He doesnt want inside the cage anymore

[Genn The Grey]

Hi

I got Genn the few weeks ago he was born on 25/June/2016 so he is a baby, when I brought him home he would stay in the cage and sleep at night peacefully no problems, but since I am always at home "Work from home" I am always there with him we bonded very well, he follow me from a room to room, now the issue is that he doesnt want to get in the cage anymore, he would keep making cute noises and whistling and going up and down the cage until i come and get him out on the perch.

This is not good because I sleep in another room, and sometimes i stay in bed till noon, and I have read that parrots should not be left at home unattended cause they like to chew things, poop everywhere, and throw down anything on tables, stands ,,,etc.

Should I just ignore what he do and sleep at night ? or this would cause him depression ?
I am reading so much about plucking of parrots and how are very little things can cause them to go nuts.

Please help me, I have been with birds all my life, Gold finches, canaries, and wild like nightingale, but this is the first time I deal with parrots, they are nothing like the birds I had.

here is a video of Genn

[liz]

Welcome to the forum.

I am so sorry. I have found a few flaws in your care of him. Since I am not the most tactful person in the forum and have a tendency to just throw information at people, I should leave this to others.

2011 I rescued a BF Amazon who was a year old and kept in a cage so small that she could not spread her wings. She was a mess physically and emotionally. I promised her that I would never close her in a cage again. She took me at my word and will not go in a cage that has a door.

My parrots wake up about 7am but don't come after me until 8am which is much later than the outside birds. I know they are awake and busy talking until I am up and ready to feed them. They are then very adamant about it. I wake up around 5 or 5:30am but that is my quiet time and I stay in my room. I give them fresh or frozen fruit and veggies with a glob of softened grain. They eat it, play with it, throw it around and even feed it to the dogs.

Evening is about reverse. I feed them before dusk so they can eat before it gets dark. To make sure they have had enough to eat I give them a quality seed and an almond each. They eat the almonds and use the shells to throw on the floor for me to step on with bare feet. I feed them about 5pm and they go to perch about 7:30pm which is when the outside birds do.

Twice in 5 years Myrtle would not go to perch and insisted on staying on me. Since she could not tell me what was wrong I let her sleep on my pillow. Only once in 16 years did Rambo refuse to go to his "nite nite" cage. Though he has a large vocabulary he did not tell me what was upsetting him. I slept in the recliner that night with him on my belly.

They both know how to beg. Rambo actually tells me what he wants or says "huh" as if to ask if he could be included in what I am eating or doing. Myrtle will beg by saying "Myrtle?" The worst begging is for food that I have on my plate. I don't add salt or butter to my food so I can give them a portion off my dish even though they might have the same thing. I taught the dogs not to beg but the parrots that are much smarter know they can get away with it. They are way to cute to ignore about something so simple as sharing food like they would in a flock.

One of the members who are teaching me will respond to your post soon.

[Pajarita]

Liz was trying, very politely, to tell you that, with a parrot, you can't sleep in. It's as simple as that: you can't - well, let me rephrase that: you should not if you want to keep a healthy and happy bird! Birds are photoperiodic and need to follow a strict solar schedule: wake up with dawn, eat a little bit after, chill out, bathe, play or whatever until noon when they rest and then, again, play, chew, fly around, etc until the sun is halfway down to the horizon when they should have their dinner and, as the night falls naturally (there should be NO artificial lights until the sun is half way up the zenith or after it hits midway down to the horizon) go to sleep. Your schedule is a human one, not a bird one and human light schedules mess up a bird's endocrine system which controls everything from sleep to appetite to molt to breeding, etc. Ergo, a messed up endocrine system means a bird that is not healthy or happy (the endocrine system also controls mood). Please don't take my word for it, do some research of your own (put avian photoperiodism in your search engine) and you'll see.

[Wolf]

The majority of us that have parrots also have cages for them for sleeping in or to be when we can not be there to keep them out of trouble. We keep the same schedules with them everyday so that they know what to expect as well as when to expect it. This is especially true of their feeding schedule which can easily be used to get the bird to return to its cage on its own for its evening meal and then we close the cage for the night.

There are also those of us that allow our birds to live cage free. Some of us have been fortunate enough to be able to set aside a special bird room for our birds that is set up so that it is as safe as we can make it for them. Others that allow their birds a cage free life do not have a special room for them, so we must take extra precautions to keep our birds safe. We must make certain that there are no unsafe items lying around that the bird can find and get to and chew on. We must make certain that there are no open containers of liquids that the bird could get into and not be able to get out of to prevent drowning. We must keep knives and other sharp objects put away, the same holds true for cleaning supplies, jewelry or any other item that could harm our birds.

I am not one of those people that could safely allow my birds to live cage free so my birds must put up with going to their cages when I can't be there to keep a close eye on them.

[liz]

The dogs in my house know when it is 3 pm. That is snack time. My son Charles' two little girls show up when it is snack time. They also know that coming to my room at night so I can count noses will get them a chewy. The cats even come in to get a treat. They are hard wired with their own clocks.

The same is true of my birds. If they do not get their breakfast by 9 am then I really hear about it. Even my flock of Cockatiels know 9 am and 5 pm (when they get their supper). Rambo will remind me if I am late or forget. The cockatiels tweet and sing all day but will hang on the screen door and call me if their meals are late. The screen had to be replaced with hardware cloth so they can hang on better and not make holes. When I answer their calls then they all start chirping for their supper.

[Wolf]

Liz, may I suggest that you remove the hardware cloth and then paint it from both sides with a spray on epoxy paint and then let it cure in the sun for about a week before putting it back up. The reason for this suggestion is that hardware cloth is steel that has been coated with zinc galvanizing which is very toxic to your birds. The epoxy paint is hard enough after it cures to protect them from the zinc.

[liz]

Okay.

I thought it was safe because it is used for cages.

Thankyou.