Please Help!

[LtlWngdAngl]

Please Cross Post:

About 1:00 pm this afternoon, my Black-capped conure, Voodoo, flew out the door and away. I've been tromping around my neighborhood showing all of my neighbors his photo, shouting his name and desperately looking for him! I'm beside myself b/c he's my "sweet boy" and the only one of my birds that I can handle b/c he's my only hand-raised baby. He has a band on his leg, though I don't have the paper's right this second to give the number, but it was through "Parrot Pleasures," a breeder in Panama City, FL. I live in Pace/Milton, FL (right outside of Pensacola, FL). I know it's a long-shot, but I'm desperate; I can be reached at LtlWngdAngl@hotmail.com.

Thank you!

[KellamGuy7603]

As soon as your bird disappears do the following:

1. Put your bird's cage outside in plain view. Make sure food is in the bowls and place larger foods on the top of the cage. Leave your cage outside until your bird is found;
2. Recruit people you know who can begin to search your neighborhood and surrounding area immediately. Do not wait to see if your bird will return on its own; the sooner you begin your search the greater the chance that your bird will be returned. Using a bicycle can help searchers cover a larger area. Searchers should keep in mind that a scared bird will not make frequent sounds; searchers should retrace their steps many times and listen for your bird to call out. If your bird is seen, it shouldn't be chased, as people are more likely to get tired before your bird does, rather your bird should be enticed to come to your searchers with some of its favorite food or toys; and...
3. Notify each of your neighbors that your bird is missing.


C. If you haven't seen your bird after an hour of searching do the following:

1. Telephone the local pet stores, veterinarian clinics, police stations, and humane societies to inform them of the disappearance of your bird;
2. Place notices of the disappearance of your bird in the lost and found sections of your local papers -- specify bold print;
3. Notify the Editors of your local papers of the disappearance of your bird. One may choose to write a feature article of your bird, which would provide you with wider exposure;
4. Make a poster for distribution. Since most people will not be able to identify the weight, sex, breed, or age of your bird, a good description of color, markings, feather length, and type is essential. Your poster should contain the following information: the picture of your bird, a description of your bird, any information that would help someone entice your bird to come to them (i.e., your birds favorite treats, sayings, or games), your name, your telephone nwnber and an alternative telephone number (in case your first number is busy or otherwise unavailable), the location where your bird disappeared, and the word 'REWARD'. Do not specify the amount of the reward in your poster. If your birds picture is scanned into your computer and you have a color printer, you can quickly print out your posters yourself An alternative is to tape your photograph onto a piece of paper containing the necessary information and taking your completed poster to a copy shop to be duplicated in color. Color copies on white paper will make the best use of your photo. When creating your poster, remember that when exposed to sun and rain Black ink often remains readable the longest, so the important information on your poster should be printed in Black. Expect your bird's photo and other information printed in color ink to wash away over time;
5. Make several hundred copies of your poster; and...
6. Put your posters on phone poles at every intersection in your town, inside of grocery stores, libraries, pet stores, vets, and any other public place that will allow you to hang them. Give a poster to your mail carrier, newspaper delivery person, gardener, and others who may spot your bird as they spend time outside. Go door-to-door leaving posters with your near and distant neighbors. After you have posted throughout your town, cover a wider area less intensively leaving posters at stores, intersections, and veterinarian offices.


D. After your bird has been missing for one day, do the following:

1. Contact a local youth organization, such as the Boy Scouts or Key Club, and request their assistance searching your neighbor or posting posters; and...
2. Visit the local humane societies so that you can look for your bird among those they are harboring. Leave a poster at the shelters and plan to return at least once a week and call at least twice weekly to inquire as to the recovery of your bird.


E. As long as your bird is missing, do the following:

1. Be prepared to receive prank calls. Also expect to receive calls about other found birds;
2. Don't give up too soon. Keep looking for your bird for at least a month, as birds have been recovered long after that period of time has passed;
3. Have a cage immediately available to the searchers you recruit in which they may house your bird after it is found; and...
4. Get the word out about your lost bird to as many people as possible to ensure they will keep their eyes out for your bird, and will recognize your bird should they come in contact with it. They will also know how to contact you if they see your bird, and may feel more comfortable catching it if they know that it belongs to someone, and a reward is involved.

[KellamGuy7603]

here are some more tips

STAY CALM, confident and positive that you will recover the bird. People tend to give up too easily and way too soon.

FINDING THE LOST BIRD. This is often the hardest part, but once accomplished is half the battle to successfully recovering the bird. Time is of the essence in this phase. As long as you know where the bird is, you can get it down with time - in most cases with enough time it will come down on its own, so long as you can keep track of it long enough. If you already know where the bird is located, skip to 3. RECOVERING THE BIRD.

Listen, listen and listen some more - if the bird is up in a tree or out of sight, chances are that you won''t be able to see it. But, if the bird vocalizes, you will be able to find its location by listening. It will almost always make noises that can be heard, giving direction to look in. Taking another bird out to the area may also help, especially if the other bird is a noisy friend of the lost bird or a mate or cage partner.

If you can't hear or locate the bird:

Make and distribute flyers in the neighborhood. Include a picture!

Notify the Humane Society or Animal Control 3. Enlist the help of neighborhood kids. Children love to help look for lost parrots. They also tell on people that are hiding them.

Call area pet stores and vets. Ask them to keep their ears open for strange telephone calls like people asking "what does a parrot eat?", "what kind of bird looks like this?" etc.

Place classified ads in newspapers.

Put up posters in local convenience stores and post office.

Don't limit your notification activity to the immediate vicinity where the parrot was lost. Frightened birds often fly a long way.

RECOVERING THE BIRD: Chances are that the bird wants to get to you but is too frightened or doesn't know how. Often, the key is getting the bird motivated to get to you on its own. This can take a while. A long while. Continue calling calmly and soothingly to the bird.

DO NOT use a ladder or cherry picker/bucket truck or long sticks. Keep anyone and anything strange away from you that he might be afraid of. These will only frighten the bird away.

DO NOT take the popular advice to attempt to spray the bird with a hose. This too will frighten the bird, and a wet bird can still fly.

Morning and late afternoon/evening are the most likely times that the bird will come to you. It will rest in the afternoons and go to roost at night. If it is nighttime, do not waste your time trying to get the bird to come down. This time is better spent either resting up for the next day or working on flyers and other contacts.

Have someone watch the bird at all times during the day if you need to go for help.

If the bird is in a tree that you can climb, make sure the person climbing is someone the bird is comfortable with. Bring a favorite treat with you.

If you can reach the bird, calmly secure it and stuff it under your shirt so it can't get frightened and fly away again.

Some folks have even taken scissors up with them and trimmed the bird's wings then and there. This may be a little tricky……

Put a familiar cage and food out where it can be seen by the bird.

If you have a second bird that the lost bird will recognize the calls from, put the second bird outside where the bird can hear it.

If the bird has been out for a while pack a picnic and eat right under the tree where the bird is. Make sure it's something decadent and tempting such as French fries. Make a big deal about how delicious it is.

Jealousy (a Significant Other giving the bird's #1 person attention, or another rival bird or pet getting attention from said #1) can work to lure the bird down.

With time and patience, the bird will calm down and relax and become much more easily recovered. Signs of such change of state include preening, playing with leaves/branches, aborted attempts to fly down, etc.

It may take days for the bird to become motivated enough to come down to you. Don't give up!!