How to take a parrot out of cage

[African_charlie]

i recently adopted a one year old African grey charlie we didn't bond properly i had him for about a month
so he can eat from my hand inside the cage but still doesn't like me and i love him sooo much.

the only thing is his old owners never took him out of the cage witch im really angry about so now he does not want to go back in the cage when its time to go in .
also when he comes out he would just fly away on to the wardrobe and not come down
i tried giving treats to lead him into the cage but he will just bite.

im really sad because i dont take him out anymore because i know it will be a disaster . i sees vidioes of parrots with owners waddling on the floor with them and stepping up to there hands and shoulders
while charlie is scared of me .
plz help :15::25:

 

[ChristaNL]

Try clickertraining inside the cage - that way you learn coorperation is fun and rewarding. (try these: http://www.parrotforums.com/training/60435-clicker-target-training.html )

If you have no food outside the cage...eventually he will go back in it.
A bird needs to eat.

And always, always reward with a favorite treat if he is put back in.


My Japie can be really annoyed with me if I put him back (he wants to live on a door, not in a cage most of the time) but he knows it will be worth it, so sometimes he will bluff (puff up a bit) - but we both know I am not falling for it, but I always acknowledge that he did not want to go* - so he gets extra praise and attention before he goes in and gets his snack. (*after he steps up of course)


Look into bitepressuretraining.
I do not think Charlie is afraid of you (he eats from your hand)- he is telling you something!
If you are not bleeding after a bite it's just communication (fear or true agression will make you bleed) ... unpleasant for you of course, but birds can be very gentle or very rough if they choose to.
If you listen (and Look, most of it is posturing etc.) to your bird, he wil not need to bite hard.


and yes.. greys will test you, not every single time like macaws seem to-- but any parrot will try to figure out how far they can go, test the boundries so to speak and if they can scare you.
"No" is a wonderfull and usefull word


If he is an african grey he is still a baby-elementary schoolchild (timney are a bit faster - they are nearing puberty at that age), he will be an adolescent around 2 years old (an be a bit of a bastard if you are unlucky, or you may not even notice he is going to be a grown up) so you have to really raise him to be a great parrot
The forum will help, you do the work!

 

[Scott]

Welcome to the forums! Seems Charlie was cage-bound for a long while and now finds himself in a new home. Greys are by nature extremely cautious and resistant to change. Progress is possible but will take time, love, and a lot of patience.

One month is not a terribly long period of time. Might start from scratch with some bonding and trust-building techniques: http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

Clicker training as Christa suggested would also be a help. If he bites, bite-pressure training here: http://www.parrotforums.com/training/63988-bite-pressure-training.html

Greys are truly special and highly intelligent parrots. One of our insightful members wrote this thread; enjoy! http://www.parrotforums.com/congo-timneh-greys/59366-cag-101-a.html

Good luck, let us know if you have some breakthroughs!!

 

[Billdore]

My Timneh had owners that also neglected her and it seemed everything we did she wasn’t used too. Like she wasn’t very good at balancing on my finger or shoulder. Luckily for me I got to know her at the pet store. But for about a month I would go in and get my daily chomp from timneh. She would break skin too so I would try to hide my bloody hand from the store people so they didn’t think I was crazy. I think Timneh thought I was. But she eventually learned bite pressure and what is means when I say ow. And she decided she liked me well enough to not make me scream in pain anymore. That’s how we bonded she’d get a new treat each day then I’d try to get to close and get chomped. I was very inexperienced still not very experienced. But african greys are great trainers and Charlie will show just what he wants. Take your time lots of talking. Timneh still needs to be distracted by a treat to get her back in her house at night. Spent many night figuring out how the heck am I gonna get her in there. Chasing her around the living room as she has her way with me. Eventually they take pity on you though and allow themselves to be “tricked” into their house. Either that or she just got tired. Lol take your time try not to get frustrated. with a parrot you have a lot of time. They are smart and do not see themselves as below you in any way. You two are equals if your lucky. I don’t have too much helpful in the ways of training just wanted to let you know your not alone. Best of luck with your new best friend.

 

[Taw5106]

My CAG Buzz has been a long working process. We brought him home 3 years ago. He would not step up and to this day has not stepped up for me. He is very excited to take food from me, doesn't mind me working in and around his cage but touching... NNNNOOOOOO!!!!! During the last three years I have asked this forum many questions because I thought Buzz hated me and my Husband. He doesn't, but we don't know what his past is.

My point, over the last three years we've worked with Buzz. It took us a year to see him come out of his cage and roam. A full year, we did it at his pace. Now he comes out daily and roams. It took over a year for him to tolerate touching him and that is still finicky. He loves to sing, whistle and talk with us so we do that throughout the day. Last year we were hit with Hurricane Harvey and we set his travel cage near his cage. We had to towel him to get him in the cage. When we returned home, we opened the travel cage close to his cage and he went straight in, ate, then climbed out, went to the top and starting singing.

African Grays are very cautious so don't be surprised things take a very long time. Buzz doesn't fly away from us and we have interactions at this point he is good with. We do work with him to keep moving forward to build his trust. Good Luck!