Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yes, keeping anything in a cage is cruel.
How would you like it if I put you in a cage
as a pet? Do you think you would like it?
I think it's much better watching a beloved pet fly up into my ceiling fan! I did have a blue fronted amazon parrot for many years. I had to put him into his cage when I went to work for his own safety. He loved to chew on wires. Fortunately I learned that when he chewed up my speaker wires and not a live electrical wire. I would let him out when I could keep an eye on him. Mostly he would want to sit on my shoulder so he was seldom in his cage when I was home. At night he would jump off me, walk over to the ladder going up to his cage and hop into his cage to sleep. Then there was the time he got into a glass of wine I left to the coffee table when I got up to answer the phone. There is nothing more hilarious as watching a drunk bird trying to climb a ladder to his cage to sleep it off. To him, his cage wasn't a prison but his own place of safety. A few times I caught him taking something that he shouldn't (like my watch) and running back to his cage with it. I think he figured that if he could get something into his cage then it belonged to him and I couldn't take it back. Nice try bird!
I kept his clipped but only enough for a gentle flight to the ground. In exchange for that he got to go more places in public with me. He really liked that because of all the attention he got. He knew how and when to wolf whistle and he had an outrageous laugh. There are probably still people in the Tucson area remember the guy that took his bird out to parties and doing errands. One time I took him to the gym when I was making a quick stop to get some guest passes. He actually stopped a women's aerobics class with his wolf whistle. The women turned to see what rude and vulgar man was whistling at them but coming from a bird, it was soooooo cute! So many of them came out the class that I was surrounded by beautiful women! He got some extra special treats that night!
I could fill a book with all of his antics and the fun we had together. He died from a sudden respiratory illness and I was devastated.
I think it's much better than watching a beloved pet fly up into my ceiling fan! I did have a blue fronted amazon parrot for many years. I had to put him into his cage when I went to work for his own safety. He loved to chew on wires. Fortunately I learned that when he chewed up my speaker wires and not a live electrical wire. I would let him out when I could keep an eye on him. Mostly he would want to sit on my shoulder so he was seldom in his cage when I was home. At night he would jump off me, walk over to the ladder going up to his cage and hop into his cage to sleep. Then there was the time he got into a glass of wine I left to the coffee table when I got up to answer the phone. There is nothing more hilarious as watching a drunk bird trying to climb a ladder to his cage to sleep it off. To him, his cage wasn't a prison but his own place of safety. A few times I caught him taking something that he shouldn't (like my watch) and running back to his cage with it. I think he figured that if he could get something into his cage then it belonged to him and I couldn't take it back. Nice try bird!
I kept his clipped but only enough for a gentle flight to the ground. In exchange for that he got to go more places in public with me. He really liked that because of all the attention he got. He knew how and when to wolf whistle and he had an outrageous laugh. There are probably still people in the Tucson area remember the guy that took his bird out to parties and doing errands. One time I took him to the gym when I was making a quick stop to get some guest passes. He actually stopped a women's aerobics class with his wolf whistle. The women turned to see what rude and vulgar man was whistling at them but coming from a bird, it was soooooo cute! So many of them came out the class that I was surrounded by beautiful women! He got some extra special treats that night!
I could fill a book with all of his antics and the fun we had together. He died from a sudden respiratory illness and I was devastated.
I caught that error too late to edit. It really changes what I was saying!
That's a great point! I think it is cruel because it denies their method of moving around.
actually...it doesnt...as i already pointed out once. my macaw is FULLY flighted, he CAN fly, knows he can and is VERY good at it (i have sheres on my windows to prevent issues with him misunderstanding glass, and ceiling fans are turned OFF before his cage door is opend. doors are kept locked when hes out so noone can accidentally walk in and spook him or let him out...
he can fly circles around the house, he can turn on a dime in flight, he can stop on a dime and has amazing perception!
and yet 9 times out of 10 he prefers to CLIMB/WALK as his method of moving around...
if he WANTS to fly...he can, and he will...but the majority of the time he climbs. he has free acess to the entire house when im home to supervise, if he wanted to fly around he can and could and will...if he WANTED to he can climb to the top of his cage and fly off into the kitchen or the bedroom or the craftroom ect....but MOST of the time he climbs down the cage across the chair, down onto the floor and saunters ON the floor into the kitchen....sometimes hell try to hitch a ride by trying to ride one of the dogs...or hell stand on top of his cage and tell me to "come-ere" "WANT" "come-ere" untill i come get him so he doesnt HAVE to walk, fly, climb or anything else for that matter.
when we go outside hes on a harness for his saftey but its a harness that he can fly on...and what does he choose to do instead? ride on my shoulder of CLIMB the tree...
while the gift of flight is an AMAZING gift and one few creatures posess natrually, Parrots realy only fly for 2 reasons, 1, to move around easily to find food...2, to escape predators/dangers.
since parrots in captivity dont have to forrage over long distances for food (my boy does "forrage" with the aid of toys and games) that removes reason 1 to NEED to fly...
and since in captivity they are protected (for the most part) from predators and danger, they have no need to have to fly from it. in the wild most parrotswil fly from thier roost tree to thier feeding ground, where they spend most of the day eating from their favorite trees and on the ground, they will fly to thier watering hole where they will drink and bathe, and they will fly back to their roosting tree...
flying is TIRING...My macaw ONLY flys if he feels he has to...
Heck even when he gets all hyped up and just needs to flap he doesnt fly, intead he holds onto my finger as tight as he can and flapps his little heart out...if he let go of my finger hed take off, but instead he chooses to hold on and fake fly (either that or hes trying to carry me away! lol)
heres my EXTREEMLY abused Sever Macaw Jack Jack
in his incredibly cruel TINY cage
as a side note his door is currently OPEN and hes sat in his cage chattering away to himself with a wiffle ball on his head...(its his hat lol)
Jack Jack is beautiful, foxy! LMAO at his hat. He's medium sized like my Senegal, isn't he?
TwoBee got away from my husband last year and flew away. I could hear his call but couldn't find him. On the 3rd day I was walking down a street, talking to hubby on phone and I heard "Mommy, Mommy"! It was TwoBee. He could see me but I couldn't see him. I ran to his voice and there he was up in a tree and he couldn't wait to get back on my shoulder! That's how he got home, riding my shouder. He couldn't wait to get back into his cage too. He was HOME.
there a littel slimmer/longer (especially in tail) than the sennies but body wise yup about the same size
Hes such a nut, he'll be 2 next month and LOVES putting things on his head...i give him those little plastic measuring scoops out of things like formular...yup they make PERFECT hats too...and telephones...he holds it to the side of his head and goes "hellllloooooo, yup yup...hi...bye jack jack" and then throws it at his water bowl...he does also understand the concept of a cup and water and uses them to scoop water out of his water dish and eithe rdrink out of the little cup or pour it on his head forllowed by "oooooo bath jack jack, nice" lol
but "hats" are his favorite! and you ask him where his hat is and hell go and grab either his 1/2 wiffle ball (it USED to be 1 whole wiffle ball untill he desicided he liked it better in half lol) or his little cup and put it on his head and we tell him its a beautiful hat and he goes "ooooo, pretty jack jack" so he definatly know exactly what were talking about.
thank you, i joke about his cage all the time...people have told me "its too small..." but the thing takes up literally a full quarter of my livingroom LOL
I think the assertion that it is cruel to keep a bird in a cage is silly unless the cage is too small for the bird. It would be similar to saying it is cruel for a person to have to live in a house.
BTW: Foxy, that cage is definitely large enough for a Severe Macaw. Might not be for a Hyacinthe Macaw, but not for your bird.
Foxy - Jack Jack is beautiful, and so is that "abusive" cage!
Tam - I have a Senegal too!
Hi, blue! What is your bird's name? Is he/she a screamer? Everything I read about Senegals said they are a quiet bird. I guess TwoBee didn't read that chapter! If he could be on me 24/7 that would make him quite happy.
Do you think cats and dogs should roam free? Should we humans even have pets at all? Just let all domesticated animals run free? Have dogs and cats be run over by cars, get sick and diseased, etc., just because keeping them as indoor pets is "cruel" and unnatural If you were a cat would you rather die FREE outside at 2 years old, or live indoors as a pet until you were 22 years old?
It would depend on the cat I think. Maybe some would prefer taking their chances outside rather than living with humans, especially if their owners didn't really love them (or fed them the right stuff, etc.). A neglected dog suffers a lot if not given proper exercise. What makes some animals special that they have to be cared for by keeping them inside a cage? A parrot, or a songbird can survive well enough in the outside world. And if one dies due to disease, or is eaten by a hawk or a fox, then it's just nature taking its natural course.
I guess birds that have never flown because they were brought up inside a cage won't miss being able to fly. But what if it's been captured from the wild, after enjoying free life earlier?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
He's medium sized like my Senegal, isn't he? 
I guess TwoBee didn't read that chapter! If he could be on me 24/7 that would make him quite happy.
