Fresh Air for your Bird

Some birds enjoy going outdoors for a little fresh air and watching all the exciting activities of the outdoors.  Who doesn't love some fresh air and sunlight every once in a while?  However, some birds may become very frightened if taken outdoors, so please be sure your bird will enjoy the outing.

If your bird is not used to the outdoors, you may want to start with only a few minutes outside, making it a fun time with lots of praise, and increasing the time outdoors as your bird becomes more adjusted to all the sights and sounds.

There are several ways your bird can enjoy the outdoors. You can place your bird in a travel cage before going outdoors. Be sure all openings on the cage, such as openings for feed cups, are securely fastened, just as the door should be, before going outdoors. Birds are great escape artists, so making sure your bird cannot escape from the cage is a priority.

There are bird harnesses for all sizes of parrots that can also be used. Be sure to keep your bird at a close range for safety. A bird should never be tied outside using only a harness. Again, parrots can almost always easily escape from a bird harness, and if that fails, chew through the harness itself to escape. 

If you have a window that opens with a safety screen, placing your bird nearby for a while each day can also let in some fresh air. This often works well with birds who are too nervous when going outdoors.  

A feather-clipped bird will sometimes go outside with their owner. However, I feel this is the outing for the most mishaps. A good gust of wind, and you may learn how well a bird can still fly with clipped feathers. It only takes one or two new flight feathers to give your bird flight if scared. 

I strongly recommend that a bird never be left outdoors by itself.  If your yard is not fenced in, you can never be certain that a stray dog might spot your bird, and even if only curious, could cause an unfortunate accident.  Even a fenced-in yard won't guarantee that a wandering cat won't see your bird and try to reach it.  There have even been cases of snakes crawling into a cage hanging from a tree outdoors. In reality, a bird can never be safe enough if left alone.  

Remember to also consider the daily temperatures and make sure they are comfortable for your bird.  A bird should never be left unsupervised in direct sunlight. Severe overheating can cause a possible death.  A bird that has become too warm will often hold it's wings out to try and circulate air around its body to bring the bird's body temperature down.  Your bird may also breathe with an open mouth, and if this occurs, should immediately be taken back indoors and allowed to cool down.  There should always be a choice of shade so your bird can move in and out of the sun when it is ready to.  Just remember, if you live somewhere where 90 degrees in the shade is miserable for humans, then it's going to be too hot for your bird for more than a few minutes.  

Just like humans, a bird can get used to the cool air conditioning of a home and might be better with only short fresh air trips before or after the hottest parts of the day, and be sure when you bring your bird back inside, there are no direct air vents blowing on the bird.   

So by all means, do enjoy some fresh air with your bird!

Back to blog

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.