Battle of wills

[Janet]

Hi,

My two lutinos have recently started to fly after their wing feathers grew back in. I was going to have them clipped but my avian vet asked me to give them a go flying. In general they are doing well but it has now become a battle of wills when it is time to put them back in their cage. I used to be able to get them to step up and I would just carry them to their cage. Even after they started flying they still did this. But more recently they step up and then fly away when they realise where I am going to take them. They are happy in their cage and they have lots of things to do. They sometimes even fly in there themselves. They also happily climb all over me and are quite affectionate. But they are getting more and more used to having things their own way when it comes time to go back into their cage.

How do I train them to go back to their cage so we don't have this stressful time when I am running late for work? They have always been let out of their cage first thing in the morning. They have a play for about an hour then I put them back in with their breakfast and I head off to work or do other things (such as have my own breakfast - if I eat while they are out they want to share and I ended up with a yoghurt faced bird which was quite funny).

Can someone help please? I have tried enticing them with toast (their favourite thing after pomegranates and anything they shouldn't have) but they are smart enough to realise what I am doing.

Help!

[clear]

Hi , it takes time in training you have to do the same thing at the same time , with little rewards it works wonders,but they will come around just keep doing what you are doing and in no time they will have you eating out of THERE beaks ..,

[pinkdevil]

Maybe you could try pretending to put them back in their cage every now and then. Like when it gets close to bed time, do your normal routine of getting them to you and stepping up etc, then as you approach the cage and they think they are going to be locked up, put them ontop of the cage and give them a treat, or just stand there etc.

I had this problem with a few babies I raised last year. They worked out that bedtime was near and flew off as I was just about to pop them away. What worked for me was having them step up then walk over to their cage all the while giving them their fav treat, (capsicum for a couple of them), then I just popped them ontop of the cage and left them to it. I did this a few times before actually putting them to bed. Another thing I did with one was the same step up routine and show fav treat, but popped him in the cage backwards so he didn't see the door as he was too busy feeding his face lol.

Good luck

[Mjay]

I am in no way an expert on IRN'S, but my cheeky little bugger Indy often flies away when he knows he is going back in his cage, i cup my hand over his wings (not tight), just so he can't stretch them out, then he gets a kiss and a good boy, i am lucky though that i can reach him at his fav spot too! i am planning on clipping his wings soon as he has been flying for around 1 month now, good luck with the training.

[leo]

for mine, i trained tango the trick go home and will go home by herself when i say go home...

but usually she will not enter the cage, she will just go to the top of the cage and wait for me...when i come and take a sunflower seed then she will go in and waitign for hei reward as a good girl...

treat will work really well, followed with comand...they will understand that if they go in to the cage they will get treat

[laine]

Although Smokey is generally very good at going back to his cage without a treat, lately at night he won't go to bed. As soon as he sees I am packing up my laptop he runs behind his cage, where he knows I can't get him. It is funny because he drops his head right down and starts running. He is fully flighted at the moment but doesn't fly away - just runs. If I do manage to entice him with a treat, as soon as he nears the cage, then he flies off. I sometimes have to lightly cup his back to stop the wings extending and give him a scratch and tickle before putting him to bed. He has become cheekily naughty at bed time just lately.

[Dolphinheart]

Laine sounds like smokey has mad a game out of going to bed-lol