What Is the Best Out of Cage Time for a Parakeet?

Parakeets are one of the most popular birds kept as pets. Many owners allow their birds time to be outside of their cages. Both owner and bird can benefit from this experience. Here are some guidelines for you to use when letting your birds out of their cage.

Why We Let Them Fly

The main reason to let your parakeets out of the cage is that as birds it is their nature to fly. Young parakeets will often stand on a perch and rapidly flap their wings, exercising their wing muscles in preparation for a chance to use them in actual flight. Older birds will also flap when suffering from lack of exercise. Restricting your parakeets to a life lived totally in a cage is unnatural, and your birds will be much happier if given the chance to freely fly.

Consistency

If you choose to let your parakeets fly outside the cage you should find a time that allows for consistency on a day-to-day basis. There is no set time that is better than others. Being skillful flyers, longer sessions of potential free flight are better for the birds. This allows them to become very familiar with their surroundings and more comfortable about coming out of the safety of the cage. Try to let them out for several hours at a time, ensuring that the room they are flying in has been "bird-proofed". The first few attempts may be met with skeptical birds that are somewhat cautious about coming outside. They will soon learn to love it and will come out more quickly over time.

Safety

Making your parakeets' flight room "bird-proof" is essential to their safety. Escape and flying away is the major danger for pet parakeets. They are drawn to the open air but as pets do not possess the orientation or survival skills to return safely or survive in what is most likely a hostile environment. Other dangers are houseplants that can be poisonous or otherwise dangerous to parakeets. Open containers of water can pose danger as the bird may mistake the water's surface for a solid landing place and could potentially drown. Closets and drawers should always be closed as a parakeet can squeeze into an open crack and starve or suffocate. This is also the case with wastebaskets. A parakeet that has fallen into a wastebasket can suffocate or have a fright-induced heart attack. Fans should be turned off and sharp objects put away to avoid injury.

Playthings

Parakeets love to play and are very inquisitive once they feel comfortable in their surroundings. A nice idea is to construct a bird tree out of found branches and nailing or tying smaller branches or twigs crosswise to create perches. Your birds will enjoy having places to land and explore when flying around the room. A cage topper bird gym or wire staircase is also a good choice and will become a favorite place for your birds to go when out of the cage.

Return to the Cage

Your birds will eventually return to the cage to eat, and you should not chase them or try to capture them in attempts to get them back inside. If necessary, let them stay outside overnight. Consistently allowing the birds to fly in the evening and then lowering the lights after they have been out for a while can be a strategy to get them to go home. Hanging a millet spray in the cage will usually convince the birds to go in, and combined with lowering of the lights can be a good way to get your birds to realize it is time to retire for the evening.

References

• The Complete Book of Parakeet Care; Annette Wolter and Monika Wegler; 1994