Galah hates his cage

[ellenwatson]

Hope this is the right place to ask this question (new to the forum) I have a young, 3month old Galah that is very tame and used to being handled the only problem is that she hates going back into her cage.
She has plenty of toys and space but just prefers to be out with people. How do I train her to go back to her cage when she needs to. She3 will allow (loves) being petted but as soon as I walk her back towards her cage she fly's off and when I pick her up again she will start to bite.
She is very good at step up and I always give her a treat once she is back in her cage I also try and stick to a routine with the time in and out of the cage.

Any suggestions ?

 

[SailBoat]

Thank you for joining and welcome to Parrtforum.

Sounds like his cage is a bit too far out of the center of activities! As a result, why would he want to be hidden away from the action? Consider moving his a bit closer.

You can also, work on taking him to the cage and having him step down, stay for a bit and have him step-up and return to where you had been.

Could consider a bit longer out of the cage with a night cover?

 

[Scott]

Welcome to you and your young galah! Excellent advice above, they are very social and of course prefer your company!

Your strategy is correct, though she is attempting to train you by biting enroute to the cage. Have you offered a wide selection of toys that she may enjoy? How large is the cage - it is almost impossible to have one too large for a cockatoo provided the bar-spacing is safe. (very large "macaw" sized cages may have wide bar spacing leading to potential for head to squeeze through)

 

[Betrisher]

Teach your bird to target (ie. touch the end of a chopstick on command - instructions are among the stickies). Every time you have a training session, target your bird into and out of the cage again (you don't want her to learn that every time she targets inside the cage you'll slam the dungeon door on her). Reward her for going into the cage and for coming out again. Before long, all you'll need to do is point at the cage and she'll go in willingly.

Galahs are very easy to train. Mine learned all sorts of tricks simply by watching my Alexandrines as I trained them. Trick training is a lot more than getting your bird to do cute things on command. Sometimes, tricks can be vitally useful, like targetting back into the cage or away from danger, or holding up a foot to allow you to trim or file the claw. Check out our training section for lots of great ideas!

 

[Scott]

Trish (above) has an excellent idea! Primer on Target/Clicker training: http://www.parrotforums.com/training/60435-clicker-target-training.html