Hard time going back into the cage!!

[sydney peaches]

My Congo, Sydney, loves to be out and gets lots of lovin'. She even goes to work with me, but every time I try to put her back in her cage, she puts her head down and dashes back up my arm as fast as she can! Then she wants to be petted and scratched. Most of the time I end up tipping her so she loses her balance and gets on the perch. It gets tedious and I try 15-20 times before she successfully gets in. Any suggestions for how to get her back in her cage without her trying to escape Alcatraz?!

Thx,

Maria

[judygram]

If there a special treat that she will do just about anything to have then you need to use that as her treat to go back into the cage, let that be the only time you give it to her and let her see you put it in her cage, sometimes this works to get a grey who just wants to stay out of the cage for the attention.

[Ray P]

What works for me is we always have a treat in there cage that is put there when they are out. So when they go back to their cage there is something good in the cage for them to find. This is every time they are out so going back there is somethimg good weather they are out for 10 nin. or 8 hours. As soon as they are back in their cage they start to look for their surprise. And it is a differant treat each time they go back and in a differant place. It`s fun to watch them look for their surprise.

[Zoom]

Brilliant!

[Talon]

I have the same ongoing problem with Talon...every once in a while, she decides she's NOT going in her cage by ME! She will let my daughter put her back in. Other times, I bribe her with a piece of a cookie. Other times, I constantly talk sweetly to her to distract her thoughts about where I am taking her...or when she's really stubborn, I block off the room...or when it's really bad.. I catch her with a towel.... I find it's usually a stage and passes within the week, then she is fine!

[danmcq]

Our Grey is fully flighted, so trying to throw him off balance has not affect.

 

If we need to get him in the cage during normal daylight hours, I get some apple and grapes cut up for him take the bowl and him riding on my arm together and place them in the cage. He loves apples and grapes. Perhaps if you use something your grey loves (As Talon mentioned) it will go along with the caging.

 

At nighttime, we turn off the lights, have him step up on one of our arms then pull him in against the belly and cup his back very gently as we carry him to the other room his cage is in. Most times he just gives us kissing sounds and nobbles softly on our hand as we go. The place we have to be careful, is when the cage door is open and we are having him step on to the perch. He has made a few fast get aways and getting slapped furiously in the face as he whooshes by is a rather unpleasant feeling. But, 98 percent of the time, he goes in with out a break away flight attempt.

 

Our conure just flies over to his cage, climbs in and starts screaming for us to come and close the door and cover him if we don't get there fast enough. Totally different than a grey.

[Zoom]

Kazoo (Amazon) happily goes back to his cage if he's been out for awhile. Simon (Grey), even though he's just a baby, has already started resisting. He only goes in willingly if there's food involved. Oboe (lovebird) too.

[Spinner]

Maria,

Sydney has little motivation to go to her cage, and you've got to find a way to change the equation. Doing the lose her balance or pry her toes off your fingers to get her to go to her cage isn't going to do it as you're finding out.

 

As others have said, place surprises and food treats in the cage as a reward for going back. Better yet, do some training exercises using approximations to get her to go back to her cage on command. Just as Dan mentioned, they will get excited for their return-to-cage time. For our greys, this starts in the family room when they get passed around to everyone for their good night kisses and finishes with them hopping off my arm and into their cages.

 

One way to start the training for this is to train Sydney to step off your hand onto a training perch on the table immediately followed by a small reward and vocal reinforcement. Use a keyword, such as "down" or "perch." Slowly extend this to a trip to the cage with the perch nearby and do the same. Over time, extend this to using the perch in the cage and the same rewards and reinforcement. In short order, Sydney will be hopping on for a ride to the cage and eagerly go to her cage. This could even be extended further for things like potty training or flying to her cage on command.

[katana600]

These are some great suggestions and I hope it helps to get Sydney out of her obstinance routine at cage time. We are having an opposite work plan to get Gilbert out of his cage. One thing I have been consistent about has been to offer him to immediately go back when he steps up or comes out to me. That way, he is gradually deciding to stay with me because he knows as soon as he shows he is ready, I follow his lead and he can trust me. If you are giving her treats and praises to go into her cage, maybe close the door for short stints and offer for her to come back out so she gets adjusted to going back and doesn't equate it for overnight or long periods as you build up a routine and praise for her going in on her own. Chances are she is just enjoying the chase and the thrill of the competition with you rather than the cage time. She is very clever and sounds like a lot of fun too.