Ways to improve your birds life?

[haylo]

Browsing different forums today and got curious.
What are some ways you've changed your own or your birds habits/life/food/cage to make their life better since taking them home?

I know I've changed a lot over just 6 years between my three birds, and I'm still learning-- so I'm wondering how that's looked for y'all!

bird tax:

my little middle aged dude

 

[rheashard2]

I've changed a lot over the decades especially diet related do's and do not's. Some of the foods I freely fed in past are a definite do not now! I prefer rooms a lot warmer compared to the past. So I now bundle up to keep home comfortable for dogs, cats, and bird. I use an actual room thermometer and humidity sensor instead of 'feeling'. I'm cold at 76°! Tolerance is 78°. Comfort is 82°! The only real advantage is I can feel the slightest draft! That used to annoy my daughter. She thought I was becoming mental. I demonstrated with a candle to verify mental or not there's a draft. Now I only get irritated looks when I complain about drafts.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

About 2 years ago i was down to only 3 budgies , two that shared a cage and flew free all day as long as we were home and a single female that now lived alone because her cagemates died. I acquired several more budgies bringing my flock to 12. I currently have 19 thanks to a couple of the newcomers deciding to make babies.

The life changing thing for all of us was our decision to allow 8 of them to fly free in the house sunup to sundown regardless of whether we're home. We started out by letting 8 of the budgies, including 6 incomers, fly free in the living area while we were home. However, when it came time to put them back in their cages before we left for our part time jobs, the 6 newbies were not cooperative. They were large calm English Budgies, which are slower and easier to catch than regular budgies but we still had to chase them around the room for at least 40 minutes coercing them onto a stick or hand to put them in. This went on for weeks and was stressful for everyone. Finally, one day we were running late for work and decided to just leave them all out until we got home. These budgies were really good about staying out of trouble while out so we figured what could they do? They didn't do anything. When we got home they were all just hanging out on top of their cages. Ever since then the 8 plus three more have only been caged at night. They are definitely spoiled rotten by all this freedom. I think they'd be pretty upset if we suddenly decided to lock them up when we went out and we would feel terrible.

 

[Vampiric_Conure]

I've been a bird slave since 2000. A **LOT** has changed since then. I started off with budgies and now have a white-capped pionus, a Congo African grey, and many others. I have bigger cages. More toys. I know how to prevent breeding. I know what species I can keep together. Out of cage time is important, and oh, how important it is! Most importantly, I know how to train my birds and do it so they won't hate me!

 

[clark_conure]

Had birds before but my first two GCCs I clipped and took them to stores and stuff. When covid hit both passed away for different non disease reasons. I just moved everything to the Den and the next birds I just let them free flight around the spacious room. I no longer clip the birds mostly because of the arrangement I now have with them all being ok to be out all the time. Was fun with the original crew and walking into stores when they were clipped and people going WTF?

 

[DonnaBudgie]

You've got a lucky flock to have all that freedom!
Do you put them in their cages at night? How much light do you have in their room at night? Do you keep nightlights on? Have you ever been unable to find a bird?

 

[GivemeSeedsorgivemeFlesh]

I try to make Juliette's life as comfortable as possible, even though she can't be out in the main house without direct supervision. She has a spacious cage with copious toys, perches and swings, and she gets wheeled from room to room so that she can be part of whatever is happening. She gets flying time in the bedroom. In the evenings her cage occupies the center of the living room and she is allowed out to hop from person to person to get cuddles and scritches. But if I have to leave the room for even a second, she has to wait in her cage for me to get back.

 

[clark_conure]

You've got a lucky flock to have all that freedom!
Do you put them in their cages at night? How much light do you have in their room at night? Do you keep nightlights on? Have you ever been unable to find a bird?

I have nightlights and it depends on the politics (bird politics) at the time if they are closed. All during the day they all just hang out after the first ten minutes or last ten minutes after lights out I have to monitor. Currently the conures I close doors after they hit the main cage as they want to try to invade other bird's safe space. But it comes and goes.