I love to see birds flying around as well and hate to clip their wings unless I have to. That being said I do usually clip wings (except on a few species that are more prone to feather plucking) until a bird is very tame and can be trusted to come when called and step up when needed. Many birds especially the smaller ones seem to become more tame when their wings are clipped. If your birds had their wings clipped in the past and were tame I would suggest doing this again.

We do use a net on some smaller birds usually finches which I don't really find a "friendly, trainable" type of bird. I try not to use nets on birds that can be trained and tamed unless absolutely necessary. It seems to cause a lot of stress to them to be swooped down upon by a large item, possibly making them feel like a predator is after them like in the wild. A net can be used if needed but I would suggest only as a last resort. If the holes in the net are too lage they can get their heads, wings or legs stuck if the holes are too small their nails can become entangled either way creating even more stress. If you are going to be using a net I don't have any suggestions on using them for taming it really seems to defeat the purpose.

If you do not want to clip and don't want to use a net I would suggest first, only take the birds out of their cage when you know you will have plenty of time with them. Do not take them out before work when you could be in a hurry, instead take them out of an evening, either after supper or before bed. Let them play for a while then try offering a favorite treat to entice to step up. Make sure you save the treat only for when putting them back in their cage or handling them so they see they get something good for "going home" or perching on your hand. At first do not make them go directly into their cage when they do step up or they may see it as something to avoid. Instead get them to step up, give a tiny bit of treat and then let them fly off again. Do this several times before putting back in their cages and give them a bit more of a treat when you do. Smaller pieces broken off a millet spray is usually a good treat. Or if they have another favorite treat, try that instead.

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