Please Help...If Possible.

[Caitnah]

I could really use some advice on handling a difficult situation with my Pineapple Conure. He is 2 1/2 years old and he resides in a large cage with toys, boings, perches, etc.
While working (before pandemic) I would usually let him out every other day for a couple hours, on a very large/elaborate playground. When time for him to go back I would have him step up and place him back into his cage...no problem.

Since pandemic, I’ve been home since mid March and let him out early afternoon till dinner time with food/water available outside the cage. BUT, he would get wise to me wanting to put him back into his cage and avoided me after a couple hours. I would have to wait until he got onto his boing on the playground and then quickly get up, disconnect the boing and bring him to the cage. He would then go in easily and drink/eat.

He has now become wise to THAT trick and when I want him to go back into his cage, he avoids me at all costs.
My goal is that I want him to go in/out of his cage on his own when he needs food/water and then when time for him to go back for the night, to do it easily like before.
I put a food dish on his door which is open and sometimes he would eat there and I would then close the door. I didn’t like this since he will avoid the door knowing it’s a trick. So now, he will eat at the door and I don’t close the door.

A couple times he actually went all the way in (on his own) and ate/drank and came back out...which was great. But this is rare.
Last night, I couldn’t get him back until late at night and had to chase him around the room. This cannot happen. And this has probably exasperated the problem. I do not yell or get mad at him and just talk friendly.

Today, I tried an experiment and let him out at noon with no food and water outside. His cage door is open. It is now 6:00 pm and he refuses to go back into his cage. It seems that he would rather starve/thirst then go into his cage. And this also cannot happen.
Every time I try to get him to step up he refuses and flies off (fully flighted) and I cannot get him at all.
When I finally get him in, he dives into his food and water.

Putting his favorite treats in his cage has accomplished nothing.
He’s so smart that he knows the first hour or so he will let me handle him any way I want knowing he isn’t going back in that quick. But a couple hours later, forget it. He avoids me at all costs.
Maybe clipping wings? That would make him easier to catch but not really what I want to do.

What I want is for him to know that he can go in/out of his cage for food and water AND be able to come right back out. Then at dinner time, to get him back into his cage EASILY for the night.

Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[Jen5200]

So I have 2 of 6 that were truly difficult to get to go into cage when I needed them to. Baby and Tango are both flighted and similar to what you are experiencing. I used to have to chase them everywhere, and I really didn’t want to clip them. I’ll put the caveat on what I do...it took time to get this to work. Mine will absolutely kill their best friend for apples - so I do not feed them apple EVER at any other time except when they go in to their cage when asked. I keep apples chopped into small pieces and they each get a piece when they go in and I close the door - every single time. They can come and go when the door is open (and they do), but they get their apple when I’m putting them in and closing the door. It literally took months to get this pattern established - but now when I say ‘apple time’, they both fly back to the cage and scramble over each other to get in. I haven’t found anything else that worked for me. We’ve now had this pattern for a couple of years. If I run out of apples, I substitute some other coveted treat so that there is always something good when I close the door. I’m curious what others have done....mine are truly food motivated fiends especially when it is something ‘special’.

I should add that all of mine get a small treat when they go in - but Baby and Tango are the only two that gave me fits trying to put them in...everyone else is quite civilized about it

 

[chris-md]

The best advice you’ll get: he’s getting wise because you’ve become negatively predictable. You coming = cage time.

Full stop.

You are associated with cage.

Moving forward You can’t immediately put him in his cage Whenever you pick him up. Be cognizant of what you are doing and why you are picking him up. You have to become unpredictable. Go back to basics, start step up training. Step up from the perch sometimes means being put back on the perch. It doesn’t always mean he’ll be put away. Stepping up for you means FUDGE ton of treats. Ruin some meals if you have to.

It may mean some days he has an earlier than normal bedtime, or sometimes a later than normal bedtime to accommodate NIGHTTIME STEP UPS ALSO DONT ALWAYS MEAN IMMEDIATE CAGE.

This unpredictability will go a long way to breaking the rut you’re in. Been there, done that. I realized I was doing the same thing, and it caused my Ekkie to constantly refuse stepping up for me. I was too predictable as the one who always put him in his cage when he stepped up to my hand.

Good luck!

 

[Caitnah]

. Mine will absolutely kill their best friend for apples - so I do not feed them apple EVER at any other time except when they go in to their cage when asked.

Thanks Jen...That’s Buddys favorite also. Will give that a try.

 

[Caitnah]

The best advice you’ll get: he’s getting wise because you’ve become negatively predictable. You coming = cage time.

Full stop.

You are associated with cage. Good luck!

Thanks Chris. Makes sense. As mentioned, I have absolutely no problem handling him for the first couple hours. I can hold him have him lay on his back in my hand, etc.
Afterwards, he still flies to me whenever I leave the room but he lands on my shoulder and will stay with me the whole time. Unfortunately if I reach back to get him, I’m greeted with a sharp nip or he climbs down my back where he knows I can’t reach him. Smart bugger.

 

[noodles123]

You need to be far less predictable with regard to handling and the cage. If you get stuck in the evening-- try dimming the lights slightly with a light on by his cage...that sometimes will lead them back...but some birds are so stubborn that they WILL NOT eat when they don't want to eat what you provide or the location in which it is provided...and so if that goes on too long, you will need to provide food and water outside of the cage to prevent hypoglycemia...just depends on how long it has been if they have been out many hours and haven't eaten.

When I am home, my bird's cage is open (unless I go take a nap or something). I move her back and forth a lot between her stands and the cage-top throughout the day without shutting her in--- it's just kind of part of her routine...she will hang with me in the living room on the stand, then she gets bored after awhile, so I move her to her cage top...then she says "come-here" so I move her elsewhere...I am not doing this every 5 minutes...she will sometimes sit and chill/play for hours once she is settled, but moving her back and forth a lot has worked for me (she actually WANTS to have the change of scenery and she can usually see me from her cage, which also helps. I f I can, I try to leave things very open (unless I cannot supervise her---I mean, I leave her sight for up to 20 min but not much longer...and that may be risky, but I know her pretty well and things are very bird-proof --plus, she hates to fly)

She would attach herself to me permanently if she could, but she really doesn't hate her cage at all because it has always been part of her play-time etc---I don't shut it often, and if I do, I use specific vocabulary to tell her where I am going (THEN she gets mad and jerks her head at me--but she's already usually in at that point haha! Only time she knows it is coming is during the work-week (pre-covid lockdown) and in that case, the vocabulary played a big part in helping her anticipate time-frames etc).

 

[fiddlejen]

Unfortunately if I reach back to get him, I’m greeted with a sharp nip or he climbs down my back where he knows I can’t reach him. Smart bugger.

I see your avatar pic shows a non-covered window. REgardless -- shirt removal is, nonetheless, always an option!