Caged Birds.

I also cannot stand to see caged birds,never having the chance to fly or occasionally being allowed to fly around a room. I do not like to see any caged animals either and cannot see what people get out of having hamsters,gerbils etc also house cats that never roam their neighbourhood,catch a mouse or laze in the sun.

I'm not a vegan or even vegetarian, but I'm becoming less and less comfortable with the idea of pets, in general.
I do like the fact that cats come and go as they please, generally.

I have an African Grey, I got her when she was 5 because her previous owner became allergic. She is housed in a large cage about 6 ft wide by 6 ft high and 3 ft deep it's the biggest cage available, she also gets the opportunity to fly around the large conservatory, where she has ropes and toys to amuse herself. She's trained to crap in one spot on paper. She'll probably outlive me and my kids will rehome her.So I won't be getting another. In some ways she's better off than being in the wild where they don't live long, generally sit on a branch with others doing nothing. Here she gets well fed and her life in enriched by contact with us and having her every whim met. Is it ideal, probably not but they live about 5 years in the wild and look as miserable as hell at least here she seems happy chatting away to herself and us and telling the dogs off. She's well fed, her life is enriched I don't see what more we can do tbh.

Parrots and similar (budgies etc) are the worse because their social systems cant be recreated as pets and so many parrots become depressed or violent as a result :-(

To me the issue is how large the cage is in relationship to the bird or animal. I would happily support a ban on birdcages under a certain size relative to the bird kept, but I don't care for the thought of banning keeping birds or hamsters in cages as a general principle.

What about turtles and fish in ponds or aquaria?

I've always hated seeing birds in cages ,when I was 4 I opened the cage and let my mums 2 budgies out the window.The whole street was out trying to catch them but I thought then...and now that its the cruelest form of keeping a pet there is.WHY would you keep a creature that has the ability to fly and soar above the ground in a cage indoors ?
Surely flight is one of the greatest of gifts ?

Its not just cage size, its social/family/mate structure which is lacking for most of these birds. In some species of bird this drives then to self harm and depression

There might be exceptions. Our neighbour was given two beautiful white fantail pigeons.
www.preloved.co.uk/classifieds/pets/birds/all/uk/fantail+pigeons
They had a cage where they went at night but she let them out during the day. They kept returning to their home.
There's a whole history about homing pigeons. They saved lives in wartime.

I agree, I always feel sad at the sight of caged birds. I have never liked zoos either, and the more I know about what goes on behind closed doors the more my thoughts are reinforced. Humans are very cruel.

I don’t like to see birds in cages either.

We have a colony of parrakeets in the tall trees at the bottom of our garden.They fly very fast and high, and watching them yesterday I felt sorry that similar birds could be restricted to cages, no matter how big. I love hearing them chatter (loudly!) amongst themselves.

I had a budgie as a child, and we found a lost one and as it was never claimed we kept it. It landed on DD1s pram as I was crossing the road! I am listening to Alice Walker now!

I don't like caged birds, my mother has a parrot and its in a small cage, she does let him out though and takes great care giving him treats and talking to him but I hate that small cage and she will not spend on a large one

Large cages are expensive and very large cages are only suitable for larger birds due to the spacing between the bars. If you put a smaller bird in a very large cage it could put it's head through the bars and injure or even kill itself. Most parrots if given the opportunity to fly still won't, they do short flights between places to perch but won't fly for miles. Whereas birds such as cockatiels will fly for miles as they would looking for food in the wild. Parrots like African greys would just perch as close to the food source as possible. Which is why they are given toys to play with, boxes to forage in and nets to climb and amuse themselves with.

If grey parrots perch near food and won’t fly far why put them in a cage? Any cage big all small is a prison.

I am reflecting on dogs and cats and agree with re rodents and other caged pets. It was goldfish on a tank on the counter of a restaurant that started this conversation with a friend. Yes goldfish bowls should be band.

Too much is banned imo but I also keep fish in a large pond and sometimes my dogs sleep in crates. Their are times in life when they need to be contained and it's better I get them used to it rather than them freaking out when caged at the vets for example.
My parrot comes in and out of her cage has a mooch around and goes back in of her own accord, she can't think it's so bad. We've tried hard to make the cage as interesting as we can for her but I obviously can't replicate the home she was designed to live in. I say designed rather than bred as she was bred in captivity. I could just house her in a tiny cage and leave it completely bare, give her no toys or anything to amuse herself with, lots of people do but I choose to try and give her the best life possible and she shows every sign of being happy. I doubt if I left the back door open she'd venture far but she'd be in danger from predators. I think I'll carry on protecting her and giving her the best life I can.

There not their

I m another who hates to see caged birds my other pet hate and I hope I don’t offend anyone but it’s house cats The thought of a cat looking out the window at all the open spaces and not being able to get out really upsets me

I have two house cats. They are rescue cats and have no interest whatsoever in going outside. They don't go to the door or even spend much time looking out of windows. They just want to be on our laps and have a fuss made of them.

Flexible friend fish in a pond can't be compared with fish in a goldfish bowl and in nature there are fish in small areas of water. Dog crates a must for our dog and a place he often goes to himself. Our Dog can go out when they wants to and we have a large garden but caged birds can't. It is good to hear of responsible owners who make every effort to give their birds a good life.

If birds only have a short lifespan in the wild then that is the norm for nature. I am sure some of us oldies are only kept alive by medicine and care.

Seeing birds in cages upsets me ,

I completely agree. Birds don't belong in cages. However, I inherited a cockatiel called Wiggy, so I get around the problem by letting her out of her cage for most of the day.
As I write this she is perched on the sofa beside me, gently pecking at the computer mouse lead, having had her morning zoom around the room. After Wiggy goes to that great aviary in the sky, I won't be having any more birds.

We had a canary when I was a child who had free rein of our dining room - and my head where it 'cleaned' my hair. We then looked after a friend's parrot who told us in no uncertain terms when he wanted to come out of his cage in the morning. Interesting experiences but I agree with other posters that nowadays it doesn't seem right to keep birds caged. Perhaps aviaries are better where they can have flying space and mingle with their peers.

Except of course those birds could have another 50 years to live so what do you suggest should happen to them. Should we open the cage doors and let them all go, I don't think so because most wouldn't last very long. So if they make you sad don't look at them, but the lives of many kids make me feel sad too. My bird came via a little boy who developed asthma so couldn't keep her. I've spent an absolute fortune on her, she came with a cage that was far too small so over £600 on her cage and a fortune on toys and ropes etc to keep her occupied and entertained.Not to mention tracking down specialist foods for her. I'm also pretty sure she's enjoying her life, I've seen them in the wild and they look bored stiff. She has the opportunity to come out and move around as much as she wants but she chooses to go in her cage just as many dogs, one of mine included like their crate. Plenty of people are against them too and refuse to see they have a use and purpose. Fish in ponds was aimed at someone claiming fish, cats and even dogs shouldn't be kept as pets. I've had them all and make no apologies for any of it. I have always made sure any animal in this house has the best life possible and setting them "free" is not an option for any of them. Keep any animals isn't cheap so stop knocking those who use their hard earned cash to give animals of whatever species the best possible life that they can.