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How do you get birds into and out of cages?

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How do you get birds into and out of cages?

Postby Michael » Mon Oct 05, 2009 4:27 pm

What techniques do you use to get your birds into and out of cages without fuss or biting?

How did you get them in/out initially when you just got them?
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Michael
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Re: How do you get birds into and out of cages?

Postby Natacha » Mon Oct 05, 2009 4:36 pm

I've always dealt with my hands.
I've got them used to having hands in the cage and not acting fussy about it. I won't have any time to deal with a fussy bird if there is a fire and I need to grab and go.

It was easier with Piper and Shade since I got them as babies. Early on I've had my hands in their cages and it is now normal for them. They'll step up with no fuss.
Joey was a bit more cage territorial when I first got him and wasn't keen on it. Within a month or so he got used to it; he caught that it meant coming out and has not nipped me since. He'll step out and that is it.

Zuri also doesn't have much issues with my hands in her cage.

Petey I handle with a perch. Otherwise she'll latch on my finger with her beak and won't let go. My boyfriend is able to pick her up so he'll most likely deal with her if there is ever a fire.

As for going in....they normally get food when they go in and don't put up a fuss. They'll step down on the door perch (I have a perch on their doors) and then I close the door.
My blog http://poiworld.blogspot.com/
Videos of my birds http://www.youtube.com/user/poicephaluslady
Piper ~ Lovebird
Shade ~ Senegal
Joey & Pixel ~ Red-bellied parrots
Petey & Zuri ~ Meyer's parrots
Léa ~ Cape parrot
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Re: How do you get birds into and out of cages?

Postby Kathleen » Tue Oct 06, 2009 6:57 pm

I hold my finger out for Duke and he steps up, willingly. He wants to come out for the most part. I've developed specific habits with Duke. I only open the cage door when he's on a perch nicely. No climbing onto the door or jumping onto the door to get out. Then, when it's time to go back, he has to wait on my finger until my hand is at least halfway in the cage and then he can hop off onto a perch. If he flies back in on his own, he has to get out and we do it over again.
Kathleen
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Re: How do you get birds into and out of cages?

Postby greatgriffin » Thu Oct 08, 2009 2:57 am

With Crackie it has not been a problem because she is hand-reared. She would simply enter her cage if I make her step up onto my hand and hold her close to the cage door. If she is for some reason unwilling to go back home ( " C'mon don't make me go back I still wanna hang out") then I'll lure her with some treat.

I am wondering: Kathleen - how do you handle your budgie Duke? I have had budgies earlier (many years back) but they would all flee if I approached them to close. Has he come to you this tame or have you been able to tame him this nicely yourself?
I haven't heard of hand-reared budgies yet.... is he an exception maybe?
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Re: How do you get birds into and out of cages?

Postby MandyG » Thu Oct 08, 2009 11:35 am

When I open Mojo's cage I ask him if he wants to come out and he'll run to the door and climb up and sit on top of the door and lift his foot waiting to be picked up. If I don't pick him up right away he'll say 'step up?' or 'wanna step up?' while waving his foot at me. Sometimes if he's on his swing or on a perch in the back I don't wait for him to climb to the door, I just put my hand in and he'll step up readily. :amazon:

As soon as he steps up he says 'Good boy' and makes kissy noises because I usually tell him he's a good boy and kiss his beak when he steps up. :cockatiel:

When I'm putting him back into his cage I just hold him in front of his front perch and he'll step up onto it. Usually I have to close the door right away because he wants to stay with me or climb onto the top of his cage.
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Re: How do you get birds into and out of cages?

Postby Kathleen » Thu Oct 08, 2009 12:01 pm

Mandy, that is very cute. :P

greatgriffin wrote:Kathleen - how do you handle your budgie Duke? I have had budgies earlier (many years back) but they would all flee if I approached them to close. Has he come to you this tame or have you been able to tame him this nicely yourself?
I haven't heard of hand-reared budgies yet.... is he an exception maybe?


This budgie was hand raised, not parent raised. It was a little bit more expensive than the typical budgies in chain pet stores (in the US). Instead of being $10 (US) it was $25 (US)... I'm not sure what the conversion is.

When I first got Duke he was scared of me a bit. In the store I kept trying to pick him up out of the tank of budgies and he kept running away and running away from my hand. He's a little mouse with wings. When I finally got him, he kept flying/jumping off and biting in the store. He was extremely frightened of me at that point.

It's much easier to handle a baby or juvenile bird that has been hand raised and has been clipped. They are helpless. I immediately started training this budgie using a clicker method and a targeting method. Once he was target trained, he'd go wherever I wanted him to go willingly. On my shoulder, on my hand, on my arm, etc. He'd run around on the floor to reach the chopstick.

The breeder who hand fed this bird and the pet store who clipped this bird did most of the work for me. They made him used to hands and they made him very helpless. He could barely fly away from me if he wanted to at the very beginning, and he didn't want to for the most part after he learned that I am nice to him, that I'm a source of his favorite treats and that my hand is okay to step on and it is followed with a nice rewarding experience--to go outside the cage with me.
Kathleen
Amazon
 
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Re: How do you get birds into and out of cages?

Postby greatgriffin » Fri Oct 09, 2009 1:51 am

Quite a touching story about the beginnings..... And now he seems to be quite self-confident and happy - - great job!
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