Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 2/2/2008

Question
Hello, I recently bought 2 parakeets. I want to let them fly around the room, but I am scared. Are they going to fly around and never return to their cage? because it will sure be a hassle chasing them and trying to get hold of them. Do they normally fly back in their cage when they get tired of flying/exercise?

Answer
Hi, Ahmed,

It depends on the individual birds, but usually no.  Most keets love to be out of their cage and flying around and prefer not to return to their cage.  However, some birds will return to their cage to eat and drink.  But this just depends on the particular birds you have purchased and whether they like their cages or not.  Some will not go back into their cages for fear they will get locked inside.  I don't advocate allowing birds to fly free in our homes because there are too many dangers for them.  They can fly onto hot burners on our stoves, into commodes or sinks full of hot water and soap, fly into ceiling fans, fly straight into walls/windows (and die in the process), fly right out open doors/windows, etc.  It would help to keep their wing flight feathers trimmed.  If trimmed properly, your birds won't be able to gain altitude when they fly, so this will allow you to have some type of control over your birds.  Also, birds cannot see in the dark, so when you would want to catch them to put them back into their cages, all you have to do is turn off all the lights/make the room dark so they will roost, and then you can pick them up where they have roosted.  But again, it's not always safe for our birds to have free-flight in our homes.  A better solution would be to keep them in some type of large flight cage or aviary so they can still fly freely, but within a confined area so they will be safe.

Chrys