# i'm feeling kind of guilty and now need solutions



## jojo09 (Oct 9, 2010)

so today mom and dad brought gary home a brand new cage!  when we adopted him he came in a very simple hanging cage and it was due time for an update. our budget wasn't very big, but i had my eye on a cage from petco called the Super Pet EZ care bow front mini playtop. looong name. haha. now for what your getting, the cage is way over priced. lucky us, we found it for only $62.00! i figured that was a good enough deal to go ahead and pull the trigger. We got the new cage all set up and i do believe it's very pretty, but now that Gary has made himself all cozy and at home inside, i feel kind of bad. I always read about how everyone's tiels like to fly around the home and some of you have special aviarys for them. it sounds wonderful. Gary had his wings clipped right before we adopted him, so naturally he doesn't fly. i'm not even sure if he ever has, but if i let his wings grow out its not like he'll be able to fly in his cage. it's a wonderful set up for climbing around. plenty of perches, toys and his playtop. what can i do to make up for the small cage and the urge to fly? i live in an apartment so i cant exactly get a massive bird cage. i would like to give him the gift of flight eventually. i think he deserves it. are there games i could let him play around the home? should i let his wings grow and have him practice around our apartment? help! i adopted him to let him live a happy, long life. not to sit on his bum.


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## cheekyboy (Jul 14, 2009)

I just googled that cage and what an amazing find for $62!!!! The website I looked at had them on sale for $200! 

I think your tiel will be quite comfortable in that cage. Granted, it doesnt allow for flying space, but most cages dont- even the big ones  I have quite a large one, but once you start putting perches and toys in the room disappears quickly. Unless you have an aviary its just not going to happen. 

All my boys are flighted, and get their exercise from flying around my bedroom (which isnt all that big either. Lots of people keep their birds wings clipped permanently though, so if you want to keep it that way then thats fine. My tiels often hang on to the side of the cage and flap their wings, or hang upside down and do the same thing- it stretches them until they can come out for a good fly!


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## jojo09 (Oct 9, 2010)

haha omg gary does the upside down thing. we call him bat bird when he does that. thanks so much for your reply. it makes me feel a lot better about his new home. you should have seen his old one. yuck! i was so happy to take him home and away from that lady. he's sitting on my laptop, preening right now


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

dally had the same problem. im in an appartment too. what i did was taught her to fly first short distances to the cage top. then when she did well on those id move farther and farther until i was across the room. shes a good flyer now. shes still semi-clipped as shes got some clipped feathers that still need to molt out but she can get 30 feet with the feathers she has. its better to teach him to fly, even if you plan to keep him clipped. they are supposed to land good when clipped and not crashland. dally never learned before she was clipped so she fell a lot and wasnt so confident. now shes learning and she no longer hurts herself when landing. i say teach him to fly, and if you wish, clip him after. gradually though. dont clip all right away. clip 2 feathers on each wing one day, and one more the next and see how that goes... if not enough, clip on more on each wing. thats only IF you want him clipped after, thats your personal choice. i personally like a flighted bird and thats why dallys gonna be flighted but im not against clipping. tsuka will stay clipped as hed be too unmanageable


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> what can i do to make up for the small cage and the urge to fly?


Let him out of the cage frequently! That's what we all do with our pet birds whether we have a larger or smaller cage.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

My birds are always out their cages and only go in their cage to go to sleep during the night. They are spoilt they got a table to play on with food toys, they like to sit at the window and watch people walk past and look for birds and get chirpy when they see their daddy coming.


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## Sar (Sep 22, 2010)

That is a beautiful cage for Gary 

Billy spends a lot of time in his cage (smaller than that one) but this is through choice as he flies around the lounge then climbs into his cage to nap. He often comes back out though and sulks if I shut the door. Gary will be fine in that cage if you let him out enough, and he will learn to fly if given the opportunity (in the UK we rarely clip wings, but there are good arguments either way, depending on the circumstances)


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## mpayjr (Aug 16, 2010)

I had the same issue jojo09. I was trying to figure out how I was going to give Isaac and Amber the chance to live like birds and not have to sit on their "bums" all day in their tiny cage. It's the only other cage I have since my other pair, Jagger and Grace are laying. But to meet their needs, I allowed their flight wings to grow in and I just allowed them to step out of their cage and get the exercise they needed. They love flying around my room and playing with me and my family. Trust me, he will love you dearly for letting him come out of his cage, to the point that he can't wait to see you!


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