Letting conures out of the cage

RosieYasmin

New member
Dec 31, 2020
6
0
Hi everyone!
My two GCC‘s are settling in well- I have slowly converted them onto Harrison’s and they get some lovely chop every day (seeds only for training purposes).
One of them is still a little scared but the other one steps up onto my finger when there‘s food involved and is often excitedly bobbing his head.
They both haven’t had their wings clipped and as they’ve been in a pet shop for a while I highly doubt they’ve ever been allowed a proper fly around.
My question is now: when/how can I let them out? I want them to be able to explore and exercise properly but am worried I won’t get them back into their cage!
Thank you very much for your help!
 

AzurZafir

New member
Apr 16, 2020
43
0
Hi everyone!
My two GCC‘s are settling in well- I have slowly converted them onto Harrison’s and they get some lovely chop every day (seeds only for training purposes).
One of them is still a little scared but the other one steps up onto my finger when there‘s food involved and is often excitedly bobbing his head.
They both haven’t had their wings clipped and as they’ve been in a pet shop for a while I highly doubt they’ve ever been allowed a proper fly around.
My question is now: when/how can I let them out? I want them to be able to explore and exercise properly but am worried I won’t get them back into their cage!
Thank you very much for your help!

Hi
You mean step up inside the cage? I think you can let them out tomorrow or today I don’t know what’s the time there, but as soon as you can. You just open the cage door and if they’re interested they’ll come out by themselves. There is a chance that they’re cage bound but you’ll see that if they are or not. You should try and first let them out to one room then every time you let them out open up another room for them if you want them to free roam the whole house. Make sure all doors leading outside, windows and closets or such are closed.
Getting them in the cage is different for every parrot. For example some birds go inside by themselves, some go in if they see that there’s food and treats inside, and some are very hard to lure or put back. I think first you should put fresh veggies pellets and a few treats inside showing them that you’re putting them inside. If that doesn’t work, make them step up onto a stick and “swoop them in the cage” if that makes sense. If you have any more questions feel free to ask away and I would love to hear how it went. ;)
P.s.: I also had two green cheek conures and everything went fine with letting them out first luckily.
 

noodles123

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2018
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
Agreed with AzurZafir about letting them out (assuming you can safely let them out)..When you do, just don't chase or towel them when they are out--that kills trust and will generally set you back (although that too can be overcome in most cases and is totally necessarily/acceptable in an emergency/danger situation). I'd leave the door of the cage open and make sure you warn the family and put dogs and cats outside or in another room. Letting them out should happen when you have many hours to spare because you don't want to towel them to put them away (nor should you grab them, at this point, to get them out).


If you open the door and they do come out and then go back in to eat- DO NOT shut it on them until they have been in there a long time, or until they go out and re-enter another time--- parrots are masters of patterns and associations and if your hands mean "back in the cage" OR if cage always means "door shut" they will avoid both.


Watch doors, glass windows, mirrors, and any crazy nooks or poisonous plants that they could hide in, ingest, or both. Kitchens are also dangerous.


I wouldn't ever force a bird to do anything- I have honestly found that forcing/pushing when they don't want to do something makes things harder when you really need them to trust you. I am not saying spoil them either- but I'd avoid pushing step-ups until you woo them enough for them to be easily bribed or just go because they want to be with you.
 
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JerryNewt

New member
May 20, 2020
12
0
Hi there!

Like the others have said, if you feel that the birds are now able to be near you, then you can let 'em out of the cage.

Make sure there are no mirrors and stuff they can crash in when something happens. Also make sure that the area is quiet and there are no sudden movements in the room.

If you have doubts about how to bring them back into their cage, just make sure not to feed them beforehand and put their food in the cage when it's time for them to go back.

They won't hesitate to go back in when they see their food is served when they are hungry.

You risk breaking trust and hurting your bond if you are forced to "shoo" them back in.

Good luck and enjoy!
 
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RosieYasmin

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Dec 31, 2020
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Update- I have installed a perch on the cage door but they both seem very timid and don’t really want to fly/explore. They’ve been sat grinding their beaks on the perch outside the cage and have been climbing around on the outside of the cage but no flying! I‘m taking it at their pace so my plan was whenever I’m sat on the sofa I’m just gonna leave the cage door open and give them a chance to come out and explore/ sit with me and the treats?
As I mentioned before, I don’t think they’ve ever been out of a cage before so it’s all new to them (and they have a big flight cage)
Thank you all for your help :)
 

Caitnah

Active member
Mar 24, 2018
267
65
Upstate New York
Parrots
GCC Pineapple
Just my $.02...
My Conure is now 3. I have been letting him out of his cage to play for his whole life. For the lonnnnngest time, even though I would leave the door open and had a perch on his door, he would NEVER go back in on his own.
Trying to put him back in was like trying to get a two year old kid to go to bed. I’d have to chase him around the room, which was futile to say the least. Eventually he would land on my shoulder where I’d have to handle him carefully and the inevitable bites.
More than anything, I wanted him to go back in on his own even if it was just to eat. One day, out of the blue, HE JUST WANDERED IN ON HIS OWN TO EAT. Of course, I did NOT shut the door on him and after a minute, he came back out. I then rewarded him for this.

As far as bed time, he will not go in on his own. But I stumbled on a routine that has worked. After he has been out for about 4-5 hours, I get him to fly to me. I then walk him past his cage into my bedroom where I sit on my bed. I tell him it’s time to go back in, he lets me pick him up and I hold him like an ice cream cone. If I just let him step up, he will fly off when I approach his cage so it is necessary to hold him.
As he lets me do this, I walk him to his cage telling him he’s going to get a treat. He voluntarily steps up onto his cage perch and I close the door. He then gets a treat.

Around 7:00 pm every night, while he’s in his cage, he says “nite-nite” which is him telling me he wants to sleep and to shut the TV and get the hell out...which I do. He has me trained well.

We do this almost everyday now. Point is, be patient. They will eventually wander in on their own. If one does it, probably the other will also. Just make sure (as others have said) , do not close the door when they do it.
 
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Jen5200

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Mar 27, 2017
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Baby - Sun Conure;
Tango - GCC;
Bindi - Sun Conure;
Stanley - Pineapple GCC;
Screamer “Scree� - Cockatiel;
Tee - Pineapple GCC; Jimmy - Cockatiel
My crew are all flighted and bedtime used to be a nightmare - chasing and trying to herd them back to cage when it was time for bed. I’m lucky that all of my conures love apples, so I opted to make a tiny piece of apple their night time treat. They don’t get apples any other time except bed time. I would show them the coveted food and then ask for step up and walk to the cage - they got the treat as soon as they went in. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of patience was required at first. I try to ensure that going into cage is never a negative experience, whether it’s bed time or any other time. Mine all fly back to their cage when I say bedtime, do you want an apple, or treat time. Now they usually get back to their cages ahead of me and put themselves in. I never use a big treat - but a little piece of something that they love. I don’t close the door every time they go into their cages and I don’t put them back in their cage as punishment for anything - they feel free to come and go while the door is open and often go back for a snack or a drink and then come back out to continue what they were doing. It wasn’t an instant training thing, but they understood the concept of “bedtime” reasonably quickly and now we use the same theory any time that I need them to head back to their cages. I had to be careful to be very consistent in my requests and doling out of treats, but it works well for us now. Much less stressful for all of us than it used to be :)
 

Beckytheconure

New member
Jan 25, 2021
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The first time my green cheek conure’s wings grew out she wasn’t used to (or very good at flying) and didn’t do it unless she was scared or really really wanted to get to me. She fly about ten feet and be breathing really heavily because she was so out of shape�� but as she got into better shape she became so agile and fast and was just flying for fun. So I think if they’ve never been allowed to fly before they probably won’t be good/confident enough to get away from you inside your house. Hopefully that helps!
 

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