Conure hates her new cage

[Citrine]

I need a little advice here.

On Christmas we got our GCC a new, hilariously large, flight cage and she hates it!
We loaded it with treats and food and brand new toys, but she doesn't want to be anywhere near it unless we're in the room.

We tried putting her in it and leaving the room, but she just screams to be let out the whole time she's in it.
She's only been in it quietly long enough to eat a single bit of food and maybe take one sip of water and will start screaming.

Lately she's been a bit hormonal and I wonder if maybe that's contributing?
She's bonded to me and will scream to come sit on my shoulder.
I'm just worried she's not getting enough food or water since she also won't eat if she's out of her cage, only preen.

She recently went to the vet and got a clean bill of health, so at least I know she's not sick.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Edit: Not sure if it would help at all, but she just turned 8 and I've had her ever since she was 3 months old, she's never been so picky about her cage before!

 

[Toy]

If you still have her old cage put it back. I'd place them right next to each other if possible, so she can climb onto it. She needs to get used to it before she accepts it. Think about it this way...in the wild a bird chooses a tree to build it's nest in. Most parrots build nests inside a hollow tree branch or base of the tree. Anyway it flies off to feed & a bad storm hits. Tree is destroyed, gone. So it now has no home, no nest, no safe place. It has to find a new tree, a new safe place, but there's only one left & it's a tiny pine tree. Bird is shocked. It flies around & around looking for a safe place. In time it finally finds one. Same thing with cages. They are your birds home, safe place.

Parrots need to be trained to spend time in their cages & be comfortable with it. The more you allow her on your shoulder the more hormonal she may become, hence you are her mate. So she wants to be with her mate. It may take several days plus of not letting her out at all to accept the fact she won't be let out if she screams. Ignore her screams. Only let her out when she is quiet. Offer toys she can destroy, paper, cardboard, wood, etc. Also only pet her head, neck & feet. Any other place can stimilate them sexually & increase the desire to mate.

 

[Citrine]

If you still have her old cage put it back. I'd place them right next to each other if possible, so she can climb onto it. She needs to get used to it before she accepts it. Think about it this way...in the wild a bird chooses a tree to build it's nest in. Most parrots build nests inside a hollow tree branch or base of the tree. Anyway it flies off to feed & a bad storm hits. Tree is destroyed, gone. So it now has no home, no nest, no safe place. It has to find a new tree, a new safe place, but there's only one left & it's a tiny pine tree. Bird is shocked. It flies around & around looking for a safe place. In time it finally finds one. Same thing with cages. They are your birds home, safe place.

Parrots need to be trained to spend time in their cages & be comfortable with it. The more you allow her on your shoulder the more hormonal she may become, hence you are her mate. So she wants to be with her mate. It may take several days plus of not letting her out at all to accept the fact she won't be let out if she screams. Ignore her screams. Only let her out when she is quiet. Offer toys she can destroy, paper, cardboard, wood, etc. Also only pet her head, neck & feet. Any other place can stimilate them sexually & increase the desire to mate.

Oh sorry, I probably should have specified!

She still has her old cage and we put her in it at night to sleep, she's only in her new cage during the day to nap and eat (or so we hope)
Though the longest she's even been in her new cage is maybe an hour, otherwise she's out on me or my husband.

As for the hormonal behavior our vet has given us some pointers how to avoid it and everything, which we do follow. Though we're all starting to suspect it has something to do with the season changes and the heat/AC kicking on as it happens the same time(s) each year.

But I'll try setting her night cage near the new one and see if that helps, and ignoring her more when she screams. Thank you!

 

[Wardy]

Hello




When both of mine got a cage upgrade i set the new cages up like for like toys and perches and they both went straight in no problem as it was a mirror of there current cage's but larger, a massive change in one go is possibly going to create stress and screaming,
How old is your Cheekie ?

 

[Pixiebeak]

my green cheek once through a fit when I moved her cage! Definitely had her screaming.

Sometimes going slower with transition is really helpful! It's not thst she hates the cage, she is just nervous and uncomfortable with the change.

I'd still her her out.( when you ask a bunch of people you get a bunch of different experiences and ideas, and it can be helpful to have different outlooks, to try and see whst works in your situation ! ) And I would work on postive association with the Cage. I do this with lots of walking to cage step on top of cage get a treat then back to me, repeated throughout day. Then I have them step inside the cage and get a treat abd I tell them how wonderful they are. Then back to me repeatedly through the day. They learn going to the cage doesn't mean they are getting locked inside.

Then I get the most special yummy treat like a slice of apple and out in cage. Then I go get them ask them to step in cage and I close the door. The hope is they go straight to enjoy the yummy . Telling them how awesome and good they are. Then I get them back out before any screaming like right after they finish treat. Then I build on that letting them spend a few minutes longer in the cage each time. I built in a happy cage routine this way. In which they are happy to return to cage. Its something I still do to this day, a random trip to cage to step in for big praise and a treat. Or I just take them over to the top of their cage with some foraging, after we have hung out.

I've found mine are sucker for praise and treats! Flattering them in how brilliant they are to step in the cage for me!

 

[Citrine]

Hello




When both of mine got a cage upgrade i set the new cages up like for like toys and perches and they both went straight in no problem as it was a mirror of there current cage's but larger, a massive change in one go is possibly going to create stress and screaming,
How old is your Cheekie ?

Yeah that's what I'm hoping is it's just a big change! The new cage is literally four times as big as her current one lol
We tried putting some familiar toys in the new cage today and I think it helped a little bit?
She still screamed shortly after to get let out, but she lasted a bit longer than previous days.

And she just turned 8 on December 28th! I've had her since she was about 3-4 months old. When I upgraded her cage previously she didn't have a fit at all about it, but maybe it's just because this new one is HUGE!

 

[Citrine]

my green cheek once through a fit when I moved her cage! Definitely had her screaming.

Sometimes going slower with transition is really helpful! It's not thst she hates the cage, she is just nervous and uncomfortable with the change.

I'd still her her out.( when you ask a bunch of people you get a bunch of different experiences and ideas, and it can be helpful to have different outlooks, to try and see whst works in your situation ! ) And I would work on postive association with the Cage. I do this with lots of walking to cage step on top of cage get a treat then back to me, repeated throughout day. Then I have them step inside the cage and get a treat abd I tell them how wonderful they are. Then back to me repeatedly through the day. They learn going to the cage doesn't mean they are getting locked inside.

Then I get the most special yummy treat like a slice of apple and out in cage. Then I go get them ask them to step in cage and I close the door. The hope is they go straight to enjoy the yummy . Telling them how awesome and good they are. Then I get them back out before any screaming like right after they finish treat. Then I build on that letting them spend a few minutes longer in the cage each time. I built in a happy cage routine this way. In which they are happy to return to cage. Its something I still do to this day, a random trip to cage to step in for big praise and a treat. Or I just take them over to the top of their cage with some foraging, after we have hung out.

I've found mine are sucker for praise and treats! Flattering them in how brilliant they are to step in the cage for me!

That's what we're attempting currently. Her favorite is a piece of dried papaya, but we're getting worried she might be getting too much now! Or maybe that was her plan? lol

I think it might have been a big adjustment and I expected too much from her right away. The new cage is almost 4 times as big as her old cage (that she's sleeping in currently)

 

[Wardy]

It willl aslo depend on the cheekie i have one that willl take on the world my other one will watch the world

 

[Citrine]

Here's her current setup:


1.) is her old cage/night cage (with Roger)


2.) New cage before any toys and perches (with Roger for scale)


3.) New cage currently (without Roger)

 

[Pixiebeak]

She will really grow to love her new big cage!

Happy 8th!!

 

[Wardy]

Nice big cage but i would suggest natural perches v dowel and platform perches are winners with conures.
You might want to consider stainless steel bowls for food and water as well they are easier to clean.
If she is overwhelmed by the cage at the moment remove some of the toys so the cage is less busy, maybe partially cover some of the cage so she has somewhere to tuck herself away so she feels safe.

 

[Citrine]

Nice big cage but i would suggest natural perches v dowel and platform perches are winners with conures.
You might want to consider stainless steel bowls for food and water as well they are easier to clean.
If she is overwhelmed by the cage at the moment remove some of the toys so the cage is less busy, maybe partially cover some of the cage so she has somewhere to tuck herself away so she feels safe.

Thank you for the suggestion!
I know it's hard to see, but she has a lot of natural perches in there with varying sizes for her little feet, we just kept the dowels in as well since she seems to like to chew on them.
As for the stainless steel bowls she has some in her night cage and we put them in the big cage when she's in there. The lil plastic cups are for treats to forage for and sometimes toys lol

Can you suggest a hide that won't make her hormonal?
We had a coconut hut in her night cage and our vet advised us to remove it since she started plucking to use as nest material. She also advised us to stop covering her cage since it was doing the same thing and causing the same issue.

No worries though! Her night cage is actually in our walk-in closet and we close the door at night so it's dark
And she stopped plucking literally as soon as we removed the hut and stopped covering her cage lol

 

[Citrine]

1/06 Update:


If anyone was curious, she's doing better in the new cage day by day.
We have noticed she doesn't completely hate the cage, but she hates being alone!

She'll happily eat and drink and sit quietly in her big cage as long as we stay in the room. But as soon as we leave the room she has a fit!
We tried putting her favorite toys and treats in the cage, she ignores the toys and she'll stay long enough to eat a snack (like 3 minutes), and then scream once she's done lol

We took videos and sent them to our vet, we're waiting for a reply.
Though we assume she might be in a hormonal state and just reaaaaally wants to be with her "mate" (me) since she's gotten very needy suddenly and won't want to hang out with my husband hardly at all (only me)

 

[Wardy]

Can you suggest a hide that won't make her hormonal?

Anything that is dark cavity wise can make hormonal behaivour worse but this is imo the most bird safe hide you can get for your cage Tiki Nook Bamboo Swing ~ Seriously Nutz ~ Small Natural Swings for Small Parrots

I have one myself though both my birds are scared of it but no danger to them

 

[Citrine]

Anything that is dark cavity wise can make hormonal behaivour worse but this is imo the most bird safe hide you can get for your cage Tiki Nook Bamboo Swing ~ Seriously Nutz ~ Small Natural Swings for Small Parrots

I have one myself though both my birds are scared of it but no danger to them

Oh that does look fun! We might need to give it a try. Maybe with two openings it won't feel quite like a good spot to nest for her

 

[Wardy]

Oh that does look fun! We might need to give it a try. Maybe with two openings it won't feel quite like a good spot to nest for her

I know there are a few people here who got one and there conures loved them my two will get under a cuboard but wont go near theres lol

@Macawnutz or @April might know the thread with the pics of the conures in the Nook

 

[April]

I know there are a few people here who got one and there conures loved them my two will get under a cuboard but wont go near theres lol

@Macawnutz or @April might know the thread with the pics of the conures in the Nook

I've got Bosco's in his cage but he hasn't used it yet that I've seen. But I know my previous Conures would have thought this was the coolest thing ever.

 

[April]

I know there are a few people here who got one and there conures loved them my two will get under a cuboard but wont go near theres lol

@Macawnutz or @April might know the thread with the pics of the conures in the Nook

Hmm I think @Teckechick may have posted pics of her babies in the Nook?

 

[Wardy]

But I know my previous Conures would have thought this was the coolest thing ever.

Why do mine hate it

 

[April]

Why do mine hate it

Have you tried putting their favorite treats or toys in there?