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Letting my bird out of his cage

Outstrech

Walking the driveway
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12/31/20
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244
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Erica
I recently asked a question about my bird, see this link for more infromation about him: Am I an Awful Owner?. I was wondering if I could open his cage door and let him explore. I don't know if he would come back because he is hungry, or needs water. It does sound like a good bonding experience, so let me know!
 

BirdWorld

Rollerblading along the road
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Yea, what Shawna said. Mine are untame, but they still need to exercise and explore! He might not want to come out, and that’s fine. Don’t force him. Leave the door open to give him the option to explore. They will usually come back in on their own when they are hungry or thirsty, but if for a reason you need to get him in, I’d suggest starting step up training with a perch. You can also bribe him with millet if that’s what he likes. :)
 

JewellBird

Jogging around the block
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Miranda
Even before my birds were hand tame I would let them out of their cages. They usually went back when they got hungry or thirsty, or I could lure them back in with a little bit of millet. Just make sure when you let him out that the room you're letting him out in is safe and "bird proof" for example no open windows, moving ceiling fans, items they could get caught in, or small items they could try to eat, toxic plants etc. Also, what is your cockatiels name, I don't think you ever mentioned it?
 

JewellBird

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Miranda
My bird's name is Sunflower. @Above :). I think I'll try to let him out today, wish me best of luck!
Aww I love that name! Best of luck on letting him out to explore today, it is so good for birds to have the opportunity to get out of their cage and stretch their wings!
 

Outstrech

Walking the driveway
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Erica
He's mainly sitting in his cage even with the yummy millet next to the door. What does this mean?
 

BirdWorld

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He's mainly sitting in his cage even with the yummy millet next to the door. What does this mean?
He just doesn’t want to come out I guess. You don’t have to make him. We let our birds out for them to have fun and explore, and if they don’t want to they don’t have to.
 

Farfah

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1/20/21
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226
I was having similar issues with my new budgies. The cage I have allows you to take off part of the roof and I had been avoiding doing that because I figured it would be stressful for the birds. But I took off the roof to clean the cage the other day and turns out, they love flying out from the top. So now they come out of the cage all the time! My old cockatiel was always very shy about leaving his cage but once he was out he never wanted to go back in.
 

HarleyQ

Meeting neighbors
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Johnathon
He will eventually come out. It’s best to let him do it on his own time. It could take several days of consistently leaving the door open. If he has any favorite toys or anything try to put them on the top of the cage to entice him to come out. Also, if your room is bird proofed really well it might help to leave the room at first and then come back to check on him every 10 minutes or so.
 

fashionfobie

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@Outstrech patience will pay off. I have had success letting my finches to fly around my house. One finch, Peppy, is especially human adverse and only prefers other finches. Zippy on the other hand is very human curious, of course being finches.. I can't really handle them. This all adds complication to free flight time. The trick is patience, zero expectations and treats. I would place a perch at the door to the cage that sticks out at the exterior, and leave all food and water in the cage. The bird will return for snacks and a drink when they are ready. As you rebuild trust with your bird eventually you will probably have the ability to interact with him when he is out of the cage. The difficulty is that you need the patience to wait for this time to come. It can take weeks, months or even years. Don't give up on him, if you are a source of joy, comfort and praise I am sure he will come around in time.



:fly2::fly2::fly2:
 

Outstrech

Walking the driveway
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12/31/20
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Erica
Good news guys! Sunflower ate millet and pellets out of my hand :). Also, I don't think his nails have ever been trimmed. I have a natural tree branch, so is that enough to wear down his nails or do i need to get the vet to do it?
 

Farfah

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226
Great news! You might want to take him to the vet so they can teach you how to trim his nails in the future. If they are excessively long, I find the perches won't be enough to wear them down.
 
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