how to overcome cage aggression

[Blueberrybird]

I have read many posts on here that say it is best if your bird comes in & out of cage only when owner takes it out. Please give me some insight on how to do this when you have a bird that is very cage aggressive. I would love for mine to step up inside the cage, but when I put my hands in his cage he lunges and bites, HARD! Please help.

[ellieelectrons]

What interactions are you able to have with your bird already? For example, will your bird take treats through the cage bars? Is your bird really tame except when it comes to cage interactions?

When it comes to "rules" like this about training birds, you shouldn't get too hung up on them. They're good as guidelines but won't suit all situations. Each bird is an individual and you need to go with what works for you and your bird.

Ellie.

[Blueberrybird]

Thank you. He will take food from my hands, he snatches it if he's in the cage. If he's on top of the cage I can hold a price of fruit and he will sit there and nibble it. He does target training to a point, but won't follow target to my hand. When I move him from the top of the cage to another room he runs away or flies off the cage, then he will step up from the floor. Then he will usually fly off several times before we get to his stand in the other room, but I think he may just like the fact that he can fly a little now, as his wings are starting to grow, and he's getting stronger. When he lands he stops and waits for me to come pick him up so he can do it again. He is usually very sweet while he is away from his cage, just doesn't like to be held. Now he is becoming a little aggressive on his play stand too. ;( he will not take food from my other hand when I do get him on my finger. Sorry for rambling. I just know my Barry has a lot of potential, I just don't know what I'm doing!! My intention is to make him as happy as possible.

[ellieelectrons]

Thank you. He will take food from my hands, he snatches it if he's in the cage.

We managed to minimize this behavior in Janey by introducing foraging. See this topic for more info:
http://www.indianringneck.com/forum/vie ... =2&t=11701

The basic premise is that birds are born to work for their food. In the wild they spend most of their day looking for food. If we make their food harder to get then suddenly getting food rewards from us is the easiest way to get food.

We have just returned from holidays where our two weren't foraging. I saw janey snatch a treat from my father in law. Now that we are home and foraging has been reintroduced, this behavior has been minimized. She hasn't done it at all since weve been home but I'm sure she will some time. She likes to keep us on our toes!

Also, reserve your birds fav fav foods for rewards to be received directly from you. You can take it one step further and any tasks that you find it hard to get your bird to do, you can reserve extra extra special treats for these tasks. I can sometimes have trouble getting Janey into her cage in the mornings before I need to go out. The last two times this happened, I produced a small chunk of banana and before I even gave the "go to bed" command, Janey was in the cage. Mind you, this was after about three attempts of me trying to put her in there myself.

When I move him from the top of the cage to another room he runs away or flies off the cage, then he will step up from the floor. Then he will usually fly off several times before we get to his stand in the other room, but I think he may just like the fact that he can fly a little now, as his wings are starting to grow, and he's getting stronger. When he lands he stops and waits for me to come pick him up so he can do it again.

You could try offering his fav treats for staying on your arm. Start by giving the treat after one step and gradually over time offer the treat for staying on your arm for longer distances.


Overall, it sounds like you are doing really well. I think your bird is still a little scared of you. Building trust will take time but it will happen if you just go at his pace and use positive reinforcement.

Best wishes.

Ellie.

[Blueberrybird]

Foraging toys have made a huge improvement in my gods behavior! Still cage aggressive though

[Blueberrybird]

Wow! Don't know how fid typed out as gods. That was weird. Stupid auto correct. Foraging has improved my fids behavior!

[evaleen]

at Blueberrybird,
LOL LOL LOL!!!!!!

[pudzia80]

I had this same problem with my IRN named Whiskey,but I solved.He was very aggressive arround his cage-he was very noisy and tried to bite all the time so I went to a vet to clip his wings so He would be more depend of me and also i bought a stand whoch I placed in livingroom.He spends there most of the time so he can see me when I f.e. watch tv ,work at home ect.He watches and hear me(observe me) all the time.For a biggining He didn't like it and tried to escape to his cage,so what I did was just gave to him a food just on the perch(stand) in living room with seeds and fruits+water.I dont give him any food to the cage(just water).After a week I could see the results.It passed about a month now and in the morning when I go to his cage I give him a raisin as a treat so he steps up on my hand and we going to living room where he can eat his breakfast,play with his tys ect.
Funny thing is when the sun goes down Whiskey jumps off the perch and walks himself to his cage and he goes to sleep and when im arround the cage he is very calm and nice to me.He doesnt bite anymore and He is getting chatty-not words yet but bubbeling in his own way.
Best Regards Tuska