I let my new bird wander around in the day for the last 2 days (since I got her). She's really good so far and it's been fine. I don't mind have her out, I did the best birdproofing I can and it seems to be working.
The problem comes when I need to put her away so I can go places. Right now, I have to go to the gym. Last night, I needed to go to bed. Tomorrow, I need to go volunteer at a local parrot sanctuary that's an hour drive away (so typically a 3.5 hour thing for me and I have to leave early).
I tried offering her favorite treats and it does no good. She hates going back in her cage and she knows I'm trying to get her in there. We had a few sweet moments today, I read her a book and she actually got invested in it, she let me pet her head again, though briefly, and she had a nice, trusting little nap on my leg. And then I wanted her to go in her cage a while later and she was like, uh, NOPE. And took off running and flapping.
So in order to get her there, I have to chase and catch her, which freaks her out and makes her try to fly (she's a plucker so she has two wing feathers on one wing, a few more on the other, and zero tail feathers. She cannot fly, and probably never will as the plucking happened at least 10 years ago).
Every time I do, I'm aware I'm breaking the rules, we're never supposed to chase and catch the birds against their will. But I don't have three or four hours to patiently try to get her to go in on her own, assuming she even would. She has already started to associate being on my hand with being put in her cage, so today when I temporarily got her to step up sort of she immediately freaked and "flew" off.
What do people do when the bird is so determined to stay out of her cage she refuses all efforts to get her back in? PS, the cage is an exact copy of her old one but technically new. I just got her two days ago.
Or should I make her stay in her cage all the time? I hate that idea but I can't keep terrifying her just because she doesn't want to go back in on MY schedule.
The problem comes when I need to put her away so I can go places. Right now, I have to go to the gym. Last night, I needed to go to bed. Tomorrow, I need to go volunteer at a local parrot sanctuary that's an hour drive away (so typically a 3.5 hour thing for me and I have to leave early).
I tried offering her favorite treats and it does no good. She hates going back in her cage and she knows I'm trying to get her in there. We had a few sweet moments today, I read her a book and she actually got invested in it, she let me pet her head again, though briefly, and she had a nice, trusting little nap on my leg. And then I wanted her to go in her cage a while later and she was like, uh, NOPE. And took off running and flapping.
So in order to get her there, I have to chase and catch her, which freaks her out and makes her try to fly (she's a plucker so she has two wing feathers on one wing, a few more on the other, and zero tail feathers. She cannot fly, and probably never will as the plucking happened at least 10 years ago).
Every time I do, I'm aware I'm breaking the rules, we're never supposed to chase and catch the birds against their will. But I don't have three or four hours to patiently try to get her to go in on her own, assuming she even would. She has already started to associate being on my hand with being put in her cage, so today when I temporarily got her to step up sort of she immediately freaked and "flew" off.
What do people do when the bird is so determined to stay out of her cage she refuses all efforts to get her back in? PS, the cage is an exact copy of her old one but technically new. I just got her two days ago.
Or should I make her stay in her cage all the time? I hate that idea but I can't keep terrifying her just because she doesn't want to go back in on MY schedule.
