cage addiction

[xXspeedDemoXx]

i have a female white capped pionus who ive had her for about a month now and she is fine on coming out of the cage but when i take her out all she ever wants to do is go back in if she can see her cage she jumps off me or where ever she is and tries to get back in her cage as long as i am home i have her out and except for work it ake her everywhere i go i was wondering if i was doing anything wrong or what i can do to stop her from always being cage desperate??? please help

[Michael]

The bird is smart. It knows that everything good in its life comes from inside the cage so why wouldn't it want to go back in? There's food, toys, safety, etc in there.

You must create an environment outside the cage that would rival that of inside. You have to be a good companion but that is not enough. Offer it treats that it doesn't get inside cage. Teach it tricks. Also go into a different room, away from cage, or cover the cage. Let it get used to being out and make it super rewarding.

[xXspeedDemoXx]

i understand what you are saying but i bought her from birds paradise in new jersey and they dont cage most of their birds so she was never in a cage before i bought her so i would expect er to not want to be in the cage, and i was wondering what a good training/reward treat would be because she is very picky

[Kathleen]

What I would suggest you do is limit the toys you have in the cage, and keep more toys or better toys on a playgym or foraging tree. Make the cage a little less fun.

You should also keep the cage doors closed and locked when you take the bird out so that the bird can't climb back in. The bird might eventually get bored of going to the cage if after going back to it a few times, it doesn't get in. There would be no reward of going back to it if you ignore the behavior and the bird can't get into the cage.

If you are having trouble figuring out what treat it likes, get a bag of mixed bird treats, put some treats on a surface or in a bowl for your bird to have free access to (just one time) and watch which treat it picks first, and maybe second. Then you be the one to hand feed these treats to the bird (during training sessions) and it will have a more positive association with you.

[bmsweb]

Wow this is really helpful! Looking at it this way i wouldn't leave the cage either! Will take some of his toys out of the cage but not all.

[JAM]

i think that if the parrot wants to go in the cage, it should be allowed.
they should have the say in where they want to go, in or out, just leave the door open for her to come out if she wants.
It also should be so that she has a fun enviroment inside and outside of the cage, the amount of toys inside the cage should be left alone, but there should be more toys on the outside of the cage...
That way she WANTS to be outside the cage.

[Michael]

i think that if the parrot wants to go in the cage, it should be allowed.
they should have the say in where they want to go, in or out, just leave the door open for her to come out if she wants.

Actually no. The parrot gets used to a routine and usually wants to just stick to what it knows. This is a mistake most beginners make with a new parrot. They open the cage door and the parrot doesn't come out so they figure it doesn't want to come out and never take it out. If the parrot has never been outside its cage, it did not have the chance to realize how great it is to be out with you. Of course it is your responsibility to ensure that its time out of the cage is as good if not better than inside. However, if you don't take the effort to initially "force" your parrot out and then show it how good it is, it will never know and always opt to stay in cage or cage area. By showing things and putting the parrot in certain areas, you will teach it what is acceptable play/behavior. Once it knows that is the norm, it will prefer and choose to do that itself. So if the parrot is used to coming out of cage, it will choose to come out of cage. If the parrot is used to being in cage all the time, it may well choose not to come out.

I have heard so many people say they leave their parrots caged all the time cause they never venture out (even if door is open) but it's the human's fault for not encouraging the parrot to be out.


I do agree though that the environment outside of cage should be more desirable than in cage if the parrot is less likely to want to come out. On the other hand, for a parrot that always wants to be out and is hard to get back into cage, the opposite should be done. Then put best toys, perches, and food inside of cage rather than out.

[JAM]

True Michael you have made excellent points.

[Michael]

Your point may be acceptable for a well adjusted parrot that wants to be in/out and likes everyone but even then I like to maintain more control. My parrot really has no say in when she comes out or goes back in but it's always been that way so she rolls with it. Up until recently she didn't even know how to get into her cage by herself and would prefer to just fly over to me so that I could put her away.

When I put my parrot away though she is usually happy cause it's when she would have wanted to go back to her cage anyway. Why? Because that's the same time I put her back every night. She doesn't question it. She wants to go back. And the best part of all is I get the credit for being the hero of the day for doing what she wants. You see how well this stuff can work in your favor if you set up a familiar routine and teach the parrot what it should like.