Quality Time

I recently read a post by Ms. EllenD stating that birds need 4-5 hours of out of cage time a day. I decided to research this a bit more and most pet store and pet info sites seem to say around 1-3 hours for a small bird, and more for a bigger bird. I've also visited a bunch of bird forums and most of the very experienced people seem to have their birds out of their cages 8+ hours a day, which isn't really realistic to Nico and I at the moment. (Do these people stay at home all day?)
However, almost all of what I've read says that it's not just the quantity of time outside that matters, it's the quality. What constitutes "quality time"?

I'd also like some tips on how to improve the quality of time I spend with Nico if possible.
Activities in cage: Occasional chatter ("Hi Nico bird! Whatcha doing? Hey buddy boy! Are you having fun? Do you wanna play?"), Playing music to him and singing, and our little game of peekaboo (He'll come up to the side of the cage closest to me, we'll both bob our heads up and down, I'll say hello, and he'll scramble away then come back)

Activities outside of the cage: Singing with choreographed petting, letting him sit on my guitar as I play, letting him sit on my keyboard as I work, cuddling, chatting (I chat, he chirps), sitting on my lap or head while I hang out with friends, walks outside, supervised exploring

He seems to enjoy perching on a spot of his choosing and grooming and staring off into space more than exploring a lot of the time. He's also more likely to fall asleep when he's let outside of his cage for some reason (he's constantly making a ruckus when inside of his cage), would anyone know why?

Hello...

I always use "4-5 hours a day" as what I tell new bird owners because I want them to realize the commitment they are taking-on...And also because I believe that 4 hours a day out-of-cage-time is the MINIMUM for ANY PARROT...

***Please do not take the advice you listed about "A small bird not needing as much attention/out-of-cage-time as a larger bird", as that is terrible advice/information, and not at all true!!! The size of a parrot has no-bearing whatsoever on the intelligence of a bird or the needs of a bird. And while yes, it's true that parrots such as Cockatoos, African Greys, and Macaws do have the intelligence of a 4-5 year-old child, you'd be hard-pressed to find an owner of a smaller parrot, such as one of the Conures, the Lorikeets, the smaller Amazons, etc. that would not tell you that their birds are too intelligent for their own good. Each bird is an individual, and there are some birds of the same species who have different needs, just like people do. So while some Sun Conures are fine with 3-4 hours a day out of cage time and seem content with that, others are going to scream their heads-off if they're inside of their cages for that long...And yes, this too goes for the very large parrots as well...So size of the bird should not be taken into consideration when choosing a pet bird because you think that a smaller bird will require less out-of-cage-time or less direct interaction...My Senegal would have a bone to pick with you about this, lol...

You are however correct in-that the "Quality" of the time is extremely important, just as important as the quantity of time...However, we get a lot of new members who come here BEFORE THEY GET A BIRD, and one of their main questions for us is "How much time am I going to have to spend with my bird each day? How long will I have to let my bird out of his cage every day?" The best answer to these questions, in my opinion and in an "ideal world" would be "Whenever you are at home, your bird should be out of his cage and in the same room as you are, even if you're not directly interacting with them"...But it's not an ideal-world...

The issue that we see quite a bit is that some of these people who come to ask this question before getting a bird are asking the question BECAUSE THEY ALREADY KNOW THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME FOR A PET PARROT...OR, they come here with the plan that they will let their bird out in the morning before work for an hour, and then will let the bird out for another hour or so after work at night before bed, and they really think that 2-3 hours a day is enough time for a bird to be out of it's cage, let alone actually "directly" interacting with the bird...So when I write that "Birds require at least a minimum of 4-5 hours a day of out-of-cage-time", I'm writing that for two reasons: Because I believe it to be true, regardless of species, and because I want people to think twice about bringing home a bird so that it can sit inside it's cage all day long, every single day, and only come out for an hour or two a day, if that...

I like Ellen's take, especially the part about need for attention being related to size... every little budgie is all-parrot, all the time.
Good for you, for researching, reaching out, and being open-minded.

More details:
Nico and I spend almost all of the time I'm not in class together. We share a room, so we are indirectly together probably 16-20 hours a day, and he spends about 3-7 hours outside his cage depending on the day. He also has a roomy travel cage with different toys than the ones in his regular cage that he likes to spend time in, so he sometimes goes there when I'm in the room but can't supervise him (he's quite the rascal and loves to try to chew on wires anytime he can).

I would love to give him more time outside of his cage, but he gets into everything and it is impossible for me to be watching him closely constantly.My room is not 100% bird-play proof (I have devices plugged in and plenty of places that he could hide and I wouldn't be able to immediately find him, which I'm pretty sure is unsafe).
I live in an apartment where I have one room to myself and share a bathroom and kitchen with others, so a room all to himself is not going to be realistic in the near future. Any advice to help his quality of life would be appreciated.

It might take more than an hour to get the bird back in his cage....hehehehe. Seriously. If the bird wants to come out and steps up eagerly to do so, chances are he/she will be reluctant to go back in. So that takes time as well. If left too long in its cage, they become extremely territorial and won't let you reach inside to get them out. All in all, these birds are extremely smart, large and small. My Conure is smarter than my Poodle and that's saying A Lot! Would you leave a dog or cat in a crate all day with just 4 hours of freedom? No, no one would. This bird will be a member of your family and should enjoy all the freedoms the rest of your family enjoy. That's the only way to give a parrot a happy, healthy life. This is a wild species, not domesticated like dogs and cats, so you'll have to make an extra effort to have a tame, fun-loving companion.

BTW, you definitely need to make your room 100% bird play safe....whatever that takes. I find that if Birdie can't see something, she won't go for it. Lots of dish towels cover wires and tape for outlets. But if they discover it's under there, they remember, and next time will peek under the towel to get at it, i.e., food especially. I guess they smell it. But the towels over the wires work great for us. She's put her mark on the wooden dresser in my husband's office, but that's because he's on the computer and not watching her. We now have a beach towel covering the front of the dresser, but too late.....she knows what's under there and keeps busy trying to pull the towel down. These birds are like 2-year old children. You're running after them the whole tile they're out of the playpen (cage).

What should "quality time" look like?

To me, quality time is engaging them directly for prolonged periods while they are out of the cage. You could be talking to them, singing to them, dancing or playing with them. Training is another good way to spend quality time. Make the training session pleasant and rewarding so the bird looks forward to it. My favorite is flight recall training. It's good exercise for the bird and teaches a crucial skill in case you lose him outdoors.

Quality time could also be multi-tasking. Letting the bird participate in your activities is great - as long as it's safe of course. Birds are flock animals so they want to be in on what their flock is doing. This could be something as simple as letting them perch on you while you're on the computer, watching TV or even studying. Make sure to talk to the bird or give them a scratch every so often so they're not bored. It could also be something as practical as letting them perch on the kitchen faucet while you wash dishes. Maybe let them 'help' you clean their cages, talking to them while you slave at it. You can make bird toys with them. You can fold laundry with them (just don't throw them in the washer by mistake haha). Showering with bird is another great quality time, just set the water on gentle and not hot.

These are some examples of quality time I can think of right this second. I am sure you will come up with more. Let him be with you while you go about your business at home, again keeping in mind that it's a safe activity. Looks like you do a lot of these already. Do aim for as much out of cage time activities with him as possible though. Best of luck and enjoy your time with Nico!

EllenD said:

Hello...

And while yes, it's true that parrots such as Cockatoos, African Greys, and Macaws do have the intelligence of a 4-5 year-old child,



So when I write that "Birds require at least a minimum of 4-5 hours a day of out-of-cage-time",

Click to expand...

uhh...How much time should an adult spend with a young child every day?

DiscoDuck said:

uhh...How much time should an adult spend with a young child every day?

Click to expand...

Every one of their waking minutes of course (the very young ones at least) - that is why it is very convenient they are not very mobile the first year or so ;P you can keep them in their cages for a bit (eh, cribs/ beds/ playpen/ whatever) and teach them to amuse themselves and get them socialized asap.

DiscoDuck said:

EllenD said:

Hello...

And while yes, it's true that parrots such as Cockatoos, African Greys, and Macaws do have the intelligence of a 4-5 year-old child,



So when I write that "Birds require at least a minimum of 4-5 hours a day of out-of-cage-time",

Click to expand...

uhh...How much time should an adult spend with a young child every day?

Click to expand...

You tell me, I don't have any human children...

How many hours do you think a bird owner should spend with their birds? As I first stated, in an "ideal world" all bird owners would have their birds out of their cages and at least with them in the same room whenever they are home (as parents of human children generally don't have babysitters with their kids once they get home, in this example I guess the bird's cage is it's "babysitter", which I guess it is, otherwise we'd leave our birds out free when we aren't home, and some people do)...However, it's not an "ideal" world, and as we all know, if we're being honest, not all bird owners care as much as other, nor are they all as responsible as others...or responsible at all in a lot of cases.

I don't myself at all believe that 4 hours a day of out-of-cage-time is enough for ANY SPECIES of parrot, and the very first thing that I do when I walk in the door is let my birds out of their cages and get them set-up on their stands, gyms, or with me wherever I'm at in my house...even if I'm outside working in the yard, they're either outside with me, or if it's raining or bad weather they're in the garage (or there if I'm working in my shop in the garage), or they're in my basement area where there are windows which open with screens overlooking my yard, so they can see me and still play on their play gyms...And my 2 dogs are outside with me or in the same room as me too...It's just how my own household works. I wish all homes with parrots worked this way, but that isn't realistic...

There are a lot of very loving, caring parrot owners who work a lot of hours and can't let their birds have as much out-of-cage-time as they should have every day, nor do they spend enough time directly interacting with them. And that goes for many parents of human children too...there are many parents to human children who spend less time with their kids than many parrot owners spend with their birds, or pet owners in-general spend with their pets...I don't like to judge, everyone's situation is different and everyone faces different challenges...

That being said, what I DO tend to speak-up about are people who have yet to ever have owned a parrot and who come here because they are thinking about getting one, and who want to know if letting a bird out in the morning before work for an hour and then at night for an hour or two after work is enough time for the bird to be out of it's cage during each day (and that's not even considering "quality time" or "direct interaction" with the bird, which would by-default be less than those few hours. So I'd much rather try to deter these people from bringing home a bird in the first-place if I can, and try to explain to them why I'm detering them from doing so. I've found that people like to hear an actual "number" when it comes to exactly how many hours are going to be "required" to spend with a parrot everyday if they get one (as awful as that sounds, that's what they tend to ask and want an answer to). So by giving them an minimum number of hours that they're going to "have to spend" with their bird everyday to keep the bird happy and healthy, and by using a 4-5 hour minimum, that pretty-much blows the people out of the water who are thinking a few hours a day is going to work...

***If I wanted to be totally unrealistic yet completely honest, I'd be telling people that "whenever they're home, their bird is out of it's cage and in their presence", but no one is going to take that seriously at all, and that does no one any good, least of all their potential, future parrots...

Although I worried about the quantity of time I spend with Nico, I was also concerned about the quality. I will admit I have not been letting him outside of his cage every chance I could because I know that sometimes there is no way I could give him my undivided attention when he is out, and I thought that that would make me a bad parront who can't give their child the type of free time they deserve. This thread has helped me discover that you don't have to be talking or cuddling or training your bird every second they are out. My guess is that as long as Nico is close to me and gets chitchat and pets occasionally while he's out, that counts as "quality time". These past couple of days he has been out whenever I'm home and not asleep I have also ordered him a playstand, since we don't have one of those yet (he just plays with whatever (safe) household object is available to him).