# How Do You Get Your Bird Back in the Cage?



## Annie

Well, last night it finally happened. I was unable to get Sunny back inside his cage NO MATTER WHAT so we played this big cat and mouse game in my room where I tried to catch him with a towel but couldn't, and I tried to lure him down with everything from millet to yoghurt drops but he would have none of it, and he deliberately flew to a very high place in my room so I could not get him  and finally I had to get his grandpa to come and throw a towel over him to get him back inside the cage. Before, I could always lure him down with food. I'd hate to have to play this big cat and mouse drama every night from now on to get him back inside his cage. :wacko: He makes it look like I'm trying to kill him! What do you do to get your birds back inside the cage and what should I do now to avoid this from happening again? I'm just worried now that Sunny will do this every night knowing that he can get away with it (at least for a little while).


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## MeanneyFids

im wondering if maybe you clip his wings temporarily so you can get him calmed down enough to get into a routine that doesnt include chasing.... then after he improves you can let him grow the flights back in. thats your decision tho.

maybe you should buy a bird net but to me even that sounds mean....

im not sure. i dont have this problem yet but i can easily see it happening with tsuka.


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## lperry82

I don't have a problem as they seem to go in fine but a few times they tried to run up my arm to get back out


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## birdlover4life

Finn cant fly but he gives me trouble going back, he runs up my arm so fast it takes a few tries.


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## allen

a couple things i do is 

1) i go and buy a bird net but rarely use it 

2) when i have one of my birds on my finger i back them in the cage backwards and close the door fast


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## elenafan23

If I can't get mine in I turn off the lights then I get them and put them back in usually they step up or I will spray them with water to make them heavier. And can't fly as high.


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## Duckybird

I know it sounds mean, but I would clip Sunny's wings a bit and get him stepping up better. There is no real permanent solution except respecting and reinforcing the step up command. Chasing or luring with food will only work so long.


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## Annie

Thank you all who replied. However, I just cannot bring myself to clip Sunny's wings. I tried to convince myself but I just can't. It's just too cruel. Imagine if you can fly and someone takes away that ability, and you don't know that the feathers will grow back again so you think you can never fly again for life? I think it's just too traumatizing. I will have to wait and see if this persists as it hasn't happened often, but if it does then maybe I will have to get a bird net as allen suggests, or turn off the lights next time to catch him. Usually at night I just wait for him to get into the cage himself for a snack or a drink of water, then close the cage. I will try to stick with that from now on.


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## Lilly

I have no trouble with Aggro. He's always eager to get back in his cage to see his girlfriend in the mirror.
Lilly usually protests but she can't fly yet (She had clipped wings when I got her and they haven't grown back yet) so I manage to get her in the cage and I put her on a high perch so my arm's too steep for her to slide down. Otherwise she just walks out of the cage again.
Would leaving him in that room and ignoring him help?


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## clawnz

I would not clip unless there is very good reason.

Ok! At the rescue we will use nets to catch a free bird or use a towel to catch them. That's if they are well enough to fly. If not you only have to corner them and pick them up.
And you do not have to catch them in the towel, just use it to sheppard them back in.
Zambezze will bite if you try to take him off me to put him away, but show him a towel and he will go back in nice and quiet like. He does step up, but does not like to go in his cage at any time. And will do a runner, he is kept clipped all the time. He was clipped when he was released to us, and his special treats are he gets to play with all the visitors. Allowed to come shopping. He has never known what it is like to fly, so we like to think it is not so hard on him.

And remember treats do work. Sometimes


At home because my birds are free all the time, and none step up on command. I use a net to catch them. Ok it does still them up a bit, but they get over it very quickly. I.E. Rikki will be back on me with-in the hour. Tinkerbell gets the most upset, even though I am not chasing her. As soon as the net comes out they 'Do Know" what is coming.


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## Annie

Ha ha, tonight I closed the cage door on Sunny when he went back inside just to sit awhile. He was so mad he shook the life out of his disco ball while making angry hisses! He always abuses the disco ball to show me he is upset. Well what can I do.


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## brittbritt

My budgies are the best at going up when it's time. I have one of the rods from my mini blinds I use. When it's time I gently heard them with it behind them. I don't touch them with it just kind of nudge them along. They all know what it means and mama means business. One of my slightly handicapped budgies has learned mama will pick him up with it when he falls off the cage and needs help back up. 

Luckily Moonshine is usually pretty easy to get up as I just do my fingers like I do when I'm going to pet her. She gets excited to get more lovins from me and runs down for me to pick her up. 

Midori came to me and I believe her to be much older than Moonshine. She was never given out of cage time at her previous home by seeing her have flying troubles and scared of coming out most of the time. I usually have to get the "bird stick" out and sometimes she will step up to it. Occasionally she will step up on my hand if she's flew off and is where she can't fly back soon. 

My newest baby Martini, who is about 12 weeks old now has started coming out of the cage by himself almost every time I leave the door open for him. Sometimes he will wander back in by himself. I usually have to use the bird stick to get him to fly where I can reach him. I then scoop him up with both hands. He won't step up yet so I cup one hand over his wings and then make him step up even though he doesn't like it. 

My bird stick is pretty handy to use as I can reach the birds even if they land on my curtains.


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## Duckybird

Clipping wings is cruel, but catching with a net is not? That blows my mind. I've caught plenty of birds with nets, and I find it incredibly traumatizing. Our aviary birds NEVER got used to it. I would never chase one of my babies with a net. Period. I clipped Ducky's wings last night as he's been getting very bratty the past few weeks. Callie's were clipped when we rescued her, and I will keep hers like that a little while longer, as she is making great strides in taming. I didn't clip Ducky's severely, he's very strong and still can glide, and I spent time with him last night showing him his new boundaries. He quickly grasped that he could only fly shorter distances, and did not seem perturbed at all. I would rather be able to handle my birds, and reward good behavior, than have to chase them around the house and constantly fuss at Ducky for nipping, snapping, or not stepping up. Just my two cents.


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## Clawsworth

I would NOT use a bird net or towel to get him back in the cage. The best thing to do is completely ignore him and not give him any attention -- he probably enjoys all of the drama that goes along with his nightly routine. The attention that you are giving him (even though it isn't always positive) still reinforces his behaviour. Try walking away, ignoring him, and let him come down on his own. Then once he comes down give him a treat inside his cage.

Good luck!


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## Belinda

Yeah I agree with Clawsworth. You don't want to turn it into a nighty cat and mouse chase game. Unless he is somewhere dangerous, ignore him - make him know you're not impressed and just leave him be. He'll hate being alone. When he's ready to come to you again (even if it takes an hour) let him know he was good and give him a treat and put him back in the cage. If you towel him he will see you as a threat and you may have other trust problems.


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## cookiemonster

Clipping a bird's wing isn't cruel at all. It's not traumatizing (if she trust people and being held) and doesn't hurt a bit just like having your haircut. What does hurt is flying into windows and into walls and fans. Of course you don't HAVE to clip it's wings, but it helps with training and sometimes a (male) bird can have dominance issues with you and believe they are superior because they can get higher than you can.

Also, I agree with turning off the light! Turn off the light for like, 5 minutes and your bird will calm down. Just don't step on him! 

I like how birds that are spoiled act like they are neglected and abused when its cage time.


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## olive juice

I struggled with this with Echo for awhile. He would REFUSE to get back in his cage and would fly away from me every time I got near. I liked having him fully-flighted because he's always been a strong and accurate flier, but I decided to temporarily clip his flight feathers. Not being able to fly delivers the message that the bird is dependent on you, and therefore, less likely to...well, be such a brat. It worked for Echo. 

There are still times where he flies away and dodges me. Sometimes, if I can, I just leave him alone until he calms down and will step up on my hand. Other times I can trick him onto my hand and quickly get him back in the cage before he flies away again. I very rarely have to get out the towel anymore ever since that one (and only) time I clipped his feathers.

Edit to say: It's NOT cruel. It's not as if clipped birds can't fly whatsoever. They can, just not very far. Trust me, Echo is much happier when he is complacent...not stressed-out, flying all around the room and getting scared of me and everything around him. It's better for him and for our relationship for him to think he needs me. 
Furthermore, I always kept the wings of my first cockatiel clipped. He was not a strong flier. Flying actually terrified him because he never learned how to land properly and would simply crash into things to stop himself. I tried to give him opportunity to become a stronger flier but over the years he never improved. That's DANGEROUS and to keep him safe, I clipped his feathers most of the time.


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## Kaoru

please try not to chase him.
when we had Aiko for about 2 months she had a period where she did not want to back in the cage, and whe thought we had no choice but to chase and catch her and she got very scared of our hands! try giving him something small he likes to eat (like a sunflower seed or a little treat) when you can put him in the cage. with or without a "fight''. it worked perfectly here, Aiko does (naturally  ) not like being put in the cage, but does not make a big fuss out of it because she knows she gets a treat every time.
try making the room dim so he gets sleepy  I think totally dark makes the bird just more anxious. 
good luck


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## KateBascombe

I just had Rob's wings clipped last week. Before that is was impossible to get near him, now that he's realized he's going to need my help if he's on the floor he steps up nicely on my hand until he's high enough to get where he wants to be. No more fights to get in the cage at night, no more him taking off when I ask him to do something he doesn't want. I won't keep them clipped forever, I loved having him fly around. But until he's trained more it's been a godsend.


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## Belinda

Hey Annie, also just wanted to say that my tiel has a disco ball she likes to throttle too when in a bad mood haha, it's like a little punching bag.


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## jc119007

I rarely have trouble getting Kikou back into her cage but sometimes she is abit of a brat, when she's feeling up to it she will step up then go for a zoom around the room before coming back to land on me. I will then of course try to get her to step up but then she takes off again, and the cycle will continue if I let her. I found an easy trick so she doesn't get into in the habit of doing this, after her second fly-by as soon as she steps up I put the thumb of the same hand that she's sitting on on her foot to stop her from flying away- it doesn't hurt, the first few times she squarked in surprise to find herself "tethered" to my hand but now whenever I do it she knows not to fly off my hand, she will sit quietly on my hand so I can put her back in the cage. It hasn't made her afraid of my hands either. In fact, it was my vet who showed me this trick and I only use it when she's being overly bratty and I need to get her back in her cage. Thought it might help if Sunny steps up ok but flies away again, you can only try and see if it works...


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## clawnz

Have you worked in a rescue where birds are always getting out of a box or cage when trying to clean feed or medicate them? These are wild and caged birds.
How would you try and catch them?
We worked with over a thousand birds last month alone.
I can handle most of our caged birds we have at any one time, and may get around 5 or 6 diff out a day to exercise. Yes they do fly off of me and we have to get them back in the cage sometime. I do not care, I would rather they fly.
Which does bring up another point.
How unfit a lot of the escapee's are when we get them in, and how much better they are after just a few flights around the bird room. 
Are you saying I am doing the wrong thing? I should leave these poor little sods in a cage day after day, with no interaction?
Taking a bird with a net or towel if done right, works and they recover from that far quicker (Like a few mins) than not being able to fly. Remember Teils are prey and only know to fly away from danger. They do not know how to stand and fight. So what happens when they cannot fly? Panic.
You could liken it to be on a train track and one foot is tied and there is a train coming. How would you feel?
If you are *traumatizing* your birds, it is the way you are going about it. We do not panic a bird where possible, same as taking birds out of a cage. Some people have the wrong approach. I can take nearly all the birds out of the cages without getting a bite. Why? I am guessing that it is my presence, they can sense that I pose them no threat. Again if they start to get over excited walk away, let them settle and then try again. This does work.
If you do this with care and take your time, it can be done without all the panic you are seeing. *NEVER CHASE A BIRD to the point that it is in blind panic*. We just walk away and let them settle then go try again. Even the wild birds will settle and come out of hiding, then we trap them in a corner and yes we use a net or nets to get them.

It is well proven clipping does not stop a small bird from flying away. Over the last year I can say it is the clipped escapee's that seem to die. At least the ones that can fly may go to an aviary for food or even come down to a human for food.
And yes I can point you to a forum where you can read the mental effects of clipping has on a bird. Those owners will tell you how much better their bird is now it can fly. I will not go into the health and well being of a flighted bird.

As for my own birds The do come to me when they want, of their own free will. And these are all re homes or rescues. Well except for Tinkerbell, and she came to me in a mess and may well stay that way forever, thanks to her past owner. But even she will not bite me if I have to get hold of her, like for vet visit. She is the only one I take to the vet in a box, the rest ride free not caged or boxed.




Duckybird said:


> Clipping wings is cruel, but catching with a net is not? That blows my mind. I've caught plenty of birds with nets, and I find it incredibly traumatizing. Our aviary birds NEVER got used to it. I would never chase one of my babies with a net. Period. I clipped Ducky's wings last night as he's been getting very bratty the past few weeks. Callie's were clipped when we rescued her, and I will keep hers like that a little while longer, as she is making great strides in taming. I didn't clip Ducky's severely, he's very strong and still can glide, and I spent time with him last night showing him his new boundaries. He quickly grasped that he could only fly shorter distances, and did not seem perturbed at all. I would rather be able to handle my birds, and reward good behavior, than have to chase them around the house and constantly fuss at Ducky for nipping, snapping, or not stepping up. Just my two cents.


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## clawnz

Iwould like to mention another way if they are semi tame.

If the bird will sit on you walk it to a small room like a toilet or wash room and catch it there then take it back to the cage. Use your hands if they do not bite.
Otherwise please use a towel or net. Trust me they do not stress much or for very long.

As we deal with a lot of wild birds you have to know what to use, and watch for. I.E. beaks or claws. Once you have had a Tui's claws in you, you will remember not to let them do that again. holding a tensed up bird waiting for it to relax, so it's nails can be worked out of your flesh is not good and very very painful. I have been there, trying to be nice while checking the Tui for external damage. 7mins later it relaxed enough and the fine needle nails were coaxed out.


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## olive juice

clawnz said:


> It is well proven clipping does not stop a small bird from flying away. Over the last year I can say it is the clipped escapee's that seem to die. At least the ones that can fly may go to an aviary for food or even come down to a human for food.
> And yes I can point you to a forum where you can read the mental effects of clipping has on a bird. Those owners will tell you how much better their bird is now it can fly. I will not go into the health and well being of a flighted bird.


If I looked, I'm sure I could show you places where people talk about how much better their birds are with clipped wings.

This debate always seems to be really heated, but it's silly because there's no right or wrong side. It's a matter of preference, firstly, and secondly depends on each specific bird.

Either way, clipping or not clipping is not going to traumatize a bird as long as it has a healthy lifestyle (no severe clipping, isn't left in the cage all day, doesn't smash itself into walls and ceilings, etc etc etc..).


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## clawnz

I was not trying to get into a debate on clipping.
We all have different views on the Pros and Cons!
I was just pointing out the truth about escaped birds. From the rescue point of view. If a bird is handicapped in the wild it will not last long. Hawks and Black back gulls just love cleaning up this sort of food. Where flighted can at least fly away.

Your bird that smashes it's self into walls, is proberly because it was clipped when it was very young and cannot now make those brain connections to think on the wing. Hence when it panics it flies into things. And is now handicapped for life. And must always be clipped. There are exceptions, but you will find these are very few.
A flighted bird from birth can, does and will learn to fly around things. Sure there will be accidents. Tiels can be clumsy at the best of times Flighted or Non flighted.

Yes1 There is a right and wrong side. And it depends on the owner not the bird.
This comes up time and time again, but if you look back it nearly always is what some human has done, not the birds fault at all. 

Please take time out and read the article on Steve Hartmans Parrot 
University.
My 5x Fids Fly in an area with over 60 panes of glass, and they are very healthy and good at flying, and well socialized. These were older birds and had to learn what not to fly into. 

Here is a picture of Rikki, who came to me as a rescue. Nobody could handle, as she attacks them. I catch her in a net all the time. Does she look freaked out? NO! She flies to me all the time of her own free will not because she wants to get somewhere and I have to take her there. 'Free Will' is a big winner in my book.
Ok so she is not a Tiel. She in technical terms, should be a lot harder to control than a Tiel. They are very hard to keep tame, and go wild real quick after they grow up. That is why they sell them here for $25nz. I won her heart by being nice to her and giving her respect. But still give her the net treatment now and then, Sometimes I can trap her and just use my hands to get her. Most times it is the net.












olive juice said:


> If I looked, I'm sure I could show you places where people talk about how much better their birds are with clipped wings.
> 
> This debate always seems to be really heated, but it's silly because there's no right or wrong side. It's a matter of preference, firstly, and secondly depends on each specific bird.
> 
> Either way, clipping or not clipping is not going to traumatize a bird as long as it has a healthy lifestyle (no severe clipping, isn't left in the cage all day, doesn't smash itself into walls and ceilings, etc etc etc..).


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## Amber77

Hi annie 

I always use a branch
All my birds are trained on this branch and they need only my commando. 
I have no problems with this method and it is routine to use this branch every evening. 
Before they return to the aviary I provide new food and speak with my birds.


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