Cage Top Pros and Cons; Training

Hmm, so Charlie is your average bird, and yesterday all he wanted was to climb to the top of his 6' dometop cage. At first I prevented it because I didn't know what trouble I might have getting him down, but finally he won out by climbing all the way to the top (with me supervising) on his own (I allowed it this time because he hasn't climbed out of his cage on his own before. He's only come out when he's chosen to step up on a hand). Once up there he seemed fairly bewildered but then contented himself to preening. He probably would have slept the night up there had I let him.

I guess my real question is: Do the pros of letting Charlie do as he please (instead of forcing him down or keeping him from climbing up) outweigh the cons of having to fish him off the top of his cage for bed?

Note: he hasn't climbed to the top since that one time, but I don't know about his ideas concerning the future.

Another thing: He hasn't responded to any sort of positive reinforcement training so far, and I'm not going to push the matter of training before he is willing to work. But I was wondering if there was any tips out there to encourage him to be open to working with training. I've used foods that he picks out, I've tried before his feeding time so he'd be hungrier, and I've tried using bits of jute (his favorite chewthing) but he always gives up trying for rewards if I don't just give it to him after a few seconds. Do you think this will change and it's just a matter of persistence, or is this a sign of a stubborn bird outsmarting the system?

Right now I'm not trying to do anything advanced, but he doesn't know how to step up other than what the breeder taught him (by pushing on his belly) and I want him to learn via positive reinforcement so I can move him around more easily without forcing him to step up. If he had been taught with positive reinforcement I wouldn't worry about training this early.

I know he's only been here a few days and I'm not expecting leaps and bounds or for him to do anything out of the ordinary. I guess I'm just looking for some reassurance that this is the ordinary and that I'm not doing anything terribly wrong.

Firstly, congratulations on Charlie haha

When i first got Fargo he sat on the top of his cage, because he was scared and wanted to be safe, it was a bit of a challenge getting him down, so then i would ignore him, and he would climb down to get my attention

After a few days when he was feeling more at home he didn't go up there anymore, and he never goes there now, and we never had problems with cage aggression and such

With the training, you may not of found his special food yet, just keep trying different treats and you might find he will have one thing he will do ANYTHING for

Good luck

You said you only have him a few days. It will take time to build the trust he needs to do what you want. You are not his flock leader yet (in his mind). Give him time. Be patient, persistent & consistent. Do the same things, the same way, and he'll come to want to do what you want him to. Top of his cage is okay, as long as he doesn't see that as a way of being above & beyond your control. Birds above your eye level may think they're above you in status. In a flock, the birds higher up in the tree are the flock leaders.

BillsBirds said:

You are not his flock leader yet (in his mind).

Click to expand...

BillsBirds said:

...as long as he doesn't see that as a way of being above & beyond your control. Birds above your eye level may think they're above you in status. In a flock, the birds higher up in the tree are the flock leaders.

Click to expand...

With all due respect, I appreciate the advice, but I don't think these points are supported by research or that they're accurate. Most expert sources I've come across actually discredit these ideas. But thank you for the support! I know I need to be consistent and persistent. Haha.

Congrats on getting Charlie!

For most parrot (expect birds like galah that naturally likes to stay on the ground since that's where they find their food in the wild), a higher place = safe. It is normal for new parrot to likes to stay on top of their cage, Ozzie was like that when I first got him as well.

If you do have trouble getting Charlie down from the top of his cage, then don't let him go up there. It is not true that parrot will get aggressive if they are on top of the cage. The reason they bite when people tries to get them down is because they feel safe up there and won't want to come down. And you can do target training to solve that problem.

And give him lots of treats to see which one he likes. Ozzie will do anything for a pice of banana chip!

I think it depends on the bird. And rather than force him down use it as a training experiance. Ask him to step up and when he says no let him be. This will teach him he doesn't need to run away or bite to tell you no.

I let Rosie on top of her cage sometimes, but it's not a everyday thing. My reason is selfish and for her safety. I don't want her pooping on her stuff or in her water(I remove her food when she's on top). I'm not really worried about her water since I always check it, but her back perches are very hard for me to put on. I keep the easily cleaned perches in the back and I clean them once a week without removing them. If she pooped on them I would have to take them out and soak/scrub them.

hey Harrison, sounds like your having fun

Not sure about the cage top dilemma, but I know Loki was disinterested in training for the first few days.

He liked eating the treats, but didn't really follow the "training" to get them lol. Now however I put him on another perch, ask him to step up, treat, then back to the perch etc and he seems to do really well.

No doubt Charlie will pick it up soon,

sorry i cant really offer any help, perservere, it worked with Loki

good luck and have fun x

I've had my macaw for 2 1/2 weeks now and he will spend all evening sitting on top of his cage once I let him out. I can get him down easily with little effort but when I do he will sit with me for a few minutes and then fly back. Sometimes he wants to be picked up but then flys straight back and wants to be picked up again. I think he just enjoys flying. Occasionally he will come down to get my attention. And he always does when I'm eating my dinner.
I think the problem is though that I keep going over to his cage to see him and give him food and attention. He'll let me touch him anywhere now, most of the time. So I stand next to his cage for hours stroking and scratching him. So maybe I need to start ignoring him and force him to come down to get my attention. He usually does if I completely ignore him for ages but usually I crack first as I want to go and make a fuss of him.

I dont think you're doing anything wrong. Some birds can adjust to their new home within hours and some can take months or even longer. It's something we all need to accept before getting a new feathered friend.

Birds naturally want to be up high so that they feel safe and can view their surroundings. Obviously this is just my opinion, but the cage is his home and I wouldn't really discourage him from being comfortable in or out of his home. Do you have a neutral area you can place him such as a playstand? It's easier to train in a neutral area or even an area he is not used to. It helps to develop trust because they depend on you to keep them safe.

Lastly, if food and treats dont work just try verbal praise. I have never used treats yet (not saying I wouldn't if the situation came about) and all my birds have responded well to the training. I heap a ridiculous amount of praise on them when they step up or fly to me or whatever the desired action may be.

Be patient and I am sure Charlie will become more comfortable and respond to each baby step of training you introduce.

You could build him a redneck playtop over the dome top cage so he has something to sit on besides the cage bars. I prefer the playtop cages by far but do have one dome top and one opera top. There is nothing much for them to do on a dome top except sit. Since you are clever with the setup inside, think about rigging up some branches and stuff to fool with on top.

Eclectus are canopy dwellers so they don't by nature spend much time on the ground. Clipped birds go to the floor because they cannot fly from spot to spot.

If he knows the words "step up" I think working on that is enough for the time being. and IMO verbal praise is as good as a treat reward for stepping up. It won't take him long to learn your body language, just as you learn his and soon he'll lift his foot when you approach wanting a stepup, compared when you approach to service his cage, etc.

LOL Grinder. Like minds.

Thanks everyone for your reassurance! Charlie hasn't had any problems and I'm not really concerned right now or anything but I do appreciate knowing nothing strange is going on. Haha

Shayne, Charlie did the exact same thing last night! He climbed all the way to the top of his cage while I was sitting on my bed, only to fly straight to me (although he's terrible at landing, and freaks himself out). Then after he's with me for a minute, he'll fly right back to his cage. I think he's either fond of the flying or he just isn't sure enough of himself just yet. Haha