Owners of birds may undoubtedly agree that their bird’s inability to fly is one of the saddest things about them. Birds were created to fly and take in the views from above. This is why they were sent on our planet. If you own a tamed bird of any kind, you may question if it must spend its whole life in a cage. Before we list all the negatives about birds that don’t need cages, we want to emphasize that certain breeds can undoubtedly spend the day outside of a cage. But your bird should never be without a place to live or some necessities.
Why Should Birds Be Free from Cages?
Imagine having beautiful, practical wings that allow you to soar over the earth’s trees. You suddenly find yourself in captivity and are crammed within a tiny space with wire bars allowing you to see outside. You are deprived of all of your liberties and spend a lot of time by yourself.
Does this life seem enjoyable to you? The same is not true for your bird. However, if they are your pets, certain birds must live in an enclosure of some kind.
Selecting a species that you can let wander free can only be advantageous to them and improve your connection. Unquestionably, a cage should be a place of comfort and consolation rather than restriction.
Well, a few folks keep their birds cage free. Usually, they have a special room set aside for the birds, a location where they can hang out while you’re not home to watch them.
In essence, it is an inside aviary.
However, the kind of bird you have also makes a difference.
Finches, house sparrows, and canaries, for example, are not the best pets for (small) cages since, unlike parrots, they cannot exercise by climbing, thus they need adequate room for flying.
As long as you provide them with a place to hide, eat, and drink, the majority of parrots—including Amazons, macaws, lories, lorikeets, parakeets, and conures—can also live without a cage. However, unlike sparrows, they may be rather disruptive.
Pigeons can survive without cages and even be released into the open so they may fly. They always manage to return home, based on experience.
Having said that, keep in mind that all birds need a place to live, often in the form of a cage, aviary, or coop. Consider it more as their bedroom rather than a place where your birds are confined.
They retreat there to sleep when they are exhausted, to hide when they are afraid, or just to be left alone.
Birds are allowed to fly around freely within your home all day. When you don’t have time to watch them, it’s just preferable to have a separate room or cage for their protection, particularly because a typical home is plenty with hazards, even for clipped birds.
Keep Your Bird Outside of a Cage
As I said above, many birds may be allowed to fly freely as long as they are in an enclosed space that has been proofed.
The kind of bird you have is another factor. For instance, keeping bigger parrot species particularly macaws, without cages is becoming more popular, but not so much with smaller birds.
Keep in mind that even cageless birds need a specific stand with a food and water dish as a permanent residence that is always available.
However, if you want to keep your birds uncaged, there are a few considerations you should make.
You Must Inspect Your Home for Cageless Birds
The first thing you need think about if you want to keep your bird cage-free is bird proofing your home since most regular house settings are not secure enough for them.
To begin with, there are many potential threats to your birds, such as cooking stoves, electric wires, windows, ceiling fans, and lighting, air conditioning and heating systems, and devices like TVs.
Be cautious when cooking, using devices, and while the lights are on. To prevent your birds from flying away, keep the doors to your bathroom, bedroom, and external areas like patios, balconies, and porches closed.
Another thing to keep in mind is that certain birds, like parrots, may be quite destructive. They will destroy everything they can with their beaks and claws.
Be sure that your cushions, sofas, carpets, mats, blankets, and other textiles are resistant to birds.
All of your furniture and area textiles should be made of durable material that can survive stray beak and claw scratches.
Observation has shown that parrots have a strong preference for leather and suede, maybe due to the pleasure of pinching through it or their favorite back-and-forth beak sawing motion.
The majority of house birds are also obviously attracted to wicker, which is manufactured from plant material and woven together to create baskets, seats, footrests, and other items.
A Macaw or Amazon can take down a wicker item in a few well placed chews, however an uncaged cockatiel may take a week to accomplish so due to their destructive and foraging habits.
If you have the dustier bird species, like cockatoos, your couch or chair can be a canvas for your bird’s dust and dander, particularly on darker hues. Fabric furniture is more safer from your birds’ fury.
There is no way to completely birdproof your home, so if no one is home to keep an eye on them, think about obtaining an aviary to keep them in if you do not want anything to damage your pet while you are gone.
Uncaged birds might fly off and get lost.
Parrots (and the majority of birds) do not come back to their homes as cats or dogs do. Additionally, they are not pigeons. They lack the natural abilities to recognize the spot that was a human shoulder.
The majority of birds cannot wander off like dogs or cats and still find their way home. While you may give them full reign within the home, keep them from venturing outdoors.
Closing windows and doors is a good place to start, but you may also clip your bird’s wings to restrict them from flying away and closer to your house.
Remember that keeping a bird in a cage or inside is often done to keep people out rather than to keep the bird trapped within. With the exception of a few species, like pigeons, the majority, if they fly away, may not find their way home and may not even live in the wild.
Have an aviary or coop for your birds to retreat to at night or from dangers if you’re thinking of letting them fly free outdoors. You’ll need to fight with wild predators and environmental factors.
Birds Are Easily Scared
Birds face several dangers in the environment, as most other creatures do, which is why they have evolved a flight reflex. As a result, it is advised to have a location where they may flee to in case of danger.
The simplest solution is generally to utilize a cage, but as was already said, you may also use a bird room. An aviary, coop, or treehouse (sometimes known as a bird’s nest) will do for birds that are left unattended outside the home.
Also keep in mind that when upset, the majority of parrot species become excessively noisy and aggressive, and they often bite.
It may be difficult to tame them without a cage because of it and their innate destructive nature.
Some birds are filthy and dusty.
Keeping a pet bird’s trash under control and the cage clean might be a daily struggle if you live your life (and house) with it. So picture the job you’ll have if you let your bird buddy wander about the home, tracking dirt and excrement into your gadgets, furniture, and other items.
Please also be aware that a clean bird does not exist. All house birds are quite the handful, leaving behind molted feathers, droppings, chewed-up toys, empty seed hulls, and hurled food.
As a result, having a cage makes things simpler since all the filth will be confined there rather than across the whole room or home.
If you own expensive home things that the birds may easily ruin, you should particularly avoid letting them roam free. Keep doors to dangerous locations, such as restrooms, closed, and keep any wires and other chewable materials out of sight.
Additionally, watch out for anything that may capture, zap, or otherwise endanger your bird. I can’t even count how many times I’ve had to rescue my bird from a mouse or rat trap.
Think About the Personality of Your Bird
Keeping a bird without a cage is a great option, particularly if you have a timid bird that you wish to let out more. However, if your bird is overconfident, you can have problems.
An overconfident bird outside of its cage might become extremely aggressive and resemble having a wild bird within your home. You could find it overwhelming at first, but you’ll ultimately get bored of the bustle.
The character of the bird must also be taken into account.
If your birdie is rather lazy and hence not overly destructive in terms of home goods, you will have greater luck keeping him cage-free.
A bird that spends the most of the time perched on your shoulder or on a play stand…
However, any bird that cannot wait more than 0.2 seconds before he is perched on something or other, is one that you should not maintain in an open cage. He welcomes attention of any kind, whether it is favorable or unfavorable.
Best Birds that don’t need cages
Not all birds are good candidates for cageless upkeep, as you may have already seen. Parrotlets and other smaller bird species are best when maintained in cages since housing them in a complete room would be excessive.
However, bear in mind that not all small birds make for good cage species.
Some species, like sparrows, must fly freely more often since it’s the only way they can stay active and healthy.
Pigeons, on the other hand, are not very enormous in size but prefer not to be too caged. They are really among the few house birds that may be let outside and not completely stray.
When searching for a pet bird that can live outside of a cage, have a look at the list of birds below.
Parrots:
If you take care of safety hazards like ceiling fans, stovetops, wires, restrooms, and other areas, the majority of parrot species may live outside in your house.
However, make sure your birds always have a place to call home where they can perch, relax, feed, drink, and sleep even if it’s only a dedicated stand.
Additionally, despite the fact that larger parrots need larger cages, there is a tendency among owners of larger parrots to keep them cage-free within the home.
Therefore, it’s not strange to contemplate to keep macaws or Amazon parrots cage-free but consider an outside aviary for times when you don’t want them to wander the home.
I should also mention that although keeping your parrot cage-free is an option, doing so comes with a high chance of your bird flying outdoors.
Be prepared to clean up after your pet with whatever many items they ruin, depending on your bird’s behavior and your degree of comfort.
Doves and pigeons:
Doves and pigeons may need a cage as a base of operations and a secure location if they are housed, but they also need a lot of time outside to exercise and interact with other birds.
They are less likely to go lost outdoors than most house birds because, unlike most house birds, they are able to navigate back to their homes.
They resemble cats but have wings and a stronger sense of direction and are likely among the finest birds to maintain outside of a cage, despite not being as cute or colorful as parrots.
Domestic sparrows:
Although sparrows make erratic pets, they are also social birds, so they want companionship and some space to live happily.
In other words, you may let them fly about or inside your home at will. If you must keep them in a cage, just make sure it’s big enough for them to fly in as they can’t exercise by climbing like parrots.
Additionally, have daily access to fresh food and water, starting with young birds.
Be aware that sparrows, like the majority of native or migratory species, are protected and that it is forbidden to keep them inside your house. Only house sparrows (Passer domesticus), and only if it is done outside of their natural habitat, are permitted to be domesticated in the US.
Finally, it is possible to maintain finches and canaries without cages since they are practically as active as sparrows and need a spacious cage for flying. However, their kids have a higher tendency of taking off and not returning home.
