Tips on getting budgie into cage at night?

[Britnicorn]

Phoenix is out of the cage from 10am-12pm until 10pm-11pm. He loves his cage, he will go in there to play a lot throughout the day, but when it’s bedtime he refuses to go in. It usually ends with me grabbing him and placing him in there. I feel real bad because he doesn’t like being grabbed (he doesn’t hate it so much to the point where he’ll hate me for awhile afterwards and he doesn’t even bite me, but he threatens and growls)
I’m hoping to find better ways to get him into his cage? I’ve tried putting millet in there but it doesn’t convince him

 

[Zara]

I had that with a few of my boys when they were younger. Giving me the run around before bedtime

Set up a treat station, maybe a bowl or platform perch. When it is bedtime, put a treat in that area while he can see, and see if he goes in after it. If not, place him in the cage, and then immendiately drop the treat at the treat station. It´s gotta be something he enjoys. Limit treats for the last hour of out of cage time before bed.
You can say something like ¨bedtime¨ when you drop the treat so eventually he will learn that ¨bedtime¨ means that the treat will appear there.
Give a good size treat like a nutriberry or a chunk of millet or something, not just one measely seed.

 

[Azor]

You can have a smaller "sleep cage" beside the bed. If he knows he has more options maybe?

 

[tka]

Yep, bribery.

At the moment, bedtime is an unpleasant experience for him. You have to make him think he's hit the jackpot whenever he goes into his cage for bed Work out whether there's a really, really high value treat that he only gets in his cage, and only offer that treat to him at bedtime in his cage. A piece of sliced almond, a piece of walnut, a nutriberry...it has to be something that he really, really enjoys, otherwise he won't feel that the reward is enough to overcome the fact that going into his cage for bed isn't something he wants to do.

 

[donutweall]

Some things that helped for me...

1. Changing the cage setup. The "old" cage didn't have doors that I could leave open, and was a lot smaller. New cage's door is open all day, and he can go in and out as he pleases (and there are lots more fun toys to entice him back). Previously, he STRONGLY associated the cage with "you're going to leave me now" and not even millet was worth the tradeoff to him.

2. Start dimming the lights in preparation for bedtime. I noticed that he'd go into the cage as dusk started falling if I didn't turn on any lights. But obviously I don't want to go to bed at 7PM, so I replicate the feeling with dimming the lights about 30 minutes before I want him to settle down for the night. Now he will even scold me ACK ACK ACK if I'm not going to bed "properly" when it's getting dim haha.

3. Experiment with covering or NOT covering. I was covering the cage at first, but then realized he much preferred to stay uncovered (less resistant to going to bed).

 

[sunnysmom]

I find it helpful to put a bird in his cage BEFORE his bedtime. I tired bird is a cranky bird. And a cranky bird is a difficult one. So if I want my bird to be in bed by 9:00. He goes in his cage at 8:30. And then I do whatever that bird's bedtime routine is. For the tiels, it's singing some songs, etc. For Elvis, we have bedtime snacks. But I think a routine is important too- something to make going back to the cage pleasant and spending time with them. So the bird doesn't equate "cage" with you going away right away.

 

[Britnicorn]

Thank you everyone, I’ll try everything and see if it works!!

 

[mak]

Maybe you could try playing with one of the toys in his cage. When he sees you playing he might decide to come in and join you.

 

[Shezbug]

Always a huge reward and big praise so they feel like yelling BINGO for getting re caged lol. The cage has to be an awesome place for them.
Burt never really gets his absolute favourite foods (nuts in shell, plain ice cream cone, dried fruit etc) unless he’s inside his cage so I nearly always can put him back in there even if it’s only been 15mins that he’s been out. He nearly trips over his own toes trying to get back into the cage when he sees I’ve got one of his fav foods in my hand. I’ve learned I need to be extra thoughtful and careful about when I touch any of those fav foods or Burt does the bolt back to his cage and refuses to come out till he gets the yummy thing

 

[Lady Jane]

Dimming lights is a good idea. Do it gradually and routinely. There are dimmer switches.

 

[DesertBird]

Have you tried using target training to get him into the cage? My budgies love to run after the stick so much that it has become a game, so if he thinks he's playing, then he won't think about having to go to bed.

 

[Britnicorn]

Have you tried using target training to get him into the cage? My budgies love to run after the stick so much that it has become a game, so if he thinks he's playing, then he won't think about having to go to bed.

I'm still trying to target train him but so far he will only land on one of his perches that sit on the inside of the door of his cage, but he refuses to do it at all when its time for bed lol he knows its time

 

[Britnicorn]

Wow thank you guys so much I only tried a few of the easier tricks last night before going full hog on him and he went to bed without a fuss or a squawk! I turned down the lights and he started getting sleepy so I put millet on his platform perch, he went to it and he let me shut the door without freaking out

thanks again!! I hope eventually I can teach him to go to his cage automatically when I say “Bedtime!”