Switching cages? And how to bond?

[ConuresAreAwesome]

Hi! I was hoping to get some opinions and help on two things.

1. Switching cages.
I have a 10 year old sun conure, and she has a HUGE cage. It could fit an amazon very comfortably. Now, this sounds bad, but I want to transfer my conure into a smaller cage. She doesn't move around much her cage much (I have literally watched her for hours to confirm this, but she doesn't have arthritis,) it is hard to clean, and if she had a smaller cage, it would be easier to bring her into whatever room we are in (so she can be with us more.) What do you think?

2. Bonding.
I've had her for two years. Her previous owner couldn't care for her anymore, so I was delighted to take her in. She is amazing, lovely, beautiful, has a very loud and outgoing personality, but lately she has been scared by the slightest things, and less trusting of me!!!

This morning, I woke up and fixed my bed, which included lifting the blanket up so that it falls down over the end sides. She was terrified. I can't keep her in another room, I have to keep her in my bedroom.

She is usually a very cuddly bird but the past two months she's been very un-cuddly because she is scared of little noises in the house (like a fridge opening, etc.) I can't get her out of the cage for more than five minutes. Before, she would go out for hours.

Any tips for bonding more with her?

My plan:
- Perhaps switch her to a spacious but smaller cage and bring her to whatever room we are in (except for the kitchen or living room connected to kitchen.)
- Take her out once she is used to the noises that the house makes. I don't want her to be scared and not want to go out of her cage anymore.
- When eating, include her also.

Btw, her name is Bun-bun.

 

[treckel]

Maybe make the new cage a fun playstand sort of thing to begin with. This way the bird would think the change positive.

 

[MamaFuzz]

I've heard that too big of a cage could cause smaller birds to become fearful. Not sure how true that is but if it is the smaller cage could help. Also, how much of the day does she spend in her cage? Since the cage is in your bedroom I think the separation from everyone could be causing some issues.
A good idea too would be to get a play stand or small cage for around the house. Dragging her home & safe zone all around could throw her even more out of wack. No matter what, go slow, & only try changing one thing at a time.