Considering going cageless...

[benicongo]

So my 7 month old GW Orion has been with us for 3 months now and the past couple of days I've been considering giving her a cageless lifestyle.
She is fully flighted and her cage is in my bedroom as it's the safest place in the house for her so she hangs out with me in there for most of the time I'm home. Because the cage is in my bedroom I can't upgrade it to a huge one in the future as then there would be no room for her to play outside of it, so I've been considering the option of going cageless.
My only concern is that because I don't work from home then I will be gone for a few hours each day, so she will be unsupervised. I am definitely going to be buying / building a large playstand for her (she has a small one at the moment, it's pretty boring), but of course there's no guarantee she'll stay on it when I'm not watching!
Anyone have any tips or advice on any training and bird-proofing I can do? Anything I should be cautious of? Not 100% on if I could do this but I'd rather she had as much space as I can provide.

 

[LordTriggs]

imo unless you have a specific bird room that is 100% safe I would not allow any bird let alone a greenwing be free-roaming especially if you want to have walls left when you come home.

Is there a particular reason her cage needs to be in your room? Being in the living room would be a better option if possible. Also don't forget it's only been 3 months so they could easily get a bit more comfortable and begin pushing their limits

 

[Kiwibird]

My 19 y/o amazon is "free roaming" (although he does have a cage he often does choose to be in, but he isn't locked in). He has been for several years and has not yet done anything wrong when out unattended. Thats said, it was something that evolved organically, it was never our intention rather a result of our hard work teaching him and his luck of having a individual personality conducive with not needing an eagle eye on him at all time. He was also past puberty and settled into his fully matured adult personality. It took many years for our bird to reach a level of self control/understanding of our rules for him before we could trust him to be out without supervision. It also takes dedication on our part in being continually diligent about things like keeping the toilet seat down, unplugging cords, hiding potential hazards like pens or scissors etc... And there is ALWAYS a risk, there is no such thing as a 100% bird proof or bird safe home. Human homes are inherently dangerous to parrots, from the materials they're built with to our furnishings and necessities.

Personally, I think your bird is far too young to be free roaming. You also haven't said whether or not you are completely dedicated to never having predatory pets (dogs, cats, ferrets, large snakes etc...)? You cannot have a free range parrot and an animal with a prey drive in the same home, no matter how "well trained" you think the predatory animal may be. You do not yet have a real gauge of her trustworthiness and level of obedience that she will stay in her area. She will most likely get herself into trouble and/or destroy the house. Not saying that in the future you may not find there is no need to cage her, but for right now it would be too big a big risk IMO. Let it be a natural process (if she is an individual suited to being free roaming). And remember, not every individual parrot is suited to being free unsupervised. Some are simply too naughty and should be caged for their own safety when no one is able to supervise and/or simply never learn not to chew up the house (parrots can cause extensive damages to homes and not all will learn what they aren't allowed to chew). Also don't forget, being your bird is so young you still have the onset of puberty and a few challenging years as her hormones settle down to look forward to in the next 5-7 years. Birds can undergo profound changes during that time and many owners often find themselves needing to re-visit basic training. How would a bird accustomed to being free all day feel being caged for the first time because she feels the drive to nest for the first time and starts chewing up furniture or windowsills? Would it not be better for her to have never known that level of freedom until after her hormones have settled down and she is a mature adult?

 

[SailBoat]

I am in full agreement with Kiwibird regarding Free Roaming Parrots. It is a process that not unlike a Parrot being on one's shoulder, its earned.

Age is very important!

 

[itzjbean]

Also in agreement with the other posts above. No house is safe wit a young mac walking around unsupervised, and you should be caging your Greenwing when you are not home at this time. Its for their own safety. Over time you can work with your Greenwing to be left out for longer and longer, I know there are some birds that sleep on their play stands, you'll need to be able to trust your bird (wait at least a year or two) before you should think about that.

 

[benicongo]

Thank you for your replies and advice!
I think I will wait until her hormones are settled and her personality fully shows until I see if she can be cageless, then. Of course some days she's completely calm and doesn't destroy or go after a thing, others she's just a bit crazy haha. Of course I can trust her for maybe 5 - 10 minutes at a time but who knows what she could do if I leave her any longer.
She would never have full complete roam of the house (the poor house wouldn't stand a chance) so I'll be trying to find somewhere to move in the future so she can have her own room instead as it will be better for the health of both of us.
The reason her cage is in my bedroom is because it's where I spend most of my time and where the best view of the outside world is (she loves watching what's going on). Our neighbours also smoke outdoors often and if we leave the back door open on a warm day sometimes the smoke gets in to the living room so I'd rather she was away from that.
But again thank you for your replies and advice!

 

[Kiwibird]

You will have PLENTY of time to get to know her and her personality before she is a mature adult. I think you're making the right choice for the right now

 

[benicongo]

Thank you! It's amazing how much you can learn about them in 3 short months, can't wait to find out what a few years will bring

 

[Birdman666]

imo unless you have a specific bird room that is 100% safe I would not allow any bird let alone a greenwing be free-roaming especially if you want to have walls left when you come home.

Is there a particular reason her cage needs to be in your room? Being in the living room would be a better option if possible. Also don't forget it's only been 3 months so they could easily get a bit more comfortable and begin pushing their limits

Depends on the bird. Maggie's cage door hadn't closed in ten years... she was a free range chicken. And she didn't go on search and destroy missions.

Ruby?! Only bird whose cage doors close when I leave the house. She is in the "curious little beaks" stage, and she will run around taking everything that isn't nailed down apart.

The rest of my flock HAS cages, but the doors don't close. With Ruby, when I'm home she's out.

 

[benicongo]

I think Orion may also be going through her 'curious beak' phase, although she seems to be learning quite quick what she can and can't touch or chew, there's still a few things she's struggling to resist so I'll be waiting a while before considering going cageless again. If I'm home she's out, I hate the idea of her being locked up whenever I'm out but of course it's for her own safety.