Cage Free is Not Always Best
“My bird is cageless. It’s a free roam bird. It never goes in a cage and it’s been this way for years “ “Help my bird got spooked somehow and it flew all around the house crashing into walls and now it’s concussed and broke bones and it needs to be in a medical cage. But being in a cage stresses my bird out because its never had a cage”
Cages are not prisons unless you make it one. If you provide your bird ample space, proper enrichment, and your bird still gets socialization and a change of environment, a cage is not a bad thing. Technically, a house is a cage for a “cage free” bird. Or a room is still a cage. Even dogs and cats are kept in “cages” as in our houses. Fenced in yards and outdoor aviaries are still “cages” but they’re not viewed as negative as bars.
If you choose not to cage your birds ever and let them have free roam of your home, that is your choice. But they are left unattended out, they have access to all sorts of dangers. Outlets, chords, walls, wood trim, appliances, even flying out the front door. this can lead to an increase in them getting hurt and needing to go into a medical cage. That can stress a “cage free” bird out and now you have a severely hurt stressed bird, which can easily cause the bird to then die since they are in a vulnerable state physically and stress alone can kill a healthy bird.
If you choose to have a “cage free” house, make sure they’re limited to a bird safe room when you’re not there. Make sure they are still comfortable in a cage for when a medical emergency is to happen, a medical cage and a carrier.
Most people who have their birds be “cage free” always have an accident and after that accident, they never go back to it because they see the dangers of a free range wild animal in a home.
Personally, I would love to have “free range” birds. I know it isn’t safe, especially since I have dogs. So, I got them aviaries and large cages for those who can’t go in an aviary. Never do I doubt that their quality of life is decreased because they get in a cage. My birds are never stressed in their cages. They don’t scream in their aviaries to be let out. They like to go back in their cages.