Theo, goffins cockatoo
Several years ago, back when I lived in Austin, I was contacted by one of my vet’s technicians about a goffins cockatoo that was in need of a new home. Her former owner, who loved her dearly, felt she was no longer thriving in his care. He did the right thing in making a hard decision that was for her benefit – even when it was clearly painful for him.
After talking, we made plans for Theo’s arrival to my house. He told me that he would bring all her belongings with him. He arrived with only a play stand.
“Where is her cage?” I asked.
“She has never been caged. She lives on the play stand.” he explained.
As it happened, I already had a cage that would be suitable for Theo, but I wanted her to have the familiarity of her own cage when she first arrived. I wished he had mentioned this me.
“So you work from home?” I asked.
“No, I’m gone most of the day. She stays on the stand.”
“How do you know she stays there?”
He pulled out one of her wings, the feathers of which were barbered down to the skin. This bird wasn’t flying anywhere. If she did jump from the play stand, there would be no way to for her to return to it without flight and he would know she had strayed.
After he left I prepared my spare cage for her – I was not comfortable with leaving Theo alone and uncaged for any length of time. However, she flatly refused to go into it without hysteria (her version of hysteria includes throwing herself to the ground and flailing wildly). I felt like I was stressing her out more than she could handle.
I continued my thought process – she was 22 years old and had lived with this guy and without a cage for almost all of her life. Maybe I should reconsider my position on insisting that she be caged. I decided to give the play stand a try.
But first, a test run. After double checking the bird-proofing in the house, I left her out on her play stand and ran out to the supermarket. I was so nervous I spent the entire time there trying not to throw up.
When I returned she was gone. I found her on the floor in a corner where she had utterly destroyed a large area of carpeting. Any notion of cageless-ness was abandoned at that point.
The moral of the story is this: ALL birds have the potential to wander the house while you’re away. MOST birds will. The few that stay put are in the extreme minority and it is a behavior that can change without any warning.
Theo really enjoys her cage now.
I think every bird owner has fantasized about keeping their birds cageless. Caging your bird feels like such an unfair thing to do. We love them, yet we confine them.
My feeling, though, is that a cage is not so much something that is meant to keep your bird in, as it is something to keep danger out. The human environment is full of things that can harm a bird.
Often the most dangerous things aren’t even on our radar when we are bird proofing. Who thinks to check what is hiding up on that highest shelf (my cockatiels found a tube of superglue)…or what is behind the refrigerator (like old insect traps-another cockatiel find)? A curious bird might find its way to everything we overlooked.
Bird proofing the house for a bird that will be hours without supervision is a daunting task. Have you ever paid attention to how many electrical appliances there are in your house? All of the power cords would have to be shielded. Are there cleaners and chemicals in your kitchen or bathroom cabinets? You don’t really believe that baby-proof lock is going to keep your crafty parrot out, do you? Do you have furniture? Do you like it?
Even if you were to completely empty a room your home so that your bird could have free reign in your absence, you may find you have a bird like Linus (my U2) who decided to tunnel through the wall from the living room to my adjoining bedroom one day when he escaped his cage. I am fairly sure that the only thing that stopped him from succeeding was the setting sun. Inside your walls is electrical wiring, insulation and “whatever else”.
I, personally, see no justification to risk allowing my birds to be uncaged when I am not there to supervise, but I do know that some people have done it for years without incident.
So, you have my opinion. What is your feeling on this topic?
Patty Jourgensen specializes in avian health, behavior and nutrition and has been working with and caring for rescue birds since 1987.
68 comments
We have just lost our long beak Corella aged 35. She had a prolapsed womb. she has not been caged for 30 years and free to roam as she pleased. she was part of our family She had a large macadamia nut tree for protection, this is where she slept and sat all day in between getting in to mischief She was with me all day while I worked sitting at my feet. She would come down and sit on my lap while I had my morning coffee and then want her breakfast. Caging her at any time was not an option, it would distress her so much. We do have other birds that are caged due to losing one (derbyan parrot Norbu )to a murderous cat last year. The derbyan was free to roam of a day but came inside to sleep of a night. The reason I tell you all of this is there is nothing nicer to see birds roam free & do as they please ( all our birds have their wings clipped but they can still fly) but I have now learnt that you can’t protect them from everything . My heart aches when I think about Banks and Norbu. All birds from now on will be caged and only allowed to roam free in the house. There is so much more to this story of these wonderful family members , the tale is to upsetting to tell. They were so loved
Our Sun Conure is probably 20+ and is only caged when people have to be in “his” room (the living room—he attacks new people) or when the vacuum is on. My partner is with him most of the time, but he is never caged. He has a sleeping nest he goes into at night. He works hard during the day chewing toys and building nests and watching the alley outside his window. He’s also an incredibly happy bird. I have cats (locked in the other half of the house with three sets of doors between them). They are indoor cats. Their quality of life is not as good as cats that are indoor-outdoor cats. I think there are tradeoffs on this issue and all birds are different. We won’t be caging our bird based on this article.
I have alexandrine parrot aka parakeet And he doesn’t like to be put in cage So should I do Bcz yesterday he chew the main electric wire Which could’ve electricuted him but thank God I got there in time So little help needed here please
Hi Nel, I read your comments and yes, parrots or any animal irrespectively are intelligent and clever and we as owner’s need to take care of their needs and safety. With regards to your upcoming holiday……you could check with your local pet centre if they have a care facility for animals while the owner’s are away. I have one not to far from where I live and charge a small fee for this service. Hope this could help you to go on holiday with a peace of mind. Enjoy and regards, Jerome Adriaanse
I have had a grey for over 40 years. Being military we have moved much and the few things that are consistent are being with us and her cage/home. She is rarely in her cage when I am home which is most of the time. When I leave the house, she is put in her cage without problem with a ‘goodby’ to send me on my way. My grey is notorious for eating things…baseboards, window sills, every one of my husband’s soccer shoes thru the years. She has catalogs, cardboard boxes, and wood to chew up and she does. Often I find her in her cage even with the door open. Her cage definitely appears to be her ‘safe territory’. We have cats and dogs and since she is most senior of the animals, she rules. All the others keep their space. Still, while I am gone I am more confortable with her in a cage as I know animal natures.
I have two African greys, one is caged when I’m not there, the other I rescued when she was 11 was caged most of that time and she is a very nervous bird. If I close her in she panics and pulls her feathers so I give her a free reign. She stays on top of her cages and only goes in for food
I have a pet sanctuary and was recently asked to take in several birds who have never been caged. I just can’t accommodate them. I’m not sure what he will do, but acclimating your birds to a cage is worth considering once you realize that a move or situation change could require you to rehome your birds. A move is not nearly so traumatic to birds who take their familiar safe haven with them.
I have 11 birds, 2 major Mitchell’s, 2 Galahs, 3 Eclectus, 4 love birds & a Rainbow Lorikeet. I covered my outdoor deck in Laser-lite and made big doors. This is now Their room where they can play all day BUT they ALL have a cage or small aviary they go to for sleep time or when I am not home. Makes sense to allow both as when they do feel tired or uncomfortable or are fighting they always retreat back to THEIR cage… Best of both worlds really!!
I have a Citron cockatoo named Coca .she is 30 years old .I have never clipped her wings and have trained her about her dropings from when she was a baby .She has designated places where there are mats and she will fly from me to her places to poop .She is very smart and she is like a little person .she does have a cage but it is for her to use when she wants to take a nap with the door open .the top is round and I have a small canopy over it and a high perch that she likes to go on for her nap .She also has a sleep cage in another room where it is dark and quiet ,.she lets me know when she wants to go in for the night .I do lock her in at that time .I also lock her in the day cage if I go out .She does not mind that at all as I tell her I have to go out and she will say goodby .Other than that she is free .She goes outside with us as well I have a screened in pool area .She have three perches there to fly back and forth if she wishes ..she loves to be outside but I only allow that if I’m out there as well as I do not trust the wildlife .She takes showers with me and sits in front of the mirror as I put on my makeup .She is such a good bird .she has her own food table I made from a plant stand .She eats on it when we eat .She is just a pleasure to have very loving and cuddly as well .God can create such a wonderful species and I’m blessed to share my life with her ..
My boy Montselvat has never been caged. He has a cage he calls his own to sleep in that’s it. He has bird toys he is not interested in and flys where ever he likes in the house. He also has a ‘doggy’ door made high in a window with perches either side so he can access an outside cage that is 10 meters by 3.5 meters straight off the back of the house. He doesn’t chew cables or objects in the house, he loves playing with tennis balls and brightly coloured objects, he eats with us and at the end of the day he puts himself to bed in his cage inside as regular as clock work. We didn’t train him to do any of this and have never & will never clip his wings.
I leave our Green Wing on her double perch all day and use her cage just at night time. We have a camera on her all the time so I check on her when we go go out with my phone. She stays on her perch but can fly off if something startles her. We have come zipping home to find her perched on the chIr just looking out the window.
Almost the first thing I do in the morning is open the door to my Senegal’s cage. She has a nice, big one & it’s where she sleeps. Sometimes she prefers to stay in all day but usually she’s out fairly soon & hollering for her breakfast which she eats on her play tree. She usually stays on her tree all day, right across the room from me, unless I need to go somewhere & then it’s “C’mon, let’s go to your night-night place.” where she goes willingly & the door is shut. She doesn’t mind a bit because she feels safe & secure there. I can go do whatever I need to do without worrying about interactions with the dog (My Doberman is scared of her…lol), or wondering what she’ll destroy while I’m gone or worrying that someone will come in & leave the front door hanging open. When I get home I open her cage door again & she can come back out if she wants to. Often she decides to hang out in her cage for awhile. Some folks think that a cage is a bad thing until they realize it’s the bird’s home. We have our houses, they have their cages. It’s a comfort zone.
All four of our ringnecks gets locked in their aviary when we are gone. When its too cold, they go into their cages. Mainly for their own safety. Having them all out at the same time requires constant supervision. Cantankerous toddlers for life :-)
I leave my orange winged Amazon out at all times with the exception of some weekends that I’m fine for three days. Of course I make sure that there is nothing that she could ingest but her food. She was a rescue from someone who had her in a small cage for 10 years and on the floor. When I first got her I took her to the vet and even the vet was shocked at the cage size. Sure enough I had a cage waiting at home, and left the top open. It’s been four years now, and the parrot that would stay silent and fear people yells tremendously and enjoys preening from me. Now, she does leave her cage and roam but there are never signs of destruction and every time I enter the room she is on either cage. As for my tiels, they can not be trusted since they have been caught chewing on my couch. Fool me once and lose privileges.
I have a 6yr old cockatiel and for the first couple of years he had his wings clipped and I used to put him in his cage when I went out and at night. He really disliked having his wings clipped and would mope around for days. I noticed that when his feathers grew out how much happier he was to be able to fly around our pole home which has very high ceilings. He loves to perform loops etc. and puts on quite a show of precision flying. At first I was concerned he would fly into a window but he has never had an issue and seems to be very in tune with his environment. Fortunately he is content with chewing up boxes/toys in his cage and flies to me on command. The other issue with flying free is dealing with the pooping and over time and with a little encouragement he has confined it to two places where I set down paper and never poops in his cages. He prefers to roost on a branch outside his cages and flies in at dusk, letting me know it is time to go “good night”and I draw the blind and put the screen in place. We live in the rainforest and there are a lot of native birds that would eat him for lunch so I put him in a cage if I take him outside however he always protests.One day to make his point he escaped and flew out the door as I opened it, then took off at top speed out over our garden, circled our pool and then proceeded to show off by flying in and out of the poles and verandahs before proudly returning and landing on my husbands shoulder. He has not tried this again and I expect it is because he has matured, and now is more aware of the danger as a few large birds and a monitor lizard have tried to attack him through the glass windows. He is a great watch bird and alerts us to visitors & critters. I feel lucky to be able to have my bird safely fly free and be so happy and contented.
Years ago I kept my cockatiels out most of the day on perches, but I also was home all day. I now have a different cockatiel (the first ones lived to 18 and 20 years). He will chew anything, he has made splinters out of nice wicker furniture. He chewed up a beautiful picture frame and one day I walked into his room to find he stripped my ficus tree of leaves. Now he’s in his cage a good part of the day, he likes his cage, has lots of toys and gets out for 3 to 4 hours a day but is supervised and checked on often. His buddy (a lovebird) is out of his cage a little more because he never chews anything he shouldn’t, he even spends an hour or so in the cockatiels cage each day and they enjoy each other. His favorite place to play is a Bed and Bath paper bag with small plastic toys in it. I think it just depends on the bird personality what works best for him.
Birds are intelligent and inquisitive and therefore need to be supervised once out of a cage, whether they are small or large. I had my bird for many years, until one day there were unannounced fire works at night. She had a fright and flew into a wall with disastrous consequences. This just illustrates that sometimes accidents happen beyond anyone’s control. A cage is a comfort and safety place for the birds where they can eat or be sick or recuperate. My birds fly free in daytime but only when I am at home. They also have a routine, whereby they come out of the cage first thing in the morning and they know when I have to leave listening and keeping an eye on my keys. They go in by themselves knowing when I return they will be let out again, they also sleep in their cage. My problem is I cannot find anyone to take over this routine if I were to go on a holiday in NSW, Australia. any suggestions ……….?
I don’t like to have birds in cages. My BY macaw has never been caged. He flies free in our home. We live on a farm 2 miles from city center. Sometimes he flies into city center or the train station but he always comes back after an hour or two. It is a bit risky but I think it is worth it for him to have his Fred om. When I go with my scooter, he follows me and enjoy every second of flying free with me. It would kill him to put him in a cage.
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