Pet Bird Flying Around the House?

If you have a pet bird, do you let it out of the cage sometimes to just fly freely around the house? I've never had a bird (but always wish I did when I go into PetSmart and see some of the totally beautiful birds they have!)

The reason I'm asking is because I've had two different friends who did that... just let the birds fly free (both parakeets) and every time they mentioned doing that, I always wondered if it was a good idea. Never having had a bird, I didn't know if that's just something people always do or if it was unusual. My thought was always that it didn't seem very safe but... ???

I think what I'd do is let the bird out to interact with me, but most likely in an enclosed room where it couldn't fly free over the whole house, hide, take a risk of someone opening an outside door, etc.

When I kept cage birds I did allow them to fly around the room while cleaing out their cages, ensuring all windows were firmly shut, of course.

I believe that birds that are kept in relatively small spaces need to exercise their wings and use their facility to fly. It is not a problem in an aviary where they have sufficient space, but a cage does not allow the freedom to fly.

I do know someone who keeps the birdcage open all time in a closed room. Her budgies fly into the cage to feed, but otherwise are allowed to fly around the room. However I would not want that amount of bird droppings in my own room. An hour or so of regular exercise is more manageable, and the birds are always happy to get back into their cages to feed.

I don't own a pet bird either, but know some friends who do. They have outside cages though on their patio, which I think is better. I would not be comfortable having birds fly all over the room. I would want them to exercise their wings, so I would have to place them in a space that has newspapers or somewhere bird poop is allowed to land. I could also take them to another area where they can return to me when they finish playing. I noticed that even wild birds return to their familiar nesting spot and do not completely leave the yard. I would hope the same for a pet bird as long as I don't release it out where it won't return.

I have a bird, but he can't fly. No, I don't clip his wings - but he's missing quite a few feathers from the poor conditions he lived in when he was with his previous owners. The feathers on one wing grew back long and beautiful since he's been with me, but the feathers on his other wing grow in short and stubby. He tries to fly, but always crashes back to the ground, poor guy. Anyway, if he could fly, would I let him fly around the house? Sure, but only under supervision, and only when there was no chance of anybody opening the door (there are only two of us in the house, so it would be easier to control). I'd also make sure the cats went into a different closed off area of the house, for obvious reasons. It's good for birds to fly at least a little while every day for exercise.

I've never had anything good happen while letting my birds fly anywhere. I had a Goffin Cockatoo that I didn't realize how long his flight feathers had gotten and this cause a tragedy. My husband was cleaning the cage and had the door open. Gizmo flew off the front porch and disappeared into the Chequamegon National Forest. It was the last snowstorm of the year. I've also heard stories, second hand of course, of birds injuring themselves or perishing from flying into walls or windows. I'm very careful to watch my flight feathers, now. Other than that, it's just been broken things, like a carnival glass bowl, but I can live with broken things as long as it's not my bird! I would never presume to tell anyone what to do, just offering my experiences.

I tried letting my parakeets fly around the house when I was a child. They only ended up hurting themselves because they "panicked" and bumped into things. One of them even lost some feathers. I have noticed that since they weren't used to flying "long" distances they had difficulty flying. It took some time for my parents to catch them because every time my mom and dad would try to corner them all they had to do was fly to another part of the house. My parents told me never to let the birds out of the cage again. Our parakeets never became comfortable around humans and neither did any of the other birds we got after them. Since then I have never let any of my birds out of their cages. I envy bird owners who can have their birds perch on their hands or shoulders.

I've had birds for over 50 years. I always let my parakeets fly around the house, and one of them flew out the door. When I got larger birds, I kept their wings clipped so that they couldn't fly.

I currently have a Jardine's parrot, and his wings are growing out. But even when he could fly, before his most recent wing clip, he usually didn't. The only time he ever flew was to get closer to me.

Birds need structured time out of their cages, both for exercise and a change of scenery. The also need to spend time with their owners so a bond develops.