Free Flight Room

Freiflugzimmer

If you want to let your budgie fly freely in the room, you have to make it budgie-proof first.

At the same time, there are a lot of things to consider with a free-flight room that often wouldn’t even occur to you at first glance. For example, most common houseplants are toxic to budgies. Unfortunately, a “no nibbling” sign is not enough, so they will have to be placed in another room.

  • Make windows (and curtains, if necessary) bird-proof
  • Secure gaps between furniture and wall
  • remove all houseplants unless they are non-toxic
  • Remove vessels open at the top (e.g. vases, watering cans)
  • Use wastebaskets with lids
  • suitable landing and playgrounds

Windows and curtains

The biggest danger with windows is not that budgies might escape through them, but it is the clear window panes that can lead to fatal accidents.

Window panes

After the window panes are not recognizable as an obstacle for the birds, you need to secure them accordingly.

  • Transparent curtains
  • self-adhesive privacy film

The easiest option would be if you already have appropriate transparent curtains hanging in front of the windows or you could put them there. However, it is essential to ensure that the meshes are so fine that the budgies can not get caught in them with their feet.

Curtains

As mentioned above, do not use coarse-mesh curtains in the free-flight room. There is a danger that they could get caught in it with their feet. Even more dangerous are thread curtains or fringes on the curtains. Not only can they get caught in this, but in the worst case they can even strangle.

Open or tilted windows

Even if you have a transparent curtain in front of the windows, the budgies can escape through an open or even tilted window. Since they like to sit on curtain rods, it occasionally happens that one slips through the back and lands behind the curtain.

Although it may sound tempting at first, do not use grilles for bottom-hung windows, as you would for cats. The grid spacing is simply too large and the budgie could get stuck with its head inside.

This leaves only the installation of a fly screen, if you want to ventilate briefly even in the free flight phase.

Open doors

It happens quickly that you forget to close the door when you leave the room for a short time. This could easily become a problem if the budgies take this opportunity to go exploring, especially if the windows are open in another room.

There is a simple and easy way to prevent this. You can quickly and easily close the door with a so-called mini door closer which then automatically ensures that the door is always ajar or closed .

Door closer at the top of the door edge

Furniture

All furniture should be checked to see how far away it is from the wall and whether the gap might be large enough for a budgie to slip through. Even if the bird does not hurt itself, it is often quite difficult to get it out from behind the piece of furniture.

One possibility, if you cannot cover the gap in any other way, is the use of a simple fly screen with Velcro . You just need to attach Velcro tape to the edge of the furniture and the wall respectively, and then to be able to attach the fly screen there. This also works quite well for a TV cabinet, for example, where the cables still need to be passed through the back.

Houseplants

As already mentioned at the beginning, most houseplants are poisonous for budgies and after one can keep these badly from nibbling at it, these must be removed willy-nilly from the free flight room.

Of course, the whole thing has the advantage that the window sill is now largely free to grow suitable food plants for budgies on it.

Here is a small list of suitable plants for the window sill:

By the way, the leaves of the plants from the above list can all be fed.

➔ Houseplants

Wastebaskets and trash cans

Also one should think about it whether one does not procure for the free flight room waste paper baskets and/or garbage cans with cover. You can never be sure that one of the budgies will not land in the wastebasket or similar during an “emergency landing” and will not be able to get out of it under its own power.

If you have or get a trash can with a swing lid or similar, be sure to also check that it does not give way if one of the birds lands on it.

Landing and playgrounds

After the budgies during the free flight also somewhere (usually as high as possible) to land and rest, one should offer these different landing places. For example, you can put them on the cabinet or hang them from the ceiling, depending on the case. After all, the curtain rod alone is too boring in the long run.

So that with the budgies the furniture edges do not work to small wood, I would offer them also suitable playgrounds and other occupation and nibbling possibilities.

At landing sites for free flight or also under practical tests you will certainly find some suggestions for this.

Cork branch - swing

TIP:

Lighter landing sites are wonderful to hang from the ceiling by means of a curtain rod (see photo above). However, if they have a certain weight, of course, better to use a ceiling hook.

➔ Do it yourself employment opportunities

Possible sources of danger

Vessels open at the top

Jars that have an opening at the top are not only dangerous for budgies because they can fall into them or get stuck , but they can also become a deadly trap if they are filled with water or another liquid or if they panic.

Gefahren

Example: Cups (unattended)

If they fall into the cup or get stuck, they usually cannot free themselves. If this is also filled with water or another liquid, it can quickly become fatal.

These include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Flower vases and decorative glasses
  • Watering cans for indoor plants
  • unobserved drinking glasses, cups or jugs without lids
  • Tealight holders or glasses (especially with burning candle)
  • Kitchen rolls and the like
Kaffeekanne mit Welli

Example: Open coffee pot

The owner of this budgie had only forgotten to close the lid before putting the pot into the coffee maker and only then became aware of the predicament of her bird due to strange noises. The curious hen had actually squeezed into the gap between the coffee maker and the pot and so fell in there.
One does not want to imagine what would have happened if there had still been coffee in the pot.

Yellow cards and other flypaper

Not only the houseplants themselves pose a problem, but also the yellow cards (e.g. against fungus gnats) as well as any other glue-based flycatcher.

On them get stuck not only insects, but also the feathers of the budgie. The glue layer on it is so sticky that the budgie usually cannot free itself.

Gelbkarte mit Federn

Example: Yellow cards

The goat parakeet to which these feathers belong had gained access to the houseplants and then got stuck with its feathers on the yellow card. Independently could not free himself from it, but fortunately with the help of the owner escaped only with a scare.
(Image provided by missthinw ood_art)

Lamps

Not only the hot light bulbs (or other illuminants) can be dangerous to budgies, but sometimes the lampshade itself.

Lampenschirm

Example: Lampshade

The budgie, in its curiosity, examined the lampshade and then had trouble finding the exit.
Moreover, if the light bulb had been on, he could easily have been burned.

Other