Complaints from neighbors

[MariefromCanada]

I live in an appartment complex and during the day, I feel bad leaving kiki all alone in his cage so when I am off to work, I leave the cage door open so he can move around in the appartment as he pleases. I don't want him to feel trapped.

My landlord told me recently that during the day when I'm not home. kiki screams like no tomorrow. I guess it's normal because he is looking for me.

My question is: when you go to work, do you leave your luvvy's in the cage ?

I figure if I do decide to leave him in his cage, he'll be quiet. But then again, it's daytime so I don't see what the problem is. At least he doesn't chirp and scream during nightime cause it would be a totally different story. PLus I don't think he'll appreciate it because ever since I had him, I never once left him for long periods of time in his cage. Just 15 minutes and he starts having temper tantrums.

What do you think ?

[HaleBoppPeachyluv]

My first lovie was a normal green named Peachy. Peachy had the run of our apartment. He was clipped. We opened his cage door in the morning, and could count on him being perched on the living room curtains when we came home.

However, he was the ONLY lovie we had that we allowed this much freedom. After Peachy went to the rainbow bridge, the next lovies we had could not be trusted to be out & stay out of trouble on their own.

There is no way I'd leave my current lovie out on her own. She'd chew wires & electrocute herself, or get stuck on/under/behind something and freak out...plus, my in-laws have a key and sometimes come over when we're not here & last thing I want is for her to be behind a door & get squished or on the overhead fan when it gets turned on, or have her fly out when the door is opened.

I would strongly suggest you provide your lovie with lots of toys for amusement & leave him in his cage for his own protection & comfort.

As far as noise goes... I can hear my Sunnybird "singing" to herself when I come home, but this is very different from her screaming or contact calls... she's often very quiet when she's in or out of her cage and we're home with her.

[cp.lovebird]

I, too, leave my lovies in their cage when I'm not home. I don't trust them not to get into trouble when they are unsupervised. They are so curious. They have lots of toys in their cages. Also, the two of them live in their own separate cages but they can see each other and chirp together during the day. I also leave the radio on for them during the day so they have some background noise and hopefully don't feel too alone.

Maybe you could try this and see how Kiki does?

[5bird7]

Since we've only had two birds and just in the last year and a half, I can't give you much help, just our limited experience.

When our cockatiel came to us, I noticed that he'd start calling for us after we had been gone from his main room for more than 5 minutes and he's shut up when we returned. He had the freedom of the whole house during the day but rarely flew to any of the other rooms for many months so most of his time was spent in the Living room. I decided that maybe leaving the TV on would quiet him down when we weren't in the room. That worked for us. and seemed to work when we were gone. - but we live in a rural area so don't have real close neighbors to complain if he did make a lot of noise when we were gone.

Eventually he started venturing out to our other rooms, mainly to my computer room where I was most of the time.

Now we just have the lovebird and do the same for her though she's on her nest right now and prefers to stay quiet. When we're gone for the day, we'll leave music on for her to listen to. Before she started nesting, the noise of the tv seemed to keep her quiet when we weren't around.

Now the only noise we hear from her is when she wants something or greets us when we get up in the morning or come home after being out. Of course, she has a "window seat" where she can watch the wild birds come in to feed. Keeps her occupied when she's not nesting or scrounging for paper.

[Gill]

If I let my two out all day half the flat would be chewed to pieces and the other half would be covered in poo! I worry about mine being in their cage all day but at the moment my boyfriend is at home so they have some company. Before I used to go home every lunchtime but since being made redundant im not at a job close to home to do this :( How about leaving the TV on to keep him company or a radio?

[bookworm0550]

i do not leave my babies to roam free. they get into enough stuff while i'm here. I'm constantly trying to get them to stay away from the rabbit ears. It's like a magnet to them. Who knows what else they'd chew through as well. Seriously, I turned my back just a moment ago and already the rabbit ear fell and evolet w/ it only she was still on the atenna. It scared me to death.

how long are you gone during the day? the tv or music would be nice, something soothing to leave on for her.

i think you need to set some rules for kiki whether you both like it or not. trust me, i know all about lovie dovey eyes looking at you, begging to be taken out, but the thing is that they have to learn that being their cage is not a death sentence. yeah, it's boring and not as fun as being out, but it's a safe place for them when you are not around. Just keep leaving kiki in there for longer periods each time. It'll suck at first, but she'll get better. And leaving her in her cage while you are at work is not the end of the world. You should not feel bad about it. Better to be safe than sorry.

[Elle]

Bonjour Marie-Sonia,

I can understand your concern about locking up Kiki all day. Sometimes I feel bad locking up my birds while I'm at work.

However, my birds thaught me otherwise. The odd day that I'm at home or I'm on vacation, in the afternoon all my birds roam back to their cage and calm down for their afternoon nap. It tells me that their cage is a safe environement and it is normal for them to calm down in the afternoon.

There are a lot of concerns when leaving a bird to roam free without supervision. They get into things they shouldn't. They chew on wires and on frames and so many other things that we are not aware that they're into.

I can appreciate of you feel guilty about locking up Kiki when you're not home because you've never done it before. However, you can give it a try. It will take some time for Kiki to ajust but she will. You want to make sure she has plenty of treats availlable and toys to occupy herself.

With my African Grey, a few times a week I give them a lunch bag. I wrap treats in paper and stuff it in a brown paper bag and hang it in their cage.

Max cannot see me leave the house fast enough when he sees his lunch bag. He has learned to enjoy it. Now, with a lovebird, I don't recommend lunch bag and paper as it can encourage them to nest but you certainly can hide treats in their cage or add additional food dish and offer them something new. You can move the treats or toys into different locations every day so it's not repetitive. For eample, have 3 extra bowls in the cage. Put some popcorn into one the first day and the next day add their favorite vegetable into a different one. Move them around to encourage exercice.

As far as the noise complaint, once Kiki is used to her new routine, she should calm down and I'm pretty sure, will use the afternoons to nap and get filled up with energy for when you get home.

Best regards,

Elle

[momo]

I let my elmo have free reign of my apartment.
When he chirps you can hear him from downstairs (I am on the third level) My neighbours don't seem to mind because elmo is quiet in the day..

Maybe you could sound record your lovie for the day and see really how loud and constant he chirps. There are some people in the world who just go insane over a few chirps say for 15mins for every three hours.

I feel really bad sometimes when I do need to lock elmo up. I am having to do it at the moment to get him used to it for when he gets baby sat when I go on holidays. Sometimes he starts to pace in his cage and at other times he just plays with his toys.

[Pips mom]

Oh my gosh.....are you serious??? leave a lovebird out of cage unsupervised?? Wow! if you ask me that's just asking for trouble! There is NOO way I could ever leave Pip out.....I can't even leave him out sometimes when I am here because I am unable to do anything because he's constantly up to no good! Wow, and I got posts thinking it was bad that I let Pip sleep out of his cage! Yes, but he's sleeping! and he stays there sleeping until morning, covered up by a blanket and he's on a little platform on the side of his cage. In the morning when he wakes up, he comes out and goes directly to Ivy's cage, climbs up underneath her blanket and goes back to sleep until we wake up! It's a routine and something he has always done and I know he won't ever go anywhere else because he LOOOves Ivy!
Now Ivy is a different story. When she was clipped we would run out to the store and if we were coming back really quick we would just leave her out of cage because she stayed put on top of the two cages and nearby playgym. Now I wouldn't do it though because she has flight and is getting pretty used to using those wings!

[maya_exquisite]

My babies stay in their cage when I'm at work. They're also put into the bedroom with the door closed (and bathroom closed) and fan on so that if they make a lot of noise, it has to go through the closed door before reaching the front door and outside. Thankfully I don't work an eight-hour day so they're not in the cage for super long.

But even if I had to be away for more than eight hours, I wouldn't let them roam around. Mika and Kano aren't chewers whatsoever, but they could always get into SOMETHING. They have their wings clipped, but I'd be afraid they'd somehow get to the top of my fridge and accidentally fall behind. It'd be very hard to bird-proof your home unless you kept every single thing you owned in a cabinet and your place was pretty much bare...

I agree with just giving your bird more to do and play with in the cage. Another idea is maybe attaching two cages (so the open doors are together facing each other) so your baby can roam from one cage to the other and have fun things to do in both?

[MariefromCanada]

Yes, when I leave work, I always turn the radio on so he can listen to music and not feel alone in the appartment.

Kiki is a spoiled little guy. He knows me to well and as soon as I put him in his cage, he starts chirping away and having a temper trantum with his toys.

* Get me out of here *

I had him for some time now and no, he never chewed on my wires though he like chewing on my blinds. I have to put them way up not for him to damage them even more.

I should follow your advice but I don't think I will able to do so because he's to used being free and coming in and out of his cage as he pleases.

ELLE, I think you're right, some people complain about nothing. When I am home from work (4:30 pm), he's quiet for the evening
He doesn't even sleep in his cage. He sleeps on the top of his cage on a blanky besides his toys.:happy: I've been in my appartment for 5 years so I am the oldest there. I told my landlord I had no intentions of giving kiki away. Not that he asked me, but I just told him

[Elle]

Marie-Sonia,

I hope you didn't feel judged because that's not the intention. I understand that Kiki is used to a certain type of lifestyle and it's hard to get them to change. I can be frustrating for them and for us too.

If you feel Kiki is safe while outside the cage, it has to be your decision. I had hamster in the past that I used to let loose in my bedroom and he did chew electrical wires much to my parent's despair and one day, a picture frame fell on him breaking his spine. We had to put him to sleep. I don't think there is a need to say how guilty I felt for a long time (still feel that way today) so for me, locking up my birds while I'm away is really a question for safety for them. :)

Anyways, I don't think anyone should pressure you into locking up Kiki while you're not home and I hope you don't perceive our posts that way. It has to be your decision and Kiki's :)

[BarbieH]

It's possible that Kiki feels less safe out of the cage when you are not home, and that's why he calls so loudly. It's worth a try keeping him caged for the day -- try it for one day, or a half day, and see how it goes. If a cage is large enough, with plenty of toys and food, it should not be a hardship for the bird. It's safe! This might be harder on you than it is for Kiki.

As for me, I can't leave any birds to roam free unattended. We have a cat. :)

[bookworm0550]

yeah, i'm not trying to pressure you or make you feel bad either. it's my just my personal opinion. trust me, if i could let my fids out all day, i would, but I just can't knowing what kind of trouble they'll get in. Like Elle, I also worry about things that could fall on them. in the end, it's your call.

[momo]

Pips Mom, I know with elmo. He has alot of out of cage time.. although i am in the house most of the time I am not always with him. He seems to set his own boundaries.. He refuses to go beyond them. I am not too sure why. There is a square patch in our lounge room and he will not move from there at all... I can always count on him being in three spots when I come home. I have been doing this ever since I bought his play pen it's been months. I put a few toys on the floor so he won't chew any cords. but he's actually quiet scared of the electrical cords and doesn't go anywhere near them.

Elmo spends most of his time on the floor on our turtle statue preening himself.. otherwise rolling a ball around the floor. He's very self disciplined.

[MariefromCanada]

Hey Everyone

No I am not offended in any way.

Thanks for the great advice

[MariefromCanada]

My landlord called me up to tell me that people were complaining again about kiki's screams so I have decided to put him in his cage for the day. Maybe he will calm down

I bought lots of toys for him and left the radio on. I feel really bad leaving him in his cage but I have no choice. Maybe he will feel safe and secure while I am away at work.

Like somebody posted here, I think she is right when she mentionned that the reason why he screamed so much while I was away is because when he was free to roam in the appartment, he was looking for me. It is best that he be kept in his cage.

When I am back from work, I will let him out to spend some quality time with him and for him to have some exercices too.

I am purcharsing a bigger cage this weekend. Can some of you inform me how much you paid for your lovies cages

Thanks alot for the advice :o)

[lemonypickett]

Here is a link to the cage alot of us have on here: http://www.birdscomfort.com/flight_bird_cage.html

I would make sure the radio is on a low to moderate level. I find my birds get noiser the louder the room is.

Good luck, I hope it works. Maybe try some foraging activities to keep him busy. Eddie likes the Barrel o' Fun stuffed with AviCakes. Or a paperbag with some goodies in it.