is keeping birds in cages cruel?

Is Keeping Birds in Cages Cruel?

Sometimes when I mention I have pet birds people will remark that keeping birds in cages is cruel. Indeed, I used to feel that way before I got a pet bird. After all, birds in the wild aren't kept in cages and spend much of their lives flying free. Keeping a bird in a cage prevents it from flying - isn't that cruel?

The birds you see in pet stores have been bred by breeders, either in their homes or nurseries. They're usually hand-fed so they develop a trust of humans early in life (You can usually get a better price buying directly from a breeder). Since they're raised by humans they never experience living in the wild. They have no other points of reference other than the surroundings they're raised in, or in a pet store, and eventually their new homes. Onto cages --

A cage serves several purposes:

1. A safe place. Birds like to have a set territory that's their home where they can roost and feel safe. Some birds will get agitated if you put your hand in their cage! It's an intrusion into their territory. My first bird, a female cockatiel named Chewy, would hiss and make mock biting motions at my hand when I was in her cage for whatever reason like food, water, changing paper, etc. She wasn't being mean, it's just an instinctive need to protect her territory and young.

2. A place for their food, water and treats.

3. A place to play with toys or just clown around.

4. Protection from other pets, young children, etc.

5. A place to breed and raise chicks, if you want. Raising birds isn't easy and the chicks sometimes require round-the-clock care!

Even if the cage door is left open all the time a bird will sometimes spend most of its time inside. However, getting the correct size cage is important. The rule of thumb is big enough to accommodate their wings fully stretched in all directions so they can exercise them. But that's the minimum; bigger is better.

What about flying?

It would seem logical that birds are designed for flight, so their freedom is curtailed in a cage. Birds do a lot of other things than flying. In fact, unless the bird is migrating, it spends most of its time doing something besides flying - like feeding, grooming, playing, sleeping and taking care of their brood (If you decide to raise babies).

Since pet birds have never lived in the wild they don't have the need to fly to find food, water, etc that wild birds do. Although they still seem to like to fly and this brings us to wing clipping.

Wing clipping

There's even discussion about this on Internet bird forums. Bird's wings are clipped for several reasons: The most important being so they can't fly out an open window or door! This is heartbreaking! I've had it happen, as well as other bird owners. Unless it's found, the bird is almost sure to die since it's never been taught by its parents where to hunt for food and find water and can't tolerate the climate, particularly winter weather (most pet store birds are from tropical climates).

The second is so the bird won't fly into a closed window, since they don't know the glass is there, or until it learns it's there.

Third, so they can be taken outside.

And fourth, it makes the bird more docile and easier to tame, since they have to depend on you to move them around. Usually an overly-aggressive, or mean, bird will become more docile after its wings are clipped.

Birds, understandably, don't like the process of wing clipping, but once it's done they aren't mad at you or exhibit personality dysfunction. It's quick and painless (It should be done by an experienced bird handler). Also, clipping doesn't take away all flight. Enough is left for it to fly short distances and in case it falls from something. You can control the distance by clipping less, or more, of its wings, usually the primary flight wings.

To clip or not to clip?

Some people don't clip their bird's wings, myself included. I like to watch them fly, enjoy giving them the entire apartment to roam and they're more beautiful with all their wings. It makes them a little harder to tame, but you just have to use more patience. One of my parakeets made friends with me by flying over my head until one day he lit and was soon comfortable with my hand and the rest of my body. He would sometimes gently peck at my eyebrows, then bite me hard and fly off - the little rascal! Birds can be mischievous and keep you in stitches with their antics.

My cockatiel's wings were clipped and I enjoyed taking her outside perched on my shoulder. At first she looked around like a child's first time at a carnival! Birds are highly intelligent, on the same level as primates such as apes and monkeys. Some, like the African Gray, can count up to seven objects and have vocabularies of up to 800 words and perform complex tasks that would baffle a dog or cat. A crow bent a piece of wire to make a hook so it could get some food out of a jar. Even apes haven't been observed altering an object that much to make a tool.

In conclusion, it's not cruel keeping birds in cages as long as it's big enough and there are advantages and disadvantages to wing clipping. Birds can make one of the best pets, in my opinion. They're intelligent, can be taught to talk, are usually affectionate and will bond and play with you. When they become tame it means they've accepted you into their flock! They can give hours of laughs and enjoyment at their antics and acrobatics!

Getting a pet bird 101

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