New Rental with open concept

[lauraeliza]

Hi!

I know this has probably been discussed before, but I wondered if anyone with a similar floor plan to mine has any insight on how they handle this.

I'm about to move into a new rental house, and it's a completely open concept - living, dining, kitchen, etc, and since that's where I'll spend most of my time, it's where I was planning to put my budgie's cage. The front door opens directly into this space, and it opens into the house with no exterior storm door. Where I currently live has the front door off a hallway that goes into a galley kitchen and then goes through another doorway into the living room where Piper lives. She's fully flighted, and even though I'm super vigilant, I'm used to having a bit more space and barriers between her and access to the outside. Besides leaving myself a sticky note above the doorknob to CHECK THE BIRD before opening the front door, does anyone have anything they do? I do have a front porch window, so if someone comes up I can open it to talk to them, and then direct them around the back of the house to that door if she's out. For peace of mind, I had planned on getting a magnetic mosquito net for the door, but just realized the door opens in, so the net would be in the way for getting into the door.

I guess I'm just feeling a bit nervy. Realistically, I know the solution is just make sure she's always locked up if the door is opening - but humans make mistakes and birds sometimes get spooked and crazy things happen, so I'd feel better if there was some sort of secondary backup in place - like the mosquito net idea. There have been so many escaped birds in my area this summer, and it breaks my heart to think of something happening.

 

[Shezbug]

Yes I currently live in the same kind of set up and I hate it lol. If the birds are out then I make everyone use the laundry door to enter and exit the house as it has the internal door to go through before getting to the external door. You could hang curtains (material or beaded) on the inside of your front door and put the magnetic screen up on the outside for one more layer of safety- you could leave the magnetic screen open then close it when you let the bird out maybe?

 

[FiatLux]

I have a magnetic mesh curtain on the outside of my door. I also thought about installing a circular internal entry curtain; the kind that hangs from the ceiling and that you might see in hospitals but with prettier curtains. I recently saw a friend’s house that used the ceiling hung curtain rod (it was a bar with bearings inside —also like an upgraded version of a hospital room curtain rod) with a heavy duty nice quality ceiling to floor curtain to create a separate room in her open floor house and it looked great. Good luck!

 

[lauraeliza]

Thank you for the responses, and the ideas! I'm glad I'm not the only one who is nervous living in a floor plan like this.

My mom had the good idea of adding a doorstop or some sort of secondary lock to the front door, so that there is another barrier to think through besides just unlocking the deadbolt. It's not a physical barrier for my bird unfortunately, but it would at least be a mental stop to keep me from slipping up as easily. I'm mostly concerned if something happens outside and I run out there without thinking.

 

[WillowQ]

My friend put up a curtain on a tension rod between her living room and kitchen.

i in turn decided to clip my bird because I am afraid of him flying into the soup or the toilet or the art project.