Getting a scared LoveBird out of thier cage

[ZteveBond]

I’m trying a new method to get Leo out of his cage. Leo is terrified of leaving his cage a lot of the time, I usually leave his door open during the day for the past month so Leo can get comfortable with his surroundings. It’s been a month so I figured it was time to start coaxing him out. Here was my plan!

Step 1 take one of his perched outside of his cage and move it to the outside

Step 2 move his water bowl to the outside of his cage

Step 3 wait.


I’m on my second day of doing this strategy and am about I go home to see the results. Yesterday when I got home it didn’t seem like he left his cage because there were no feathers in his bowl but after a few hours (while I was still in the room) he willingly left his cage to get some water, I figured he would have been intimidated by my pretense there because he usually is but he didn’t care that I was there.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

Are you leaving him loose unsupervised when you’re not home?

 

[LunaLovebird]

Coaxing him out with treats is a good idea. Try feeding him millet through the cage bars, and then leave some in a bowl outside where he can see it. I wouldn't be leaving him out unsupervised though. They are very good at getting into trouble.

 

[ZteveBond]

lol I I noticed

 

[Mizzely]

Bobber took a long time to come out of his cage, much more than a month. And if anything changes around him, he will become a hermit again for a while. The cage is safe, it is their home. They will come out when they are ready Luring with treats is a great way to help them over come that fear!

 

[LilSprout]

Kamara took a while to realize she could leave her cage after being cooped up in it for years without being allowed to leave in her previous home. I did use millet to get her to leave and for the rest of her life I used millet to bribe her to try new toys or go in her travel cage for the vet. She was never a massive fan of being out of her cage but she did enjoy pooping on my floor as opposed to her cage after a while.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

@ZteveBond Don’t ever leave him out unsupervised. Good way to lose him (in more ways than one).

 

[ZteveBond]

@ZteveBond Don’t ever leave him out unsupervised. Good way to lose him (in more ways than one).

No, there is always someone home when I leave his door open

 

[fluffypoptarts]

No, there is always someone home when I leave his door open

But are they in the room monitoring him? If not, it’s unsafe as I’m sure it’s not a “bird room” (birdy-proofed).

 

[ZteveBond]

touche, Im going to need to rethink my strategy.

 

[Lady Jane]

I agree. Birds are very fragile and should have supervision when a cage door is open. They can get hung up in a toy or like someone else just posted caught in the cage bars. Try to perch train your bird while holding millet too. Put a perch on the inside of the cage door too.

 

[finchly]

My bird gets stuck behind the blinds. Just a small way they manage to get themselves into trouble.

 

[SquawksNibbles]

I know this is a couple days late, but I thought I'd just post my experience.

I have two Budgies, Skittles and Nico. Skittles is somewhat tame; he dislikes hands a lot, but will happily perch on your shoulder and preen your hair. He's also comfortable eating beside you. Nico, on the other hand, is terrified of humans. You get near him and he will get feisty and will start delivering bites, and they aren't pleasant. Recently, I've been trying to get the two to enjoy out of cage time. I had just been leaving the door open, and they didn't come out, except for one time: Skittles flew out, but to be honest I think it was an accident, lol. Anyway, I knew this way wasn't going to work, so once I got them to like pellets I started using those to get them out. I left the cage door open and would take their pellet bowl and would shake it so it made noise. Skittles started climbing out and made his way out and was climbing on the outside of his cage, and at the end of the day he had been waddling around on the floor and flying around the room! He did this for about an hour, until I unfortunately had to put him back in the cage. Anyway, after this experience, now if I leave the cage door open and start messing with a wrapper or something that makes noise (a noise that resembles the noise of their food bag), he will start climbing out to see what you're doing, lol. I was excited he was coming out on his own now .

But unfortunately, I still wasn't getting anywhere with Nico. That was until I decided to try something a little different. I removed their pellets for a bit, that way they were hungry but not starving. Then I took the pellets in their bowl and offered it at the door of their cage. Skittles came over, of course, but I was extremely surprised when Nico hopped over and started eating from it! He was somewhat out of the cage, being at the very entrance of it. But this was huge! It was so unlike Nico to do this; he never enjoyed coming out of his cage and he didn't like to eat next to people. But, there I was, holding the bowl, and he was eating right by my hand! Now, I feel he's more comfortable eating by people, but I unfortunately haven't managed to get him to come out again, but it's okay, because I feel that I'm still making progress with him.

Anyway, in short, all it took was food. Not even a special treat, but just their regular food. They still don't squawk at the cage door wanting out like some parrots do, but I don't expect them to. Their cage is their safe place. Anyway, your bird may or may not come out if you do this. It depends on him and what it takes. I hope this helps a bit, though.