Cage bound issues....

[CRYROLFE]

I have a rehomed, 9yr old CAG. We have had him for 2yrs now.
He was only handled when he was young and then he got nippy so they stopped touching him (typical).
Previously, he spent his entire day hanging out w/ the family in the main room of the house sitting on top of his cage or on his porch (the draw-bridge type door on his cage). He did this about 6yrs or so.
We also let him hang out on his porch all the time....he really doesn't try to fly off or anything.

After reading several books, and watching all sorts of training videos....it seems to be common knowledge NOT to let him out of his cage unless we take him out. So now I have shut his porch door and he stays inside.

We have started to target train him and he will take certain treats from us after touching the stick, but that's as far as it's gotten.

He does have toys and such that he plays with in his cage, but since it's going to take a looooooooooong time to get him to let us take him out....I feel bad that he doesn't get to sit on his porch anymore.
Am I just being silly?

What do you guys think?

 

[greycloud]

He is very handsome! Open his cage. I keep my doors open all day and they go in and out at will. If he does not desire to step up respect his wishes but still give him the opportunity to come out on his own.
If touch/target training has stalled change the treat. His desire to move forward has met his goal. Now you need to entice more with something very yummy! Popcorn, pine nuts, sunflower seeds. Something tiny he finishes fast.

 

[CRYROLFE]

That's one of our other obstacles, treats. He is VERY picky on food....and it's difficult to find a treat he likes. So far we have bananas, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and peanut butter on a spoon.
No on popcorn, pine nuts or sunflower seeds.
Of course there are many other things that he will and does eat...only not from me....only from his bowl. Sometimes even his fav yummies he will snatch from my fingers and toss on the cage floor.

 

[lene1949]

it seems to be common knowledge NOT to let him out of his cage unless we take him out

I do this with Max... If he doesn't step up from inside his cage, I shut the door and try again 15 minutes later...

In your case, I would let the bird come out on the porch... Have you tried targeting him out there? Just open the porch and let him out...

My conures are not tame, but I just let them fly out of their cage, when it suits me, of course...

 

[MaraWentz]

Actually I read to let them out of the cage with the door open and top if there's a playtop. Some people say to target train, but it didnt help my cage bound bird. My cage bound was friendly away from the cage, but not in or on the cage. So we tried the targeting off the cage and her favourite treat- pine nuts. No avail. She didnt fall for the lures. So eventually we had to nix the cage and create a tree stand. ANd now theres no more aggression.

 

[CRYROLFE]

I bought this AWESOME tree stand for him....it has all the bells and whistles. I kept it next to his cage for about a month. Then I would put his favorite treats only on the stand and even got him to run out onto the stand from his cage and grab the treats and then run back. I could never get him to target to the stand though.
After 6 months of this and keeping his stand next to the cage....I put him on the stand when he fell on the floor one time. I left him there about 15 min.
He was VERY upset and just sat there looking pissed....not moving a tiny bit.
I put him back in his cage....waiting til I cleaned his cage and took out the bottom....(which makes him fly on the floor). I then put him on the perch while I cleaned his whole cage. Then put him back in his cage....

This caused him to relapse and I lost ALL TRUST that I built up w/ him. After that he would not take ANY food from me and would actually freak a little when I got near his cage.

That was about 8 months ago or so. Now he will target again, but is still aggressive in cage and hates me getting near him.

I've about had it with him for awhile and I'm submitting and giving him back his porch and letting my Hahns hang out on giant tree if he wants to.
I'll just be happy if we can go back to square one w/ him on the porch and taking food when I come over.

 

[MaraWentz]

Yeah, they can be very temperamental at times. While we switched Erin from her cage to the stand we had to towel off her cage during the day or she'd speed race right on over. Do you have a ladder that he can climb to get back on the stand? We have one or Erin. We put her in the middle of the ladder so she had to climb it to get of or up the stand. she's fallen off once from running down a perch and slipping She got right back up the ladder though. If she falls her i give her a minute to move somewhere or I come get her so she doesnt feel abandoned, but i like to giver her the chance to get back up herself.

 

[CRYROLFE]

Well, a ladder wouldn't matter since he HATES the stand....probably more than he hates me. He is freaked out by it and would rather not see it at all...lol.

 

[MaraWentz]

ohhhh lol well good luck

 

[wolf0994]

Wow.. sounds like a struggle for sure. I knew greys could be stubborn and slow to change so that part doesnt surprise me, but I am surprised that pretty much 1 day of doing what he didnt want to would regress him that much.

My grey was similar in a way in that he hasnt been handled since he was about a year old or so. At that time they put him in with an DYH Amazon for company and he never really bonded to humans after that. He tolerated them but not bonded. When we rehomed him this last April the owners were trying to find them seperate homes. They thought he might start to warm up if he were on his own. He has warmed up alot to us, lets us give kisses and get beak touches. Still very very hard to get him to step up though. He runs from any object you put near the lower half of his body including your hand. The only way I can get him to step up is if he got spooked to the floor. Then he steps up instantly without hesitation. I am sure its cuz he wants back on his cage. He has done that twice now and the 2nd time I was smart enough to enjoy it and hold him for a little while. He was sure ticked off at us for about 24 hours after that though because that was his vet visit day. He is back to his old self of giving kisses, wanting my dinner and touching on command with his beak, but as for stepping up... its a no go unless he's on the floor.

I hope yours comes around eventually!

 

[CRYROLFE]

I'm not gonna hold a grunge on him....he is what he is. He seems happy enough to stay on his cage and for us not to touch him. He won't even step up from the floor, only onto a cage door or he climbs back up on his cage himself.

 

[WharfRat]

I may have overlooked it in the previous posts, but have you tried just sitting next to him and talking to him? Also, have you tried making any homemade treats, like bird muffins? I guess I'd be a little lost too since all ours were obtained at a very young age.

I've always approached the stubborn ones (not mine) with perseverance and determination. I have an example I'll post tomorrow. (almost bedtime here)

 

[CRYROLFE]

Yes, I have a recliner right next to him so I sit there a lot and he just hates it...lol. Now he loves my hubby so he gets all cuddly looking around him, but no touchy!!

He will take treats from me if they are really, really good, but a lot of times he just snatches them and throws them on the floor...sigh. He is VERY sensitive and remembers a lot so I'm sure it'll be a long time before I can get back to where I used to be with him when I first got him.
Time will tell....for now, my hubby loves the fact that he likes him more than me.