When we take them off of a favored perch, regardless of what that perch may be, and consistently place them in their cage, we begin the process of teaching to avoid our hands and to refuse to step up for us and if we still don't listen to what the bird is saying by all of this, it is a short step to nips and then biting to get their point across.
I think that it is easier to avoid this problem than it is to change it once it begins, so I never make it a habit to place my bird in its cage more than 25% of the time when I ask them to step up. If I know that I will be leaving the house and need to put them in their cage, I begin a little in advance and move them around from perch to perch ending up with the cage and a piece of almond as a thank you. I am aware that one can't always adhere to this, but on those occasions putting the bird in the cage is never a problem. This also helps tremendously on the avoidance of hands when you just want the bird to step up to go somewhere with you because they are not expecting to be put in a cage.
