Lovebird Independent Play Outside of Cage

[vani]

Hello Avian Avenue, it's been a while! Hope everyone and their birdies have been doing well.



My lovie winnie and I have been together for two years now, and he's a demonic lil rascal but I love him! He has two cages, one large flight cage and one medium cage to sleep in at night. He has tons in both cages, mostly only foraging toys in his larger cage (because that seems to be all he's interested in)! He comes outside of his cage 3+ hours a day (~1 hour at a time) to play on a large play area I set up every time he is out.

Recently due to strenuous circumstances his large flight cage is unavailable for a few days and he only has his smaller cage. I feel guilty that is the case, so he's been out pretty much 24/7 for two days. He seems very happy and it has got me wondering if I could get used to letting him out of the cage 24/7. The issue is, he has become incredibly clingy! He does not care a bit about his toys anymore and only wants to bother me, even more so than when he was coming out for only 3 hours a day.

How can I encourage him to play independently, like he does in his cages? Toys that are interesting in his cage don't interest him out of it. Is this 3 hours a day to 24/7 hours a day out of the cage too big a change too fast, is that why he's struggling? I want what's best for him but I do also have to work (at home) to keep up with his expensive tastes in food and toys ha ha!

Thanks for all the help! Sorry if the post is a little long, I wanted to get as much information out there as I could in case it helps.

 

[Emma&pico]

No real help but my pico is same doesn’t want to play when out of his cage just wants to sit on my shoulder talking to me hiding in my hood or pocket hair he does love doing tricks like waving flip wings and turn around and tunnel he flys to his perch when he wants to do tricks only thing he’s played with outside his cage is a foraging tub tupper ware box filled with shredded paper etc with seeds scattered in it be good to see how others gets there birds to play outside there cage

your little Velcro bird is super gorgeous

 

[Zara]

on a large play area I set up every time he is out.

What is this? A desk, a play park, a tree?

I think 24/7 is a lot for a bird. To start, they should be caged for bed. Not having the larger cage for a few days won´t kill him, he´d be ok in a smaller cage temporarily. It is good to cage your bird at least for small intervals during the day to give him time to nap, play and forage in his own space and be independent. The last thing you want is a needy velcro bird, it sounds cute and looks adorable on those 30 video clips online, but the reality of having a bird glued to you non stop is not healthy.
By all means have him out a little more than usual to make up for the smaller cage, but don´t stray too far from your usual routine

 

[vani]

No real help but my pico is same doesn’t want to play when out of his cage just wants to sit on my shoulder talking to me hiding in my hood or pocket hair he does love doing tricks like waving flip wings and turn around and tunnel he flys to his perch when he wants to do tricks only thing he’s played with outside his cage is a foraging tub tupper ware box filled with shredded paper etc with seeds scattered in it be good to see how others gets there birds to play outside there cage

your little Velcro bird is super gorgeous

Aww Pico sounds like such a sweetheart! I guess they realise that they can play with their toys all they want in their cages, and rather be clung to us when they're out of them

What is this? A desk, a play park, a tree?

I think 24/7 is a lot for a bird. To start, they should be caged for bed. Not having the larger cage for a few days won´t kill him, he´d be ok in a smaller cage temporarily. It is good to cage your bird at least for small intervals during the day to give him time to nap, play and forage in his own space and be independent. The last thing you want is a needy velcro bird, it sounds cute and looks adorable on those 30 video clips online, but the reality of having a bird glued to you non stop is not healthy.
By all means have him out a little more than usual to make up for the smaller cage, but don´t stray too far from your usual routine

There is an empty table that I cover with papers and place his little play pen and some of his toys on! It's close to my desk so I can do other tasks while he wanders around the room. It's nice to know that the reality I'm experiencing is the norm, and not those cute videos on the internet like you mentioned ha ha. Thank you for the encouragement, makes me feel better about returning to the normal routine despite his littler cage! His cage naps are definitely important for his health (and super cute)!

 

[Emma&pico]

I have pico out about 11/2 3times a day rest of time he’s in his cage and I work two 12hr shifts a week my husband lets him out for 20mins days I work and says he’s fine playing napping etc when I am not there getting him back in his cage is hardest part so your routine sounds a lot like mine so it’s good to know it’s normal

 

[DORIS123]

I have my bobo and jojo out basically 24/7. But at night time, they enjoy sleeping in a dark place. They used to sleeping in the curtain(i used a tension rod to hang the curtain) that i set up right in front of the door to block noise. But out of safety reason, i decided not to do that. So now, i put them back in their cage at night. They used to sleep in their little tent which is also known as a happy hut, but that is a huge mistake that i made because they became really hormonal. So i removed it, and make them a bed instead. Because they are so used to sleeping on a flat platform, i made them a bed. And they are happy about it and it doesnt cause hormonal issue.I make it big enough just in case they "roll over" like i always do.

 

[DORIS123]

With my experience, having your bird out 24/7 will definitely be challenging especially when you have to work from home. Do you have another room that you can work in? For example, i live in a 2 bedroom condo, i will have the birds out in the living room where i set up a play cage for them. They will hang out there while i work in the office. It does take some time for him to get used to the freedom. But i am sure it will get better as time went by. When they are in the cage, they have limited selection. They kind of have to play with the toys. But he is out, he will for sure want to glue to you because you are his mate. I kept my birds in pair because i know i wont be there 24/7 . I would love to have them bond with another bird as well. Back to the topic, i think it is a good idea that you can offer that much freedom, but i would take it slow, like 4 hours today,5 hours another day 6 hour 7 hour.. But at the end of the day, the bird has to adjust to your living style so that you can stay on top of your work. Because you are the one that need to provide for them. At this time, maybe you can introduce him to some new toys that he can use, make it intersting, slowly, he will get used to it. Here is my set up. I also feed wild sparrow on my balcony, so that my birds wont feel lonely. They can also do some bird watching as well. So now, they have a group of sparrow friends. This is the cheapest way to have some birds to keep yours company.