Getting birds back in cage?

Tonifrax

Guest
Hi everyone!

Looking for some advice. I have 2 parrotlets. They are a bonded pair but due to bullying I only let them out one at a time and have the other in its cage in the same room so they can still see each other. My blue one, Leche, is not a problem when it comes to getting her back in the cage and she is the least tame. I take my other one, Pan, in his cage back through to the other room and she goes back in the cage herself, no issues.

Pan on the other hand is a bit more difficult and likes to wind me up i think 😂 I usually like to have them back in by 9pm latest. When he is out he sits on Leche's cage next to her when they are tired and i bring his cage down and put it next to hers. He used to just hop in and id close the door behind him but the next time i tried that he didnt fall for it 😛 so because he clings onto the side of her cage so much i decided to lift her cage over to his so he would be up against the doorway for his own cage and would have no option but to fly in. Worked as suspected. However the next day i tried this and every time i picked Leche's cage up with him on the side to carry him over he would fly off. Then i ended up taking his cage down on the floor next to hers, lined it up so the doorframe was around him while he was on the side of Leche's cage and he had to fly in.

Hes a smart little bird and he knows if he goes in his cage he cant hang out with her anymore. I even tried taking her out of the room but he just calls to her and flies from the curtain to the door frame. Ive tried getting him to step up but he wont do it outside of his cage yet. If i stand on a chair so i can see him better on top of the curtain he usually flies away. Ive had him take sunflower seeds as well while hes up there but havent been able to handle him to get him down and in the cage. Ive had to towel him before when its been really late at night and i couldnt just leave him out in the dark. Ive had him step up onto the towel in unfamiliar rooms but hes used to the living room so knows where all the hideout spots are 😂

It took me ages to get him in last night. Felt like at one point he was just mocking me. I sat down on the ground for a bit in defeat and he swooped down, was about an inch from my nose on his way past to land on the top of the door frame 🤪

Anyone have any advice so i can maybe avoid this night time fiasco 😂😂 i thought he would like going in his cage as we are still working on getting more comfortable with stepping up and i work with him while hes in the cage so he gets treats while hes in there. Im trying to get him to step up and stay on my hand long enough to get him out the cage door without him edging down my finger on the way out and hoping back in. I guess being with Leche is worth more than sunflower seeds 🤔
 
It sounds like he has you well trained ha ha. My Archie is just as bad, I have to trick him by playing with him swinging him in my hand and putting him upside down as I slowly walk closed to his cage, I place him in but he will still try to climb up my arm too get back out
 
It sounds like he has you well trained ha ha. My Archie is just as bad, I have to trick him by playing with him swinging him in my hand and putting him upside down as I slowly walk closed to his cage, I place him in but he will still try to climb up my arm too get back out

I tried for ages then phoned my mum to rant about him while he just sat, staring at me, chirping away, celebrating his victory 😂 I wish I could get him on my hand but he either flies away or bites if i try to get him to step up anywhere outside of his cage. I even decided one night to open Leche's cage and let him fly in there so i could catch him more easily and put him back in his own cage but then she decided she was going to come out too 🤔

He went in himself last night but as soon as i went to shut him in he flew out. Or ive carried him over on the side of Leche's cage, he flies into his cage, i turn around to put her cage down so i can shut his door and he flies back out while my back is turned. Hes a little wind up
 
I play the same games over and over and most times I do of put him.in the cage, this is why I am able to trick him as he loves being up side down and me swinging him around
 
When you go towards his cage to shut him in do not walk straight towards him, go sideways, that sometimes works. We used to do that when we needed to round up the chickens to get them back into their run, whereas other folk walk towards them - they scattered, but going sideways always worked!
 
only one of my indoor large flock is an issue he doesn't like hands.... Or going back in when told ... Or me basically :risas3: but we have an understanding now and I use a step up perch for him and he gets his favourite treat for being clever and usually he gets to come back out when whatever it was that interrupted his time to be out has passed
Took a while for him to understand what I wanted and why but he's not the brightest light on the Christmas tree and for him things take a little time to understand but he now "gets" it :)
 
I had plenty of trouble with my birds when it came to locking them on the cage. I was advised to give positive reinforcement every time I was to get them on the cage. I started giving them a small treat (millet) when they got in. Soon enough associated getting in with a treat. Nowadays it is rare that they fly away.

One efective thing to pick up a bird is to dim the room as maximum as possible, close the blinds almost to darkness, shutdown the ligths and close doors. They calm down and it is easier to pick them up. When in "darkness" mode I need to move slowly in order not to scared them and fly away in the dark.
 
My worst one for not wanting to go in his cage is Buster, his grip is very strong I cannot move both feet and if I release one his other foot digs in, I try to release that and he grips back with the other and he just will not let go of me, so I will step in his cage with him on me and start playing with his toys and mirror he will then clime from me to his toy so I can let myself out the cage. there is no way I can leave him out as he will destroy my place
 
I had plenty of trouble with my birds when it came to locking them on the cage. I was advised to give positive reinforcement every time I was to get them on the cage. I started giving them a small treat (millet) when they got in. Soon enough associated getting in with a treat. Nowadays it is rare that they fly away.

One efective thing to pick up a bird is to dim the room as maximum as possible, close the blinds almost to darkness, shutdown the ligths and close doors. They calm down and it is easier to pick them up. When in "darkness" mode I need to move slowly in order not to scared them and fly away in the dark.
Yeah ive tried in lower light when ive been running out of options and before i was anywhere near him he flew and hit one of the walls and fell down the back of the sofa so never again 😓i do not want to risk that again. I do give him treats when he goes back in but its not worth enough to him compared with being out and seeing my other bird
 
Don't want to sound a defeatist but would putting the cages next to each other help? (or even putting back in the same cage)
 
Don't want to sound a defeatist but would putting the cages next to each other help? (or even putting back in the same cage)
Do you mean putting the cages next to each other when they are not out? I have them in seperate rooms because when i had them caged next to each other they were flapping about quite erratically in the cage and seemed to be quite stressed because they could see each other but couldn't actually get at each other.

I would put them together if one of them didnt bully the other. She pulls out his feathers so his head was completely bald for a while and will grab hold of his beak until he is squawking in discomfort. His beak was not in good shape.
 
You really need advice from someone who has experience of pairs, seems they love each others but she is far too demanding of him. Could it be just in breeding time?
 
You really need advice from someone who has experience of pairs, seems they love each others but she is far too demanding of him. Could it be just in breeding time?

When i got them a year ago he was always bald on his head because she would pick the feathers out before they could grow back in again. They were like glued to each other though but would have the odd fight. It was difficult trying to decide what was best going forward but his beak is bad shape and she kept biting on it so i didnt want to risk serious injury. She bullied him year round and ive heard its quite common for one bird to become dominant. I have thought about maybe breeding them. Its really difficult taming them because i think they will always prefer each others company to mine. I dont think they will ever be that close to me
 
Many years ago when we bred Senegals Hilda & Howard, Hilda really pecked poor old Howards head, he was well and truly hen pecked. However, they did settle down and had chicks. So yes I would say it is because she wants to breed & he's not so keen yet. Are they the same age?
I doubt either will become tame and In my opinion will be far happier in a large indoor aviary or suitable cage with nest box and let them get on with it.
 
Many years ago when we bred Senegals Hilda & Howard, Hilda really pecked poor old Howards head, he was well and truly hen pecked. However, they did settle down and had chicks. So yes I would say it is because she wants to breed & he's not so keen yet. Are they the same age?
I doubt either will become tame and In my opinion will be far happier in a large indoor aviary or suitable cage with nest box and let them get on with it.

Ive had people suggest that I just keep one of them if I dont intend to breed them but then ive grown attached to them and i felt bad enough putting them in seperate cages let alone seperate households. Going by what ive read about the rings and what the colours mean i think the female may be a year older but i cant say for certain. I think they are around 3 years old. I have considered breeding them. It was never my intention when i took them on though. I had hoped they might become tame but ive been working with the male for the past 2 months now on just stepping up and he will only do it in the cage in his room. He steps up and ive managed to get him to stay on my hand and take him out the cage ever so slightly, then he takes the treat and hops back in. He wont step up in any other room inside or outside of the cage. He got loose in the corridor and I did get him on my finger but he did bite me quite a lot in the process. If his mate isn't in the living room when hes out he just hides on top of my curtains and calls to her every now and then.

I know from having a ring neck in the past that he learned things extremely quickly and it took him a few days to step up and he loved hanging out with me. It was harder trying to get him back off of me again. Its definitely been more of a challenge this time around and ive had my doubt since the beginning whether I'd be able to tame them. That was my hope at the time when I got them. I got them to keep me company because I live on my own and am a bit of a loner and struggle with my mental health. My parents weren't keen at first because they thought it might be a lot for me to take on. They are however happy now that I have them, especially during lockdown because they know I will look after them and in doing that it gets me up and out of bed and down to the shops if I need something for them which means I'll get stuff for myself at the same time. I would like them to be tame but I just don't see it being possible as I spend so much time with them as it is. I unfortunately don't have space for an indoor aviary right now. I could get them a nest box and see what happens though.
 
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