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How to make out of cage time safer?

1K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  blueskies 
#1 ·
Cilantro's gotten to the point where she's really comfortable with us and loves to be out of her cage. We'd love to have her out all day when we're home but she's really fond of being on the ground, despite being fully flighted. I know it's really dangerous for her but she just isn't willing to stay on the various stations we have set up for her.

We have a window perch, a small play stand, toys on top of her cage, and we also offer our chair backs when we're playing/working on the computer. She's willing to go to all of these stations but she won't usually stay for very long. Her default is to go back to the ground to forage and wander. 🙄

We'd like her to stay off the ground and fly herself from station to station if she wants to be out of the cage. How do I train that in her? I looked up station training and it seems helpful, but it seems like it's more for getting a bird to stay put for a short amount of time.

We've tried to entice her to stay on her various stations by setting up foraging toys and other toys but she isn't much into toys yet and once she's done with the treats/food, she goes back to the ground. How do we keep her safe and happy while she's out of the cage??
 
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#2 ·
Yikes! I've never had that problem with any of the many budgies I've had over the years.
Do you provide things on the play stand that she can forage for?
Can you maybe put a tray on a table as well with a few seeds so she'll go to it instead of the floor?

Hopefully, one of the other staff members will have more ideas to help with this issue.
I will flag this thread so they will be sure to see it.
 
#3 ·
I have never had this problem either, what is on the floor where she goes, is it carpet, wood, vinyl etc.? Since you have already tried various station set ups I wonder if you were to duplicate the floor material in one of the stations if that would attract her there. Was she conditioned to go to the floor by people playing with her there initially, if so then it has become a learned behavior, or did she always just choose that area?
 
#4 ·
@FaeryBee Thanks for helping me flag the other staff members! We hide/scatter the seeds around the play stand and hang foraging toys on the window perch. She loves searching for the seeds but once they’re gobbled up, she loses interest and it’s back to the floor.

@Cody ACK! 😱 Now that you ask, it seems that we HAVE been unintentionally conditioning her to go to the floor! My kids like to hang out on the floor a lot so I think Cilantro got in the habit of flying down to the ground to get closer to them. Eek! I didn’t even connect the two. I thought she liked the floor because of her natural budgie instinct to forage on the ground. 🤦🏽‍♀️ Her favourite thing to do on the floor is to forage for any seeds/pellets that fell from her cage.

The floor is carpeted. I have some small squares of carpet I can try to place at one of her stations. Is there anything else I can do to discourage her from going to the floor or to coax her to stay at her stations?
 
#5 ·
I would suggest that if Cilantro goes to the floor, have one of the kids move her back up to one of the play stations.
Start having all interactions with Cilantro, when she is out of her cage, take place when she is safely on one of the stations, chair back or table.
Have the kids sit up off the floor close to the play stations so they can interact with her there.
At this point, your goal is to condition her to want to be UP so she can interact with the family, rather than down on the floor to interact with them. ;)
 
#8 ·
So I have an update. We've cut out all playtime on the floor and we've also been clicker training and giving treats at each of her stations/our fingers/portable perches. She's done really well hopping/flying from one station to another. BUT when she's in her foraging mood, she's like a magnet to the floor and refuses to step up so we can move her off the floor! 😲

We've had a little bit of success luring her with treats, and clicker training her to hop onto a perch. But if she's in foraging mode, she just hops right back off again and onto the floor. We don't want to chase her, as she moves so fast, we know it's an accident waiting to happen. So we feel kind of stuck - we have to basically wait it out until she decides to hop on the perch or our finger.

Any other tips for getting her to come off the floor when she refuses to?
 
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