How Long Do You Keep Your Bird out of Its Cage?

[meowzero]

When I got my bird, he was clipped. I let his flight feathers grow out so he can fly. When he was clipped and when I was home, I let him out of the cage and he'll perch by me peacefully, chew on his toys on his perch, etc.

Now since he can fly, he'll always fly to me. I would put him on the perch but he'll fly back to me. I don't mind him wanting to hang out, but he'll try to chew on my hands, pluck my facial hair out, chew on my toes, try to destroy my computer, and other birdy stuff. It gets quite annoying. I know birds need to be in a flock, but I didn't know they need constant attention. I wished he would just sit on his perch on chew on his toys (instead of me) like he used to.

I put him in the cage, and he resists. He has all his toys and food in there, but he just wants to cling onto me and my wife all the time. There seems to be no rest with our bird. I knew bird ownership was hard, but with his new skills in flight, I never knew it would be even harder.

How often do you guys let your birds hang out with you outside the cage? Do you give them full attention all the time like my bird seems to want? Do you leave them in the cage most of the day? I'm curious on what other bird owner's day to day life is.

[Pricey_boy]

There is a topic on here somewhere about birds being on yours shoulder all the time which is very helpful I think it's the one called worlds tallest bird or something like that.

Also you could try putting a tstand perch near your shoulder so he can sit with you

[pennyandrocky]

it's a cockatoo thing they always want to be with you. pricey boy's tstand suggestion is a good one to try. my 's out of her cage 10-12 hours a day.on an average day i spend 6 of those hours cuddling her ther rest of the time she's eating,making a mess or playing with her toys.

[terri]

I have alot of birds .I was always told put your bird on a realistic schedule you will be able to keep up with.Mine have time out with me before work and are on playstands or with us afternoon and evening.Try having one on one time with him first sounds like he wants your attention

[friend2parrots]

meowzero, you have voiced one of the classic flighted bird-owner challenges: how do you manage a flighted bird that loves you, that always wants to be with you?

you have to see it from the birds view. the bird loves you and your wife, and has flock attachment to the two of you. if he was handfed, then he basically sees himself as the "same" as you. he can't understand why you guys have to be apart. in his natural habitat in the wild, he would have the opportunity to be with his family and flock 24/7. but here he is in your house. what to do?

this is a very difficult question, and it is, for me, the number one challenge of being a bird owner. for the five years I have had my green cheek conure, through all the ups and downs of our years together, this has been a big challenge. what has helped me the most is trying to encourage my bird to be independent, to teach him how to play on his own. to make his cage an exciting place, so when Im not there, he's happy on his own. to train him to WANT to do the things I need him to do, like go into his cage, play on his own, so that he doesnt have to be surgically attached to me all the time. my gcc recently got spooked - any independence he had learned in the past has been spooked out of his mind, and he's gotten super clingy all over again. so I'm kind of in the same boat you are, with the added factor of nervousness and phobic behavior.

its not going to be an overnight transformation from clingy bird to independent bird for you, from what your describing. its going to require lots of training. it will probably take you several months minimum to see even modest results, but you have to be patient.

an independent flighted bird is a joy to be around, if you are willing to patiently work toward that stage. do not be tempted to clip the bird's wings as a means to get him to stay on a playgym. this is the short cut used by a lot of people who dont have time or patience to train a flighted bird, and it is bad for the bird's health in the long run. eventually, clipping can lead to featherpicking, screaming, and other neurotic behaviors.

i would suggest reading through the forum owner Michael's blog entries on how to clicker train, target train your bird, and other basic skills. then you have to slowly build up your birds confidence, maturity, and independence, so he can be out of the cage, and doing his OWN thing, and not always pestering you.

a lot of us on this forum are working on this very same challenge - so rest assured, you are in good company!!

keep us posted on your progress - good luck!

[marie83]

Agree with what friend2parrots said. Some birds do need to be taught how to be independant but it isn't an overnight solution, it will take time and several ideas on how to keep him occupied.

[janetafloat]

I came across this thread because I was searching on 'over attachment'. I think I have, in my ignorance, created a problem with Scout by giving him too much attention when I first had him and now it feels like we're driving each other a bit crazy. I am clicker training him, which seems to be one of the major suggestions in developing independence in a bird. He was doing great with the flight recall but at some point he stopped 'staying' on the perch as I walk away, even a few feet, and flies straight to me, no matter how many times I return him to the perch with no treat, he won't stay. He wants to be on me all the time and developing some really annoying behaviours like nibbling my neck (ouch!) then having a full scale tantrum and attacking me when I gently fend him off.

The thing I find hardest is that he shrieks constantly. My house is very small, a one room kitchen/living room with bathroom and bedroom off the living room, but every time I step out of sight he shrieks at (to me anyway) an incredible volume. He starts shrieking every time I leave the house and is still shrieking when I return. I've been at home most of the time since I had him so he's not alone much, and he spends plenty of time out but it feels at the moment like we're getting pretty fractious with each other.

[marie83]

I taught Ollie to be more independant by getting him foraging on his tree. To start with I would hide treats in lots of obvious places and show him then gradually reduced the level of help and amount of treats hidden. Now I will only put the very occasional treat on there just to keep him motivated to spend time away from me.

I also saved plastic bottle caps and taught him to forage in and under them. I started with a small amount and built up to about 30, he then runs round tipping them up to look for treats but he will keep returning to them all night to see if he has missed any. Again start with lots of treats and reduce them down.

I also found "go to perch" and recalls helpful.

With the exception of whats been happening the past few weeks he will come and go instead of spending 100% of his time pestering me. Hope this helps give you some ideas

[spiral71]

i agree that extablaishing a routine is important and also foraging might help dive him other things to think about i have read that coocatoos are very intense birds although i dont have one myself.

[CSLFiero]

In the past with budgies, the wife had an open cage policy that had Casey access to come and go. He chose to be caged often, but liked to come it for play and exercise. It was never any trouble getting him in or out. The cage was both comforting and rewarding, the outside was fun and interesting.