> Budgies love their cages. They clean them, they rearrange them, they make them into a perfect environment in any way they can.

Not to be insensitive, but this is a fallacious conclusion. The lab I worked at did fatal experiments on rodents who were also kept in cages. Some of them were known to personalize their cages after they were rearranged by humans. Human prisoners are known to do the same thing to their cells. Many inmates fill their cells with personal belongings and arrange things until they are satisfied. We can't really conclude that rats, inmates or budgies love their cages.

Eventually a limiting environment can start to feel like home. It's possible that the animal would choose to stay in a limiting environment as opposed to being released in the wild, because they are literally unfit for the wild.

We have a ‘crate’ for the dog. It’s a cage. However if it rains, I use the hose or he has been bad, he runs straight to it and get in. I don’t know what it is about he, but it’s where he goes when he wants to be safe.

I had several small-to-medium sized parrots until I became allergic to them. (Cockateil, Senegal Parrot, Sun Conure, Monk Parakeet) None of them really liked their cages but would tolerate being put in them at night. What they really loved was hanging out in the garden window in the kitchen, they could see most everything going on in the house and our backyard. Great as long as they didn't see a hawk out there, then they'd be freaked out for the rest of the day.

My cousin and uncle bought a parrot together a few years ago. They absolutely loved it. My uncle would go out to get the mail with the thing on his shoulders every day. Then, about 2 years ago, my cousin passed away unexpectedly, and my uncle was heartbroken for the loss of his 26 year old son. Fast forward a couple of weeks, my uncle still is in mourning, but gets the courage to get the mail and return to a normal life. The bird was on his shoulders as usual. Out of nowhere, a hawk lunges at him and snatches him up from his shoulders. It all happened within an instant. The entire neighborhood must have heard his wailing. I shudder just to think about this unfolding.

For anyone with such pets, please don't drop your guard down, especially if you love your pet like a member of the family. Predators such as hawks and the occasional coyote or bobcat do roam cities and are closer to us than we're aware.

> down't drop your guard down

True that. I had a cat who was very good with dogs - it became an outdoor cat over time. Then one early morning, in the driveway right outside our bedroom window we heard a terrible fight which turned out to be a coyote trying to kill/eat our cat. I got out there in time to run the coyote off, but the cat died in mine and my wife's hands minutes later.

That morning I taught my daughter how to bury a pet which was incredibly tough, heart wrenching experience - but that's how closure works I guess.

We've had another great, sweetheart of a cat for years now - and she's also amazing with dogs. I still find myself waking up in the night to check that she's in the house.

PS. I don't blame the coyotes.

>as long as they didn't see a hawk

Last year we lived in a rental with a decent beach view. One afternoon our parrot spotted a kite surfer near the beach, and full-on froze rigid for 10 minutes until it went away.

We guessed that she thought it was some kind of massive hawk. Poor girl, must have been terrifying. Haast Eagle has been gone for a long time, but she doesn't know that.

Ha! Ours were the exact opposite, they would fly into the living room and scream their heads off for a while, but then would be on high alert for the rest of the day, getting spooked by any sudden movements.

I always use massively oversized cages and keep them by the window, which probably helps.

does it stand to reason that they would have preferred to be out there?

You're justifying what is animal equivalent of institutionalization (I'm sure there's a more technical term for it for animal behavior). I recall reading about a behavioral phenomenon, where a neglected, abused animal (a large feline, if I recall correctly) was kept in a tiny cage it could only circle around in endlessly, no room to even pace. Once let out into a far larger enclosure, it would still perform this circular pacing despite having plenty of room to roam free. Do you suppose it really "loved" its old cage so much?

I may add that I too kept a budgie for 13 long years.

I've seen a bear still running in small circles in a 3.500m² compound in a zoo after being relocated there from another zoo (where they might have shot it). The reason for the circling (not enough space) was explained to us by the staff of the zoo. They said it'd wear off after a couple of months. Bear "Max" was 7 years old at the time (in 2000 or 2001). The 20 year old mother "Alma" was not running in circles. After the mother died in 2007, it seems the bear was held alone for 10 years. Max is still alive and with a partner now (Animal Park Olderdissen, Bielefeld, Germany).

I've seen this myself in Belgrade zoo, Serbia. Wolves running around in cages not much bigger than my budgie cage. It's not OK. However this shouldn't be used as a straw man to argue against what I said regarding budgies considering the huge phylogenetic distance between birds and mammals.

> it would still perform this circular pacing despite having plenty of room to roam free.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotypy#In_animals

I’m really not. When I first got the most recent budgies I was working from home and the cage was open all day so they were free to roam. They quickly made it their home and seldom left because a) that was where the food was and b) as a pair, they need somewhere to potentially build a nest.

You said you kept “a” budgie. They are highly social creatures and do not like being kept alone.

I don't quite follow your line of reasoning. Accessible food reinforces behavioral habits, so of course the cage with the food would quickly become their home. How then, exactly, can you quantify that they "love" their cage, as opposed to a large aviary or even freedom to roam in the wild? And I'm not going to make assumptions about your home decor, but most modern homes are neither furnished nor accessibly to birds, posing an immediate danger more than anything. The familiarity and safety of a cage may then be more enticing than flying around a home, and I certainly noticed this behavior in my birds (e.g. loud sounds would send them flying back to their cage in a fright, and in general a reluctance to come out).

The fact that captive animals can adapt to their cages, like a man does to prison, doesn't mean this is good for them nor that it's justifiable. And unlike a man, a captive-raised animal cannot comprehend anything else. You have chosen that life for them and are justifying it.

As for my singular budgie: one outlived the other by many years.

Aren't most of our cities are glorified prisons? There are billions of people who are confined to their homes for their lives especially in developing countries either due to economic reasons and or social reasons (just saying I dont own or justifying keeping a bird in the cage )

Spoken like someone who has never been imprisoned. There is _no_ comparison between "living in a city" and living in a literal cage.

Prison analogies. You obviously have a strong opinion about this, which I respect - but I don’t have the time or energy to enter into a debate.

I have a strong opinion on this. As a child, I saw our pet parakeet get depressed and lonely even as we provided him the best material care we could give. We let him around the house regularly, and he once escaped, but loved my father and came back when my dad climbed a ladder into a pine tree he had perched in. The bird eventually died a bitter, antisocial death, annoyed with human attempts to play with him, but lonely and longing for company.

Sure, we should have gotten a pair, but these animals are not meant to live in little cages. Yes, some can be content, especially in pairs. But it's fundamentally unnecessary to keep them in cages like that.

In nature, they are far more likely to end up as prey than to live a long happy life. Street cats live to the age of 5 on average. House cats live until 13. Freedom is a fantasy.

A film recommendation for you: Watership Down.

>and get the inevitable “keeping birds in cages is cruel” backlash. It invariably comes from people who do not keep birds.

Yeah, either them or hypocrites who do.

>Budgies love their cages.

Relatively to being free? Or you just mean they keep them tidy, decorate them, and generally make the best of a bad situation?

> I can’t speak for the larger parrots having never looked after any, but budgies love their cages.

Would they return to their cage if it was opened outside? IME very few would.

I much prefer doing things like feeding wild birds, this has all the benefits of bird ownership with none of the down sides. In time their friendly enough to to pat and nag when it's dinner time.

No, they’d freak out. They would completely panic, get lost, and then get eaten by a cat or die of cold.

I also feed wild birds. Everyone should. After having to bury a whole clutch of sparrow fledglings a few months ago after a cat got the nest I’m pretty sure my budgies - spending the entire day happily grooming each other, playing with toys, and enjoying unlimited free food - have a better time than them, though.

I've been considering getting a budgie for a long time. Is it ok to keep a single one? How much attention to they need every day? I'm out all day for work, but I could give it attention for hours in the evening and early morning. Also, what is an appropriate cage size? I live in a small condo.

I wrote an initial answer to this which was basically "get a pair!" and then decided to start again.

As a child, I had a lone female budgie. She was completely tame - almost "post-tame" to the point that she knew you weren't a threat so was quite OK with biting you to make a point if you tried to get her to do something like the perpetual ladder game. I'd get back from school and she'd sit on my shoulder all evening chuntering into my ear.

When I started my degree she - age 10 - had to move on, so I gave her to a friend to look after. The friend had, until recently, had a pair of budgies, but sadly was left with just the male. Upon introduction the two lone budgies bonded immediately in a completely heartwarming display. She lived for 2 more years happily with her new mate, and I always felt guilt for keeping her on her own all that time.

Fast forward to now and I have two budgies together, and they're really happy. They're all over each other all day. They have arguments, and they work through them, and they end up smooching and grooming and feeding each other again. They're so loving they're gross.

But do I think my first budgie was unhappy? No, I don't. She was fine, she just identified with people for most of her life.

Then, do I think these budgies as a couple are happier than she was? Yes, I think they probably are.

Ultimately it's up to you and how you want to care for the bird. If you want a super tame bird and you think you can provide enough time for them that they won't be lonely, you can make the decision to get a single budgie. If you want them to be able to have fun on their own when you're not there, get a pair - because then they don't need you.

Both of my current budgies are finger tame, but for them interacting with humans is mostly an annoyance. They will get curious and start chatting with you if you come to the cage, and they will get on your hand - but if they hear the other budgie that takes priority. One thing I haven't tried is getting two young birds and taming them independently before introducing them to each other...

Cage size I think within reason the bigger the better. Tall thin cages work well if your space is restricted, since vertical space is usually more readily available.

If your budgie is out of the cage for half of most days, I would be happier having a single budgie.

But if they're home alone for most of the working day or otherwise kept in their cage most of the time minus an hour or two I would get a pair.

recommendations for items they particularly like?

Again, all budgie advice, but:

Perches/twigs taken from live trees. I have hazel and apple in the garden so that’s what they usually get (and destroy) but check the wood is OK for budgies before giving it to them. All parrots love destroying things, and providing perches to strip is a good way to satisfy this urge without letting them eat an entire sheet of sandpaper. Basically just throw suitable foliage in there and they’ll find something to do with it.

Swings of any variety. You can make them from thick metal wire (thick enough that they can’t twist it themselves), optionally with a wooden perch part or make the whole thing from wire.

Ladders!

Small mirrors with caution, and not if you’re trying to tame them. They may “redistribute” food onto the mirror for their inverted friend. Interestingly in my current pair the female seems to pass the mirror test and the male doesn’t!

Bells, but make sure they can’t pull the clapper out and potentially swallow it. One of my previous budgies used to hit the bell, then was annoyed by the sound and so would attack it. The sound then obviously got louder and she would attack more violently, and so she kept herself occupied for quite a while.

It’s also nice to give them something to bathe in, which they may or may not take to. It needs to be a very shallow plate of water, and don’t just leave it in the cage or they will defacate it in and drink it afterwards.

They need cuttlefish bones and iodine blocks for bird health. Unlike dogs they won’t overeat, so even if you put lots of millet (budgie junk food) in there they will stop when they’re full. Useful if you’re leaving them for a couple of days because you can just provide extra food.

With my pair the female passes the mirror test, and has as long as I've had her. The male didn't when I got him, but he does now. She seems to have taught him about his reflection.

And definitely go for a big cage. My pair is in a 2'x2'x4' cage, and I feel it's probably too small for them. They spend their days outside of it, of course. And I only clip their wings when I need to travel with them (moving from one house to another).

Don't overfeed seed. Pelleted foods are a good base, but provide fresh fruit & vegetables daily.

Interesting regarding the mirror test! There’s so much about these dinosaurs we don’t know yet.

I’ve never clipped but I totally understand. I just cover them up and remove swings but driving with a spooked budgie isn’t fun.

Fresh fruit and veg are always there, shouldn’t have omitted that. Millet OD is only if I’m leaving them unsupervised for a weekend which is very rare, but they are very sensible with how much they eat.