Tweety came out of his cage today!

[Cali]

I went home for lunch, and as usual - while Halo is walking around on me - I open Tweety's cage door and talk to him.

Today, he hopped on the ledge and flew out of his cage. He landed on the floor and tested his wings, hopped around for awhile and seemed to be thrilled.

The only problem was, he will not come to me or even step up on a stick. I tried to get him to step up on a long stick, and he finally did - and we almost made it back into the cage but he flew off....

Eventually, I had to use a towel to get him back in his cage. How stressful is this for the bird? He seems fine now, chirping and preening...

Should I let him out if this is the only way to get him back in?

 

[owlsthetic]

I went home for lunch, and as usual - while Halo is walking around on me - I open Tweety's cage door and talk to him.

Today, he hopped on the ledge and flew out of his cage. He landed on the floor and tested his wings, hopped around for awhile and seemed to be thrilled.

The only problem was, he will not come to me or even step up on a stick. I tried to get him to step up on a long stick, and he finally did - and we almost made it back into the cage but he flew off....

Eventually, I had to use a towel to get him back in his cage. How stressful is this for the bird? He seems fine now, chirping and preening...

Should I let him out if this is the only way to get him back in?

So great to hear Tweety has come out to explore!

Maybe it might be better if you can try to let him out when you have more time and won't be in a rush to get him back (like after work) for now at least. Since I think he's probably curious to explore and won't be in a rush to get back to his cage but if you leave his food, treats and water in his cage he should return to his cage by himself eventually. I usually find bribing my birds with treats to be the most effective way when I'm in a rush to get them back in their cages

 

[Pixiebeak]

I find it you put the light bright on the cage , and make the rest of room dark they will move to the light.

Also If I must catch, I wait till they are in a good spot , then make the room dark. You can walk right over and scoop them up , then put in the cage and turn lights back on.

 

[Cali]

Thank you!!! Great advice about waiting for the evening. I didn't expect him to fly out of his cage, so it was a bit of a surprise - but I'll be more prepared next time.

I received the play stand yesterday, so just need to put it together and give them something to hang out on outside of their cage. I also have a bit more to do [this weekend] to fully bird proof their room.




Tweety seems fine, not giving me dirty looks or anything - but I am sure it was stressful for him. I won't open his cage anymore, when I go home for lunch, until he is target trained or willing to step up on a stick / my finger and let me put him back in..... The office has very light curtains, so it's hard to get it completely dark during the day - but I will try the light thing if needed next time.

 

[Pixiebeak]

I was able to train my untame budgies to return to cage when prompted. It went much quicker than I thought, a few days to a week. They could fly with their arrived clipped feathers tho...nit sure how yours is at flying, but if you g needs the practice.

I used a combination of lure ( miller spray in cage doorway) and gentle herding. I'd use my phrase , time to go back , then I put myself behind them with cage in front of them . I'd move towards them tell they moved away from me in general direction of cage , I'd say good birdie time to go back as they moved towards cage. When they stopped . I move towards them again until they moved again. Lots of praise as they got closer to cage. If they flew away from cage, I position myself behind them again. It took a lot of patience at first. When they land on cage big praise , and I waited till climbed in , big praise closed the door.

Thst went so well , even I got my hands off fearful quaker , I taught her to return to the cage same way .

Most birds will let you rescue them , even if untamed. They freak fly and settle , wait till they settle them walk calm towards them talking softly . Usually will freak fly away again, hold still wait till land , then walk towards them again. They tire very quickly when not used to flying. About 3 fly aways and I can walk up and scoop , or offer hand. Especially if on the floor or in a weird spot .
Often happy to be rescued...

I just don't like birds stuck in cages, some can become cage bound and fearful of new stuff. But that's me , people have success with different ways .

 

[owlsthetic]

Thank you!!! Great advice about waiting for the evening. I didn't expect him to fly out of his cage, so it was a bit of a surprise - but I'll be more prepared next time.

I received the play stand yesterday, so just need to put it together and give them something to hang out on outside of their cage. I also have a bit more to do [this weekend] to fully bird proof their room.

View attachment 438156


Tweety seems fine, not giving me dirty looks or anything - but I am sure it was stressful for him. I won't open his cage anymore, when I go home for lunch, until he is target trained or willing to step up on a stick / my finger and let me put him back in..... The office has very light curtains, so it's hard to get it completely dark during the day - but I will try the light thing if needed next time.

That looks fun! I love to see how everything looks when you have everything set up!

@Pixiebeak I definitely do agree with you about not liking birds being stuck in cages! I think it depends on how stressed and rushed you are to get them in their cages. If I was in a frenzy to get them in then it's a pretty high stress situation and I think birds do pick up on the stress and actually avoid you more. The gentle herding method sound like a neat way though!

Also maybe mornings before they have breakfast is a good time to open the cage and let them explore a bit @Cali ? Since they'll likely to be hungry for breakfast pretty soon and go in by themselves fairly quickly

 

[Cali]

I was able to train my untame budgies to return to cage when prompted. It went much quicker than I thought, a few days to a week. They could fly with their arrived clipped feathers tho...nit sure how yours is at flying, but if you g needs the practice.

I used a combination of lure ( miller spray in cage doorway) and gentle herding. I'd use my phrase , time to go back , then I put myself behind them with cage in front of them . I'd move towards them tell they moved away from me in general direction of cage , I'd say good birdie time to go back as they moved towards cage. When they stopped . I move towards them again until they moved again. Lots of praise as they got closer to cage. If they flew away from cage, I position myself behind them again. It took a lot of patience at first. When they land on cage big praise , and I waited till climbed in , big praise closed the door.

Thst went so well , even I got my hands off fearful quaker , I taught her to return to the cage same way .

Most birds will let you rescue them , even if untamed. They freak fly and settle , wait till they settle them walk calm towards them talking softly . Usually will freak fly away again, hold still wait till land , then walk towards them again. They tire very quickly when not used to flying. About 3 fly aways and I can walk up and scoop , or offer hand. Especially if on the floor or in a weird spot .
Often happy to be rescued...

I just don't like birds stuck in cages, some can become cage bound and fearful of new stuff. But that's me , people have success with different ways .

I don't know for sure, but I suspect the bird farm clipped Tweety ... he isn't really able to fly fly ... his cage sits on a long desk, so he basically jumped out and glided down to the floor, flapping all the way. Once on the floor, he flapped & hopped, flapped and hopped around.... as mentioned, he seemed to enjoy it for awhile.

I will have to put his cage on the floor next time! That way I can try the herd method... otherwise, no way the little guy will make it back up - until he's better at flying.

He basically went under Halo's cage, which is on a stand with a grate along the bottom for supplies... [like the one below] He just sat there ..... hiding.



Maybe he wasn't tired enough to let me rescue him. I shouldn't have rushed him, but I panicked. I work with my husband and have a flexible schedule, so I could have waited longer to scoop him up...



@owlsthetic I think evenings might work better, so I have LOTS of time... I tend to be rushed in the morning and ... not in the best mood of the day..


It won't be long before I only work about 3 days a week, so I'll have 2 weekdays and the weekend to let the birds be out. I'm thinking about getting a dual cage for the office, so I can bring them to work with me on the other days.
It's never too cold here, and that way I could talk to them face to face instead of thru the cam. I'm never sure if that is good - since they look confused .... trying to find me.



Thanks SO much for all the suggestions & input !!!

 

[owlsthetic]

It's never too cold here, and that way I could talk to them face to face instead of thru the cam. I'm never sure if that is good - since they look confused .... trying to find me.

I think it does depend on the bird. Sonny loves it when I talk to him on the cam he'll scoot right up to the camara when I start talking to him while Pico will sometimes indulge me but if he's already preoccupied with something then he'll just ignore me

Here's Sonny scooting up close to the cam today, Pico couldn't be bothered today Lol.

(I wish my petcam could record audio too)

 

[Pixiebeak]

I think it does depend on the bird. Sonny loves it when I talk to him on the cam he'll scoot right up to the camara when I start talking to him while Pico will sometimes indulge me but if he's already preoccupied with something then he'll just ignore me

Here's Sonny scooting up close to the cam today, Pico couldn't be bothered today Lol.

(I wish my petcam could record audio too)

Look at their secret Santa gifts!

 

[owlsthetic]

Look at their secret Santa gifts!

I love it so much!

 

[Cali]

I think it does depend on the bird. Sonny loves it when I talk to him on the cam he'll scoot right up to the camara when I start talking to him while Pico will sometimes indulge me but if he's already preoccupied with something then he'll just ignore me

Here's Sonny scooting up close to the cam today, Pico couldn't be bothered today Lol.

(I wish my petcam could record audio too)

That might be the cutest thing I've ever seen!!! Those eyes!! I couldn't hear anything but he's obviously talking back!

I will keep talking to mine. They look a little confused, but maybe with time they will enjoy it and know the difference.

I'm using a ring cam, not sure it's the best quality.... Need to test it out. Sometimes it seems decent and other times distorted.

What do you use, if I may ask?

Thank you SO much for sharing, that video is heart warming .

 

[Cali]

Ohhh! Tweety flew out of his cage again, so I put the cage on the floor and he went back inside on his own !!!!

I'm so happy!!! He looks happy too.

 

[owlsthetic]

That might be the cutest thing I've ever seen!!! Those eyes!! I couldn't hear anything but he's obviously talking back!

I will keep talking to mine. They look a little confused, but maybe with time they will enjoy it and know the difference.

I'm using a ring cam, not sure it's the best quality.... Need to test it out. Sometimes it seems decent and other times distorted.

What do you use, if I may ask?

Thank you SO much for sharing, that video is heart warming .

Haha he chatters back but no "Merry Christmas"es that's for sure

I'm using the Google nest cam (wired) since we already have a Google doorbell and everything I figured it'd be convenient to have just one app for everything!

I think it's a good idea to test it out. I've tried speaking to through the app in the room so I could hear what it sounds like and it actually beeps to indicate that speaking is on (so it does kind of startle them a bit) and I think the default volume was actually quite loud, I have it on lowest setting now and I still find it to be a bit loud so I usually try to whisper through the cam

Ohhh! Tweety flew out of his cage again, so I put the cage on the floor and he went back inside on his own !!!!

I'm so happy!!! He looks happy too.


View attachment 438187

Yay! Good job Tweety!