Red has spent the last 25 years living more or less on top of his cage instead of in the cage and without a great deal of training. This arrangement suited his previous home perfectly but most potential adopters are going to want to be able to put him in a cage. I was a bit worried about how Red would do being in a cage all day while I am at work. I loaded his cage up with fun things for him to do during the day. He had some foraging toys, wood toys, and some of his favorite rubber toys. What turned out the be the best using Birdie Brackets from Natural Inspirations Bird Cages. They allow you to VERY easily put in and take out 2x4 perches as they just slide in and out. I took the 2x4 and drilled a bunch of different sized holes on it all over. I then stuff the holes with a variety of treats. He has to really work to get the treats out and it occupies him for a long time! And 2x4's are CHEAP and easy!
I have a camera on his cage and checked in often and he seemed very content! No screaming at any of the times I checked in. He was usually involved in playing with a toy of chilling looking out the window. One of the issues though is getting him to go into the cage when needed which I was struggling with getting him to do at night. One of the great things about fostering with PEARL is the support from all of the members. We have a very active chat channel and wide net of parrot experts that are very helpful and suggests different ideas for problems. The answer came in the form of access. The answer was when he comes out of the cage close the door so he cannot get back in. His food and water are in the cage so eventually he is going to want to go back in. So I open the door occasionally and ask him to go in. If he does he gets a jackpot bunch of treats as a reward. It worked great last night!
Last night as I was watching the TV he climbed down the cage and explored the top of my recliner. He would come down for a bit then go back up then repeat and stay on the chair a little longer each time. He started rubbing his beak on the towel I put on the chair.
After a while he got brave and came down onto my lap and sat for some head scratches which it turns out he loves!!