like she had been neglected less than she really had. When I first started talking with her owner around the first of this year, the photos showed no toys in her cage and only 2 perches. The owner even told us when we picked her up that she only fed her 2 times a week. She def eats better here, as I give her a mainly fresh diet instead of the nut/seed mix she had been living on. She took to the diet change really well. Poor girl her nails are so grown out that the vet wouldn't clip or trim them because the quick was grown out so far it would have been dangerous.

I am "bumping" this thread forward as I had a serious question here.

Can you start spending time just sitting near the open door of the cage. I spent lost of time sitting and using the laptop or reading in front of Danny before he just started to walk out to sit on my knee.

I do sit by her cage everyday and talk to her. I did move her into the much larger cage yesterday, and I will update how it goes.

After reading your thread, I can't help but wonder if you brought her out WITH Ruby, as that's when she seems more excited to get out? She might feel less singled out if another bird is in the mix. Just a suggestion

Kalidasa, Kylie seems very nervous around Ruby. I have had them both out at the same time and neither acted aggressively but Kylie was very watchful of Ruby and nervous. I do intend on continuing to work with them both out at the same time, and with time I believe Kylie will feel safer around Ruby. Ruby is just so much larger than Kylie. The problem at the present is getting Kylie to feel safe enough to step up and come out. It will just be a long process, but I have plenty of time to invest. Kylie does seem to like the larger cage better this morning. Yesterday when I first introduced her to it, I simply placed her on top and allowed her to enter in her own time. After about an hour on top, she entered. I placed her rope perch in the same area she always slept on it in her small cage, and she sat on it all evening after entering the large cage. This morning she is exploring all over the cage. I enjoy a challenge and Kylie will definately be a test of my skills. With time I believe she will make a great companion.

My personal phillosphy on that is try everything, and figure out what the bird responds to... then do that!

Seriously... it's friggin' rocket science...

Once the bird is interested, the rest is gravy...

But then, I am an opinionated idiot most of the time. What do I know?!

It's taken three months for Jayde to feel comfortable with hands and arms. At first, she'd bite the snot out of them if within reach of her beak. She loves scritches though so I kind of paired getting scritches with my hand and arm getting near her beak. This may have helped her.

She's not completely comfortable with both yet, but she's doing far better than previously. She went from being terrified and insecure to being comfortable enough to climb on my shoulder and being away from her cage for short periods of time to enjoying spending time on my shoulder and being able to step up from her cage.

She doesn't step up from my shoulder yet back to my arm/hand, but I haven't worked with her on that, either. I also haven't tried getting her to step up from inside her cage since she's so eager to be on me that she's waiting for me at her cage door, on top of the door, on the cage top, or cage sides.

She has gained some confidence, but she's still got a ways to go. She's not comfortable exploring like Charlie is and prefers being on her cage or glued to me... so I hope that as she gains confidence and security, she will be more likely to move around more. As it stands, she will fly to me if I "set" her down on a chair or the couch (or at least try to fly to me), but she wont if she's on her cage.