# Would being free to roam and fly around all day shorten a budgie's life span?



## AryasMom

Hi. I have a female budgie named Arya, she is a year and a half old. I know that I'm going to get a lot of flak for what I'm about to say, but here it goes. 

Arya is always out of her cage, except during her sleeping hours which are 8 PM to 8 AM. Besides these hours, her cage door is always open. She only goes in there to eat, drink water and sleep. I give her the vegetables and the fruit out of the cage. She is free to fly around the house, supervised. I work from home, so I'm always looking out for her. Also, I got rid of any potential threat to a bird in the house. The house is essentially bird-proofed. And I'm not just saying that. There is nothing that she can get stuck in/to, there is nothing that can fall on her, there is nothing that can cut or pierce her. She is allowed to roam only three rooms, (the other doors are kept closed) but she frequents only one. She flies from the chandelier to doors, from windows (closed, of course) to her cage, from on top of the TV to on top of sofas. This has been her living arrangement since the first month she's been with us and we haven't had even one scare. Now you know her living conditions. Onto my question.

My question is NOT whether or not this is safe, whether or not something could happen to her. My question is, would flying around and being active all day shorten a budgie's life span? Like, I want her to be free and just merrily fly around. I have had her for a year and a half and not even one incident happened. So I want to keep this going. But the thought occurred to me other day that I might be doing her harm by letting her fly all day. I'm worried that her body will give out quicker due to lots of movement and activity. Is this logic justified? Do you think by letting her fly around all day I'm causing her body to wear down quicker as opposed to the body of a budgie who leaves the cage only for an hour a day? Am I shortening my budgie's life span by letting her be physically active all day?

I'm begging you, please don't be like "How could you do this?! This is animal cruelty! Something could happen to her!" - I already know this. I have read hundreds of articles. I have meticulously made every corner of the house bird-proof. And I'm always watching her since I work from home. I just want to know the answer to my question and learn what's best for Arya.

Thank you in advance.


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## Hunterkat

If anything, being so active would help her stay healthy in my opinion.


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## JRS

I agree with Katherine.
If the areas accessible to Arya are bird safe, then the extra exercise will likely keep her fit and thus prolong her life.

*Just a note to other readers, that a truly bird safe room is extremely difficult to create and that being allowed to move freely between rooms without risk of escape is also very difficult to safely sustain. 
In addition to her owner working from home, I suspect that Arya lives in a quiet environment with just one or two equally committed adults, for whom opening any door or window involves a now well ingrained checking process.


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## Cody

I agree with the previous posts. In the wild budges are very active so the freedom to fly when she feels like it I think is a good thing. I had a sparrow for 12 years that had free flight, she had her favorite spots and one special area where she would sleep every night which she would automatically go to when it was time to sleep, whether it was nighttime or just naptime.


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## FaeryBee

*Hi! :welcome: to Talk Budgies!

Arya has a wonderful arrangement and an excellent life from what you describe.

My budgies are out from 8 AM until bedtime ~ 8PM in their bird-safe room all day everyday as well. 

All nine of them go into their cages at night-time for sleeping.

I fully believe that this arrangement allows them the best possible life in captivity they can possibly have.
They have the best of food, fresh clean water twice a day, lots of toys, exercise and the freedom to fly as much as they wish. 
Sometimes they choose to go into their cages to play or nap but that decision is theirs alone.

Arya is a very fortunate little budgie and I don't think her life span will be shortened in the least. If anything, it may be lengthened!

Please take the time to read through the Site Guidelines, all of the How To Guides, the FAQs, the Budgie Articles and the stickies located at the top of each section of the forum.

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These are great resources for Talk Budgie members and have a wealth of reliable information which will assist you to learn the best practices in caring for your budgies for their optimal health and well-being.

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## StarlingWings

Hi there and :welcome: to the forums! 

It sounds like Arya is a very spoiled little girl 

You've come to the best place to learn even more about budgies! 

FaeryBee has provided some excellent resources above, so be sure to read through them. They include the forum's many stickies and articles to ensure that you're up to date on the very best of budgie care practices. 

If you have any questions after reading through everything, please be sure to ask as we'd love to help! 

I look forward to hearing/seeing more of your little one!

Cheers! :wave:


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## Blingy

Hello and welcome to yourself and Arya. It sounds to me like Arya is a very lucky, much loved family member. I agree with everything everyone else has already said. I just wanted to drop in and say hello and that I do hope you will stick around and share pics of little Arya. We would all love to meet her.


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## philw

This sounds like the best possible life for a "captive" bird health-wise. Exercise at will is one of the best provisions. The only exception I could make is in reference to Julia's
* note related to preventing accidents, by some budgies that happen to get into unexpected trouble. With this exception, I'd still say that Arya is very lucky, to have a very concerned and thoughtful owner.


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## AryasMom

Thank you all for your input and kind words. I must say I'm relieved to hear that what I'm doing is good for her.


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