Bird On top of cage

My new conure that is re-homed to me and still adjusting and biting gets out of the cage and sits on top. This is the only time (and only sometimes) her will step up. I have heard I shouldn't let her sit up there because it is dominance. Does anyone know about his? Also she will only semi-cooperate when the budgie she came with is taken into another room? Thanks in advance!

Height dominence is from the old school. Birds naturally want to be up high.

if the bird is biting because its afraid the confidence may be a good thing. if its biting because its being aggressive then it will just make it worse.

Its a birds instinct to want to be at the highest point no matter where they are. It could be your shoulder, the top of the cage or the top of the play stand. However, some birds are known to be cage aggressive and once away from the cage, the biting will stop. Does she come out of the cage by herself? If she does, try to get her to let you take her out. Don't back away when she bites, that's only showing her she can get what she wants by intimidating you. If you happen to get her out of the cage peacefully, reward her. If she bites while out of the cage, put her back in. She'll start to associate no biting with a reward and biting with being caged. This could be the start of teaching her not to bite.

About the budgie, do you mean they're in the same room and once you remove the budgie from that room she doesn't cooperate? If they were raised together, I'd say its separation issues. You'll have to keep working with her ALONE and get her used to depending on you. I know when I raise babies sometimes they don't want to leave their siblings side. If I separate them, they put up a little bit of a fuss but this is usually from separating them from their flock. You have to teach her that you're her flock or you are a PART of flock and that it's okay to just be with you.

Once you remove the budgie from the room and you get her out of the cage, reward her. Put her on top of the cage, make her step up, reward her. Positive reinforcements go a long way Hope I helped.

Thanks everyone! They are in the same cage. My conure will get out on it's own.

_Temptations_ said:

Its a birds instinct to want to be at the highest point no matter where they are. It could be your shoulder, the top of the cage or the top of the play stand. However, some birds are known to be cage aggressive and once away from the cage, the biting will stop. Does she come out of the cage by herself? If she does, try to get her to let you take her out. Don't back away when she bites, that's only showing her she can get what she wants by intimidating you. If you happen to get her out of the cage peacefully, reward her. If she bites while out of the cage, put her back in. She'll start to associate no biting with a reward and biting with being caged. This could be the start of teaching her not to bite.

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I disagree with this, don't bother her if she is in her cage. Lots, and I mean LOTS of parrots are cage aggressive and do not like having people sticking their hands in their cage. Instead of asking her to accept you entering her space, open the cage door and just allow her to come out on her own. If the top of the cage is easily accessible and not too high for you to reach comfortably, this is a good system because the bird will learn that if she wants to interact with you she can move to the top (outside) of the cage, but if she wants to be left alone, she can stay in her cage and won't be bothered. Birds LOVE when people are predictably safe, that is, they thrive on relationships with clear communication. Just like a dog can learn that his crate is a 'safe' place where he can go when he doesn't want to be bothered, birds can learn that instead of biting you to tell you to back off, they can go into their cage and will be left alone.

Building on this concept, try not to get bitten. Like Temptations said, if you do get bitten don't pull away (just grit your teeth and endure), but generally, if you see the signs back off. What you want the bird to think is that if she communicates clearly that she would prefer not to be held (my bird puffs up and looks lowers her head), that she doesn't need to resort to biting to tell you that. Because I have learnt to read my parrot and have respected her signals, she rarely ever bites me because I don't bug her when she doesn't feel like socializing. This is really important!

Now on the flipside of this, when she *does* step up - make it totally worth it! Feed her her favourite treat, make being with you a positive experience (talk to her, give her gentle scritches if she likes that, whatever) so that she learns stepping up and spending time with you is way more fun than staying in/on her cage.

The bottom line is that parrots, like people, respond to classical conditioning and have moods. If you want to have a great relationship with your parrot, show them that being with you is really rewarding and fun, and show them that they can trust you to respect their feelings.

HoneyBird said:

Thanks everyone! They are in the same cage. My conure will get out on it's own.

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The budgie and conure are in the same cage? I hate to be the downer but I would really recommend separating them into different cages (but keep them side to side so that they still feel 'together'). If they were to disagree over something and a fight broke out the budgie would not stand a chance.

Thank again everyone for the advice. Yes they were re-homed to me a week ago. The previous owner told me that he bought the budgie around 6 months ago because he couldn't spend much time with her. But now she will not cooperate unless the budgie is taken out of the room entirely.

What I'm about to say would probably get a lot of disagreement...you don't want the bird higher then you. It is kinda like dominance. You have a higher chance for the bird to show aggression then a bird at a lower level. This is my personal opinion! It even shows in the young chicks I've raised....

And to be honest, I wouldn't mind getting rid of the budgie entirely if it meant my conure and I would get along easier/better. I would hate to freak it out by doing that though

Should I get rid of the budgie entirely?

Thats entirely up to you! Or move the budgie into a different cage and room....

Do you think it would be harmful to my conure if I were to do so? I would hate to traumatize her or have her mad or resent me

Yes, in all instances I have had height equals dominance. Its a bird's instinct to be the highest up. It's piratically the golden rule of birds, and the higher up they get, the more aggressive or disobedient they get. HOWEVER, just as in the human world, there are some birds who don't fit the stereotype. She sounds to be doing fine and the complete opposite in fact. That's great! If it works for you two that way then keep it! but if things start taking a turn for the worse, don't let her up higher than you. As for the caging the two together, I would recommend buying another cage and seperating the two. They're like betta fish- we're told not to put two together- they must be housed seperately, but some of us do and it works great! Mine lived 5 months together before one vicously ate the other at random overnight. I'm not saying your conure is going to eat your budgie, but if some rustle does occur there will be serious damage. Good luckeither way, but it is your choice in the end!

As for getting rid of the budgie, personally I wouldn't unless their lunging for each others throats every chance they get. I would try seperating the cages. Start them side by side, then across the room, and then in a different a room, and just keep increasing the distance as (and if) they get worse.

MikeyTN said:

What I'm about to say would probably get a lot of disagreement...you don't want the bird higher then you. It is kinda like dominance. You have a higher chance for the bird to show aggression then a bird at a lower level. This is my personal opinion! It even shows in the young chicks I've raised....

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It really has nothing to do with dominance though. If a bird is up high and you are reaching to bring it down, of course it might want to bite you - it doesn't want to be brought down! A bird who is down low, like on the floor, would likely be more open to being picked up because A) it feels vulnerable down low and B) it thinks you will be lifting it higher.

HoneyBird said:

Should I get rid of the budgie entirely?

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Personally, I don't think so. Didn't you just get them recently? If they are emotionally attached to each other (which it sounds like they are), it will be very stressful separating them. If I were you, I would get a second cage and keep the cages next to each other so they can still see and hear each other.

There are constantly so many poor budgies being given away and rehomed, I encourage you to give the little guy a chance to win over your heart. Plus it can be difficult to find budgies a good home because so many people regard them as children's pets that are disposable

Violet said:

MikeyTN said:

What I'm about to say would probably get a lot of disagreement...you don't want the bird higher then you. It is kinda like dominance. You have a higher chance for the bird to show aggression then a bird at a lower level. This is my personal opinion! It even shows in the young chicks I've raised....

Click to expand...

It really has nothing to do with dominance though. If a bird is up high and you are reaching to bring it down, of course it might want to bite you - it doesn't want to be brought down! A bird who is down low, like on the floor, would likely be more open to being picked up because A) it feels vulnerable down low and B) it thinks you will be lifting it higher.

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I said its kinda, never said it is, plus I said its my opinion...It depends on how you put it....not saying I don't agree with what you say either....

I agree that it has to do with dominance in an underlying factor. As when they are higher up I fell that they feel more dominant and tend to refuse commands or bite. However, FACT, many, many books, and all people knowledgeable of parrots understand that the overall reason of the height is SECURITY. They're security is being up high. They feel safe up there, and rightfully so. I however feel that where they feel feel secure they feel in control of the situation and where one is secure they are dominant. That is how I feel about the topic. Many people will say that the hieght contributing to dominance is a myth, and that it really is height being a secuirty to them, but I llink security and dominance together.

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