As a bird parent, you may be worried about your bird flying from its cage.
It is a natural behavior for birds to want to explore their surroundings, but it can also be worrisome if your bird escapes.
Here are some tips on how to handle birds flying from their cage.
Related: Can I Put My Bird Cage Outside?
Why it’s Necessary for Your Pet Birds to Fly From the Cage?
Dr. Ian Tizard, a distinguished professor and director of the Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, says, “You’re going to have to play with the parrot every day; you cannot simply put it in a cage and talk to it once a week.” [1]
Birds like exploring their environment.
In their natural habitat, they fly around looking for food and interact with other avian companions.
It’s necessary to allow pet birds to continue enjoying a similar lifestyle to enjoy the benefits below.
- Allowing your bird to fly out of the bird cage is good for its physical health [2].
- Flying also helps improve your budgies mental health and keep it happy.
- You should allow your bird to fly out of the cage as a form of aerobic exercise. This helps your bird to use its air sac breathing system.
- With the proper exercise, your bird becomes more resistant to diseases. Besides, flying outside allows the bird to interact with the environment and reduce stress.
- Flying out of the cage is a physical exercise that allows your budgie to develop strong bones and joints. [3] It helps prevent fat deposits in the blood vessels and enhances heart performance.
- Besides, flying allows for the proper fusion of the body parts, such as the liver and kidney.
READ MORE: What Plants Can You Put in a Budgie Cage?
How to Enhance Your Bird’s Safety When it Flies Out of the Cage
As you can see, there are several benefits involved in allowing your bird to fly outside the cage. There are also risks involved in the process. Your pet can get lost.
The risk of escaping is high, and you don’t want this to happen.
It’s essential to take the right measures to ensure that your beloved birdies can safely fly outside the Eclectus parrot cage.
Here are a few things you should do.
1. Design a Flight Space
One of the ways to enhance the safety of your bird when flying out of the cage is by creating a flight space.
This is a safe room where your bird can fly without getting injured or attacked by predators or other larger birds.
You can hang boings in strategic locations or put curved shower curtain rods in corners to allow for a safe landing.
The cage bar also ensures that your bird doesn’t hit the wall or fence.
It’s also advisable to have lots of toys around the flight space. Put them around the areas you want your budgie to fly.
Make sure the flight space is well guarded against all predators.
I love this huge outside flight cage.
@c.c.farm Love this outdoor aviary! #aviary #outdooraviary #bird #birds #cage #flightcage #farm #birdaviary #caiques #caiquesoftiktok #pet #pets #avian #breeder ♬ original sound – C.C.FARM
This ample space can be around your lawn or around the pool where you can monitor.
Ensure your bird does not contaminate the water with its droppings by having plenty of space in the cage.
Here is a cool video on why you should let your bird out of its cage.
@thebourkiepeaches why you should let your bird out of its cage ! Brief message! I am not a expert! #fyo #birds #parakeet #rosebourkie #fyp #birdtips ♬ Eyes. Lips. Face. (e.l.f.) – iLL Wayno & Holla FyeSixWun
2. Set Time When You Can Monitor the Bird
You can also allow your bird to fly out of the cage at a specific time when you can monitor it.
You can set thirty minutes or an hour daily to allow your pet bird to play outside its flight cage.
Make sure you are around to watch it play or play together to help develop a stronger bond. With your full attention, it also means your cage birds cannot be attacked or escape.
Check out how this bird parent used wire mesh to create an outdoor flight space.
@urbanhedgelady I enclosed the underside of my deck so my pigeons could have a large outdoor flight cage.#backyardfarm #aviary #chickens #pigeons ♬ original sound – UrbanHedgeLady
3. Train Your Bird
Like other pets, your feathered pet requires a lot of training, especially on how to fly outside the bird cage.
You should train him/her to fly outdoors by showing the specific areas to fly and areas to avoid.
Don’t forget to train it how to play with toys or swings you have set in the flight safe area.
Besides, recall training is also essential to allow it to know when you want it to return to the custom cages.
Recall training also allows easy retrieval when the blue finch bird gets away from your sight. This is more important if your lawn has a lot of plants or flowers where the cage birds can hide.
Check out these awesome tips on how to train a bird.
@zukothemacaw #macaw #ItsOurHome #parrotsoftiktok #parrottraining #happybird ♬ original sound – Zuko the Green Wing
READ MORE: How Long Do Birds Sleep?
How Often Should You Allow Your Budgie to Fly Out of the Cage?
In most cases, one or two hours every day is enough to enhance their mental health.
The bird is used to staying in a closed cage by day. Allowing it to fly outside the custom cages is like going on an adventure with your medium bird.
How often depends on whether you have trained your bird or not.
Other factors to consider when deciding the time to allow your birds to stay outside the roomy flight cage include your environment, the time you spend at home, and how active your bird is.
In its natural environment, the bird would spend many hours flying. Thus, you should give your budgie enough time outside the birdcage.
The more time you allow your bird to fly outside the cage, the better they interact with you and be happy.
ALSO READ: Should You Put Your Bird Cage Open?
How to Treat your Bird When it Flies Out of the Cage
When your budgie flies outside the cage, you have the best time interacting with it. Socialization is important to create a strong bond and improve your lovely bird’s mental and physical health.
You can play together with the swings and also the different toys. Take this moment to teach your feathered friend how to play with different toys.
Since the bird likes exploring, give it time to fly around the compound alone to interact with the environment.
With its curiosity, it will understand the environment and be more comfortable.
When the playtime is over, you can recall the colored birds to return to the flight bird cages.
You should also train your feathery friend how to get back to the cage when time is over or when it feels tired.
Learn how to treat your budgie from this video.
Should You Allow Birds to Fly Out of Cages at Night?
Although it helps to allow your parrot to fly out of custom cages, you don’t have to risk it at night. You shouldn’t allow the lovely pet to move out of the birdcage at night since it should rest and sleep.
Closed cage doors prevent the bird from moving out when you are asleep. You should also cover the cage so that the bird can sleep till late morning without disturbing you.
Note that if your lovely pet manages to move outside at night, the risks of being attacked by predators or escaping are also high.
CHECK: How Do Birds Keep Warm in Winter?
FAQs
Should you leave your bird outdoors alone?
Only allow your budgie to fly outdoors when you are around to monitor. Your bird can escape or be attacked by predators, so close monitoring is essential.
How do I keep my bird active outdoors?
You can keep budgies active by socializing with them or allowing them to play with available toys. However, make sure all the toys and wood perches are bird-safe.
Should I leave my budgie outdoors at night?
No. It is not recommended to leave your parrot outdoor when it’s dark. Make sure that it gets back to the indoor cage before dusk. This enhances its safety and psychological health.
Conclusion
When you see birds flying from a flight cage, the most important thing is to ensure they are safe outdoors. It’s healthy for your bird to fly outside to get used to the surroundings.
Keep them active outdoors and apply all the necessary safety measures to ensure they are not harmed.
If you allow them one to two hours to stay outside, you will have happy and healthy budgies.
Let us know what you think about how to handle birds flying out from their cage down in the comments!
Resources
- 1. Parrots as Pets. CVMBS News. Published March 3, 2016. https://vetmed.tamu.edu/news/pet-talk/parrots-as-pets/
- 2. The Importance Of Flight. Northern Parrots. Accessed April 9, 2022. https://www.northernparrots.com/the-importance-of-flight-blog684/
- 3. Birds Need to Fly. Accessed April 9, 2022. https://iaabcjournal.org/birds-need-fly/
Barry Stingmore is a British content writer living in Fuerteventura, Spain. An animal lover at heart, he shares his home with a dog and four rescue cats and has a passion for writing about animals big and small.
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