# Do you leave them out the cage



## Fairydust125 (Sep 9, 2009)

When you are home do you leave your Cockatiel(s) outside their cage..leave the door open, or on their play area or leave them inside all day? What do you do?


----------



## WallyBird (Nov 23, 2009)

If I'm home,I let my tiels out of their cages. They hang out either on my shoulder or on an outside cage play area. I make sure when they are out they don't go unsupervised, I'm always very close to prevent unsafe situations. I only leave my house to go to work and that's the only in cage time my tiels have. Whenever they are unsupervised, I leave them in their cages with the door closed. It's only acceptable to leave the cage door open if your in the same room. You never know what a tiel will do while your gone.


----------



## clawnz (May 28, 2009)

I leave my two Tiels to do whatever they like. 24/7. They are free to fly wherever they want, but generaly keep to the conservatory. And most of the time they keep to the gym.
I had Tweety for a year and she was treated the same.
They do no damage, they are just so well behaved.
They also fly in an area that is nearly all glass and never fly into it? Over 60 panes of it.
Three doors, Two French Windows, and two sides of the 'L' shaped flight are glass.


----------



## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

When im home i leave the door open and there free to come in and out as they wish, my cage is also next to my bed so they can walk to me on the computer or the window to sticky beak whats going on outside (as there wings are clipped)


----------



## cheekyboy (Jul 14, 2009)

Regrettably my tiels spend most of the day in their cage due to my working and horse riding routein, but I make sure they get a good hour minimum out of their cage of an evening. On the weekends they spend more time out too. That was one of the reasons I invested in a flight cage, and also a reason why I have 3 tiels rather than one. They seem happy and healthy with what they do get and are still as tame as anything. I often leave the tv or radio on when im gone too.

I think its just what you can manage. I would LOVE to have my tiels out all day, but its just not possible  They also dont know how to get in and out of their cage by themselves which can be a pain sometimes! lol.


----------



## allen (Aug 25, 2007)

some spend time out of the cage some don,t the ones that don,t i go to take them out but they rather be in the cage the ones that come out i only let them out if i,m home to supervise you never know what they can get into


----------



## LuvMyTiels (Dec 31, 2009)

If I'm not home by birds are in their cages. When I'm home they spend about an hour or so out of their cages. I have dogs that are mostly inside and even though the dogs have never shown aggresion towards my birds I just can't risk it. I'm working on solutions for more out of cage time. I wish that I had a birdproof bird room where they could be out 24/7.


----------



## elenafan23 (Aug 16, 2009)

My cockatiels aren't caged so they do as they please =p


----------



## 7isheaven (Dec 2, 2009)

I would recommend letting your tiels out only under supervision. Just like if you had a toddler. When we are at home, our tiels and keets have the cage door open to come and go. They'll sit on top of the cage usually, chase eachother like Red Barons in flight or may prefer the couch or floor. Their wandering has proved problematic for me because I caught my Bella on the couch below my laptop one day doing something NOT GOOD. My A/C power cord I bought for my laptop (cost me $90 to replace 5 years ago) now has minor holes chewed in the coating and some fibers of the wire are frayed. It still works fine, no birds hurt, but you have to be extra careful they dont get around electrical stuff. Or rattan chairs...they LOVE to chew. Not all of them, but Bella is slightly mischievous. They typically go back in the cage by themsleves. It's healthy for them to have their freedom and exercise, but they also need to know where "home" is: the cage.


----------



## elenafan23 (Aug 16, 2009)

last time i caged them they had a night fright and i lost my old man cuz of it =[


----------



## dimplez (Oct 21, 2009)

I have Dimple out on his play gym on top of the cage. He can be up there all day long entertaining himself, but sometimes I let him ride on my shoulders if I'm not downstairs (where the cage is). Dimple has always stayed on his play gym unless we walk by & he'll flight to us. But the other day I came downstairs and I didn't see him on top of the cage like usual. I got so FREAKED OUT & started looking for him. He didn't even make any noise so I started to get real worried...Fortunately only within seconds he started to make this calling sound & I found him walking on the floor in the corner under our dining table...phew...So now I gotta make sure he's right here with me when I'm no where near the cage.


----------



## cheekyboy (Jul 14, 2009)

Gosh I know that feeling! 

The other day the fids were all out of their cage and something must have startled Chip, so they all set off full flight around the room. The others landed nicely on top of their cage, but apparently that wasnt good enough for Chip. I heard a bit of a crash and then nothing.. I had no idea where he landed and he wouldnt make a noise. So I searched high and low for him, and ended up finding him behind a HUGE chest of draws that had boxes piled on it. I looked behind it and here is a very guilty looking tiel peeking his head out. Of course, I had to move the WHOLE thing to get him out.. which took around 1/2 hr to take all the draws out and move the boxes. 

Man I could'a killed Chip that day!! haha. Little bugger.


----------



## dimplez (Oct 21, 2009)

That IS a scary experience cheekyboy!!! I lost 2 of my parakeets within….2 months when we first moved into a new house because my family kept leaving the door open & they flew away while I wasn’t home. With this tiel being so tamed, sometimes I can be quite careless thinking that he won’t escape…but I’ve come to realize that it’s EXTREMELY risky because we can never expect of what could possibly happen. Now I even got him a leash & everything because it will tear me apart if something happens...I’ll give it a try soon when the weather is warmer. Hopefully he won’t hate that much.


----------



## seaofdreams (Dec 29, 2009)

It's good to have a balance of out of and in cage time. I usually have the handraised tiels out at least an hour each once a day and when my parents arent home, I bring the cage inside and leave the doors open for everyone to have some free flight time. I've never clipped any of their wings as until 2 weeks ago, they lived in a large free flight aviary but I've been considering doing it to help me catch the more "wild" tiels when they're out of their cage. I feel a bit cruel though after years of being able to fly and I worry that they won't get enough exercise. I guess if I only take the outermost flights off, they can still fly but not fast enough for me to have to chase them down.


----------



## Fairydust125 (Sep 9, 2009)

Ok thanks..was just wondering. I leave Baby's cage door open when I am here to watch him..his cage is near my computer so while I am on it he has free roam but he usually stays near his cage anyway.


----------



## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

My 11 'tiels get their 'out time' before any of the other birds, their cage door gets opened at 8am and they all come out until 9am then they go back in. They get 30 mins out before bed too. I do the same thing every day so they know exactly when they come out and when they have to go back in.


----------



## Autumn (Dec 12, 2009)

I used to let my two out for as long as I was at home (their old cage was too small), sometimes six hours or almost all day. Now that work is piling up a bit more and I'm away from home longer during they day, they generally get 1-3 hours supervised outside time every day, and many hours during the weekends. They're happy to fly around.


----------



## Abbyroad909 (Dec 7, 2009)

My Winston is allowed out anytime one of us is in the room. We just open up her cage when we're around and she decides how much time to stay out. I can't leave her out unsupervised, since she tends to get into trouble even if we're there (eats books, walks behind furniture and gets scared, etc) but she's usually out 4 hours or so per weekday and more on weekends.


----------



## keith1 (Jan 4, 2008)

We always leave the cage doors open when we are at home. The only time we lock them up is when we leave, or the stove is on - just to play it safe.

Of course we get a couple little visitors quite often when we sit down at the kitchen table to eat


----------



## gaurdianaq (Nov 4, 2009)

my tiel always wants to be out of his cage.... he can't always have it as he chews everything and well ya when he is out i usually have to lock the cat up when he is in a flying mood as he enjoys swooping the cat but.... ya cat is a bit of a hunter... if he didnt chew everything and we didnt have the cat I would leave him out more


----------



## Clawsworth (Nov 9, 2009)

Nimbus has her cage door open at all times except when we're boiling water or cooking (since once she has tried to land in boiling water, but a quick husband saved her). Even when we go out though, she only stays in her cage even though it's open. I set up a webcam once and she only sleeps the 4 hours we're away each day. She's well behaved and the place is small and bird-proofed so that there'd be no trouble to get into even if she decided to leave when we were away.


----------



## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

Spike only comes out of his cage when Iam around to watch him, if I have to go into another room I take him with me, he will follow me if I don't


----------



## Spike (Oct 5, 2009)

Mine are free roam 24/7 for the most part, although they choose to mostly stick to the cage area. Except Spike who likes to spend most day on my head or shoulder going where I go in the house, and is capable of flying up or down the stairs to even find me on a different floor lol...but there are times when I feel its better to lock them all up..like now for example! For the last 2 days they have been caged (and dealing quite well I must say!) because we are fostering a rescue puppy in the house, and hes a jack russel terrier. If anyone knows anythign bout jacks, I dont need to say more as to why my poor lil guys are caged right now! 

I also fully understand why other choose to cage other than during full supervision, but its not for us... I like my birds havig the opportunity to live freely!


----------



## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Reading those stories of missing teils reminded me of my experience. I had left Birdie out of his cage and popped downstairs and come back up and he was missing, i looked everywere even outside and nothing, rather sad i came back to my room and there he is, sitting infront of the trill box looking at me like im the biggest idiot in the world. I couldnt see him because i thought he was a bird on the box  scared the living daylights out of me though


----------



## Spike (Oct 5, 2009)

Ezzie said:


> Reading those stories of missing teils reminded me of my experience. I had left Birdie out of his cage and popped downstairs and come back up and he was missing, i looked everywere even outside and nothing, rather sad i came back to my room and there he is, sitting infront of the trill box looking at me like im the biggest idiot in the world. I couldnt see him because i thought he was a bird on the box  scared the living daylights out of me though


LOL cute!

first day I brough Ava home, she was only in the house a few minutes when she went missing... I was tearing all sorts apart, really freaked by this time trying to find her..like where the heck could she be. I was worried.... finally found her quiet as can be, snuggled into some office papers, that were sorta folded behind a picture frame. She fit into them so perfect and snuggly.. i wonder how long she would have stealthily stayed back there so quietly for..lol she thoght she was pretty smart I tell ya, I am sure she was proud of her hide and seek capabiltites!


----------



## spiko (Dec 15, 2009)

Spiko And Sadie are always out when we are home.If we leave for a couple of hours we will leave them out if we deem the surroundings "safe" no fire going in the wood burner, no other pets out and about, no pans of water sitting out, well, you get it.

If we are gone for more than 1 -2 hours, regardless of how safe the surroundings seem to be, we err on the side of caution and always put them back in the cage. And, always at night because of possible night frights.


----------



## jc119007 (Dec 28, 2009)

Kikou stays in her cage if we're not at home, and is allowed out if we are. If we go into another room she comes with us (she will call otherwise- but that's normal because we've only had her for a few days). I've taken to putting her in her cage when I cook for several reasons, a) she's just ove 6mths and flys like a kamikaze so I don't want boiled or roasted cockatiel since we have an open kitchen/lounge area and b) I've become slightly paranoid about teflon fumes coming from the kitchen when I cook, even though I have the hood and the window open (shutters down though!).


----------



## petesmom (Feb 16, 2010)

When my husband and I are home, we leave Petey's cage open. He's free to come and go as he pleases. He spends most of his time on one of our shoulders but he does hop back over to his cage to eat, drink and occasionally nap (though as I type this he is snoozing on my shoulder). 

He is ALWAYS in his cage when we are not home (he has a penchant for chewing wires/cords as well as books - constant supervision is a must) and he is in his cage when we are cooking. I don't really think he'd fly into the stove area but I'd much rather be safe than sorry.


----------

