How Often Should You Let Your Budgie Out Of Its Cage?
Budgies and other kinds of parakeets whilst being low maintenance pets can sometimes be more complex to look after as they spend most of their time in their cage but they still require parts of their time to be spent outside their cage.
Unlike dogs or cats, who roam freely around the home and then return to their beds or favorite spots when they want to be alone, budgies have a primary base in their cage, and being let out of their cage is similar to taking a dog out on walks during the day.
The answer to how often you should let your budgie out of its cage will depend on how well trained your budgie, your surroundings, and how often you’re home to let them out. On average, most budgie owners will let their birds out of their cage every day on more than one occasion during the day.
Letting your budgies out during the day will allow them to become more comfortable with their surroundings and therefore more comfortable spending time outside the cage with you and the family.
You’ll notice the more time your budgie spends outside their cage, the more playful they’ll be with you and they’ll be more likely to interact with you and any guests in your home.
Budgies and other parakeets must spend time outside their cage so they can get essential exercise by flying around and also keeping their muscles and joints supple. It’s also good psychosocial stimulation for them to be introduced into new environments as they’ll spend time looking around and taking everything in, which will help keep their
In the wild, birds will spend hours and hours flying around, so you must give your budgie the freedom to explore your home (in a safe manner) to get in some exercise, socialize and also entertain themselves.
How Often You Should Let Your Budgie Out
How often you leave your budgie out of its cage is honestly up to you, however, as a minimum, they should spend at least 15-30 mins outside the cage 3 times a day for them to get enough stimulation and to be able to stretch their wings and walk about.
However, if you spend a lot of time at home and can give your dedicated attention to your budgie, then feel free to let them fly or wander around the secured room with you in it for hours on end.
The more time your budgie spends outside its cage the more confident they will grow and you’ll often see the bond between you both grow stronger as well.
When your budgie is outside of its cage, take the time to talk, sing or whistle to it so they get used to the sound of your voice. This will often make them more responsive to you which will make it easier when you need to return the budgie into its cage.
You shouldn’t let your budgie roam freely outside its cage until it’s finger trained or tamed and is comfortable around you. Otherwise, they might see them leaving their cage as a chance to escape and may become distressed when they cannot find an exit.
When they’re trained, they’ll spend a lot of the time hanging out next to you and it’ll often be easier to retrieve them to return them into the cage, even if it is with the help of a treat.
If your budgie is less confident, then they may not find the need to explore their surroundings that much and may only want to come out once during the day, so you’ll have to figure out what works best for your budgie.
Some owners like to take the time to clean out their budgie cage when they’re roaming around the room, however, we recommend you have someone else in the room to monitor the budgie so they don’t get up to mischief when your back is turned.
If you leave your budgie’s cage open when they’re outside then they’ll sometimes return on their own when they want some alone time, to eat, or have a nap.
Most of the time you won’t have to force them back in, however, having a signal like a whistle or calling their name will make them fly towards you, where they’ll perch on your hand, and then you can move them back into the cage.
Precautions To Take When Letting Your Budgie Out
If you’re going to let your budgie out, it’s important to stay vigilant with these recommended steps to ensure your budgie is kept safe and they also do not escape from your home. You should never leave your budgie unsupervised in a room.
Before you let your budgie out of its cage, remove all cats or dogs from the room and also make sure all windows and doors are shut tight so they cannot escape. Tell everyone who lives with you each time that you’re letting the budgie out so they don’t accidentally open a window or door.
Move poisonous plants into another room and also make sure any fish bowls or aquariums are covered up, they don’t typically eat fish but you don’t want an accident occurring.
Make sure ceiling fans or portable fans are switched off so there is no chance of your budgie getting injured if it flies into one.
If your budgie lives in your kitchen, make sure the stove isn’t on and also make sure that any heaters in the room are on a low temperature as you don’t want your budgie to burn itself if it perches on one.
Entertaining Your Budgie When Outside The Cage
Budgies or most normal budgies anyway will not spend their entire time outside of their cage flying around the room causing a nuisance to you and your family.
Sure they’ll flit from surfaces now and again, but most of the time they’re just looking around, maybe sitting next to you or looking at you as you carry out your tasks of the day.
Consider buying your budgie an open-air playground with a perch so they can comfortably sit in the room with you without being locked up in their cage.
Many of these bird playgrounds are built to stimulate budgies so they can play on their own and entertain themselves.
It also allows them to get some exercise without flying around as they can walk through the playground to get to different areas. You can also attach toys to areas of the bird playground like bells or anything else that makes a noise that they’ll enjoy.
You can also interact with your budgie when they’re perched on their playground and play with them as you would with other pets like a dog or cats.
Budgies can be very sociable and love to have fun so why not lure them around the playground with a treat, getting them to walk across the ropes, play on the swings or even hang upside down.
You could also get your budgie a play swing that you can hang up in your home. Budgies love spending time swinging or hanging out in trees and will happily spend their time sitting on the perch swinging back and forth whilst you’re in the room. If you attach some bells to the swing then your budgie will very much appreciate it as they love the sound of bells.
Mix up the toys you allow your budgies to play with when they’re outside. Find toys with different textures, colors, and noises to keep them stimulated.
