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Taking -little- birds outside, now with poll.

Is taking little birds outside a good thing to do?

  • Eh, if it makes you happy.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    21

The_Mayor

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I put this in the Enrichment corral since that's the context I'm thinking of this in.

To be clear, I'm talking about them going outside in an appropriately sturdy cage with me sitting with them the entire time they're outside. So, probably not more than an hour at a time. Not like smuggling them downstairs in a pillow-case and then trusting in the magical powers of a spray of millet to keep them from disappearing to go live with the starlings.

Anyway.

I think my birds have a pretty good life, but I was reading an article that touched on the value of at least giving your birds the opportunity to look out the window as part of keeping things interesting.

That is so not my birds' life. I mean, they can, and sometimes do, watch my zoom calls, but it's not exactly the nature channel. I feel like it's my obligation to provide the best life I can for them, rather than just saying, "yeah, it'd be a nuisance and you know people would complain about the tiny down feathers in the elevator so I'm not going to make the effort."

And, to the question of: why not just try it and see?

I have several cages, including a backpack carrier and a small, but very sturdy, travel cage.

Both of the latter are great for situations in which I need to move them safely from point A to point B.

But they're (the cages, not the birds, although the birds are also quite petite) pretty small, and I'm having trouble imagining my dudes enjoying their day in the sunshine and fresh air if they keep stepping on each other's tail feathers. I can certainly buy them a cage that's small enough that I can get it in and out of their aviary (with them in it) and still large enough that they don't end up with tan lines on their feathers. But if that's something others have done in the past and found that they did it twice and their birds didn't seem that fond of it, then why not benefit from that experience?

So, thoughts?
 

The_Mayor

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Thanks, that's really helpful.

While I don't expect that it'll ever be my dudes' primary source of Vit. D, it can only be good if they topped up their stores while the weather's nice.
 

Zara

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Taking them outdoors is good for them :) Even if the cage is slightly smaller, for little trips it´s fine. They will be able to look around, breathe in fresh air, soak up the sun and watch something new.
 

SeñorBirb

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I roll Crouton's cage by the balcony door, open it, and let him have some fresh air and sunlight :) (supervised w/ cage doors closed, obviously)
 

Zara

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I roll Crouton's cage by the balcony door, open it, and let him have some fresh air and sunlight :) (supervised w/ cage doors closed, obviously)
That´s how I do it because I have a step to get out onto the balcony and struggle getting the cages over, so I roll them in front of the doors and open them :)
 

sunnysmom

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My tiels love going outside. We just sit on the porch but they seem to enjoy it. Elvis, not so much. But we keep trying. I think part of the problem is Elvis wants to be out with me. So, I am hoping to eventually get him harnessed trained. But the tiels from day one enjoyed it.
 

Teckechick

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We take our birds outside it is very good for them. They are always in a good solid cage and we are with them the whole time.

It can be a bit over whelming to them also. Our Aries would get really overwhelmed when going outside. So we would cover part of the cage with a blanket or move her cage closer to the house as well to provide a more sheltered side. This would allow part of the cage to still be in the sun giving her the choice to sit in the sun or shade.
 

The_Mayor

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Thanks, everyone. It sounds like this is a resounding yes!

Since we're still a couple of weeks before optimal going outside weather, this'll give me time to practice getting them to go into their travel cage in a timely fashion.

Fortunately, their travel cage lives in their aviary and they go in and out occasionally on their own. That's mostly because they like the cuttlebone that's in there (they like their other cuttlebone as well, but this one seems to have particularly good edges for beak maintenance, or something), but I'm ahead of the game in that they already regard it as a safe space that they go into sometimes.

It'll also give us an opportunity to play with clicker training, which I'd never bothered with because, honestly, they do what they want when they want. Still, maybe if I can get them to understand that the sound of the clicker means: 1. there's millet in the cage, and eventually 2. the millet won't stay there forever, so they should get it while they can, that'd be a win.
 

Sunni Tiel

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Be careful with the sun though, if they're in direct sunlight for too long they could overheat.
 

scrape

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My 2 budgies love going outside! I take them outside in a small travel cage. It only has one plastic toy and bowls so there is more space. We stay out for an hour probably once a week.

If your birds don't like it, daily sunlight is still recommended. I would try to make it more fun. Cover half the cage if they are scared, play music, (if your birds like you) stay in their view, millet. One of budgies loves when I add a water bowl he can bathe in!
 

The_Mayor

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Be careful with the sun though, if they're in direct sunlight for too long they could overheat.
Good point. I'm one of those people who starts burning after about 5 minutes in full sun, so we probably won't stay in the sun the whole time.
 

The_Mayor

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My 2 budgies love going outside! I take them outside in a small travel cage. It only has one plastic toy and bowls so there is more space. We stay out for an hour probably once a week.

If your birds don't like it, daily sunlight is still recommended. I would try to make it more fun. Cover half the cage if they are scared, play music, (if your birds like you) stay in their view, millet. One of budgies loves when I add a water bowl he can bathe in!
Oh, that might be worth getting the bigger cage, just to have room for a little swimming pool.
 

tka

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You can also buy window perches if you want to see if they like looking out of the window. Leia's is a shower perch that attaches with suction cups but you might want to look at Wingdow's perches.

Perches : WINGDOW®, Elegant avian furniture

They won't get the benefit of unfiltered sunlight and wouldn't replace actually spending time outside, but it's a nice option for them. Leia likes yelling at the outside birds from her perch.
 

The_Mayor

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Yeah, those do look like a really good opportunity for birds to get additional enrichment. If my home set up were different, I'd probably have those in all my windows so they could see what's going on in the neighborhood, and yell back at the birds that gather in the tree outside my window.

I couldn't realistically make my apt. bird safe, so my dudes are confined to their aviary, unless I'm intentionally taking them out in another cage or a carrier.
 

Sparkles99

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In my area, this wouldn't be a good idea. As it is, I discovered two days ago that every time I leave the room with the patio door open to go to a meeting, a crow comes to threaten the budgies. I also found my smaller rabbit cowering. There is a screen, but with the nice weather finally here, I like the breeze.

I love crows, but found this disconcerting. Only Marzipan was standing his ground, yelling as it cawed at them. Pistachio, Aurelius & Winston were silent. Bunny ignored it (he's huge). Daisy was petrified (she's not).
 

Lady Jane

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Observe them when outside for signs of over heating. Open beak breathing.
 

Sparkles!

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I have a large cage permanently outside for my littles. I go shove them in it when they loudly ask to go outside and enjoy the sunshine. It’s heaven! But I do not live in an apartment. I imagine you could just get a smaller cage, bring them down and read a book next to them or eat a picnic lunch out there. If it’s too hot for you, it’s too hot for them. And, if it’s windy or chilly to you, same goes for them.
 

Grace_F

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I highly recommend having outside time with your birds (big or small) when the weather is nice! Birds are very visually oriented animals, so its enriching for them to be out where there lots to see! The natural sunlight allows them to see colors much better than artificial lights can, which is important to birds. If it gets humid where you live, that can be great for their respiratory system! Here are some precautions that I take before bringing my green cheek out in his travel cage:

- Make sure that nobody is smoking or burning things nearby
- provide shade so that the bird can escape the sun if it wants, they can overheat or sunburn (I use a towel over half the cage)
-be mindful of the weather (huge temperature shifts are a no go, take them out when temps are similar to inside the house)
- have water available
-be mindful of predatory animals (I have hawks and crows in my area that get very bold, they cant reach my bird but they could give him a huge scare!)

birds are often nervous about being outside at first. they will likely warm up with a little time, but if it becomes to overwhelming you should bring them back inside. That's all the advice I have for now. if outside time doesn't work for your birds, then I highly recommend a window for them to look out of! it's not quite the same, but its still great visual enrichment!
 
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