pet bird owners -- do you use a playpen so the birds can spend time outside of the cage?

[Deja Q]

Or do you let them roam where they want and let them bite on electrical cords and other things?

Thx!

[Sanity Claws]

1. You might want to post this in the Pets section too.

Lots of people knowledgeable about all kinds of pets over there.

[Fire Walk With Me]

2. There's a pet bird where I'm currently staying.

They let it out and have a small stand with a scale ladder, etc. They've also given it a Stretch Armstrong (tm) and other educational, muscle-toning toys. You should see the little thing snap Stretch out to maximum width. Grrr!

[Kali]

3. Nah, the blue and gold termite would just chew it up

he has a stand in the house, a spot on the front gate, a large cage in the back yard and two or three trees he can hang out in. He also goes for rides in the van and sometimes down to the corral to terrorize cows and horses. He is a bit spoiled, yes.

[buzzycrumbhunger]

4. Supervised only

Mine has a playpen on top of the cage, but he's only allowed out when I can keep an eye on him. He's never discovered the joys of electrical cords, but PVC miniblinds are a fave. If nothing else, I worry he'd hurt the dog and cats. To satisfy his termite tendencies (great analogy!), he loves to decimate corn on the cob and toilet paper tubes. If I feel industrious, I'll weave him toys out of palm fronds, which keep him busy for ages.

[sarge43]

5. Our macaw spends her time in a garbage can.

Now that I have your attention, it's a plastic 39 gallon (clean) on its side, on the floor and she hangs out there during the day. She has cardboard and a wooden block to chew on. When she wants food and water, she'll bug one of us. She'll wander around some, but she'll doesn't chew on anything.

The cockatiels mostly stay on their cages when they're out. They're not interested in wandering around.

And yes, one of us is present when any of them are out of their cages.

[northernlights]

6. Mine mostly hangout on tops of their cages

or go into each others cages to steal food.

I did have one electrical cord incident many years ago with Jerry, one of my senegals. I was right there, too, on the other side of the room. There was an explosion and Jerry just stood there swaying a bit, looking dazed but pretty pleased with himself. Like, "Wow :silly: WTF?!?!"

I was, naturally, freaking out totally. I could smell burning coming from Jerry. I grabbed him and ran into the bathroom. The burn smell came from his beak.

I ran cold water over his beak and through his mouth. His saliva rinsed out looking a little brownish. But -- amazingly enough -- no harm done. Jerry is about 14 years old now...