Is too much out of cage time unhealthy?

[henrygo]

Hi all experts,

I just gotten a lovebird on 10/11/2013, it's borned on 06/10/2013, only a month a old. He tasted his first flight the next day, and has been flying to my shoulder whenever i open the cage and call his name. and upon reading ParrotWizard advise, i am not going to clip his wings.

I have a few questions with regard to Michael's training. Firstly, his training is about keeping the out of cage timing to 15mins in the morning and evening. IF i let him out constantly now, will it become a habit for later?

Secondly, he will only sit on my shoulder and not everywhere else. Treats cannot work as of now as he is unable to break the seeds or munch the pellets, i still depending on millets for his food, what can i use for training? How can i train him to land on my finger instead?

Thirdly, is starving the bird effective? i starve him in the night(took out the food at 2am) and now(10am) he is not even eating. how?

[hnhobu]

If you're going to want to only let him out of his cage for 15 minutes, you mine as well start training him now...

But I have to ask, why did you get a parrot if your can only let him out a total of 30 minutes every day?

How would YOU like to be locked up in a cage for the majority of the day? :/

[henrygo]

that's following michael's blog, he only allows the bird out for 15 mins in the morning and evening. I already gotten him to do target flight just now. so far so good. just that need him to be able to break the seeds before i can change his diet to seeds and pellets.

do you know how long it takes for the bird to be hungry?

[pennyandrocky]

I don't think micheal only lets them out for 30 minutes total. your birds can be out as long as you want as long as they know when to go back. mine wake up around 730 they come right out after I put their fresh water and food. they know their going back in for bed so every night at 630-7 pm they fly back to their cages for our bedtime routine. it's all about strict schedules for in/out of cage time.

[Pajarita]

Now, let's see... nature made birds to live in the trees and the sky and to fly miles and miles everyday, do you think that hundreds of thousands of years of evolution would have made such a mistake? Of course it's not unhealthy! What is unhealthy (and terribly unkind, I might add) is to keep them in a cage all day long.

[henrygo]

I don't think micheal only lets them out for 30 minutes total. your birds can be out as long as you want as long as they know when to go back. mine wake up around 730 they come right out after I put their fresh water and food. they know their going back in for bed so every night at 630-7 pm they fly back to their cages for our bedtime routine. it's all about strict schedules for in/out of cage time.

finally someone friendly with decent answers. thanks!

[henrygo]

Now i got a problem putting the bird back into the cage. lol.

any idea? probably i put him out too early and he is more used to time out of cage?

i got a swing and food and drinks and a toy in the cage.

[pennyandrocky]

find his favorite food and give it as a treat for back to cage time. mya used to like a bedtime snack now she has a whole bedtime routine she either does a dance in her cage while I tell her how pretty she is or she wants head scratches before bed. she used to hate her cage so much she would rip her feathers out as soon as the door closed but now that we have a set routine she's happy to go in at night. she knows what time she goes in and what time she comes out everyday.

[Duskylyon]

I don't know much about parrot training, but I don't think starving him is a good idea. I'd imagine he could develop behavior problems when you try training him because of the hunger.

[GreenWing]

Now, let's see... nature made birds to live in the trees and the sky and to fly miles and miles everyday, do you think that hundreds of thousands of years of evolution would have made such a mistake? Of course it's not unhealthy! What is unhealthy (and terribly unkind, I might add) is to keep them in a cage all day long.

I agree with this. Chance is happy to sit outside on her cage door most of the time, preening, talking, and just being a perch potato. But no way in hell would I ever advocate keeping a bird in a cage for most of the day!