Stepping up in cage

[Taxus812]

Wow I have a lot of questions and I'm getting a lot of great help.

We have a rehomed two year old sun conure named Pete. We are working on issues as we notice them. ( we have had him 5 days)

Pete is easy to handle when out of his cage. He readily steps up and will let you scratch him. He is very love able .

Issue I can't get him to step up in the cage. He bites me hard if I'm persistent. The way we get him out is to get him to a perch or up to the top of the cage (it opens). Once there he steps up and is great from that point on.

Do I need to train this out or is it still because we have had him for such a short time ?

Ideas on how approach this?

 

[JLcribber]

The cage is "his" territory that you are invading with your hand. Your not going to train that out of him. It's all about giving "choice". What's wrong with letting him come out on his own and then getting him?

You've only had him 5 days (which to the bird may as well be 0 days). Don't force anything and have patience. The biggest mistake most owners make is to "rush". Things do not happen according to your timetable. Everything happens at the birds pace.

 

[Mizzely]

My Quaker, Jingo, does NOT permit hands in his cage. And why should he? I am invading his turf. Out of the entire house, he gets one cage (well, a whole room, but that is shared by all the birds). For our birds, their cage is their nest, and because they are essentially wild animals still, they have the instincts that nests need to be protected. You are not his mate, and only a mate would be allowed into the nest area.

Take it slow, let him set the pace

 

[Taxus812]

We are of course very green at this stuff. I am worried about establishing routine in these first few weeks.

I seems like if we didn't take him out he wouldn't come out. We eat breakfast together and he needs to poop in the toilet ( he is a sun conure and poops on command ) in the morning.

I was worried if we let him settle into his routine of staying in his cage he would get all messed up

 

[Mizzely]

Just open the door and give him the chance to make a choice. Will he only poop in the toilet That is concerning.

 

[JLcribber]

We are of course very green at this stuff. I am worried about establishing routine in these first few weeks.

I seems like if we didn't take him out he wouldn't come out. We eat breakfast together and he needs to poop in the toilet ( he is a sun conure and poops on command ) in the morning.

I was worried if we let him settle into his routine of staying in his cage he would get all messed up

He wouldn't come out because his whole world has been turned upside down and the only thing he knows and trusts at this point is his cage. As I said 5 days is just a speck of time. It takes weeks/months/years to establish trust and follow routines. Most birds need to poop around every 20 minutes or so you need to take him to the toilet about that often.

The pooping on command and only in the toilet "is" concerning because it can be dangerous for the bird and lead to problems. I would not continue encouraging that and try to let him poop freely when and if he needs to. I know the training for that is already established but personally I would try to change that.

 

[Taxus812]

I want to clarify the poop in toilet statement

This bird poops like a small horse first thing in the morning and it is expelled quite a distance in whatever direction his vent is pointed. I have been told this is normal for a sun conure since they hold it all night. The rest of the day is normal. Pete was trained to poop on command in the toilet for the first poop of the day.

Being new bird owners we were also not sure if this behavior was something to be concerned about since he was ok out of the cage and how we should properly approach it.

 

[Taxus812]

You responded as I was so sorry if my reply seemed redundant . I now have a good idea of how we need to approach it.

 

[Mizzely]

My green cheek also poops like a pistol in the AM. That's just how she is. What happens if for some reason you can't let him out one morning for some reason? What if something happens to you before you can let the next owner know that he has to poop in the toilet? These are the issues that come with pooping on command.

It is perfectly normal for a bird who has just been brought into your home to be nervous and not want to leave the cage for awhile.