Conference 7.286::pet_birds

    Boy did you HIT HOME!  Chewy (my Grey) absolutely hates to go
    nighty-nite.  I have to pry (litteraly) his little feet from where
    ever he is sitting.  But then.... when I try to get him off my fingers
    and into his cage, my finger turns blue from lack of blood due to
    the death grip he has on me!  This is so cute to watch, but I have
    to admit, it's getting a little annoying.  
    
    Bribe's....  Thats the only way I can get him in!  I grab two peanuts
    before I am ready to put him in.  I stick his little body in the
    cage and then hand him the peanut.  He has to grab the peanut with
    one hand so then I can slide his other (hand/foot?) whatever onto
    the purch.  It is comical but it's getting easier to put him in.
    He knows that his most favorite treat is on the way once he gets
    into his cage!
    
    My real feeling is that it's a no-win situation...  But fun
    never-the-less.  
    
    Bye.... 

    PS. Re: .1
    
    I have to have two peanuts because when I slide him off to the purch
    he drops the first so I have to have the second ready to keep him
    from jumping back on my arm!
    
    Goo-bye

    
    I had one of those collapsible-type cages for Babalon, my Timneh.
    Not only did she give me grief about *going* back into the cage
    (the usual - she would grab the cage door with her beak on the
    way by and puuulllll herself away from me, she would proceed to
    run around the room like a little mouse - nyah-nyah, you can't catch
    me!) but then she wouldn't stay in her cage!  She could open all
    the doors and the top, for a total of nine seperate places she could
    escape from.  We would put her in (finally), cover the cage, and
    5 minutes later, there would be a Timneh-sized lump, mole-like,
    tunneling around under the cage cover, muttering the whole time!
    
    It was very embarrassing, when we boarded her, to bring the cage
    and the 9 little padlocks!
    
    We finally got a *much* bigger cage of welded wrought iron.  Now
    we can put her waaaay in the back of the cage and have time to shut
    the door before she can get to the front!
    
    Rita
    

    I train my Bourkes to climb a latter into the cage.  It starts with
    a latter always in the cage so they can first get used to it.  then
    when I let them out they are natural ground feeders and another
    latter is placed outside leading to the floor.  (by the way they
    always start at the bottom of the cage stack) this stack is usually
    2 to 3 cages 2 to 3 feet hight each making a 6 foot stack.
    
    each time I let them out in the beginning I let one start going
    up naturally  clap my hands twice and yell "GO HOME".  I use millet
    spary to get them out innitally.  after a couple of weeks they can
    be anywhere in the room and the signal is given they immediately
    go home.  
    
    the birds I have moved to other cages after  a week go to their
    respective cages unless they do not like the cage they are in so
    they go back to the flock.  
    
    any birds left know they will get chased with a net and only 1 bird
    so far out of 27 was not trainable and I think it is because she
    was over 10 years old.

    
    My quaker hasent been confined(like with the door closed) in his
    cage in over a year! About that long ago he decided he dident like
    me putting him back after our play session and flew up on top of 
    the 4'x7'x9' parakeet cage(which takes up most of the room) out of reach.
    Bob(the quaker) will come to me when he wants now but as soon as I
    start towards the cage back on top he flys.... OH well the whole
    room is dedicated to birds anyway so freedom it is.. 
    
    -j            
    

    Good Topic!
    
    When we first found Mad Max and got his cage, we almost hated to
    let him out, because putting him back in was so much trouble.  I
    think part of it was that the cage was unfamiliar.  In those days
    he used to go round and round inside it, across the ceiling, from
    perch to perch.
    
    The little bugger had the most incredible sixth sense for when you
    were going to try and put him in.  I could walk up to him 20 times
    in the evening, offer my arm, and he'd climb aboard.  The 21st time,
    when I was getting ready to put him back in, I'd try to walk up
    the same way, and I'd get with 10 feet and he'd fly to where ever
    I wasn't.  There was a period when my husband could get close enough
    to him to grab him, but like a previous reply said, he'd end up
    with the death grip on his thumb, and sometimes he'd get bitten.
    
    So then we switched to using a towel.  But you had to get close
    enough to drop it on him, and then he couldn't be sitting on the
    couch chair, carpet, someone's shoulder, or anything he could get
    his claws into.  Have you ever tried to extricate parrot claws out
    of cloth?  It almost can't be done.  He got so good at avoiding
    the towel, that we then had to resort to waiting until dark and
    turning the lights out in the room (so he wouldn't fly).
    
    Of course, when you go to put him through the door of the cage heaven
    help you if you mis judge distance and he got a claw or beak on
    the outside of the cage.  If that happened, you might as well give
    up and start all over again.
    
    As for bribes, forget it.  He'd go anywhere for a bribe except into
    his cage.
    
    And then we got him clipped...
    
    The first night he was clipped, he was sitting on top of the cage.
    I walked up to it and said "Go in your cage, Max".  He cocked his
    head at me and climbed in!  Now, not all nights were that easy.
    Sometimes you had to "herd" him by crowding him with your arm towards
    the door of the cage.

    From there things kind of evolved into the current situation.  He
    is very comfortable in his cage now, and seems to regard it as a
    secure place.  Most evenings his door is left open, and he spends
    a great deal of time sitting on top of his door.  If I walk up to
    him, and he does not feel like coming off the cage, he will even
    quickly climb into it to make sure I can't get him.  Other times
    if I offer my arm he steps on willingly.  He has ladders leading
    up to the cage, which he uses if he's over sitting with us for a
    visit, and he's had enough.  Enough repetitions of "Max, go in your
    cage" can usually get him in.

    In retrospect, the clipping seemed to create a BIG change in his
    general behaviour.  He seems to have more respect for us now, bites
    less (almost never, now), and in general seems to understand that
    eventually we will have our way, so he might as well behave.
    
    Does that help?
    
    Laura and Mad Max

    Thanks for the help.  I'm glad you like the topic.  It seems that
    everyone can relate to it.  
    
    

    REP-ALL
    
    HI Pat,
    
    	Haven't talked to you in a while.  I'm still reading your articles
    in Bird Talk and think they are great.  They are giving you more
    space now, too!
    
    	With Max, my cockatoo, when it's time for bed, and depending
    upon how much time I have spent with him that night, there are three
    ways I get him into his cage.  The first, and easiest, is just to
    say "Inside, Max."  Usually saying this even from another room can
    get him inside.  On other nights, when he is feeling frisky, I have
    to usher him in by using my whole arm and using a sweeping motion
    above him, 'SWEEP' him into the cage. Then the last option is to
    just turn the lights off!! I don't think they can see very well
    when the lights are off, but I'm not sure.
    
    	Keep on writin' Pat!
    
    Vern

    Well, here is my story (a little of track, maybe)....Zachary (my Scarlet
    Macaw) is really pretty good about going in to his cage most of
    the time.....except...  Zack has been taught that when he is out
    he is suspose to stay on his cage, unless one of us takes him down.
     He can play all over the cage, but do not climb onto the floor.
     He knows the command "On Top" which is suspose to get him back
    to the top of the cage.  Well, he figured out that although, he
    was not suspose to climb down, he could get away with it by simply
    climbing back to the top when he was told to.  This was getting
    to be a game, so we decided that whenever he climbed down, we would
    pick him up and without talking to him, lock him up (hoping that
    he would figure out that climbing down would mean prison).  The
    plan is not exactly working out.....he has in facy figured out that
    climbing down means prison, but he is still trying to out smart
    us.  Now, when he climbs down and we catch him, he RUNS back to
    his cage and climbs up.  So, we have started putting him back in
    even if he climbs up on his own.  His newest attempt at behavior
    modification (ours, not his) is not to let us pick him up when he
    climbs down.  Zack is very friendly and usally lets us do just about
    anything to him, but when he has climbed down and knows that we
    will inprison him, he backs into a corner of the room, puts his
    down to the ground (so we can not get to his feet), holds out his
    wings and assumes a defensive posture.  Now, he won't bite us hard,
    but he know that pinching a small amount of skin in not pleasent,
    so he tries that.  The solution is to sweet talk him into offering
    you his foot, (of course, as long as your tone is sweet, you can
    say and call him anything you want, and we often use colorful language
    at this point).  When he offers his foot and steps up, then he is
    locked up for at least a few hours.
    
    By the way, he may choose to spend hours on his cage with ever getting
    down, or he may have one of those days where is is impossible to
    leave him alone for a few seconds else he will be 'exploring'
                                                       
                                                       
    Our challange is to make Zack obey the rule that he is well aware
    of.  He just thinks that he is so clever!!!!       
                                                       
    As an aside, one of his other strange behaviors is that if, in his
    wanderings through the living room, he often goes under the coffee
    table or one of the end tables.  If he gets under there he will
    not let you pick him up.  You must sweet talk him out into the open,
    before he willingly steps on to your hand.  Does anyone have any
    idea what cause this behavior.  Could it be that he thinks that
    he is in a nest?
    
    Dom                                                

    Hi Pat,
    
    It's amazing how a subject like this can bring so many variations
    in the way our feathered friends behave.  It seems that we are talking
    about human toddlers when we are trying to get them to bed.  Flash
    my six year old Amazon stays for the most part on the top perch
    above his cage.  He gets very comfortable there and when it is time
    to go back inside his cage he will engage in some interesting evasive
    maneuvers.  He usually backs down the rear of the cage and around
    the sides if you continue to pursue him.  He makes a specific negative
    tone all the while that is very difficult to spell phonetically.
    Once you get your hand close enough to him he will extend his foot
    and get on your hand.  This only works with me, he will usually
    use his foot to push away the hands of others.  At this point you
    are usually half the way there.  If he really wants to stay out
    he will lock his beak on the bars of his cage as you try to pass
    him through the door.  If I back him off and pat his head he will
    usually go through on the second attempt.  When all else fails a
    few pastachio nuts in his feed dish will persuade him in time.
    Keep writing those great articles.
    
    Jim Buccieri

    We have a 6-yr male Grey. He trains me - simple as that. I have tried
    to show him things for the past 5 years, without success (except for
    stick/hand-training). There are a few things which he has taught me,
    one of them the bedtime routine. 

    Some years ago, one night before locking up, I muttered "OK Basil,
    bed-time !", and then got up to approach his cage to put him in. Lo &
    behold, he went in himself. Henceforth, any bedtime phrase gets him in.
    I even experimented with no words. I just stand up, point at him
    then at the cage. That works too ! A simple stare in his direction,
    then a nod at the cage also works !

    Now then, "it's the time of night" I hear you say. Nope. During the day
    when he's out and we want him back in, it works too, but invariably
    takes longer because he prefers to remain out. It really is quite funny
    on these occasions. He doesn't want to go back in, but he knows fine
    well that he's going in whatever. On his way to his cage, he mutters
    protestations, and proceeds at about 1 foot/hr - takes about ten minutes!
    His protestation squawks are unique and identifiable - parrot owners
    will know what I mean. While he's in this slow/freeze-frame  motion, 
    I sometimes stand up and feign impatience at this tardy progress. 
    He responds with a squawk and another step. It's a battle of wills. 

    Another thing he has taught us: if I am up late, then he wants the light
    out *if you don't mind* ! 
    Some years ago, I noticed him making this pathetic moaning sound
    at a late night. It was quite irritating - forget concentrating
    on a movie. I experimented by turning the TV down/off - no difference.
    I turned off the gas fire - no luck. It's the light he doesn't like
    when he's going into a deep nocturnal kip. Therefore, when he starts
    this moaning, we just turn the lights down and he's happy.
    
	Jim Burke (& Basil the recalcitrant)
    
PS    Now then; if only he could switch the lights off and shut the door 
      behind him...... 
     

    Looking for suggestions on getting my macaw back into her cage.
     If you didn't see my other note, I just got a severe macaw 2 1/2
    weeks ago.  She was a pet for 12 years, then in a breeding situation
    for 2 years.  The first few days I had her she bit me constantly
    and was very nervous.  Now we getting to be buddies (she obviously
    remembers being a pet and loves attention).  She jumps right onto
    my hand, even if she doesn't really want to, rides around on my
    shoulder and very seldom acts nervous or wants to bite.  She dances,
    does greetings and seems generally real happty to see me.  
    
    At first I had no problem getting her back into the cage.  Now that
    she's feeling more comfortable, we're having big problems.  She
    gets on the perch on top of her cage runs around the cage top to
    stay away from me (how does she always know when you are going to
    put her back????).  I can pick her up (no bites) over and over.
     She runs right to my shoulder.  The way I've been putting her back
    is to squat down and she walks over the door and into the cage (still
    doesn't like to be picked up off the shoulder).  
    
    For the first two weeks, she walked back in with a couple of trys.
    Now, she either flys back to the perch (wings getting clipped next
    week), starts into the cage then climbs up to the perch, or walks
    across my shoulders or down my back to avoid the door.  This morning
    it took me 15 minutes to get her back in (freaking out the whole
    time as I had to leave for work).
    
    Any suggestions?????????????????????????????? 

    I'd get her wings clipped pronto.  That makes it easier.  I also
    (with my grey) had a normal phrase that I would repeat each time
    she was supposed to get back in her cage.  That worked out real well,
    because she started to go back in on command.
    
    The other route is the towel route, but that generally upsets them.
    I had a few problems with a conure that the towel method was the only
    way to get it back in without losing pints of blood.
    
    Ed

    I feel that my Grey doesn't spend enough time out of her cage. 
    Getting her in is easy it's keeping her out thats the problem. 
    If I take her out and put her on a stand she will jump off the stand
    and walk over to her cage and climb up in.  If I keep the door open
    she will come out once and a while give a few wing flaps and with
    in 10 minutes be back in her cage.  
    
    She seems to feel much more at ease when she is in her cage.  Does
    anyone else have this problem with thier birds?
    
    
    Mark
    

    No! Quite the opposite.  My yellow nape will get very upset if 
    I do not let him out of his cage.  It seems like he is the boss.      
    
    Karl.....

    Re: -1
    
    My Eclectus baby (his name is Murphy) acts very similiar to this,
    but I think its just cause he is new to the house and his cage is
    his safety.  He is getting harder and harder though as the days
    go by to get him in his cage.  His cage has a roof play pen and
    he doesn't wander too far from it yet though.
    

    My grey (depending on mood), would be a cage dweller, and as soon as
    she would see my wife, would run for the cage.  To prevent this, I
    would close the cage door, and she never figured out how to open it.
    (obviously, I had food and water OUTSIDE the cage for her as well).
    
    Ed
    

    Well, Jade and I have finally come to an understanding about getting
    back into her cage.  We had a major battle one night where she was
    determined not to go  back.  She bit me really hard.  I decided
    she was not going to win and persisted in picking her up off the
    perch on top of her cage.  In the process, my hand got mauled, but
    I did insist she go back in spite of it.  Since that night, she
    has given me absolutely no problems.  I simply get her on my wrist,
    put me other hand up to block her path to my shoulder, and slip
    her into her cage.  Now, as soon as I put up the hand to block her,
    she turns around toward the cage and leans down for the door.  Guess
    it was just a matter of establishing that I was not going to let
    her be in charge or be intimidated.

    My Blue Crown Amazon, whose name is Coco, once she's out, will do
    anything to stay that way.  It got to the point that she even learned
    to unlock her own cage!  So we used string to tie it closed.  No good,
    she bites through in a matter of minutes.  A small baggage lock.  Still
    no good.  I left her out while I took a bath, and the little hellion
    hide the lock!!!!  It's been 4 months and I still haven't found it. 
    She now has a padlock on her cage.  If she figures out the combination
    to get out, I'll give up all together.
    
    When I do get her back in the cage it's only because she tires out,
    gets hungry, or I use the old faithful blackmail trick.  She's a sucker
    for peanuts, apples, carrots, or shrimp.  Yes, shrimp.  But that's
    another story.
    
    Tracy G.