Letting your parakeet out of the cage to stretch his wings and interact with the family can be enjoyable for everyone, provided your home is safe and your bird is well socialized. Prepare your home and your bird properly, though, or the results can be unpleasant -- even dangerous.
Behavior
A well-behaved and sociable pet parakeet can be a pleasure to interact with. An anti-social, territorial bird who dislikes certain members of your family is not as pleasant, however. Before you can think about letting your parakeet out of his cage, you need to make sure he's responsive to you and well socialized. Parakeets can be possessive, territorial and aggressive. When this behavior is being displayed toward humans, it's an indication the bird has not been fully tamed. It's not a good idea to let an untamed or aggressive bird out of the cage because he might attack people in the home; your methods for dealing with the behavior will be limited if your bird is loose in your home.
The Home
Your parakeet does not have an innate knowledge of what objects are safe for him to approach, handle or consume. Your house, or at least the room in which you let your birdie loose, needs to be parakeet-proofed. Make sure to turn off ceiling fans, get electrical cords out of the way, put away any items that could fall on your bird and remove chemicals, paints or other potentially toxic materials.
Other Pets
You cannot let your parakeet out of his cage if you have other pets running loose in the house that might attack or accidentally injure your pal. Cats and dogs in particular may harm your bird if they come across the bird roaming loose in the house. Small children also pose a hazard. You should never allow other pets or young children in the room with your loose bird because accidents can occur very quickly, and your bird will be put at serious risk.
Recalling Your Bird
Parakeets can be trained to come on command. It's a very good idea to train your parakeet to respond to a specific command by immediately coming to you. This is especially true if your parakeet's wings have not been clipped and he can still fly freely. The ability to recall your bird makes allowing him out of the cage a less risky prospect.
