Our Eclectus doesn't ever seem to want to come out of his cage...

[Braeburn]

First off, my wife and I know that these are not "cuddly" birds as a general rule although I'm sure there are plenty of people who have Ekkies with a Macaw style personality. Ours has been home about a month and just never seems to want to come out of his cage. We have a playstand all setup for him and are definitely not forcing him to try to come out. We try to get him to step up and he'll usually just bite gently to let us know he isn't in the mood and we leave it at that. Well, he hasn't been out much in the last week at all... I was able to get him out once to go in the shower and so was my wife but not much besides that. Just wanted to see if this is normal Ekkie behavior especially for a new bird. His cage is a 40x30 so there is PLENTY of room in there and he goes after his toys with gusto. He is due for a vet followup this week so we'll let the vet know he isn't coming out much when we go but he isn't exhibiting any signs he is sick (I know they usually hide it). His poops are normal, his behavior hasn't changed as far as how he is in the cage etc... I guess I am just worried. Any suggestions or should we just do what we've been doing and just let him do his thing?

Thanks!

 

[sodakat]

How about if you leave the door open and let him exit on his own? What does he do then? Will he climb out and on top of his cage? That is usually how they first begin exploring. Is the play stand fairly close to his cage? He may be afraid to travel very far from his safe spot.

Can he fly? If so, at some point he will likely fly to you from atop his cage if you are sitting in the same room.

Another thing you can try, is this. Open his cage door then sit down on the floor in front of his cage with some foot toys and treats. Mess around with them and see if he will climb down to stand on the edge of the cage at the door opening. You can position yourself so that the can climb onto your arm if he wishes, or can just stand there and watch you play with his toys.

IME reaching your hand into a cage for a step up can be too scary for some birds. I know of adult birds who have lived with their owners for years who still don't like this.

Most of my Eclectus like to sit on my shoulder and will do so for quite a while. They also like to play with things with me. The "hands off" trait regarding Eclectus to me is because they don't need anyone/anybird to preen their head and neck feathers, because of the unique feather structure. So unlike other species that are instinctually looking for help in preening, Eclectus don't want this type of touch. That doesn't mean they don't want to sit with their owners, be carried around, lean into you when riding on a shoulder, etc.

They are very loving birds who are observant and smart. I'll bet your little guy knows all about the workings of your household already. He's been watching you the past month just like you've been watching him. Give him the opportunity to join you when he's ready and he'll be a happy camper. They like to make as many decisions as possible.

Eclectus, from my experience, prefer having their cage door open. They are often content to sit on a perch in the cage, but the door needs to be open, just in case they feel like leaving.

 

[orphansparrow]

in my experience (with a very different parrot of course), one month was still very much the beginning. her behavior towards me and her environment changed greatly after one month. maybe he still feels new, and likes the security of his cage? just an idea.

 

[Addi Kohler]

I would look at starting to do some marker training to help develop your relationship, build positive associations, and learn how to communicate with each other.

While not species specific by any means, marker training using CHOW as a reward for behaviors is a good approach to "breaking the ice", so to speak, and an easy way to start building a trusting relationship. Not too many critters, 4 legged, 2 legged, or otherwise, don't like chow. I know I'd stand on my head for a slice of good pizza.

Your bird obviously isn't terrified of you, which is good, so it should be receptive to being hand fed treats as a reward.

Try offering hand treats while the bird is on the perch prior to every feeding, and mark it when the bird takes it from your hand and offer praise. After about 10 repetitions or so, let the bird eat as normal. Once the bird gets comfortable being treated on the perch, start offering the treat at the door, and mark and praise if it either looks at the treat, moves toward it, or takes it at the door. Again, once the bird is comfortable from one spot, start further out during the next training session. Like perch >>>door>>>top of cage>>>play stand, etc...

If you use this approach, you should be able to build enough comfort and motivation to get the bird out of the cage for treats and chow, and eventually be able to treat at the play stand or any other place. This should help build confidence in the bird, and build a positive association with being out of the cage, because OUT OF CAGE will equal TREATS!!!! Soon enough, the bird probably won't need treats, and it'll be a pain to get it back IN the cage.

Check out "clicker" training in the training area as there is some good info. While a "clicker" is a nice to have item, you don't need one to build the associations, though they do provide a more consistent mark for the behavior.

Good luck.

 

[Birdiemarie]

You may also want to add a perch right outside his door on the front of his cage as an enticement to come out along with a small treat bowl next to it and make sure he is watching as you slowly drop in (with an audible clink) a couple almonds.

 

[kcbee]

Definitely put a perch on the cage door, so he can come out and sit there, but still feel some of the safety of his cage. My cape came home a bit over a month ago, and at the beginning all she wanted to do was stay in her cage and play, because she felt safe there. And that was fine, I didn't push it! But slowly she started coming onto the perch on her door, sitting there surveying the scene and taking treats from me. Once she got comfortable on that perch, she became comfortable hanging out on her playstands, etc. and being out of her cage.

 

[applejack]

(My husband is the original poster, and since he's working 12-hour days for the weekend he won't be able to respond for a while, lol).

Thanks everyone for your advice! We really appreciate it

Sodakat: We do leave his cage door open for a few hours every day, but I will try sitting down in front of it like you suggested. When we leave his door open, he comes to the edge, peeks his head out, and then goes back in. He'll do this a few times and then he seems to just lose interest in the door being open, and he'll go play with his toys or eat. He cannot fly well; he can get distance but not height, if that makes sense. I will try sitting down in front of the opening with some toys and treats and speaking to him. I think we're also going to move him into another room, where we can hang stuff from the ceilings and make it a more bird-friendly environment so he can have his cage open more often. Hopefully that will make him more comfortable. He doesn't seem unhappy; he whistles and mumbles and plays, and when I sit in the room with him and read, he gets all excited and "speaks" along with me. I know he's not afraid of us, but he is afraid of us reaching in, so we will not do that anymore (except for vet visits, when it's unavoidable).

Marie and Kacy: We do have a perch on the cage door, but not a treat cup. That's also a really good idea, and we'll buy one. He loves walnuts, lol.

Orphansparrow: We know he is still new. It's more that we just don't want him to feel limited by always being in his cage. If he's happy not interacting with us, that's fine, but we just want to make sure he *is* happy, you know?

Addi Kohler: Yes, we will definitely try the marker training. We did it with our dogs and it worked well with them, and our eclectus is very food-motivated, which should help. Do you mean offer treats through the cage bars? Or open the door and offer treats?

Thanks again for all the wonderful suggestions! We really appreciate the help

 

[Addi Kohler]

Addi Kohler: Yes, we will definitely try the marker training. We did it with our dogs and it worked well with them, and our eclectus is very food-motivated, which should help. Do you mean offer treats through the cage bars? Or open the door and offer treats?

The bird is going to determine the start point, and it sounds like you are a few steps ahead since your bird doesn't freak out when you put your hand in the cage.

If your bird can be treated from your hand inside the cage, then that's where I would start, however, if not, I'd start by hand feeding through the cage with the end goal of being able to hand feed inside the cage.

Once I can hand feed inside the cage, I'd start to treat closer toward the door. As soon as comfort is built, I'd end that training session, and start the next one further out. So the progression would be cage > close to door > door > outside perch > top of cage etc... The bird will dictate how fast you can progress, and I wouldn't worry about trying to rush it at all.

Once the bird is comfortable being hand fed the treats, from there you are basically rewarding and praising the bird for simply moving to a position where he can get the treat, so if you make it a game, the bird is less likely to feel like it is being "lured" out....which it is muahahahaha!!! So it's like "can you take the treat if I hold it high, how about low, how about over here, what about here?". Soon enough, "the treat game" will go from inside, to the door, etc, and the bird will be comfortable with moving to the new start point for "the game". You'll be able to open the cage, and the bird will move to the door, or a perch, or whatever, because it wants and expects to play "the treat game" with you.

Soon enough, the bird will associate being out of the cage with "the treat game", and from there, you can start to condition other behaviors to help build associations that make being out of the cage desirable and fun for the bird.

I'm a big fan and believer in training, as it's fun, is more of a game than anything, and an effective way to develop a healthy bond between both parties involved.

Good luck, and FYI, I am always willing to babble on about training approaches if you want to share more ideas.

 

[Braeburn]

My wife sat out in front of his cage tonight with a handful of walnuts and laid a few on the ledge of his door and another one at her feet. He slid down the bars to the first walnuts, then literally flew/jumped right onto her hand. It was only 2 or 3 minutes for him to come out. Biggest problem we have is we are still not sure about our dogs around him and will likely never trust them anyway no matter how uninterested they seem. This is why we want to move him out of the living room and into the office so we can close the door and let him have the run of the room without any other pets able to get in.

 

[Addi Kohler]

...... He slid down the bars to the first walnuts, then literally flew/jumped right onto her hand. ...

LOL!

Is that....is that food you have....IT IS!!!!! [Jump]

Sounds like you have found an effective motivator for your bird, which makes things a LOT easier. A few short training / game sessions a day is all it really takes to build trust, shape behavior, and establish positive associations. I always have a good time training.

I wouldn't let my bird run amok unsupervised around my dog either. Most dogs have a certain level of prey drive, and some dogs have HUGE prey drive, so I believe it's risky having a small critter running amok that looks like prey, and could trigger those instincts. Cats, small dogs, and even kids, can sometimes trigger these drives, which, depending on the dog, can result in serious bite wounds or even death. A bird wouldn't stand much of a chance, and all it takes is one accident...

The good thing about dogs is that they are obedient, and you can designate "dog free" areas that the bird can play in, and if they approach the area, all it takes is a voice command to move them out. While I feel confident that the overwhelming majority of dogs could be controlled and taught to stay away from the birds, especially the mature dogs, I'm not so sure about the birds. You can teach a dog to go into an immediate down / stay, or an immediate recall if they wander where they shouldn't, but a parrot, I don't think so. So a dog that is minding his own business, and doing the right thing by staying in the kitchen, could get jumped by that crazy fearless parrot who wanders in despite your command otherwise, and the dog may defend itself, or go into prey mode inadvertently. Not good for anybody.

There are plenty of farm dogs that learn not to harm the chickens or the other critters, however, sometimes they learn the hard way as a pup....after slaughtering a bird, or chewing on the livestock. When critters fight in my house, I see it as my fault, and not theirs, as I'm the one that forces them to live with each other, and am therefore responsible for their safety.

Best of luck to you and yours.

 

[Birdiemarie]

My wife sat out in front of his cage tonight with a handful of walnuts and laid a few on the ledge of his door and another one at her feet. He slid down the bars to the first walnuts, then literally flew/jumped right onto her hand. It was only 2 or 3 minutes for him to come out. Biggest problem we have is we are still not sure about our dogs around him and will likely never trust them anyway no matter how uninterested they seem. This is why we want to move him out of the living room and into the office so we can close the door and let him have the run of the room without any other pets able to get in.

Woo-Hoo!! You've got his attention now!

 

[sodakat]

Glad all he needed was a little coaxing. I have dogs that get plenty of attention so crating them or putting them in the yard when the eclectus are flying around does not make me feel guilty. I've always had both dogs and birds and know that they can get along but that no dog can be left alone with a bird. Separating them with a cage door and a room door when we are gone is the only way I feel safe, even though Rose has grabbed a dog nose and they are leery of her. I know that the food doors on cages are notorious for not latching properly and I refuse to come home to a hurt or dead bird. I also have a hook on the outside of birdroom door that is always latched unless I'm in there. A pain but worth it IMO.

 

[Braeburn]

Yeah our dogs love to be outside and we have crates for each one of them although they will cry/bark/whine if we are in the house and they are in the crates. They're mastiffs and they can get pretty bad separation anxiety, its just a trait of the breed. Oh well though, when it gets cold/rainy this winter they're going to have to learn to stay in their crates for an extended time when we are home while we have the birds out in the main living area. As far as our Eclectus, yeah he LURVES walnuts to the point that when he hears the cabinet door open he will stop what he is doing and look over at whoever is in the kitchen. He loves Jalepenos too but I don't think it would be a good idea to have a handful of them for treats... my wife already discovered the joy of accidentally rubbing her eye after putting a Jalepeno pepper on one of his skewers...

We will keep it up with his training sessions and just let him get used to everything and continue to settle in. I will say that once he is out of his cage he steps up perfectly every time, is the sweetest thing ever, does not bite at all and will happily sit on a finger while being sang to or just hanging out watching Ohio State blow a 19 point lead to lose the game haha.

 

[waterfaller1]

Oh well though, when it gets cold/rainy this winter they're going to have to learn to stay in their crates for an extended time when we are home while we have the birds out in the main living area. .

 

[applejack]

I just want to add, by "extended period of time", it means an hour, hour and a half at most. Also, when they are crated we leave the TV on for them, and they have toys and bones in their crates. We don't lock them in a dark basement or anything.

We do not crate our dogs for longer than that. Our dogs have the run of the house, but they do need to learn to be away for at least a little while, whether we have company over or the birds are out.