I know a lot of people will probably disagree with me, but I do keep my birdsā cages in a bird room. That thing you call āpassive interactionā, I donāt see how that would benefit the bird. When I walk into the bird room and donāt take my birds out of their cages, they start screaming, pacing, and begging for attention. I think being able to see me but not being able to reach me causes them distress. Kermit even starts chewing on his cage bars to get my attention if he sees me in the room but Iām not taking him out. My birds contact call when I first leave the room, but they really donāt scream much when theyāre in their cages in the bird room without anyone there.
Keeping their cages in a separate room is also for their own safety, because I have a cat. I lock the door to the bird room when Iām not in there so my cat canāt get in and cause the birds harm. Not that heās interested in the birds at all, but itās always better safe than sorry and the presence of a predator in the area can cause a lot of stress to the birds. I know that cats and birds donāt mix in the same home, so I wonāt get another cat after Milo (who was there before the birds). Thatās the only time I can even consider keeping my birds downstairs in the living room, but I donāt think they would like that as much because they would be watching me pass them by and they would feel ignored.
Also keep in mind that I have multiple birds so they can talk to each other when Iām not home. Theyāre not isolated or alone because they have each other, even if theyāre all in separate cages. Theyāre also out of their cages at least 4 hours a day like they should be.
Feel free to respectfully disagree with my opinion, because we can all learn from each other including myself. Iāve kept my birds in a separate bird room for as long as Iāve had them, but then again, I only have around 5 years of bird experience.
You said you keep your "birds" in a bird room...Plural, correct? That's a different situation all together, especially if your birds are bonded to one another, or have been together for some time...We're talking about a very young, probably just-hand-raised/weaned baby bird coming into it's very first home, and putting their cage in a room away from the "action", by themselves...Think about that for a minute....He's going to be constantly hearing his "flock" in the house, hear their TV, stereo, talking, eating, etc., but he won't be able to see them, he'll be completely by himself, and all he knows are the people in the house as his "flock"...no other birds in the room with him that are ALSO A PART OF HIS "FLOCK"...That's the difference here..Well, that and that he's most-likely going to be a very young, baby bird who was hand-raised and needs to be among his people and kept social...
And as far as "Passive Interaction" goes, it's a very real thing, especially with single birds who only have the people who live in the house as their "flock" members...Passive-Interaction is exactly the reason why a single-bird (or a bird who is not at all bonded with another bird in the same "bird room") who is kept alone, by itself in a "bird room" or a room away from "the action" will often simply sit and scream, or just sit in it's cage all day long, every day, and not even touch their toys, not move, not play at all, not swing, they simply go to their bowls to eat and drink and then the rest of the time they sit there, bored to tears, and this is also usually how Feather-Destructive Behavior starts...They don't want to entertain themselves because they are too preoccupied with what the rest of their "flock" is doing out in the living room...However, if the bird's cage is simply moved into the living room where the flock-members are all sitting, talking to each other, watching TV, eating a meal together, etc., the bird will usually be happily playing with their toys, climbing around the cage, swinging, or talking/singing...That's "Passive Interaction", and all it means is allowing a Flock-Animal to be among it's Flock, as it should be...Now if there are other birds in the house that are also a part of the "Flock" and they are in their own cages back in a "Bird Room" or a spare room away from the main-room of the house where the action is, then those birds are not away from their Flock, not their entire Flock anyway...
It's a pretty simple concept really, it's all about "Letting a Flock-Animal be among it's Flock and with it's Flock-Members, and how this brings them security, comfort, and contentment"...
EDIT: Something else that was mentioned to me by a new Volunteer at the Rescue a while ago was about comparing parrots being "Flock Animals" to how you want to try to "Socialize" new puppies, kittens, ferrets, pigs, etc. by taking them out among different people as much as you can...It's important to note that this concept is not at all the same thing as "Socializing" another type of pet so that they aren't aggressive and don't bite/growl at strangers, etc. Parrots are like people in the sense that you can't really "Socialize" them in a general kind of way; they either like a person or they don't. Sure, taking your birds out in public with you often will make them less-frightened about being out of the house and among stranger, different sounds, different sights, moving vehicles, etc. But the concept of keeping your bird's main-cage in the "main room" of your home, the room where the Flock-members who live there spend their time when they are home is not done to "Socialize" your bird; socialization may happen as a result of them being among visitors when they come over, or hearing and seeing new things on TV, etc., but that's just a secondary-effect...Having their main-cage out in the "main-room" of your home is very much simply allowing your bird to be the Flock-Animal that they are, instead of keeping them alone in a room away from where the rest of their Flock spends their time, like you do with pets who are naturally/innately "Solitary" animals, such as Bearded Dragons. Bearded Dragons are "Solitary" animals/reptiles, they want to be by themselves all the time, and are most-content when they are alone, and this is why you typically cannot keep Beardies together or even allow them to be out of their enclosures together, because they attack each other, dominate each other to the point of starvation/emaciation, and usually one ends up killing the other one, one way or another...So they should only be put together for a male and female to mate/breed, and only for the time it takes them to mate, then they should be separated immediately again...That's how "Solitary Animals" or pets work...
So bottom-line is that if you want to keep a Flock-Animal as your pet, and a highly-intelligent Flock-Animal at that, you need to remember that YOU ARE THEIR FLOCK NOW, THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE HOUSE WITH THE BIRD ARE THEIR FLOCK, AND AS SUCH THEY NEED TO BE LIVING AMONG THEIR FLOCK!
