Cockatiel biting when its cage time

angel_uk

Regular Member
Registered
Hi.
I've got a 1 year old cockatiel and 2 years old budgie. They come out of cages daily together and spend time together( preening,feeding etc).
My issue is when trying to get them back in the cage.cockatiel attacks budgie as if he doesnt want to allow him to step up.
And main issue if he doesnt want to go back in(that's most of time) he lashes at me and bites me to leave him alone.


How can I train him not to do that and to stop biting me.


I often leave him and wait till he goes back in himself but it ain't always possible if I have to go out or open windows or someone is coming in.
 
He attacks the perch or any stick. If I call him to fly to me from distance he comes and lands on my finger but bites it once too as he knows this is cage time.
When training him I started with perch but when we moved onto finger and since that's all we used.now he attacks anything else that comes his way for stepping up.
 
If he are just calling him at other times he is fine with coming but when we start trying cage time he just attacks and isnt having it I could even post a video
 
When he does bite try not to react to it ignore the bad behaviour reinforce the good if he steps up no biting id then offer a treat. He will learn he steps up no fuss hes rewarded and the bad he gets nothing from it. I had a stage with my coure kept biting an id just drop my hand abit to stop it but make no noise put her down an walk away. Try going back to basics.
 
Right now stepping up = going back into the cage/end of fun time. He responds with either biting you, or if he can't reach you, he'll bite the closest thing which is the budgie. Biting/lunging = you removing your hand/he avoids the cage. It works for him!

How can you make the step up reinforcing?

Practice the step up at different times of the day. Make it reinforcing to step up every time. Maybe take him to look out of the window with you, or transport him to a place he likes such as a play stand, or the top of his cage, etc. or reinforce with a treat.

If you have to put him in the cage, reinforce the step up maybe by taking him somewhere else first, have some fun, then come back to the cage. Be sure to also make stepping into the cage highly reinforcing, maybe with a special treat. That way stepping into the cage gets paired with a good experience and he'll look forward to going in next time. What treats does he like? If for example he likes millet spray offer him millet spray as you approach his cage and put him in whilst he's eating. But don't just leave after you close the door, stay around, give him more treats, sing, have a bit of fun. Make it reinforcing for him to be in the cage.

It is a good idea to retrain him to step up on a hand held perch for emergencies. A hand held perch need not be wood. It could be a folded rope perch, or a cushion, or a basket handle, or a multi-stemmed perch, even the top of a travel cage.
 
Ok thank you.i shall use your tips and start the work with him. He seems to be aggressive when hes on top of his or budgies cage most of the time. Behaving as if it's his territory and he doesnt want people messing near.
 
Ok.thank you so much for your great reply.i shall start working with him again. He does get very territorial when sitting on the cages.
Also would anyone have any advice for budgie biting when on same hand (shoulder) as cockatiel. If I pet my cockatiel(budgie wont ever let me) he starts biting out of nowhere as if he doesnt like me to touch cockatiel at all.i think he is jealous.
 
Is there any place/time when he is not aggressive. Start the training there/then and show him (with some wonderful reinforcers) what a great decision he made by stepping up on you. How it is so worth stepping up next time!

Can you pet your budgie with or without the cockatiel there? It might be that your budgie is nervous of your hand near to/above him - this is if you cannot pet your budige normally.
 
Yeah he is all good otherwise. Just doesnt want to step up when on cage as he assumes(I think) its back to cage time.

And budgie never let's us touch him. So when both are sitting on my hand or budgie is on my shoulder and I pet Odie he has a go at me.
 
Do we had a morning of trening with the perch. He would not come anywhere near one.flies from one side to another.
Only comes to.me or steps up if it's my finger.
He isnt bothered with millet as I normally dont feed them by hand. I offer food of veg and seed daily and millet in cage every now and then.
So he doesnt really react to my training to reward him .
Perches are like fire.
 
Would a change in environment and routine help? What I would do is start exclusively feeding them in the cage. They have to think of it as their safe space, this will reinforce that behaviour. Think carefully also what your birds regard as treats. Identify a “super treat” ... like...... a grape and ONLY give this treat for reinforcing good behaviour. So for instance if they dont want to go in their cage at night start offering grapes near the door and throw a few in. Soon enough come night time they will be in there ready for the treats. I think we Treat too much. Its not healthy and it makes for spoilt birds.
 
I actually dont feed from hand as we weren't doing any special training apart from whistling and talking.then they would ha e their chopped veg on top.of cage to share and seed inside.same wih millet once in a while inside.
 
I dont know enough about cockatiel food to comment - but like I said try feeding all of it in the cage? It might work
 
They get it once in a while.inside the cage.
Otherwise they have seed and veg with other types of seed or herbs sprinkled on top.
I tried before with also giving home made nutri berries but they didnt like them.
 
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