I agree with all the others. It's high time Billie got a taste of freedom. Most WILL return to their cage on their own if given the time to do so.
Good to hear you've already started letting her come out and are doing it on her terms. She'll come out when she's good and ready.
Be sure to keet proof that room Lane. Windows and mirrors covered. Look for places she could possibly fall behind like bookshelves, dressers..entertainment centers..and take care of the problem spots beforehand. Close the door when she's out so she doesn't decide to take of to the rest of the house before you're ready for her to venture further.

Like Tess said, some/most don't fly well at first. They're not used to it of course. Expect a few crash n burns until she gets that pilot license. LOL IF she does crash n burn don't just go running to pick her up. Give her time to get reoriented and gather her thoughts and see where she goes from there.
Eventually a playgym to land on would be nice. And if she likes toys put some on top of her cage so she has something to do when she's out

Be sure to let us know when she finally ventures out.We'll be waiting to hear all about it.

i haven't taken the time to properly hand train my flock, as its not easy with four birds...they let me touch them, but they tend to try and avoid me most of the time. Basically im in the same boat as you, but with four birds. I let mine out and they do return to the cage and go back inside...but if i have to put them back in their cage for some reason, i turn the light off and grab them (i can see them, they cant see me - i leave some form of light.) Some people might think this is mean or whatever, but they aren't very bright. Just don't squeeze the bird and if it starts flying, turn the light on quickly so they don't crash into anything.

Also, my bird Sauron used to be hand trained but he died, and the rest are attached to each other. Now my fourth bird is Angel and he is Sarah and Kenny's(penelope's name was changed) baby. Just thought i'd put it out there because my pic is outdated by a few years

Ughh! That is so not true! These little keets are extremely bright! They understand waaaay more than you give them credit for. They DO associate words with actions and objects. They know when we are watching and do things to get attention and to make us laugh...they do many things that show just how smart they really are

It must be hard to train 4 birds all at once, but grabbing them all the time will just make them distrust you more.

Not very bright!! What are you kidding me. I can hardly keep up with Bob and his antics, he KNOWs what he is doing and has mastered very good communication with me.

I think maybe it is very hard to train 4 birds at once but grabbing them all the time will not help the process and may have set them back too far to train now at all.

It is hard to have patience and not grab them..even harder to not chase. I stopped grabbing after reading this forum and have made some progress. Lately I have come home from working a late shift to find CeeCee sitting on serenades cage instead of in her own. I cover his cage and try to move her. Shell sit on my finger and then flies when I try to put her in. Back and forth to the picture frames and then she finally goes in after like 10 mins. Maybe I'll just leave her out but I worry. I don't want her to try to fly in the dark and bump into stuff. Can she walk around to the entrance in the dark? Probably shell be fine and I should let her be because I may be eroding trust chasing her.

P.s. Skittles could care less if I grabbed him. Even the vet was like. "what a cool little guy". He was one of a kind though.

Wow you poor people...you see what i mean when i say these people aren't very bright? The sentence was about people who think its mean are not very bright. My birds are not afraid of me, but they dont always want to come out and have their nails clipped or whatever. Would it be better to just let their nails grow for eternity because they dont want me to clip them? NO...sometimes you have to grab them. And i dont mean snatch them up like a cat in a wild frenzy, i just mean pick them up and keep a hand cupped over them so they cant fly away. The ignorance some people show...This person has had their bird for YEARS and sometimes you need to grab them. Thats all im saying. I was just letting them know that they can leave the bird out and it will go back in the cage when it is ready, but i was also telling them a way to get them back in the cage if something comes up where you HAVE to get the bird immediately. It is not mean. Of course you should try not to do it if you can avoid it though, because some birds do get scared by it. The very fact that you guys cant understand one simple sentence should make you think twice about giving people like me, who have had birds for years and years advice. I read body language for all creatures, and grabbing my birds does not hurt them.

In the total context of your message the sentence in question is vague and open to interpretation. Such is the nature of written communication. The reader gets no voice inflections, no physical feedback and are left only to ponder the meaning of the written words.

Being advocates of kind treatment to keets we jump to their defense. Consider your words more carefully. Good advice for all.

Name calling and talking down to people is just rude and against forum policy.

Thank you cyberbud

sixbirds,
I don't care if you have had birds for years and years. That doesn't mean you can't use advice now and then. Things change over the years and quite frankly anyone who still believes gravel and grit are ok for keets needs to brush up on things.
We learn something new every day. Whether we've had birds for a week or 5 years.

I appreciate all the tips and reports on here (with the exception of the side trip into miscommunication. :-) )

The point about mirrors caught my eye as something I need to fix. My room is probably not that keet-proof, but I'll be careful to let Billie out only when I can be here. Then I can deal with problem spots as they develop.

No progress yet on coming out. She gets lots of exercise flying up and down in the big Hagen cage, so at least she'll be in shape when she gets ready.

Lane

Yeah, I don't much like those side trips myself Lane.

It's been over a week and she still hasn't ventured out?
Is there anything near her cage that she might view as being scary?
Intimidating pictures or sculptures? Big stuffed animals...scary model ship nearby? Anything hanging over her cage?
Sounds like she might be afraid of something. hmmm
Think like a little keet. Look around. Is there anything that might be scary in her eyes?

Have you tried putting fav toys or treat of some kind on the landing platform or cage top?

Best if you can deal with problem spots BEFORE they arise if you see any. Why wait for a problem to develop if it can be avoided in the first place?