He refuses to go in his cage!

My green cheek completely refuses to go into his cage - to the point which he has began to purposely starve himself opposed to having to enter this cage. I let him out every day and it has gotten worst by the days - I have tried everything, no matter how many treats i put in his cage he won't budge. Even when and if he goes into his cage its a struggle to close the door without him attempting to fly out with even the slightest of movements on my behalf making him fly out.

Last night, I was awake until 4am waiting for him to go into his cage and he did not budge, instead he stared at me until i gave up and let him sleep outside. I dont want to stop letting him out but at this rate, he's driving me absolutely insane.

I need help asap! Even at this very moment i'm waiting for him to give into his hunger and go into his cage. I dont want to have to chase him and attempt to grab him as i know this really stresses them out but I'm considering this to be my last option. I let him out today at 5pm, it is now 10pm and he hasn't eating since and I see no attempts on his behalf to go and eat.

Fyi - he was not hand reared, is 3-5 months, and I've had him for just over 2 weeks.

I am not pointing any fingers, but why does he dislike his cage?
Is it too small?


and no worries... he obviously knows the food is in there and no birds commits suicide-by-starvation when there is food around.
If you do not feed him outside the cage at all (!), he will get in there to eat sooner or later.


just...when he does: do not trap him in there the moment he wanders back in...let the cage become a good thing, a safe place with food and water, not somewhere small where you get punished (locked up).

ChristaNL said:

I am not pointing any fingers, but why does he dislike his cage?
Is it too small?


and no worries... he obviously knows the food is in there and no birds commits suicide-by-starvation when there is food around.
If you do not feed him outside the cage at all (!), he will get in there to eat sooner or later.


just...when he does: do not trap him in there the moment he wanders back in...let the cage become a good thing, a safe place with food and water, not somewhere small where you get punished (locked up).

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I thought this at first, but the cage is pretty reasonably sized, I have researched dimensions and everywhere says they're good - infact, they're bigger than the recommended. He has plenty of toys, perches and treats.

Thanks though, will just have to wait for him to give up

Time to play tough mummy. Don't feed him outside his cage. Make his food in the cage delectable. Stay calm chatting to him when he is inside and calmly close the door making sure not to get bitten.

Are you teaching him to step up? I can only definitely move Syd around on a short piece of dowel perch and if he is feeling feisty a sunflower seed is needed to focus his mind. I hold it out of reach so he needs to step up or into his cage to get it and 9/10 times it works. He won't starve, and you can out last him. At night he will roost happily and not need anything but first thing in the morning he will be hungry. Give it time and nce you get him in I would be tempted to leave him in there to acclimatise. Perhaps he has got used to the freedom to soon.

T00tsyd said:

Time to play tough mummy. Don't feed him outside his cage. Make his food in the cage delectable. Stay calm chatting to him when he is inside and calmly close the door making sure not to get bitten.

Are you teaching him to step up? I can only definitely move Syd around on a short piece of dowel perch and if he is feeling feisty a sunflower seed is needed to focus his mind. I hold it out of reach so he needs to step up or into his cage to get it and 9/10 times it works. He won't starve, and you can out last him. At night he will roost happily and not need anything but first thing in the morning he will be hungry. Give it time and nce you get him in I would be tempted to leave him in there to acclimatise. Perhaps he has got used to the freedom to soon.

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Haven't started handling him yet as he seems scared of hands (he's getting better but not quite there yet). I thought this too - about leaving him in for a little bit so he can get used to his cage. Thanks for the advice!

Haven't started handling him yet as he seems scared of hands (he's getting better but not quite there yet). I thought this too - about leaving him in for a little bit so he can get used to his cage. Thanks for the advice![/QUOTE]

In that case I would go back to basics. I first had Syd at 14 weeks (I rescued him for a home with a toddler trying to kill him) so he hadn't been worked on much. He was my first bird and I was a real novice but I took it slowly. I think it's almost more important that you build the trust even though it's lovely to see them flying around.

I hope you have managed to get him back in the cage by now, but I would be tempted to leave him until he comes to you for a treat or will simply accept something through the bars from your hands. It may take time so be really patient but I have heard it said that until your bird will come to you with trust it's probably a bad idea to let them free. Syd's first action is always to fly to me and perch on my shoulder. There have been times when I have been badly bitten so shoulder privileges are earned by good behaviour. Horrible as it may sound without that trust in you he might actually be trying to escape from you.
Do take time to look through these pages there is so much info, but there will be more experienced people along soon no doubt.

Personally, I don't really like my birds' wings clipped, but maybe have his wings lightly clipped until you tame him? It may be safer for him.

Exactly what are the dimensions of his cage, length, width, and height? Just because you read "recommended dimensions" online somewhere doesn't mean they are adequate at all...And as Christa said, no bird will ever starve himself to death when he has access to food...

The reason I'm also questioning his cage size or what is inside of his cage is because parrots, especially new ones to a home, LOVE their cages and look at them as being their only "territory" and "safe space" to go...So if your bird is absolutely refusing to go back inside as you say, something is wrong. I don't know what, but something inside of the cage is scaring him, or the cage is making him feel very cornered because it's too small..

Could you possibly take a photo of your bird's entire cage as it sits, don't change anything about it because we need to see everything as it is, so that we might be able to give you some advice about it? Something is wrong with the cage, especially if he's that young and you've only had him for 2 weeks...HE SHOULD BE USING HIS CAGE AS A PLACE OF REFUGE RIGHT NOW, NOT REFUSING TO GO INTO IT...Staying outside in this new environment instead of going back into his "safe space" when he's a 3-5 month old, parent-raised and non-tame parrot, that you've only had for 2 weeks indicates that the cage is definitely the issue, Christa was absolutely right!

I'm no blaming you or anything, I'm just sure that something inside of the cage is either scaring him or the cage is too small...A photo of the entire cage so we can see it and it's entire contents will probably reveal the issue at-hand...

It may not be the cage size as other have suggested so much as something in the cage- a colorful toy, and unnaturally bright cement perch, a snuggle hut with a bold print fabric... try taking everything but dull color/natural perches out and see if he goes in then. Some birds can be terribly frightened of toys or brightly colored things, especially a timid baby who does not yet trust you and has little experience with the world around them.

EllenD said:

Exactly what are the dimensions of his cage, length, width, and height? Just because you read "recommended dimensions" online somewhere doesn't mean they are adequate at all...And as Christa said, no bird will ever starve himself to death when he has access to food...

The reason I'm also questioning his cage size or what is inside of his cage is because parrots, especially new ones to a home, LOVE their cages and look at them as being their only "territory" and "safe space" to go...So if your bird is absolutely refusing to go back inside as you say, something is wrong. I don't know what, but something inside of the cage is scaring him, or the cage is making him feel very cornered because it's too small..

Could you possibly take a photo of your bird's entire cage as it sits, don't change anything about it because we need to see everything as it is, so that we might be able to give you some advice about it? Something is wrong with the cage, especially if he's that young and you've only had him for 2 weeks...HE SHOULD BE USING HIS CAGE AS A PLACE OF REFUGE RIGHT NOW, NOT REFUSING TO GO INTO IT...Staying outside in this new environment instead of going back into his "safe space" when he's a 3-5 month old, parent-raised and non-tame parrot, that you've only had for 2 weeks indicates that the cage is definitely the issue, Christa was absolutely right!

I'm no blaming you or anything, I'm just sure that something inside of the cage is either scaring him or the cage is too small...A photo of the entire cage so we can see it and it's entire contents will probably reveal the issue at-hand...

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Here's a picture of the cage - Used to have a cozy hut which i took out last night so he had more space (he didn't use it) - To be honest, he used to play with his toys until the day i let him out, so he may just not like being confined - I could be wrong.

Dimensions are: 69 x 47 x 37cm

T00tsyd said:

Haven't started handling him yet as he seems scared of hands (he's getting better but not quite there yet). I thought this too - about leaving him in for a little bit so he can get used to his cage. Thanks for the advice!

Click to expand...

In that case I would go back to basics. I first had Syd at 14 weeks (I rescued him for a home with a toddler trying to kill him) so he hadn't been worked on much. He was my first bird and I was a real novice but I took it slowly. I think it's almost more important that you build the trust even though it's lovely to see them flying around.

I hope you have managed to get him back in the cage by now, but I would be tempted to leave him until he comes to you for a treat or will simply accept something through the bars from your hands. It may take time so be really patient but I have heard it said that until your bird will come to you with trust it's probably a bad idea to let them free. Syd's first action is always to fly to me and perch on my shoulder. There have been times when I have been badly bitten so shoulder privileges are earned by good behaviour. Horrible as it may sound without that trust in you he might actually be trying to escape from you.
Do take time to look through these pages there is so much info, but there will be more experienced people along soon no doubt.[/QUOTE]


Yes, he eventually gave in and went into his cage around midnight - I'm going to take your advice and leave him in the cage for a few days and see how that goes. I'm pretty sure he's just spoiled and wants his way lol - Thanks again!

RemiBird said:

Personally, I don't really like my birds' wings clipped, but maybe have his wings lightly clipped until you tame him? It may be safer for him.

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That was the plan, just going to have his feathers trimmed up until i train him then he'll be free to fly around

Kiwibird said:

It may not be the cage size as other have suggested so much as something in the cage- a colorful toy, and unnaturally bright cement perch, a snuggle hut with a bold print fabric... try taking everything but dull color/natural perches out and see if he goes in then. Some birds can be terribly frightened of toys or brightly colored things, especially a timid baby who does not yet trust you and has little experience with the world around them.

Click to expand...

Okay! Took out his cozy hut yesterday, going to see how he reacts, may take out a few more of his toys so he's not so overwhelmed, thank you!

Kiwibird said:

It may not be the cage size as other have suggested so much as something in the cage- a colorful toy, and unnaturally bright cement perch, a snuggle hut with a bold print fabric... try taking everything but dull color/natural perches out and see if he goes in then. Some birds can be terribly frightened of toys or brightly colored things, especially a timid baby who does not yet trust you and has little experience with the world around them.

Click to expand...

I was just going to suggest this, sounds like a good plan.

How long have you been using that patterned cage cover? I’d suggest either solid dark blue or black instead, still offering a half covered cage though at this point. Some birds are fine with patterns, but a lot are really frightened of seemingly innocuous/things we consider pretty. If I were you, I would leave the smallest toy in there, change the cover to something dark and solid and try offering a single treat (like a pine nut) to your bird on top of the cage then make it very clear you’ve put additional treats inside the cage so if he wants more he has to go inside to retrieve them. You may even consider a second dish especially for the treats so they don’t get lost in the food mix and he can clearly see them. I would also not worry about daily out and about time at this stage. I think you need to be earning your birds trust from inside the cage until he;s at a point you can start step up training.

Kiwibird said:

How long have you been using that patterned cage cover? I’d suggest either solid dark blue or black instead, still offering a half covered cage though at this point. Some birds are fine with patterns, but a lot are really frightened of seemingly innocuous/things we consider pretty. If I were you, I would leave the smallest toy in there, change the cover to something dark and solid and try offering a single treat (like a pine nut) to your bird on top of the cage then make it very clear you’ve put additional treats inside the cage so if he wants more he has to go inside to retrieve them. You may even consider a second dish especially for the treats so they don’t get lost in the food mix and he can clearly see them. I would also not worry about daily out and about time at this stage. I think you need to be earning your birds trust from inside the cage until he;s at a point you can start step up training.

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I've been using the cover since his first day - i use it to cover his cage at night and sometimes i just leave it to cover the back of his cage just to prevent mess from sticking to the wall. (I dont always leave it on)

Okay great thank you! I'll go back to basics

I wouldn't clip. If you can work through this why would you need to? Sounds like he flys fine! I think with an untamed bird it's even more important so he can fly away from you when he's uncomfortable.

Target train him and you try and persuade him back into his cage for a treat.

First of all, I'm glad you removed the "Cozy/Snuggle/Happy Hut" anyway, because they regularly KILL pet parrots, specifically Conures...Hundreds if not thousands of pet parrots of all species have been killed by those "Huts", to the point where there is a Class-Action Lawsuit against the 2 main manufacturers of them, and they started printing "Not intended for use with Conures" on the front of them because so many different pet Conures of all species have died directly as a result of them being in their cages...They either slowly pick tiny pieces of fabric off of the inside over-time and swallow it, and it's not digestible, so it accumulates inside of their stomachs over months, until you find them dead in the bottom of the cage one day...OR one of the many threads that are inside of them come loose one day when you're not home and your bird either gets it's neck caught in it and hangs himself, or he gets his leg caught in it and hangs from it all day long, and either dies of the blood-loss or loses his leg...And in addition to the danger of the Huts is the fact that ANY small, dark places you provide to your bird and allow him to go underneath or inside of, like a Hut, Tent, Hammock, Beds, or any type of Boxes, or underneath furniture, behind pillows, underneath blankets, towels, etc. will cause their sex-hormones to go nuts and cause everything from severe aggression in males to chronic egg-laying in females. So no more Huts or anything of the like anywhere, they sleep just fine on a perch.

***Honestly, and I'm just being honest and giving my professional and personal opinion here, even if the size of the cage isn't the reason he doesn't like being inside of it (and I think that it 100% is), that cage is WAY TOO SMALL for a Green Cheek Conure...My Budgies stay in cages that size, one Budgie at a time...That cage would be too small for a Cockatiel for sure, and way too small for a Conure of any species...So either way I'd look into getting him a much larger cage, it needs to be wider and longer at the least, and taller would be better...

I would recommend target training and or clicker training to get your parrot in and out of the cage and also to "step up". I have one bird who sometimes decided to forget how to step up and then bites instead and in those moments we (to this day) recall the target training I did long ago to get him in out and out of his cage. Hope this helps!