Odie wont go back in his cage

[adolia]

We have had Odie for 2 weeks now. Odie is a Yellow Fronted Amazon who is 20 years old. He was rehomed 5 years ago to an elderly couple who had 12 birds and kept them all in the cages all the time, so he isnt used to being out of his cage at all.

Our home is more "free range", where Stewart(our jardines parrot who is 2) is let out of the cage first thing in the morning and roams between his cage and play area until he puts himself to bed at night.

The first few Days Odie reluctantly went back into his cage each evening, always trying to grab the bars and keep from going in. By the 4th night I had to turn off all the lights in the house to get him into the cage. That lasted about a week. A few nights ago he decided to get as far away from me as possible on his cage so i couldnt reach him. He wont let me come near him when he knows it is time to go in the cage.

Ideally i would like Odie to be able to be out as much as possible, but I need to be able to get him back in the cage, especially during the day when we leave for a couple hours. I have no idea how to train a bird to go in the cage, mine have always gone in on their own when it got dark.

Any suggestions on how to get him to go in the cage willingly would be appreciated. We do have several issues to work out but this one is on the top of the list!

 

[Birdman666]

Well, unfortunately, this is a common side effect of having once been cage bound... if the door closes, I don't know if I'll ever be out again...

Maggie hates going in her cage as well.

Two options. Either a sleep stand next to the cage, if he stays put and you trust him to be out.

OR it's time for Mr. Towel to make an appearance and reinforce "TIME FOR BED."

"I know you don't want to, but it is time for bed. The same thing happens every night at this time. We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way... Step up, or prepare to be mummified... your choice, bird!"

Do that a few times, and the bird will usually just give up, and step up. Especially if this becomes a routine, and your bird realizes that there is "out" time, and "in" time.

 

[adolia]

that is a great idea, and i love your sense of humor! He is such a sweet, loving bird but spending his whole life caged seems so sad to me, and i love having him sit with me and visit with me during the day.

I am looking now to get him a play stand to keep closer to me, but keep him away from my other bird. I am also thinking about having his wings clipped, at least while he is getting used to us. Our other bird can at least fly higher to get away from him in an emergency.

 

[gracebowen]

I have a new budgie that is not yet trained to step up. I hate for her to not get to enjoy being out so I let her out. Sometimes I put her back early. Any time after 5 or 6 that she goes home to eat I shut her door. If I forget I have to use the towel.

I am not trying to take anything away from marks advice. He has far more experience than I do. I just like to try to "catch" her in her cage.

Also different bird species are treated differently.

 

[Rockford]

Is going back in the cage the only time you pick up the bird? if it is, pick him up at other random times and make it a positive experience. Especially close to bedtime when he's expecting to be put in his cage. Pick him up and give him a positive experience and then put him down on top of his cage or even in his cage but don't shut the door. Just walk away and let him come out again and then do it again later.

 

[Birdman666]

Is going back in the cage the only time you pick up the bird? if it is, pick him up at other random times and make it a positive experience. Especially close to bedtime when he's expecting to be put in his cage. Pick him up and give him a positive experience and then put him down on top of his cage or even in his cage but don't shut the door. Just walk away and let him come out again and then do it again later.

Good point. Or put him back where he was. Just wander around the house with him for awhile.

 

[adolia]

Is going back in the cage the only time you pick up the bird? if it is, pick him up at other random times and make it a positive experience. Especially close to bedtime when he's expecting to be put in his cage. Pick him up and give him a positive experience and then put him down on top of his cage or even in his cage but don't shut the door. Just walk away and let him come out again and then do it again later.

I pick him up a lot but that is a great idea, to put him in the cage without closing the door. I am also not going to use the food dishes on top and put all his food inside so he has to go in there and eat. I am hoping he will see that the door doesnt get shut when he does.

 

[Birdman666]

Is going back in the cage the only time you pick up the bird? if it is, pick him up at other random times and make it a positive experience. Especially close to bedtime when he's expecting to be put in his cage. Pick him up and give him a positive experience and then put him down on top of his cage or even in his cage but don't shut the door. Just walk away and let him come out again and then do it again later.

I pick him up a lot but that is a great idea, to put him in the cage without closing the door. I am also not going to use the food dishes on top and put all his food inside so he has to go in there and eat. I am hoping he will see that the door doesnt get shut when he does.

Another good idea...

 

[bmorrow]

new member here, 28 year bird custodian (in more ways than just sweeping up!)..
home for 8 birds as of april 18, 2015 when the vets at UGA could not keep Lorita alive..
before there were nine.. 3 umbrellas, 1 moluccan, 1 goffin, 2 eclectus, 1 blue front amazon and then there was Lorita, yellow nape amazon, well bonded to me until her demise..

for odie, try a dab of peanut butter on the end of a dinner knife or a spoon..

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

With my Amy, I can open her door and sometimes she just won't come out. When I feed her and have her treat bowl door open,sometimes she prefers to come out that way.
I keep the main door open as long as she is out and she goes in and out at will.
As soon as it gets dark in the living room,she automatically knows its time to go in and she usually does. sometimes I have fallen asleep on the couch,only to wake up at 5am and I find her sitting on the arm rest!

If I do need to go out when shes out,and she DOESN'T want to go in,I just show her "perch stick" and she gets the idea.

Sometimes my grey,Smokey,just REFUSED to go back in..no matter how much I chased her around the cage. Once or twice it had to come to that dreaded towel routine,which she hated.

I guess it all depends on their moods too.

Jim

 

[4dugnlee]

Right after my BFA Sassy started stepping up to me (which was 2 months after I brought her home) I would open her cage,have her step up, give her a treat, put her on top of her cage, then have her immediately step back up, treat, back in cage....I repeated that several times. Before she stepped up I would let her out at the about the same time every evening. When it was time for her to go in, I would put a favorite treat in her treat bowl and make sure she saw me do it. She is very food motivated!

 

[adolia]

Well I tried the towel trick with Odie and now he wont let me near him without getting bit. In the morning I open his cage, and he comes out and gets up top, then wants me to come over so he can get on my shoulder. But if I offer my harm he bites it. He also isn't nearly as willing to come to me, and refuses to come close most of the time. he wont let my hands near him, and he has bitten me twice while he was on my shoulder for unknown reasons.

I have kept his food and water in the cage, but I have yet to see him go in the cage on his own. He is very stubborn lol.

he still seems to want to be close to me a lot, but if stewart is anywhere near he bites my hand and wont let go. he clamps on with both his beak and talons and just refuses to release, which really hurts.

Not sure where to go with him from here, he is very sweet but getting unpredictable with the biting. I am a little hesitant to use the towel trick again since his reaction was not good.

 

[Birdman666]

1. Displacement biting when the other bird is around. If he displacement bites he doesn't belong on your shoulder. Hand train him.

2. I'd have to see the actual interaction on the towel thing. I don't know what to tell you on that one. Ordinarily, if you're consistent it works.

3. He shouldn't be given a target to latch onto, since he is biting. Closed bent fist. Make sure the thumb is tucked in and the skin on your hand is tight, or better yet, work with him on no bite step up with a towel around your arm. (The way we did with that eckie... in the excitement post.) No sense getting torn up giving your bird basic training.

4. Correct him when he attempts to bite with two fingers swiping the beak away so he doesn't latch on to the towel, then one finger on the top of the beak in a spot he cannot physically reach, pressing down, with the command "no biting."

 

[adolia]

birdman the towel trick I was referring to was someone had suggested wrapping him in a towel.

the past few days I have been wrapping my arm in a towel and it is working great, I haven't been bitten one time! at first he was attacking the towel but since I am not responding to the attacks he is calming down !

 

[henpecked]

Yeah, i'm not sure about everyone elses advice,,,, but if you only fed him inside his cage,, then he won't have an issue with going inside. he'll soon figure out that you're going to shut the door when he goes in, but he knows it's worth the food. Among other benefits he learns you're calling the shots and are a good leader. He won't have an issue with a good strong leader. Next thing you know ,he'll be following you around the house.