How Can I Entice Murphy To Leave His Cage?

LeafyGreenBeaks

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Feb 27, 2019
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Florida
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Murphy (Orange-Winged Amazon), Mabel (Pineapple GC), Charles & Eleanor (Cockatiels), Finley & Ocean (Budgies)
Murphy has adjusted wonderfully in the last 2 weeks that I've rescued him. I'm able to hand-feed him treats inside his cage, and I can reach in to move this toys around without any problem. Also, he appears to be slightly clingy to humans! Anytime that we stand at this cage, he instantly comes over to be close to us. And if we walk to the other side, he follows and is content to just sit there with us. However, he refuses to leave this cage. After a week of him being comfortable with this new home, I decided to start leaving his door wide open for a few hours at a time. I work from home, so during this time, I would be on my laptop about 8 feet away from the cage so he can see me work. Periodically, I would take a break and give him a treat and ask him to come out and play. And when I walk away, he kind of spreads his wings slightly as if wanting to fly to me. But then he settles down and is content again, just watching me work. Eventually he naps.

Does anyone have other ways that would help me get him to come out? He has a play stand on top of this cage, as well as a 5 feet tree stand next to his cage. I've attached tons of toys to the tree stand in hopes that it would convince him to come out to explore it. I don't want to force anything. And certainly don't want to reach in to force him to step up. He is developing a trust for us, and I'd hate to do anything to break that.
 

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AmyMyBlueFront

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Apr 14, 2015
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Jonesy a Goffins 'Too who had to be rehomed :-(

And a Normal Grey Cockatiel named BB who came home with me on 5/20/2016.
Just keep doing what you are doing. Leave his front door open and go about your business. He WILL come out and investigate when he feels comfortable doing so.


jim
 

LeaKP

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Aug 11, 2014
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I agree with Jim. It took Kevin our grey several weeks to come out under the same circumstances as yours. Now he loves to be out and after nearly 9
Months he is beginning to explore very tentatively away from his cage.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
OP
LeafyGreenBeaks

LeafyGreenBeaks

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Feb 27, 2019
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Florida
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Murphy (Orange-Winged Amazon), Mabel (Pineapple GC), Charles & Eleanor (Cockatiels), Finley & Ocean (Budgies)
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Thank you guys. I know I have to be patient, being that it's only 2 weeks since he's been here. As mentioned in my intro, I was told that he came from a breeder situation where he was kept in a tiny cage with no human interaction. So understandably, he's hesitant to be outside of any cage where he feels secure. I just feel so bad for him. I will continue to give him time, and we will go at his pace!
 

Allee

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Oct 27, 2013
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U2-Poppy(Poppy lives with her new mommy, Misty now) CAG-Jack, YNA, Bingo, Budgie-Piper, Cockatiel-Sweet Pea Quakers-Harry, Sammy, Wilson ***Zeke (quaker) Twinkle (budgie) forever in our hearts
I agree with all the above, sounds like a typical Amazon, it’s in their nature to be suspicious. I think you’re doing everything right. The only tip I can offer is setting up a ladder of sorts for him with perches attached to his cage. My Bingo was very reluctant to leave his cage at first but when he had a safe pathway he was happy to come out and explore. Please pardon the photo quality and the handsome grey photo bomber.

 
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LeafyGreenBeaks

LeafyGreenBeaks

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Feb 27, 2019
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Florida
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Murphy (Orange-Winged Amazon), Mabel (Pineapple GC), Charles & Eleanor (Cockatiels), Finley & Ocean (Budgies)
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I agree with all the above, sounds like a typical Amazon, it’s in their nature to be suspicious. I think you’re doing everything right. The only tip I can offer is setting up a ladder of sorts for him with perches attached to his cage. My Bingo was very reluctant to leave his cage at first but when he had a safe pathway he was happy to come out and explore. Please pardon the photo quality and the handsome grey photo bomber.


What cuties! And I see that you have a perch attached directly onto the door. I will try that!
 

Birdmom12

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Jan 21, 2019
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Parakeet named Blue. Adopted from a Humane Society 5 years ago.

Kirby Cockatiel adopted from a humane society 2018.

Also a slew of other small birds that span my entire childhood.
I purchased the family friendly parrot videos from Birdtricks.com...it talks a lot about gaining your birds trust/bonding. Our bird is very curious (hes new to us as well), he loves to come out of his cage, loves to explore, and loves to just sit cage top and snooze. Our bird however does not like me so much lately(rather hostile at times to)...hes more into my husband.

With that said though the video talked about desensitizing the animal to the person or thing that maybe intimidates them.

Its all about positive reinforcement and positive punishment. For your bird a positive reinforcement would be coming outside the cage for that favorite treat! Maybe you can hang a perch on the door and get an easy to attach food dish to put on the outside on the cage wall. I would only put the favorite treat in that dish...his reward would be coming out to get the treat. If he wants to go back to his cage once he gets it that's fine... eventually he will build up confidence and explore further. His positive punishment might be... you only get the treat if you go get it from the outside bowl.

It also helps when the bird is hungry, then they are more willing to "perform" for their treat. I would try this first thing in the morning before he gets breakfast.

Jim was right though time and patience goes a long way.
 
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LeafyGreenBeaks

LeafyGreenBeaks

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Feb 27, 2019
12
0
Florida
Parrots
Murphy (Orange-Winged Amazon), Mabel (Pineapple GC), Charles & Eleanor (Cockatiels), Finley & Ocean (Budgies)
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  • #8
I purchased the family friendly parrot videos from Birdtricks.com...it talks a lot about gaining your birds trust/bonding. Our bird is very curious (hes new to us as well), he loves to come out of his cage, loves to explore, and loves to just sit cage top and snooze. Our bird however does not like me so much lately(rather hostile at times to)...hes more into my husband.

With that said though the video talked about desensitizing the animal to the person or thing that maybe intimidates them.

Its all about positive reinforcement and positive punishment. For your bird a positive reinforcement would be coming outside the cage for that favorite treat! Maybe you can hang a perch on the door and get an easy to attach food dish to put on the outside on the cage wall. I would only put the favorite treat in that dish...his reward would be coming out to get the treat. If he wants to go back to his cage once he gets it that's fine... eventually he will build up confidence and explore further. His positive punishment might be... you only get the treat if you go get it from the outside bowl.

It also helps when the bird is hungry, then they are more willing to "perform" for their treat. I would try this first thing in the morning before he gets breakfast.

Jim was right though time and patience goes a long way.

Attaching a food dish to the cage door for his treats sounds like a great idea! That way, when I have the door opened, he would have to climb out to get his beloved treats. I've also been watching Bird Tricks, and have been thinking about clicker training with him. Has anyone tried this? But instead of the clicker, I may just use my own voice. I'm afraid the clicker sound may be too startling for him lol.
 

Laurasea

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Aug 2, 2018
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Congratulations on Murphy sad to hear he is cage bound. Did you read the blue sticky thread at the he top of the Amazon forum by Sailboat? Lits if good stuff there. Being cage bound is a sad thing that happens to many parrots.. I'd put the most tempting treat at the edge of the open door with a perch on the door. Everytime that treat was taken I'd move it a little further, till he will sit on top of ipe. Cage to get treat. Good luck!!
 

mgarvie

Member
Oct 3, 2018
52
0
Pekin, IL
Parrots
Orange Winged Amazon
Before coming to us, our Amazon spent the first fourteen years of his life locked in a cage and forgotten about. For the first couple month, we opened the cage door in the morning and closed it at bed time. Nothing. Next we stopped giving him his favorite treat in the cage, almonds, and placed them in a clear bowl on top. At first he would run up, grab his almonds and retreat to eat them. As time went by he would eat his almonds on top of his cage and stay there. Now our problem is getting him back in the cage at bed time. Worse than getting a small child to go to bed.

Even now, all treats, scritches, and attention are all given on top of the cage.
 

Birdmom12

New member
Jan 21, 2019
142
0
Parrots
Parakeet named Blue. Adopted from a Humane Society 5 years ago.

Kirby Cockatiel adopted from a humane society 2018.

Also a slew of other small birds that span my entire childhood.
I purchased the family friendly parrot videos from Birdtricks.com...it talks a lot about gaining your birds trust/bonding. Our bird is very curious (hes new to us as well), he loves to come out of his cage, loves to explore, and loves to just sit cage top and snooze. Our bird however does not like me so much lately(rather hostile at times to)...hes more into my husband.

With that said though the video talked about desensitizing the animal to the person or thing that maybe intimidates them.

Its all about positive reinforcement and positive punishment. For your bird a positive reinforcement would be coming outside the cage for that favorite treat! Maybe you can hang a perch on the door and get an easy to attach food dish to put on the outside on the cage wall. I would only put the favorite treat in that dish...his reward would be coming out to get the treat. If he wants to go back to his cage once he gets it that's fine... eventually he will build up confidence and explore further. His positive punishment might be... you only get the treat if you go get it from the outside bowl.

It also helps when the bird is hungry, then they are more willing to "perform" for their treat. I would try this first thing in the morning before he gets breakfast.

Jim was right though time and patience goes a long way.

Attaching a food dish to the cage door for his treats sounds like a great idea! That way, when I have the door opened, he would have to climb out to get his beloved treats. I've also been watching Bird Tricks, and have been thinking about clicker training with him. Has anyone tried this? But instead of the clicker, I may just use my own voice. I'm afraid the clicker sound may be too startling for him lol.


I spent $50 for both sets of the family friendly parrot. It covers a lot of beneficial information (especially if your a newbie like me). They say the clicker is their preferred target sound because its a very CLEAR NOISE. The bird can't confuse it with anything else. They do say if you have a more timid bird to put the click in your pocket. If you click it through your jeans its muffled but still the clear target sound. They also talk about how to properly clicker train your bird (which I wasn't doing correctly).

We are currently working on clicker training our BFA and its going well. You have to move slow though. What seems like an easy command to us can actually be A LOT of work for them. I would give it a try though! It can help build a lot of confidence in your new friend, as well as help build a bond and trust.
 

EllenD

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Aug 20, 2016
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Senegal Parrot named "Kane"; Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure named "Bowie"; Blue Quaker Parrot named "Lita Ford"; Cockatiel named "Duff"; 8 American/English Budgie Hybrids; Ringneck Dove named "Dylan"
Honestly you're to be commended for getting as far as you have with him in only 2 weeks@ 2 weeks is like 5 seconds in parrot-time!!! You're already leaps and bounds ahead of where most people are with a parrot that has come from basically a breeding situation with no human interaction at all in a tiny breeding cage. If I had to guess I'd say that Murphy was probably originally hand-raised as a baby and may have even had a first owner that was very interactive with him, but unfortunately he was re-homed into one or more bad situations with people who only thought of him as a money-making investment. So even though the poor guy has spent his recent years/time in that bad situation alone, he still wants to be loved, he just isn't quite ready to trust a person again just yet...but he will be soon.

Just keep doing what you're doing, you're doing great. It's all about time, patience, and mostly consistency. If you work from home on your computer, it's a wonderful idea to just sit near him as much as you can, because that's going to show him that he CAN trust you, that you're not going to force him to do anything he doesn't want to do, but that you're going to be there for him when he's ready. Once he's able to make that leap outside of his cage and you're able to really start to work with him, things will start moving forward leaps and bounds.

I think you've really adopted an awesome little Amazon there in Murphy...In time he's going to be a wonderful, loving companion.
 
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LeafyGreenBeaks

LeafyGreenBeaks

New member
Feb 27, 2019
12
0
Florida
Parrots
Murphy (Orange-Winged Amazon), Mabel (Pineapple GC), Charles & Eleanor (Cockatiels), Finley & Ocean (Budgies)
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #13
Honestly you're to be commended for getting as far as you have with him in only 2 weeks@ 2 weeks is like 5 seconds in parrot-time!!! You're already leaps and bounds ahead of where most people are with a parrot that has come from basically a breeding situation with no human interaction at all in a tiny breeding cage. If I had to guess I'd say that Murphy was probably originally hand-raised as a baby and may have even had a first owner that was very interactive with him, but unfortunately he was re-homed into one or more bad situations with people who only thought of him as a money-making investment. So even though the poor guy has spent his recent years/time in that bad situation alone, he still wants to be loved, he just isn't quite ready to trust a person again just yet...but he will be soon.

Just keep doing what you're doing, you're doing great. It's all about time, patience, and mostly consistency. If you work from home on your computer, it's a wonderful idea to just sit near him as much as you can, because that's going to show him that he CAN trust you, that you're not going to force him to do anything he doesn't want to do, but that you're going to be there for him when he's ready. Once he's able to make that leap outside of his cage and you're able to really start to work with him, things will start moving forward leaps and bounds.

I think you've really adopted an awesome little Amazon there in Murphy...In time he's going to be a wonderful, loving companion.

Ellen, I have a feeling you're right about Murphy being hand-raised when he was a wee one. He will readily take anything from my hand. If it's a treat that he likes, he'll gobble it up. If not, he tosses it! And if it's reallllly yummy, he steals it away and dunks it in his water dish and then eats it. Needless to say, I'm the water-dish slave because I have to change his water about 8 times a day!:D
 

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