How do I get my bird back in his cage?

I've had Loki, an older Goffin's cockatoo, for about a month now. He loves to play with toys and chew on things, loves treats, and loves head/neck scratches. He does not step up, ever, for anybody. When I let him out of his cage he sits on top and plays quietly by himself and will come over for training or interaction with people. However, he will NOT return to his cage. He is very food-motivated when it comes to touch-training, but not at all when it comes to going back into his cage. He's picked up touch-training really well and will follow the stick anywhere along the top or sides of his cage, but will not follow it back in. I've tried putting all his favorite toys and treats in his cage, to no avail. When he's in his cage, he eats well and plays with his toys, so it doesn't seem that he's afraid of his cage.

I've been using negative reinforcement to get him back in by holding a towel out, which he's afraid of. Once he's back in his cage, I immediately hide the towel and shower him with praise and treats. I HATE doing it, and his attitude towards me has been deteriorating as a result. I'm heading down the path of him fearing me and I have no idea how to fix it.

Does anybody have any ideas?

Well I can tell you what I do, but I'm fairly new to the bird world. My 12 year old BFA Sassy, who I've had for a little over 2 months, would NOT go back into her cage. She would NOT step up. She would NOT let us touch her for anything! I used to have to "persuade" her to go back in her cage with a towel or I would put my gloves on which she was scared of. I also hated doing this but it's the only way I could get her back in. She wasn't handled or allowed out of her cage with her previous owner because he couldn't get her back in. I refuse to not let her out! So, with a little trial and error, I figured out a schedule that works for us. My sun conure's bedtime with his previous owner was 8:00 or 8:30. So, I put Chico my sun to bed around 9:00 and then I let Sassy out. I put fresh food and treats in her cage, while she's out and make sure she see's me do it. She doesn't stay on top of her cage though...she hangs out on my kitchen cabinets. She comes back to her cage several times and flies to me a couple times a night (I am always armed with snacks for her), and around 11:00, I go in and turn off most of the lights in the kitchen dining room. Within 10 minutes she goes back into her cage. I have recently, just a few days ago, got her stepping up, but that doesn't get her back in her cage because she is flighted so if I go to put her in her cage she would just fly away. It took almost 2 months before she would fly to me and actually walk on me. It takes a long time but it is sooo worth it!

This is just what works for me and my fids, but I have alot more training to do with Sassy. In time, I hope to be able to get her out anytime, and put her back anytime, like I do with Chico. Good luck!

Thanks for sharing your experience! I am definitely going to try withholding favorite foods until just before bed time. My birds get grumpy once the sun goes down, they'd be a nightmare at 11:00 pm!

I've never experienced a fight with a bigger bird regarding this issue, but I'm currently bird-sitting for a few friends that have a GCC and a Quaker. Apparently they're so notorious for being vicious about going into their cages for them that they set aside these humongous and thick gloves for me to wear while putting them back. It's day 2 of bird-sitting and I have yet to be bitten by either of them while getting them into their cage and have yet to wear the gloves.

The thing is that I don't have the birds on my hand when I approach the cage door. Instead I put them on top (the cages are small) and then get their favourite treat. I put some of it in their food bowl to interest them, and then I put the rest in the palm of my hand. They'll crawl down, go for the seeds in my hand, and as they're happily chewing I slowly move them towards a perch to hop on. Once they hop on, I dump the rest of the treats into the food bowl and solely remove my hand while talking to them as I close the cage doors. I find when it's the bird's choice to go into their cage that they're much, much easier to deal with. Food bribery is a great thing with parrots

Have you tried getting him to step up to a wooden dowel and then placing him in his cage? That way you're not asking him to step up to a scary hand, you're just offering a slightly higher perch instead.

Only feed and water them inside the cage. When they go in to eat close the cage.

My birds get grumpy once the sun goes down, they'd be a nightmare at 11:00 pm!

Click to expand...

That's what I thought too and that's how Chico is. I don't know if Sassy's old owner was up and around really late or what. I know Sassy is really grumpy in the morning! LOL.

I have been working with Sassy to step up and, like I said, just within the last few days got her to step up for me. Well, last night, she stepped up from her cage top and I put her inside her cage to her perch, then had her step up from her perch and put her back on her cage top! She did this several times! I was so happy! Then when she was hanging out on the front of my kitchen cabinet in her "crazy" mode, I got her to step up and I took her into the living room with me...and then back to her cage top. I got her to step up from the cabinet 2 more times (in her "crazy" mode) and the last time she stepped up I put her back in her cage with no problem whatsoever! She's come so far in the 9 weeks that I've had her but especially in the last couple weeks! Maybe Loki just needs a little more time. I know there were times that I thought Sassy would NEVER come to me or step up and then all of a sudden she's doing it. Keep working with Loki and she'll come around. Good luck!

I haven't read all the responses so I might be redundant here. I'll just tell you of my experience and hope it can help you some. Also, I have a conure so I don't know how applicable this is to your bigger bird. I try make it a point to never put Boomer inside the cage myself. The less I do that, the less he would associate the act to something negative. I would always lure him in with his dinner or a treat. For example, I make a big fuss about how yummy his food dish is then I'd put it inside. I would also let him see me put a treat in his foragers. 95% of the time, he would go in of his own accord and would pay no mind as I close the door.

The other 5% is when he's being stubborn or if it's time for bed. Bed time is the worst because he'd try to be cute to buy some more minutes. To work around it, I'd turn off all the lights so he doesn't realize I'm putting him inside. He doesn't make a fuss after that and just goes in usual sleep perch.

I had a great deal of trouble with my Alexes at first. What I did was to find a fail-safe food reward. For us, it was dried pawpaw pieces and peanut butter. I would load up my hand with food treats and get the bird onto my arm. Just as the bird seized the foot treat (which I was holding firmly between my fingers) I would swoop my arm into the cage and sort of 'scrape' the bird off in the doorway. The bird had to catch hold of the cage above the door and climb upward. I closed the door and gave lots more rewards and praise. This became the usual end to out-of-cage sessions and got to the point where I'd just have to pop the birds in the cage and they'd go happily enough.

These days, my birds live outside and enter the house through a purpose-built hatchway. They leave it via the same route. When it's Home Time, I just put a shelled peanut at the far end of the hatch-way and the birds will walk through, pick up their treat and proceed out into their cage to eat it.

Tips:

1. You absolutely must teach your bird to step up. It's not as hard as you might think, but it's necessary for everyone's peace of mind and birdie's safety. Try searching for 'Barbara Heidenreich step up' on YouTube. BH has a very clever technique of holding the end of the bird's perch and luring it gradually onto her hand using a food treat. This is the easiest, calmest and cleverest method of teaching step up that I've ever seen and I'd recommend it to you.

2. Always leave yourself a good half-hour to put your bird away. When they're reluctant to go home, it takes time and patience to get them there. Hurrying and scrabbling around with towels and sticks is not going to be a happy outcome for you or for birdie. Have a plan and go about it slowly and calmly and with saintly patience. It's the only way!

3. Distraction with food or your gentle voice is probably your best tool. Once birdie is on your arm, you simply place him inside the cage in a single fluid movement (do try not to knock his head on the doorway!) Then, you reward profusely with the best and most special treat you have.

4. You can use subterfuge too if you have a cage with an opening roof. I would open the roof and place an irresistible treat in the cage. When birdie climbs down to investigate, simply close the roof on 'im. It's far better, though, to teach birdie to go home willingly. It'll save you a lot of grief!

5. If birdie flies off in the middle of the process, leave the room and consciously relax yourself. If you get frustrated and fraught, your bird will know and Home Time will become a stressful event for him. Once you're calm, go back and try again. You might have to leave the room multiple times, so set up the first few attempts on weekends when you've got plenty of time to wait. And wait. And be patient. Once you get the process established and succeed a few times, it only takes a few repetitions to get it firmly in birdie's mind and it gets easier every time. But do persevere! You won't be sorry and it'll be another link in your bond with your bird.

Do let us know how you get on! And, really, DO look up the Barbara Heidenreich training videos on YouTube. They helped me a great deal in the beginning.

When i had my first bird (a budgie) i was trying to make him like me and i let him fly around the house all the time, eating wherever he felt like it. He got an attitude and started to not go back if i needed him to. So then i restricted his food until he was INSIDE the cage and he learned to say "hungry" and flew to his cage. He was a bird who was trained to step up already but was just stubborn when he didn't want to go back and flew away if i approached the cage.

So, the feeding only in cage is a good practice for now.....and definitely would start working on step up, a little at a time.

flapflapglide said:

I've had Loki, an older Goffin's cockatoo, for about a month now. He loves to play with toys and chew on things, loves treats, and loves head/neck scratches. He does not step up, ever, for anybody. When I let him out of his cage he sits on top and plays quietly by himself and will come over for training or interaction with people. However, he will NOT return to his cage. He is very food-motivated when it comes to touch-training, but not at all when it comes to going back into his cage. He's picked up touch-training really well and will follow the stick anywhere along the top or sides of his cage, but will not follow it back in. I've tried putting all his favorite toys and treats in his cage, to no avail. When he's in his cage, he eats well and plays with his toys, so it doesn't seem that he's afraid of his cage.

I've been using negative reinforcement to get him back in by holding a towel out, which he's afraid of. Once he's back in his cage, I immediately hide the towel and shower him with praise and treats. I HATE doing it, and his attitude towards me has been deteriorating as a result. I'm heading down the path of him fearing me and I have no idea how to fix it.

Does anybody have any ideas?

Click to expand...

THAT ISN'T NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT IN MY BOOK... I THINK YOU'RE DOING THIS RIGHT, AND YOU'RE OVERTHINKING IT. THE POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IS THE TREATS AND PRAISE WHEN HE GOES BACK IN.

The towel is only necessary for a short period of time, until the bird figures out that he is NOT going to get away with murder, and doesn't get to have his own way 24/7. COCKATOO SPOILED BIRD SYNDROME IS THE WORST OF ALL THE SPOILED BIRD SYNDROMES THERE ARE.

I've done this with my birds, and none of them "FEAR" me. They're pretty much all cuddle bugs. BUT when they act up, and I get out my towel, they know Dad's serious... they may recoil in horror at the sight of it, but they do what they are told.

IN MY BOOK YOU ARE DOING IT RIGHT!