People that have birds: who keeps the cages opened and let them fly everywhere?

Question

I never close the cage doors and let my parakeets fly everywhere so our house is screwed because of the droppings. This has been going on for 6 years and I was just wondering if I was the only one that did this. I like to give my birds freedom and choose not to clip their wings or close the cages. They don't fly everywhere. They have a certain section in the house where they do. I mean I have a cat too but he doesn't bother them. My mom's finally just had enough.

Answer 1

I've heard of people doing this.  I wouldn't say it's that common because a lot of people have other pets they don't trust around their birds and some people just don't want their birds flying around and crapping on everything.  Also, some things in the home can be harmful to a free bird, like household chemicals if the bird decides to go exploring, or ceiling fans . . .  But I have heard of it.  Most people I know only let their birds out when they're present though.

Answer 2

My caiques have free range of my bedroom when I'm gone (their cage, food, toys, and teevee are in there). When I'm home, they have the rest of my apartment (I live alone and have no other pets). I am ALWAYS in possession a damp cloth to wipe up the "accidents" and once a week, I spot-clean the carpet.

Answer 3

yes i let my birds cage open all the time but i do clip his wings because if he can fly into the kitchen when im cooking and hurt himsef or even into the wall my vet told me it would be best for the bird so i think its cruel to let him smash on the wall so i cut them of, if you dont belive in having him caged then do you belive in having him in a home when he sould be in the wild, but since your birds know were to fly its ok but some ppl think its cruel to cut theyr wings, well if its cruel the dont keep them in a house right!! well i do let him walk in the house an the bird p**p is hard to take of and maybe thats why your mom is tired but remember birds need time out side their cage, wht helps me is that i bought him a bird gym where he plays and it has a big tub where the p**p falls

Answer 4

i have 4 cockatiels i let fly freely in the afternoon when were all home for the day, And yes mine have accidents also, But like someone else said we just CLEAN this up when we see it

   If you haven't cleaned in 6 years. I would really hate to go in there

  you know they got mops, rags and all that kind of stuff these days

the only thing is you have to USE them

Answer 5

I have a male cockatiel that I let have pretty free run of the house, but he don't p**p everywhere.  He has his favorite place above the kitchen sink which would wreak havoc if I had dishes in the sink but for the most part we've avoided that scenario. When he first comes out in morning when I get home from work, he will fly to the curtain rod/s, or perch on a plant or chair for a couple of seconds then it's off to the kitchen. At night around 10 pm he gets closed up and covered in his cage because I feel it is healthier for him to get the proper rest or it could jeopardize his health.  If I were your mom, 6 minutes would have been enough of bird poo everywhere.   Your lucky.

Answer 6

We let our parakeets fly around the house.The only time they are locked up is when someone comes over,and that is only a precaution so that they don't fly out the door when it is opened.Our birds don't p**p all over the house though.They are pretty good about that.

Answer 7

I would love to do that, but I'm afraid that my budgie will get lost or hurt in our house! we have a 30 foot high ceiling that's open to the second floor, & it's under construction, so I'm worried he'll go up there. My mom also cooks a lot with non-stick pans, & i'm afraid sumthing will happen. ts 2 dangerous 2 let him fly alone

Answer 8

my birds do that too.  We use p**p-off to clean the tough spots.  Our grey has some major p**p, too and our carpet is beige.  

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/pr...

we also use it on our litter box for our cats and it works great.

Answer 9

I keep my birds wings clipped for safety.  I've got 3 dogs and cat that would eat in it a second if they had a chance.  But even if I didn't have dogs or cats, I would still keep the wings clipped so I didn't have to worry about her flying out a window or door.  Also when they have clipped wings, they are more dependend on you and develop a closer bond to you.

Answer 10

Your not the only one I keep my pigeonsout and they go everywhere and later they come back.

Answer 11

I don't have a bird, but I have something I can reccomend. Flight suites are like diapers for birds and let the bird fly comfortably- but there is no droppings around your house. Your mom won't have a problem about that, Right? Heres a website with flight suits:

http://www.flightquarters.com/

You can even get cute little designs! You can order them through the website (reccomended) or you could try to get them in the petstore though you probably won't have much luck with that.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Answer 12

yeah i do this too! except my birds stay on their cages most of the time and yeah we clip their wings. my parakeets destroyed a section of our living room wallpaper as a result. i only let them out when i'm home

Answer 13

Hahaha, no you're not the only one, My Rainbow Lorikeet (Crash) has free range as well.

She goes nutz if I lock her in the cage... so she is able to fly or walk around at her leisure.

One saving grace is that she is toilet trained and so she squirts in the pot plants, the sink or toilet.

But she chews all my books or the cornice while on the loose though LOL thank god not as much as she use too.

She goes to her cage to sleep at night in a bed, then in the morning she walks into my bedroom, climbs my sheets and then starts beaking my nose saying "Give me a kiss"

I have a very bird friendly house :-)

Edit: and when I'm not at home, she is with me anyway on my shoulder! work, shopping or generally everywhere ROFL