I have a dilemma ...

Okay Everyone,

I can use your input.

Many of you know that Levi is out of his cage more than in. With that said, he has his little routines as many of them do. Well.... I have run into a bit of a challenge. He prefers to eat on the window perch/platform that hubby made or upstairs on his hanging out cage in our bedroom.

Which translates into, he longer eats while in his cage. This is not an issue when I'm home all day. However, when he needs to be caged for whatever reason, it's pretty much a given he won't eat.

Yes yes, I know I created this situation and I take full responsibilty for it.
I'm interested in your insight into how to best stop this behavior. There are times when I'm away for the day and he's caged. When I get back none of his food, pellets, chop etc ... has been touched. I take him out place him on his window perch he poops, I offer him fresh warm water he laps it up. Than I get him his food and he eats immediately and of course he does he's starving.

So please, if you could kindly give me your thoughts on how best to turn this around. I would be grateful!

Thank you so much ...

That’s a tough question. CAG’s get serious about how they like things done. How do you think he would react if you give him his main meals in his cage while you could sit with him and keep him company? If you could make eating in his cage a positive experience and get him to go along with the new plan you could stop feeding him at his other hang outs. Don’t feel bad about something you did to make your bird happy, that’s a good thing, Levi obviously thought it was a great idea. I know you can’t suddenly stop feeding him outside his cage, CAG’s aren’t above a hunger strike but maybe you can con or bribe him into dining in his cage again.

If he can't resist pistachios, maybe you can let him watch you ( hide) a couple under his chow. Once they start eating something it sometimes kicks em into going ahead and eating more? The above advice was a super good idea!

What I would try first is giving bland stuff outside of the cage only. Pellets, etc.

Anything of value should be fed in the cage.

Also, while I only have a vague notion of the tantrums and protracted grudges greys are capable of, I personally am not above making the change I need to make and the bird will adapt. I highly doubt a bird would starve itself to death over something like this. Food only in the cage, bird will eventually eat.

Has been said, try considering making his cage bowl something for a special treat, but still healthy! And every time he comes back to his cage there is always something in there that’s all that’s neat cool, thank you!

Actually no parrot will completely starve itself ....so if he was stuck in the cage for 3 days he would eat.

It is nervewrecking, I know.

When D. got here (her own cage, own foodbowl, own "food" -> everything she had known for years!) she refused to eat anywhere but on the windowsill next to my table& computer and only if I happened to be typing away at the same time... so glad that phase lasted only for about a week!
She was smart enough to see what I offered her IN the cage was a lot better than her usual crappy cheap-maggot-and-bugridden chickenfeed.


but if you want to break it to him gently...

Maybe start small: offer him a desirable snack IN the cage.
If he takes it outside to eat at first that does not matter... just get him to associate munchies and cage again.
After a while he may not even bother to take it outside (or you can gently close the door till he has finished eating).
After that just offer a pellet instead of snack.

(Of course there is food available in the cage at all times.)

It is just like tricktraining, the trick here is eating inside the cage
And you are both very good at that.

These ideas all make good sense to me.

Gee whiz... you folks with these complicated, sensitive, intelligent parrots... I don't have one, but I like readin' about 'em!

Good luck, Tami!

As an Amazon owned individual who's Amazon is a foodie at heart, he will eat in the cage, out of the cage on any or all of the three perches around the house. Even as heartless as stealing our diner. With great luck, he does self-control and doesn't over-eat.

An Amazon that has lost its dearly loved family will stop eating to a point of starvation. When this occurs, its a process of providing anything regardless of how off a healthy diet it maybe to get them to eat. Based on that, the treats in the cage is a truly wonderful suggestion.

I hope that one or more of the suggestion work for you. May success come your way.

Hmm...could you try feeding him preferred foods in his cage with the door open when you are home? I know there might be some resistance, but maybe fill his window bowl with stuff he doesn't care for, and fill his cage bowl with favorites?

Allee, Excellent points. Thank you. He has foraging feeders in his cage and I put his fave treats in them. I have done that from the beginning, because I read prior to getting him how some people have trouble getting their parrots back in their cages. So, right from the start I’ve made it an exciting event to go back in the cage…ha
However, since he hasn’t been eating in there I haven’t been putting treats in. He’ll definitely eats the treats but not his meals.

Laurasea, brilliant! His all time fave treat is pistachios, but I believe you already knew that. Yes, I’ll try that. Thank You.

Chris-md, also brilliant and easy enough. Perfect!

Flboy David, Yes, I’m on it

Christa, Yes, trick training I like that. Believe it or not he used to go back into his cage to eat. He’d be hanging on top & then when he got hungry he climb in and eat. Great ideas.

Gail, thank you always for your continued support. :heart:

There’s a lot here and I will get busy. I already started, I made cornbread and as you know Levi loves corn (POTM contest) and he’s also a fan of cornbread. I brought him to his cage and placed a small piece, (more like a morsel) in his crock attached on the outside. Just to get things moving in the right direction.

Thank you so much everyone.

SailBoat said:

As an Amazon owned individual who's Amazon is a foodie at heart, he will eat in the cage, out of the cage on any or all of the three perches around the house. Even as heartless as stealing our diner. With great luck, he does self-control and doesn't over-eat.

An Amazon that has lost its dearly loved family will stop eating to a point of starvation. When this occurs, its a process of providing anything regardless of how off a healthy diet it maybe to get them to eat. Based on that, the treats in the cage is a truly wonderful suggestion.

I hope that one or more of the suggestion work for you. May success come your way.

Click to expand...

Thank You Sailboat. I wasn't aware that an Amazon will starve itself grieving. Heartbreaking. :smile016:
I appreciate your input and good wishes.

noodles123 said:

Hmm...could you try feeding him preferred foods in his cage with the door open when you are home? I know there might be some resistance, but maybe fill his window bowl with stuff he doesn't care for, and fill his cage bowl with favorites?

Click to expand...

Yes, that is exactly how I will start. Thank You!

I just read through this thread, and the only thing I can add to the great suggestions that others have already made is that depending on how serious a situation this is, meaning depending on how often you're not at home with him and he needs to eat while inside of his cage, if it's that big of a deal and he's inside of cage enough that it really is a problem, I'd say the best thing to do if nothing else works is to simply stop feeding him at all outside of his cage. So essentially you'd be making the inside of his cage the only place where he would eat meals, and the only food he would get outside of his cage would be occasional treats and such...That way he'd just get into the groove of eating all of his meals inside of his cage...When you are home you'd still have to feed him all of his meals inside of his cage (with the door open if you're home), so that he would know that inside of his cage is where he eats all of his meals...

Again, this would only be what I would do if it's a big enough deal to do it...CAG's are very, very stubborn about their routines, so it's not so much where he's getting his meals, it's that he has to get into the groove of eating his meals in one particular place only; where that place is probably is not the issue, it's just that it has to be in one specific place all of the time. My brother CAG (my mom's CAG) is exactly the same way; when my mom moved-in with my step-father about 11 or so years ago that was the largest issue with Jagger, it wasn't so much the new house, it was that his perches, play-stands, his cage, etc. were all in different places and she was doing things with him at different times, and he just didn't like it at all. It took quite a while before he got into new routines and schedules, but eventually he did...

Thank you EllenD, another good suggestion to consider. I appreciate your input.