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Free Roaming / Cage free indoors

AmberC

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i've done research on having parrots with no cage indoors and letting them fly free through house. But having a stand with food and water and toys and a safe spot to go to. im thinking about doing this in my home. but at night moving the stands and restricting them to one room at night. all my birds get along with each other and my house is 100% parrot proofed with no hazards.
 

Mizzely

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I would say have a cage for them at night. This is what I do for my bird who is out all day. This also helps give them someplace they are familiar with if you have to go on vacation, go to the hospital, or otherwise be away from them at all. A lot of pet sitters would not be comfortable taking care of unrestrained birds!
 

Shezbug

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Don't you have a dog? Or did you not end up getting that puppy sent to you?
I personally do not think there are too many homes or families that this would work safely for without being a regular problem or bird safety issue in one way or another- a bird room is a little different than the whole house scenario and would be a much safer option I would think.
I do not want to even think about what would happen if one thing was not done right- in a hurry or under pressure we often forget things like shutting certain windows or doors, that certain doors slam in the wind, that the book case has a gap behind it, that many fridges, freezers, washers have motors accessible to small animals, we can not partition the kitchen off for cooking, the front door being open for longer when bringing shopping in or letting guests in or answering a knock at the door, that aunt so and so always leaves her hearing aids and tablets in that certain spot when she visits etc.- the other main danger to this sort of set up unfortunately is visitors which most normal people have even if it is just family- not everyone gets how important certain routines or rituals are- gosh the amount of people who knew my cat was not allowed outside but took so long getting through the door that she got out anyway is honestly incredible... people are numbskulls!
I think for most people the whole house cage free thing is not safe. I know of many people who would refuse to come in if they knew a bird was free in the room- you have accidents and emergencies and visitors and weekends away so what then? Big shock change for the birds or a serious chance at escape or harm?

There is a lot to think about past the wouldn't it be nice thinking. The birds safety is the most important thing.
 

Toy

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No home is parrot proof. They can destroy your furniture, chew holes in the walls, eat window/door frames, chew cupboards, chew thru electric wires & fall behind appliances. Larger parrots can open drawers & doors. There's no end to the trouble a parrot could get into. I've seen the destruction from my parrots & others. An escaped parrot may not survive. They should all have a cage as a safe place, for sleeping, trips to the vet, travel, etc.
 

Zara

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all my birds get along with each other
Until there´s a disagreement and no cage holding the aggressor back.

Not a good idea in my opinion. If you have birds that are the same species (or similar beak size) and get along, or a lone bird, then a bird room can be a good option.
 

TikiMyn

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I think a bird room can be great, I used to have my two lovebirds cage free in a room. It was also my bedroom and I spend almost all my time at home with them, or I took them out in a travel cage when I went to play with the ducks and rabbits. Now I have a cage and they are out as much as possible, but sometimes it is just not safe. Keeping a whole house safe, is very difficult I imagine. Every door is a danger, opening a door where a loose bird is on the other side is dangerous. The bird could be on the floor and could get crushed. In my new home I want either a bird room or walk in aviary, and will probably get see through or mesh doors. You also have to think about doors to the outside world. I would probably install a second door because I am a bit paranoia about certain things. A curtain, mesh door, musquito curtains can all work as well.
If you go with a bird room, think about how much time you spend there. If you have a bird room where you will only spend one but with them, it might be better to have them in a cage in the living room where you will be 4 hours, even if they only get 2 hours of active attentions for example. Seeing you going about your things, talking a bit to them, and so on might be more fun to them then being in that room by themselves.
 

BirdWorld

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In my opinion that would be like living in your house without a bedroom. You’d have the whole house yourself, but nowhere to go at night. A cage is a bedroom, a safe place. And what about the kitchen? Do you not cook on a hot stovetop? Do you never leave the house? Do you really want birds pooping throughout the whole house? I think a bird room is a much better idea. :)
 

webchirp

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I wouldn't let them roam the house. They can drown in a cup sitting out, the toilet etc. Get stepped on when you don't know where they are...fall down behind something. Recently one of the rescues had to dig a naughty pair of cheeks out of the wall after they chewed cage level, went in and dropped down in the wall. Really how do cheeks survive in the wild?!?
 

JewellBird

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I would love to be able to let my birds free roam around the house, but in my opinion, it is just not safe. There are too many things that could go wrong. Even if you try to completely "bird proof" any area, in my experience, birds will still usually find something to get into anyway. Plus, the chance of them flying out a door while you go out to do something as simple as check the mail etc. is scary. And what if a ceiling fan got left on by a visitor, there's just way too many variables of what could happen. I would also be worried about them chewing on the walls, appliances, couches etc. I keep my birds in one large room and they have a lot of supervised out of cage time, but I dont have to be as worried about them hurting themselves, or getting into things, since it's a smaller space that I can more easily "bird proof" and I'm not having to try and make the whole house safe. Also I dont think it's a good idea for birds not to have their cage. All of my birds think of their cage as a safe space, and although they love to come out of their cages to fly and play, they spend a surprising amount of time going back in their cages to play and just sit for a little bit even when their cage doors are wide open. I know you have budgies and a GCC, that would make me very nervous to have the GCC out with the budgies; the beak size difference is pretty large. I have 2 GCC's and I will never let them out with my budgies and cockatiel, there's just too much of a chance of the large beak of my GCC's doing astronomical damage to my little birds, even if they did get along.
 

sunnysmom

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I wouldn't let them roam the whole house unsupervised. Too many things can go wrong. That said, I did let my cockatiel Sunny live cage free in the living room during the day. At night, I did put him in his cage to sleep. And he wanted to sleep in his cage. I don't know if I will ever do that with a bird again though. Sunny was just really well behaved. He had a sleep area, play area, food area, etc and he just went back and forth among those. With my tiels now, it just wouldn't work. I think a lot depends on the bird and the house factors (like if there other pets in the house I would never do it).
 
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