4 months and he still doesn't like his cage

noodles123 said:

Do you have toys outside of his cage that he can play with and do you praise him when he does? Have you modeled playing with the toys and pretended to have fun with them in front of him? Have you experimented with a variety of toys? My cockatoo is weird about wood-thickness. She prefers thinner wood that she can easily snap without much effort and isn't a fan of all of the larger wood toys intended for a bird her size.
I am not saying to get small toys for larger birds (that can have its own hazards depending on the materials) but some birds like shredding, some like chewing, some like bells, some like foot toys, some like gnawing etc---Plastic c-links are a huge hit with mine.
Most birds don't like being in their cages.
How big is his cage and have you considered its location? It is possible that your cage is too small. Also, some birds feel vulnerable if all sides of the cage are open/exposed to the surroundings (it is often suggested that at least one side be against a wall). Some birds enjoy looking out a window, while for others, this never allows them to fully relax.

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itzjbean said:

How often is he caged throughout the day?

Sounds like he is out of the cage so often that he sees the cage as a restrictive, bad place when he may hardly spend any time in there?

What is his 'out of cage schedule like? Where does he eat and drink and forage throughout the day? You need to start putting him in his cage for these important times so he realizes it's not a prison, but a safe place for him.

What does his cage look like? You mention he goes hours and hours around on his perch, I assume he has more than one, but it's important that these be comfortable perches, also, varying in form like a natural wood branch one, a couple soft rope perches, etc.

If he's never trained to be in his cage throughout the day, he won't like it ever, so he needs to spend some time in his cage it sounds like ot curb that fear of it.

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noodles123 said:

It could be a matter of time--Honestly, my too came to me hating toys and it took her a solid 6 months to take an interest in any of them--except the c-links which she liked after probably 4.

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Kiwibird said:

This sounds more like an issue of being overbonded to you and not so much about not liking his cage. I guess in a way he doesn't like his cage because he wants to be with you, not because its an inadequate cage or too small or doesn't have things to entertain him. Guaranteed if you put a camera on him while you were away, he wouldn't be bouncing around all day long. He does that because he wants your attention and has likely learned that set of behaviors is a good way to get it. Conures are one of the species more prone to overbonding issues, which can be difficult to correct. There is no quick fix here. Toys, foraging, probably even food, none of it is as interesting as YOU. That is the root of the problem here IMO and where you need to start when trying to find solutions.

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nattyd said:

itzjbean said:

How often is he caged throughout the day?

Sounds like he is out of the cage so often that he sees the cage as a restrictive, bad place when he may hardly spend any time in there?

What is his 'out of cage schedule like? Where does he eat and drink and forage throughout the day? You need to start putting him in his cage for these important times so he realizes it's not a prison, but a safe place for him.

What does his cage look like? You mention he goes hours and hours around on his perch, I assume he has more than one, but it's important that these be comfortable perches, also, varying in form like a natural wood branch one, a couple soft rope perches, etc.

If he's never trained to be in his cage throughout the day, he won't like it ever, so he needs to spend some time in his cage it sounds like ot curb that fear of it.

Click to expand...

I put him in his cage at around 8/9pm and let him back out the next day at around 2/3pm - It may be that I'm giving him too much freedom however i actually kept him in his cage for about 3 weeks (I know it sounds bad), someone had told me it would help him become acclimated to his cage but it didn't work.
He goes in his cage to eat and drink but other than that pretty much just chills outside and rips newspaper which i have laid out on the table to help the clean up process - he also has newspaper inside his cage. & Yes he has 3 perches, a normal wooden one which came with the cage, a rope perch and an actual tree branch type perch.

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noodles123 said:

It could be that he just wants to be out of his cage when you are home though----My "too" used to yell "come here" and ten run away repeatedly lol---This was when she was starting to tolerate me, but still didn't trust me...It was like "I want to be near you...I think", "but DON'T touch me" mixed with "I'm bored."
You should try using your laptop camera to see what he does when you aren't around--- if you livestream it to a private youtube account, you could use any smart-phone to check up on him as long as you email yourself the link to the private video.

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Talven said:

When you put him in his cage of an evening do you cover him up? If not I suggest you do. Just uncover him in the morning. Get a nice routine of when the cover is on it is sleep time. It helps but isn't a guarantee to ease the behaviour.

Have you taken him back out of the cage after you have put him in because of the attention seeking? Once they sucker you they will try to do it forever. Just like a toddler that suckers mum and dad with being either super cute or throwing a massive tantrum. If it works once they will use it against you forever.

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noodles123 said:

nattyd said:

itzjbean said:

How often is he caged throughout the day?

Sounds like he is out of the cage so often that he sees the cage as a restrictive, bad place when he may hardly spend any time in there?

What is his 'out of cage schedule like? Where does he eat and drink and forage throughout the day? You need to start putting him in his cage for these important times so he realizes it's not a prison, but a safe place for him.

What does his cage look like? You mention he goes hours and hours around on his perch, I assume he has more than one, but it's important that these be comfortable perches, also, varying in form like a natural wood branch one, a couple soft rope perches, etc.

If he's never trained to be in his cage throughout the day, he won't like it ever, so he needs to spend some time in his cage it sounds like ot curb that fear of it.

Click to expand...

I put him in his cage at around 8/9pm and let him back out the next day at around 2/3pm - It may be that I'm giving him too much freedom however i actually kept him in his cage for about 3 weeks (I know it sounds bad), someone had told me it would help him become acclimated to his cage but it didn't work.
He goes in his cage to eat and drink but other than that pretty much just chills outside and rips newspaper which i have laid out on the table to help the clean up process - he also has newspaper inside his cage. & Yes he has 3 perches, a normal wooden one which came with the cage, a rope perch and an actual tree branch type perch.

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That doesn't sound like too much freedom--- he may not be getting enough sleep though. If he goes to bed at 9, what time does he wake up? 10-12 hours is the minimum and 12 is ideal...I second the cage-covering idea. They need 12 hours of dark, uninterrupted sleep.
If anything, I think it would help if you let him out in the morning as well---that is a very long time to be stuck in a cage (even if he is sleeping for some of the time). Can you have him out while you are getting ready for work in the morning?

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Talven said:

By the schedule you have your bird on you are messing with his natural cycle. Birds roost at dusk and awake around dawn so he will wake up as soon as it starts to get light covered or not. I would say your bird is more than likely not getting enough sleep. I'm no expert though so hopefully someone with a better grasp of this will comment as well.

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noodles123 said:

Talven said:

By the schedule you have your bird on you are messing with his natural cycle. Birds roost at dusk and awake around dawn so he will wake up as soon as it starts to get light covered or not. I would say your bird is more than likely not getting enough sleep. I'm no expert though so hopefully someone with a better grasp of this will comment as well.

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This is true to an extent (but I do think it's more about consistency of bed-time/wake-up and indoor lighting adjustments). I say this because in the USA, there is no way for me to keep my bird up until dusk and wake her up at dawn, as the light cycles near the equator that dominate my bird's sleep needs/instincts are totally different here. Near the equator, there are 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark year-round. If I put my bird to bed at dusk, she would be up until 9PM then she would be waking up at 6AM again (with the sun).. 9 hours would NOT be enough sleep. That having been said, OP's bird probably isn't sleeping enough, as that schedule is pretty far from what would be normal in terms of lighting etc. You want to get as close to natural as possible without keeping them up too late.
Is the Sun always up for exactly 12 hours at the equator? (Beginner) - Curious About Astronomy? Ask an Astronomer

I also think that by covering your cage (when your bird is still awake in there for 2 hours after, from 9-11) could also lead to other issues.

If I were you, I would look into getting a sleep cage so that your bird can be in its own quiet room during night-time hours. If you cover at 9, your bird should fall asleep within an hour max. We are talking beak grinding etc within 20 minutes. If that isn't happening, something is off (too loud, not ready for bed etc). They have very good internal clocks and the sleep needs to be consistent. If you put the bird to bed at 9 (in a dark quiet room) then it should actually go to sleep then, but that also means you need to be up at 9 to get the bird uncovered (even if it means setting an alarm). It isn't good for them to be covered and awake for too long.

If a bird is covered but it still is convinced it needs to be up (so much so that it moves around for 2 hours in the dark), it can lead to weird hormonal issues. If this is happening in the morning and the evening, that will further compound the issue.

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