should birds be kept in cages as pets?

Question

cats and dogs still have the freedom of roaming around on thier feet a fish can still swim around in its bowl/tank.

a bird should fly shouldnt it?

your views please............................?

i think that alot of you who have answered have misunderstood my question as you prob think its ok to keep birds as pets.
if i could i would free all birds kept in cages even the ones which are let out to fly around the house as i think this is still unexceptable.

birds should be free!!!!

Answer 1

I don't feel birds should be kept as pets. Especially the larger species.
Not only are you taking them away from flying, these animals are smart. Even the small ones are pretty brainy and the large parrots are as smart as preschoolers. Imagine keeping a preschooler in a cage!
They also have dietary and sunlight requirements that most people don't know about.
Keeping birds, especially the larger ones, in cages is cruel.
I see so many that are just miserable. I wish there were stiffer laws about keeping them, but then, I wish there were stiffer laws about all pet ownership, so I guess I'm out of luck.
Cheers.

Answer 2

I used to have a budgerigar. We used to let him fly around the house. He would fly onto peoples shoulders. He's was great. We got him a partner after a few years and we found him dead a week later. Two months after, my sister was cleaning the cage outside and as she lifted the top half off, Magic's ex jumped down and fly off over the trees. The reason I say this is, budgies live in Australia. I live in Ireland. It's very unlikely that she survived for long. To answer your question, it depends on whether they are a pet in their native habitat. I was young then but now I don't believe in having a bird in captivity, nevermind a cage. It a cruel hobby that serves no purpose to the bird except maybe to speak some language that it doesn't understand.

Answer 3

It's okay to leave birds in their cages for saftey, but the need several hours a day outside to get exercise.

The problem with most people leaving birds in cages is that the cages are too small. Cages are expensive and people don't want to get a large cage because of cost or because it "takes up too much room."

I keep my relatively small parrots in large cages so they can easily fly around when they are in them and I put in LOTS of toys, natural branches, shredding material and huts to keep them entertained. My birds love their cages because it makes them feel safe like they have a safe place to return to when they want to eat or sleep or play. I also let my birds out for several hours each day so they can fly around and I can play with them.

Birds need a lot of care and attention, they are messy and are rather expensive to keep (people don't realize this at first when getting a bird) I think that's why many bird owners stick their birds inside a cage and leave it there. Yes, a bird needs it's freedom - but that doesn't mean it shouldn't have a cage if the cage is an apropriate size and the bird is well cared for.

Answer 4

Well, it would be good to keep it caged part of the time. Like at night and when a door is open so that it won't fly away. but birds need some freedom too and keeping it caged without any attention could make it sick (and surprisingly depressed). I have two birds myself and i leave them out of the cage during the day and have a perch for them. Then at night i keep them in the cage. They're much happier that way!

Answer 5

Yes, and in a perfect world, chocolate wouldn't have any calories. What's your point?

If I could go back in time and stop man from ever catching and caging parrots and other birds I would do so. If I could stop the breeding of birds I would do so. But I can't. I would not free all currently caged birds for 2 reasons. The first is the climate (at least here in PA). Most of the birds would never survive the winter. Secondly, most pet birds would have no idea how to forage for themselves and would surely starve. The best I can do is to adopt older birds that nobody wants anymore and make sure they have a good life. My birds get lots of flying time around my house - they have it pretty good.

Besides - it doesn't make any sense to say how things should be unless you can start by fixing how the things are at present.

Answer 6

Yes a bird should fly! But some birds are ment to be kept as pets!! Once a bird is born, sometimes they clip their wings, so they never learned how to fly! so if the owner just all of a sudden let the wings grow out and let the bird lose, the bird may end up dying!

But i do agree with you, birds should be able to fly, just like fish can swim around, etc.

It is all part of Life!

Answer 7

I have a Hahns Macaw (a small Macaw) with a large cage (its about 40 times his size if not more) with real tree branches and different toys to stimulate him and constant supplies of fresh food (everything from fruit to meat as they are partial to a bit of meat in the wild!) and water. This bird was bred in captivity and knows no other way of life, I do not agree with taking birds from the wild however. If you have birds you need to realise they are more intelligent than most people think and also need to exercise their wings. Harley (my hahns macaw) is often out of his cage all day, and enjoys sitting in the kitchen while i prepar dinner or running around the living room floor. I done a lot of research before I got Harley and one man in a pet shop advised me to get the smallest cage possible for the bird so he couldnt get away from us. Well I believe that is completely the wrong answer, if a bird wnts to keep away from you, like any other animal, it is for a reason. and personally i wouldnt want to stay somewhere where i wasnt able to stretch my arms out and move around without smacking into cage bars.

Answer 8

I own a parakeet, the door on the gage is opened I always take the top off during the day so it may fly when it wants to. I check it's water and blow the seed husks out everyday or refill the food holder, It's wings are not clipped and when it does fly it always fly back into it's cage.
The only time I put the top back on is at night, because it likes the large loop and sleeps in it. But the door stays open, and also during the day it gets sunlight.

Answer 9

Our love birds live in a large aviery cage where they can fly, build nests and have a nice life. When one get's loose it takes hours to catch them and you have to be careful not to hurt them in the process.

Our parrot sits on an open tree perch all day and plays and climbs (as parrots do) then goes to a cage at night to sleep. His flight feathers are clipped so he can't fly UP and we can take him outside. When the parrot is ready to sleep, it just goes to the cage by itself and gets in and pulls the door closed.

If you are going to get a pet bird, you should keep it in the cage to keep it safe. Flying indoors can be dangerous and the bird can hit a window, fall behind furniture and a lot of other things and die.

It takes much training and taming to get a pet bird accustomed to being out of it's cage.

Answer 10

Well, I feel bad sometimes that pet birds are kept in cages, but if you tame the bird, you can allow it to fly around the room, or make a tree for it with clean branches, and it can sit on it and gnaw on the branches. A bird can get lonely by itself, so often its good to get another bird as a friend. If not, you should spend as much time with it as possible.