My bird is terrified of being in a cage

[Eclectus_8]

I have a plum headed parakeet who was mistreated before I got him and was cage bound and terrified to leave his cage. Because of this my main priority became to get him comfortable outside of his cage. We had a guest room so we turned that into the designated bird room so we never forced them (my bird and my sisters bird) to be in their cages and left the cage doors open 24/7 so that they are free to fly at all times. It worked and he became extremely social and comfortable very quickly. It has now been around two years since then and this has seemingly backfired a bit. He is now terrified of being in a cage and will only go into his cage to drink water briefly before coming out again. He even sleeps out in the open on a perch. This was fine at first but recently we had a hurricane scare so we tried to put him in his cage ( it’s a very large cage that is meant for birds double his size) so that we could move him out of his room and it was very difficult to get him inside and the second I closed the cage he freaked out and started flying into the metal bars repeatedly. It freaked me out and I let him out immediately so that he wouldn’t hurt himself and he immediately flew to me in a panic and it took several minutes to calm him down. He also now won’t go into his smaller cage that we use for vet visits. I want to know if there’s a way I can safely get him used to being in a cage again without stressing him out too bad. I also noticed that he has been a bit more nervous lately and seems to scare easier than he used to just by loud noises and new objects. When he scares he flys in laps at a very fast speed and it has me nervous because I don’t want him to crash into anything. I was wondering if this could be related to the fact that he doesn’t have a place in his room where he feels protected, as I assume that would be how most birds feel about their cages. Could I buy him something similar to a nesting box so he can feel safe and protected but not feel scared from being in a cage? Any advice would be great.

 

[HarleY 063]

Forget the cage - your bird is freaking out at being confined due to the bad episode you described. if your house can withstand a hurricane, then basically everything inside is safe hunky dory. Work on returning him to his cage by perhaps using the cage as a feeding point. It might take time and have to be in several stages to achieve, but sooner, or later, he will not be as frightened for being confined. you need to work on this or you will have a problem if you need to transport him to a vet, or even accompany you on a trip! be patient and sit in the room whenever possible with him; he should calm down; how he calms down only you will know when he does!!

 

[BigBalli]

The reverse association happens often with rescues. Two years of the cage being "the door I never shut" means the closed cage reads as a trap now. Fix it slowly, not on an emergency timeline. For a few weeks, only close the door for 30 seconds at a time while he's eating his favorite millet or egg food inside. Open immediately before he panics. Build up in seconds-per-session. At the same time, move the cage into the room you spend most evenings in so it's a "good place," not a bedroom he's exiled to. If a hurricane hits before training is done, a travel carrier he's slept in once or twice is way less traumatic than the big cage.