Time spent out of cage

[svolk]

Another newbie question. I have read that obviously it is good for the bird to spend time out of its cage for exercise and bonding. I have read on here that people have their birds out for hours at a time. I'm not sure what kinds of birds these are, but I was wondering about the pooping issue. I read that Budgies usually poop every 10-15 minutes or so - is this a big problem if I want to spend a lot of out-of-cage time with my future Budgie? How much out-of-cage time per night is a good amount?

I know someone who owns large birds (who is unfortunately unavailable for me to ask questions in the next few weeks), and she does have her birds potty trained. Is this possible to do with a Budgie?

[Monica]

It is possible to potty train any bird! It would take time and patience of course, and is best done after you have a good relationsihp with your budgie. Their poop should be esay to clean up by using a tissue of some sort. Some find it easier to clean up the poop after it has dried so that it doesn't smear anywhere.

As far as out of cage time, if it's possible it would be good to have atleast 2 hours though be sure to try to keep to a routine.

[Alika]

You have to be so careful with potty training, though. If it's not done right, it can be harmful to your bird. I've heard of birds 'holding it' for way too long waiting for their owners to move them to the designated pooping area.

Even if your bird is fully flighted and can get back to the pooping area on it's own, it is natural for birds to poop before they fly.

I'd venture to say that most of us simply accept poop as being part of owning a bird. Be thankful that budgie poops are small, easy to clean, and virtually odorless.

As far as out of cage time, the more you can let them have, the better. 1-2 hours a day is recommended. But, as Monica said, don't let them have more than you can consistently give. Giving a lot of out of cage time, then suddenly giving very little is worse than always giving very little. It can cause a lot of unwanted behavioral problems, and is hard on the bird psychologically.

[svolk]

We will definitely be able to provide at least 1-2 hours of out of cage time. Do you just let the bird fly wherever for this time (I did read the article about safety issues such as glass windows), or do they stay near you or in the same spot? If a bird's wings are clipped, can they still flutter to and fro a bit or do they have to be taken everywhere?

And it's good to know that Budgie poops are small and nearly odorless!

[Alika]

Wing clipping is a very personal decision. Some people feel that taking away a bird's ability to flight is cruel and if you can't allow your birds to free fly, you shouldn't have them. However, captive birds are captive birds, and they can get into a lot more trouble if you leave them flighted than if you clip them. There have been many deaths caused by leaving a bird flighted, though, it can be argued, there have also been birds who have died specifically because they couldn't fly away.

I recommend clipping in the beginning. Your bird will be more likely to want to sit with you, and it will make the bonding process easier and faster. Flighted birds who don't know you will, of course, fly away from you.

Once you have a few years under your belt, you should have done some more research about flighted vs. non flighted birds and heard enough of the argument to make your own decision. I definitely think non-flighted is safer than flighted, but, as I already said, it is a personal decision.

Wing clipping does not hurt a bird... it is like getting a haircut. The feathers grow back, usually every 2 months or so, and they will need to be clipped again. You can have your vet show you how to do a proper wing clip, and learn to do it yourself.

A proper wing clip allows a bird to flutter harmlessly to the floor, but does not allow it to gain any altitude.

There is a lot of good information on wing clipping and household dangers at exoticpetvet.net.

Here is the article on wing clipping: http://exoticpetvet.net/avian/clip.html

And this article is about the top ten killers of pet birds. You can see that many are caused by leaving a bird flighted, and others are caused from taking away the ability of flight. Nevertheless, wing clipping is recommended by most parrot experts. This is a great article, and I think all bird owners need to read it: http://exoticpetvet.net/avian/topten.html

While you're at that site, read all the bird articles. They are very good.

[eilsoe]

Our 2 budgies get a few hours out after we've had dinner. They are flighted, but we always doublecheck if the door to our terasse is closed, other doors are closed, the drapes are pulled (huge glass windows), also we make sure nothing is out they can drown in etc.

And we always make sure at least one of us is in the room with them.


they have even begun to climb back into the cage when they get tired now. They also climb in when we carry them to the cage opening.

Just make sure to take every precaution if you're planning on letting 'em fly around.