This evening Coyote did that thing where he flew from one area to the next to keep from having to step up because he didn't want to go back in his cage. This went on for an embarrassingly long amount of time. It got to the point where I was hollering at him that he was going to get a clip.

I, um, didn't find it un-funny when he finally lost his grip on a precarious perch and couldn't right himself in time to fly off. It wasn't in any way unsatisfying at all.

It IS pretty funny when birds make mistakes.

Rocko and Loki dont have any problems going back in the cage.

Especially when they're being total turds. This is the first time he's done that to me. I always thought it sounded really irritating... well now I need wonder no more! It IS exactly as irritating as I thought.

The budgies sort of do their version of that but it's not nearly as frustrating because it's understandable, they're not tame at all. They're little wild hooligans. But Coyote? Man, he was just pulling a jerk move this evening. Then he fell and had to rely on me to rescue him, snicker snicker.

Coyote has never had an issue with it before. I mean, he may have protested a tiny bit but he never actively flew away from me before. I don't know what was going through his mind but once he got into the mode of "must fly away from human", that was it. He was flying the heck away from that human (me!)

If he starts making a habit of doing this, you can use a little "going in the cage is rewarding" training by giving him a little treat, either right after he goes in the cage or when you're about to put him in. It's also helpful to sometimes put him in the cage (delivering the reward at the optimal time) but leave the door open so he can come right back out again if he wants to. If a bird knows that going in the cage always means he's going to be locked up, there's an obvious disadvantage to going in. But if he's not sure what's going to happen he'll tend to resist it less.

When Shodu was young she was an expert at resisting the cage, but she's very food driven so I had a way to make it worth her while. It always worked better to give her the treat before I put her in. If I put her in first she'd come dashing right back out before I had time to give her the treat. If I gave her the treat right before I put her in, it would keep her busy long enough for me to close the cage door.

Most annoying..... LOL.. but aren't they clever birds to drive us nuts on times....

I know what you mean. It is very annoying. Are you going to clip his wings?

most of my birds wouldn't let me pick them up to take them to cage at night, but they don't mind going in on their own at all. It may take them a few moments to realize what the human wants but after it happened, it's usually a matter of minutes to have all 10 inside. I mean the good-night time.

That does sound fustrating