Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uflorida!novavax!jake!dc
From: dc@jake.UUCP (Don Chiappone)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Contributions from Exotic Bird owners.
Summary: Experience with un-caged birds.
Message-ID: <4337@jake.UUCP>
Date: 16 Oct 89 13:54:08 GMT
References: <7995@cloud9.Stratus.COM> <5280002@hpavla.HP.COM>
Organization: Gould CSD, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Lines: 33

In article <5280002@hpavla.HP.COM>, przybyls@hpavla.HP.COM (Tom Przybylski) writes:
> > We have a few cockatiels sharing our flat.
> > They have full run of the place, and are never in a cage.
> > If they wish, they can play with us, sleep on a knee, or ride on a shoulder.
> 
> 
[text deleted]

> > :: WCaplinger@teknowledge.com
> 
>      I find this intriguing.  I would love to give my pet cockatiel, Annie,
> more freedom, but I find that I must keep a very close watch on her when
> she is out of the cage.  It seems that you would have to go *way beyond*
> childproofing a house to let a bird run/fly free when your not around.
>      How do you handle things like that?  What about the mess issue?  I 
[text deleted]
> 
>      Maybe I worry too much?
> 
> - Tom Przybylski
> przybyls@hpavla.HP.COM


I have an African Grey and an African Senagal and neither bird is caged.
There are 2 large cages with perches on them and they seem to spend most of
their time climbing about or just sitting there.  They both fly and the only
problem I initially had was their tendency to chew dry wall (of all things).
I started providing them with wood blocks suspended by chain and now their
chewing is confined to the blocks.  You must be careful opening outside doors
of course.  As far as the mess -- just seeds, apples, etc -- no big deal to
clean up.  I keep plexiglas sheets under the cages.  The small additional mess
cleanup effort is more than compensated for by the feeling of at least giving
them some freedom.  A caged bird is a sad sight.