Out of cage lifestyle?

[Zumaria]

I've been reading about some people whose birds literally are never confined to a cage. In most cases, the birds are trained / just don't leave the cage and in some cases they are able to fly about the house and do whatever they want (personally, this strikes me as a little dangerous for the birds but I digress...) - does anyone here practice a 'cageless lifestyle' for your birds? If so, I have a couple questions.

1) Do you remember to put the toaster away every time you leave the house? I would not lol

2) If they are trained not to leave the cage is this because they were raised that way or because their wings are clipped and just CAN'T fly?

3) How do you manage the random bird poop everywhere?

Thanks so much for your reposes guys! I think everyone of us here would love a cageless lifestyle for their birds.

 

[ShellyBorg]

I could not do cage less, just as I love having rooms for my human kids to send them to when I need a break, sometimes I need one from my fids!

 

[jugoya]

Sometimes you don't NEED a cage..

Especially if you only have birds of comparable size that get along quite well... in this case a room suffices quite well as a bird 'home' and can be converted into an indoor aviary..
Which is what I eventually want to do!

 

[Sammy01]

I've done this with one of my budgies when I only had her and now I kind of do it with Milo (except when outside unattended for more than 5 minutes or when no one is home).

Budgie:

1. Someone was always home (though they wouldn't be taking care of her) and she wouldn't actually be going all over the place. She'd hang out on a kitchen chair or go for a "stroll" around our first floor when she got bored.

2. Didn't train her not to leave the cage. She hated it. She'd only go in for food, water, and bedtime.

3. She'd mostly be in her area so there wasn't poop everywhere.

Amazon: Milo classifies as this even though I leave him in his cage when I go out. I'm also carrying for another amazon that gets the same treatment.

1. Everything is already put away. So it's not any different with Milo. Besides, he'll show you himself that he's not allowed in the kitchen unless he's with me and we're going out. He doesn't leave his cage when I'm not home anymore.

2. He hates his cage too. He probably wasn't kept in one so when I showed him his he hated going in.

3. He doesn't walk around the house at all. Infant he stays above their cage and sometimes he'd decide to climb the curtains (he's stopped now).

The other amazon I'm caring for was also never kept in a cage. She didn't even have one.

****

In the country I'm currently in and especially in certain areas people generally don't put their parrots in cages. They get them when they're young and show them where they can and can't go. One of the amazons actually use to be able to go in and out as she pleased with her previous owners.

 

[SilverSage]

I don't plan on being cage free, but I do plan on having my conure out of the cage as much as possible, and other birds as I get them. He will still be in the cage at night, when we are out of the house, and any other time he needs to be confined for social or safety reasons. I plan to feed him treats when he goes in as well as when he comes out, and do everything I can to keep him from hating his cage without teaching him to stay in it, either. We do not have any ceiling fans or anything like that, and both front and back doors have an entry-way with a door, so there will always be one door closed before the other is open. We do have a dog, they will not be left alone together, but I want my bird to be flighted just in case he needs a quick escape in an unforeseen situation. I also want to potty train and recall train, and we don't have a lot of "chewable things." All our electronics are in the office, and he will not be in there unsupervised so he can't chew on the wires. We will see if his personality allows us to do this, I will work really hard on it! Any advise is of course welcome. Oh! You asked about the toaster, I have put curtains up on the kitchen doors. they are pretty thick and if he really wanted to get in he could, but he would have to walk or climb, not fly.

 

[khaiqha]

My alexandrine has an out of cage lifestyle. I mean, he has a cage,but I took the front of it off so he can fly in and out of it easier. He's mostly house trained so cleaning up after him isn't bad. He's not destructive towards the house either, so it just works out. Now that I have a roommate I leave my bird in my room when I'm not home.

 

[Sassysmom]

My macaw is wing damaged (previous home accident) so she is flightless. After 3 cages, each one bigger than the last, we decided, (her and I) that no cage is necessary. She stays on her hanging tree branch most of the time but also has access to climb out to the top of her old cage which is on my screened porch where she can sunshine and yell "COMERE" (come here) to anyone and everyone she sees outside. For her mess's, both food and poo, I just took the tray out of her old cage and set her perch inside of it under her swing. Catches everything she drops and is easily cleanable as needed. I love having her close by and not having to choose when i have time to go outside to play with her. She is also much quieter this way. In a cage she screamed a lot. Now if she sees that I am sleeping, she whispers. I fake it sometimes to see her reactions.

 

[SilverSage]

I love that she is smart and sweet enough to understand sleep, and care that you get some - I also love that you fake it. What a sweet family!

 

[TakRail]

I have two Greys and a BG Macaw and for the most part all are free to roam as they please. I do have cages that are in my bedroom; but these are normally only used as nighttime cages or if we go somewhere where we cannot leave them untended.

Our BG Macaw has actually not even been locked in a cage for over two weeks now. She just knows that if she is on her cage that is where she is to stay until she is picked up. Our Grey's though, they cannot be trusted overnight or if we are gone; they will get down and get into everything they can.

Also, keep in mind that I have a home office and normally during the day I only have to be gone from home doing work for a few hours. I have a stand in my office so that when I am home they can come in there with me and we have stands in the family room in case we are downstairs. I also have an outside cage connected to a window in our family room so that if we are down there and they want to go outside they can.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

I wish my bird could live the out of cage life. With my working full time, and Gilbert being young, energetic and flighted, i think he would cause himself harm and/or chew apart every piece of furniture in my home. LOL This is a great setup for someone who is home most of the time though. I think most birds really adjust to it well--i mean, wouldn't we all?

 

[Birdman666]

I've been reading about some people whose birds literally are never confined to a cage. In most cases, the birds are trained / just don't leave the cage and in some cases they are able to fly about the house and do whatever they want (personally, this strikes me as a little dangerous for the birds but I digress...) - does anyone here practice a 'cageless lifestyle' for your birds? If so, I have a couple questions.

1) Do you remember to put the toaster away every time you leave the house? I would not lol

2) If they are trained not to leave the cage is this because they were raised that way or because their wings are clipped and just CAN'T fly?

3) How do you manage the random bird poop everywhere?

Thanks so much for your reposes guys! I think everyone of us here would love a cageless lifestyle for their birds.

1. Toaster?! I don't get it. Why would the birds be interested in my toaster?

2. Mine are trained. I have a bird room with huge playstands for them, and lots of toys. They stay put in there. Those interest them more than my furniture would.

3. The bird room floors are linoleum. Bird poop cleans easily. You deal with it by spot cleaning daily, and mopping weekly. It's a big job some weeks, but that's the down side of bird ownership. NOT doing it is not an option...

4. I generally keep mine long clipped so that they are semi-flighted. Though right now 3 of my birds are fully flighted... and recalled. (My groomer is out of town.)