Green Cheek Help, PLEASE!!! How do I make him love his cage more?!

[Tia Cecilia]

Okay, so here's some backstory. My green cheek is just a few months old, his name is Ziggy. He has a MASSIVE cage and it has plenty of fresh veges (and sidenote, I've just successfully converted him to pellets!!). Problem is, Ziggy LOVES being out of his cage. So much.
It's not that he just loves me, he loves EVERYONE in the house and he loves the house itself. Or, rather, being able to roam it freely.
At the moment I'm on the Australian equivalent of Summer break and we have just spent three weeks away at our holiday house three hours away at the beach. Ziggy came with us, because I can't be apart from him for that long PLUS I don't trust my brothers enough to care for him properly. Now, I certainly don't deprive him of outside time, trust me. I bust my bum trying to let him out for a minimum of 3-4 hours during school Semester. And on weekends, he's pretty much always out.
During our vacation, in which I was home all the time, I noticed that Ziggy has started to scream when he's in his cage for more than five/ten minutes. I will have him out for hours and then put him back in to have something to eat, and less than ten minutes later, he starts to scream. Loudly and constantly. Didn't matter how long I ignored him, didn't matter how many times I wait for him to stop and then let him out as a reward for being quiet, nothing worked. So I resolved to get him some new toys, chewable and colorful, his favourite type. Nope, didn't matter. He would be interested in them for maybe two minutes, then continue to scream.
By this point, I was getting scared. What would happen when I returned to school!? I tried to slowly lengthen the amount of time I left him in the cage, in the hope of acclimatizing him. But he would just scream and scream. Even when he EATS, he screams between mouthfuls and runs to the door of his cage.
So, we're back home now and the problem continues. School resumes in just a couple of weeks, in which I spend 7 hours away from him every weekday. My Mum doesn't work on Mondays, so she lets him out a bit when she's home, and that's good. The brother who likes Zig most (but is paranoid about getting pooped on) lets Zig out of the cage for short periods of time, too, but only when he's in the living room. This brother is also starting full time work soon, so he won't be around as much. My other brother is scared of Zig, and my eldest brother LIKES the bird, but only chats to him through the cage bars.
At the moment, I've had twenty minutes of blissful silence because it seems the only thing that will stop him from screaming for a little while is foraging toys. I've placed two new ones in his cage. This is great and all, but I'm still extremely concerned. What if it's not enough? I've done EVERYTHING to make his cage more interesting! New perches, rearranged and swapped toys around, bought new toys, etc, etc, etc. Foraging toys seem to be working a bit, but can anyone else help me? What else can I do to make cage time more enjoyable!? I'm so worried about his mental health. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP!
He's just started screaming againnnnnn

 

[MagpieDragon]

I'm sorry I can't help you out, but I just wanna say many on this forum can.
And, at that, welcome!

Hope to see ya around

 

[Mizzely]

I can give you my ideas for screaming, which may help. Is he only screaming because he's in his cage and people are in the house? If so, you are fighting against nature. It is unnatural for him to be separated from the flock and he is calling not just to be let out, but because if you are out of eye sight you must be lost and he is helping you get home!

How I Dealt With a Screaming Bird – Parrot 1-2-3

How Small Changes Can Have Big Impacts – Parrot 1-2-3

 

[Whoviana]

Sunflower didn't much care for her cage at first. She hangs out there all the time now. We also moved it so it is in the middle of the room. She is close to us when she is in there, although she will squawk when she is ready to come out. Maybe he just needs time to adjust?

Sunflower is the only bird I've ever had, but I thought I'd share my experience. I hope everything works out.

 

[Tia Cecilia]

I can give you my ideas for screaming, which may help. Is he only screaming because he's in his cage and people are in the house? If so, you are fighting against nature. It is unnatural for him to be separated from the flock and he is calling not just to be let out, but because if you are out of eye sight you must be lost and he is helping you get home!

How I Dealt With a Screaming Bird – Parrot 1-2-3

How Small Changes Can Have Big Impacts – Parrot 1-2-3

You are an absolute god send!! Thank you so much, thank you SO MUCH! This information seems perfect and my situation sounds really similar to what you were struggling with. I do have a couple of questions. How long do you leave your fids in the bird room while you're at work? Would letting Ziggy have his own room be suitable for my situation? Also, I'd like to figure out a way of having some music or something play while I'm not home, but I can't leave the TV on because of all the power it takes. Any suggestions for a solution? And if I can't let him have his own room, how else can I force some movement and get rid of some boredom in his cage?

 

[Mizzely]

You are an absolute god send!! Thank you so much, thank you SO MUCH! This information seems perfect and my situation sounds really similar to what you were struggling with. I do have a couple of questions. How long do you leave your fids in the bird room while you're at work? Would letting Ziggy have his own room be suitable for my situation? Also, I'd like to figure out a way of having some music or something play while I'm not home, but I can't leave the TV on because of all the power it takes. Any suggestions for a solution? And if I can't let him have his own room, how else can I force some movement and get rid of some boredom in his cage?

I no longer have a bird room because we had to move, but I kept the cages open all the time except bedtime. So sunup to sun down. They are now in our dining room, and they are out as long as someone is home, which is 90% of the day for us (hubby works day, I work night). So if there is someone in the house, cages are open.

If you can safely make it happen, I think all birds do well with their own room. It opens up a lot of possibilities for how to get them moving, and it also removes the idea of "I'm in this tiny box but I can see all that space."

As for music can you use a small clock radio? That should have minimal power draw.

As for movement in the cage, make it so he has to work more for his food. Even if you aren't foraging, try to put 3 to 7 bowls around the cage with his daily ration spread between them. You can also try to put more swings or something that requires more energy to stay upright. Tuck his favorite treats anywhere they will fit in a toy to make him investigate more.

Anything that prevents "eat all my food then scream".

 

[karen256]

Is the screaming itself a problem, or are you just worried that he'll be lonely and stressed when you are gone?

I can pretty much guarantee you that he won't scream when no one is home. He might scream for a minute or two but will then settle down and preen, forage, nap, and do other quiet activities. He's screaming when you leave him because he can see or hear you, knows you're there, and has figured out that screaming will usually eventually get him let out. He will be ok for 7 hours if he has toys and attention when you're home.

If the screaming is an issue - like if he's screaming when family members are home but aren't able to let him out, that can be a hard issue to deal with. It's too tempting for someone to try to quiet him with a treat or scolding (attention) sometimes, which reinforces the screaming. I'd try having whoever gets home first greet him and give a treat before he can scream. Trick training can also be helpful, as a family member can ask him to do a trick for a treat as a distraction from screaming.

 

[Parakeet88]

I'm no expert but I agree with what everyone else has said. My GCC only screams when he can hear or see me. I work night shift and I rarely hear a peep out of him while I'm sleeping during the day. I get myself ready for bed before I put him in his cage so that way I just pop him in, give him a treat and I go right to my room for bed. I almost never hear him scream and on the rare occasions he does scream it's usually because he sees a bug flying around lol

I stuff his cage full of snacks before I go to bed. I shove treats anywhere in his cage that I can. He does have foraging toys but I put treats in/ on all of his toys to make him move around and keep him busy. Buy different shapes and sizes of treats and you'll quickly find places to hide them. My GCC loves when I shove treats through the chain links on one of his toys, I usually use dried sweet potato sticks or dried green beans. He also loves to chew on cinnamon sticks. Having different shapes and sizes of treats to work with will help you find more places to hide them. Check out mysafebirdstore and things for wings for some good treats and snacks or to just get some ideas.

I also think having a routine is very helpful. My GCC knows that when I start getting ready for bed and hiding his treats he's going in his cage soon. He's still not happy about it but he knows that screaming will not make me come back to get him out. I'm pretty sure he thinks that I've left the apartment when I go to bed lol If he's particularly good about going in his cage I'll give him an extra treat (usually a walnut) through the cage bars to show him that it's ok to go in his cage and he'll get a snack if he's good.

I hope any of that helped lol