Transitioning cages with a cage bound bird

Ziggy is a conure I've had since January. He is cage bound by his choice, we never close his door. His usual spot is sitting in the doorway. The farthest he comes out comfortably is an exterior perch fastened next to the door. He has ended up outside his cage by accident. If he is sitting on the perch and gets scared he sometimes flies off. I haven't forced him out or grabbed him but it hasn't made a difference yet.

The cage he came with is old, has a plastic base that is cracked in places and has a verticle door. It would make a good travel cage but is on a frame stand with handles to move not wheels. We ordered a new cage that will be here this week. His new cage is a little bigger and has a play top on it, it's food dishes are also different. I've read about changing cages and letting them explore them. Since he doesn't come out of his cage should I just put him in the new or should I still put it next to him to get used to. If anything is new or scary he runs and hides with his head hidden in his fleece toy. I just don't want to tramatize the poor little guy if I can avoid it.

I think I would set up Ziggy's new cage close to his old one for at least a couple of days, he probably won't want to explore it but when you do put him in, the cage won't be completely foreign. Let him see you setting it up with perches and toys and let him watch you put his favorite treats in the food dishes in the new place. You will be able to better gauge his reaction before forcing the issue. Best of luck, I hope it's an easy transition.

I would also recommend setting the new cage up within his line of view. If it freaks him out, then set it up as far away from Ziggy as you can, while still allowing him to see it without freaking out.

Once it's put together and has some perches and perhaps toys in it, you can try slowly moving it closer to Ziggy's cage, or maybe move Ziggy's cage closer to the new cage - whichever results in the least amount of stress for him. Then have the cages side by side for a few days.

After a few days, add food and water. Make sure he can access the new cage from the old one. Using his old food dish, or perhaps a new one (one that can be placed anywhere in or on the cage), you can slowly move the food dish closer and closer to the new cage (along the cage bars). This can be a period of several days or weeks, whatever Ziggy feels most comfortable with. Eventually, you can place the dish on the outside of the new cage but still within easy reach of the old cage to get him more comfortable with the newer cage. Then slowly start moving the dish inside.



If Ziggy really is that afraid of leaving his cage, you may need to take baby steps to get him more comfortable with a newer cage, or perhaps he may surprise you and decide he likes the new cage better than the old one and will go to the new one and not look back at the old? You never know!

Agreed, let him see the new cage for a couple of days first. That is the correct approach to introducing anything new to your bird that might frighten them at first.

But there is something more important to address. First I have a couple of questions:

1. You said you've had Ziggy since January this year. Was he a baby when you got him? How old is he?

2. Was he hand raised?

3.What are the dimensions of his current cage?

4. What are the dimensions of his new cage?

5. What kind of relationship are you hoping to have with Ziggy? Do you want to be able to hold him and spend time with him that way?

Once I know those things I may be able to help guide you with Ziggy. The behavior he is displaying, more than likely, won't go away on its own. And the approach you are currently taking, while completely understandable and totally well intentioned, isn't going to be helpful for Ziggy in the long run.

Your first step should be to hand train him. If he was not hand raised, this will be a much slower and more difficult process. If he was hand raised, it shouldn't take long at all

Your bird should go into their cage and come out of their cage when you say so. Stepping up to you each time with little to no fuss. Letting your bird go in and out as they please, while that seems nice and kinda makes us humans feel like we are giving them 'freedom', in fact we are setting up bad habits that lead to more bad behaviors.

Let me know the answers to those questions and I will do my best to help

Leigh
My Birds House

We were told Ziggy is about 5 years old. We were told he was a rescue and that the owner had gotten him from a bad situation 3 years previous, however everything else we were told ended up not true even his breed. I suspect she was a flipper. His situation wasn't good, he came to us smelling so strongly of smoke and air freshener that it took weeks before it went away. His current cage is 22x22x30. His new cage is 24x22x38. Whatever relationship he ends up able to handle is what I'll be happy with.

Well it sounds like Ziggy was in need of a rescuer and I would say he's hit the jackpot The fact that you are committed enough to his wellbeing to seek information and advice, is excellent.

First. The poor guy has been through a lot, and we can't know exactly what his life has been like up till this point. But I think it is safe to say that for much of it was left in his cage (that was probably too small) and hardly ever taken out. So lets assume he may have a few trust issues with humans and take it extra slow.

I will send you a link for the basics of hand taming.

Cage: Good job. His new cage is the recommended size for a conure

Here are a couple of links. The first one is super basic but I want you to try and focus on the first 2 sections of the process. This should take about 2 weeks: How to Tame a Bird: 15 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow

Then, when you notice Ziggy has acclimated a little and if he hasn't already improved greatly. Then move on to this technique - Hands On

Keep us posted