What to do if your bird flies away

[tamaran2]

Due to the resent news of yet more lost birds. I think we need to start a thread on what to do if your bird flew off. I think then we should take the best of the thread and copy it to make a sticky. I know there are books that cover it pretty well, and tons of information on the internet but who has time for that we your bird is somewhere out there. If we make it a check list someone could down load, then they could have it handy.

And if you don’t think you need it, because your bird has never flown, or is clipped, or you take all the necessary precautions in your home, you are in for a rude awakening one day. It’s like the parent who sees other kids doing things and says “My child would never do that or act like that.” Remember clipped birds can still fly.

I does happen and it can happen when we least expect it. It is something we should all be prepared for just like we prepare for emergency vets, household emergencies and such. There is limited time when it happens especially when you are in the throws of the action and you need to be looking for the bird not searching for what to do.

So I will start. Please add to this and lets get this done.

Have a flyer made out with your bird/birds resent picture in it ready to go. If you don’t have one already you can go to Microsoft templates and download the lost dog flyer. You can edit it in word. Here is the link - http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/te...CT101433001033

I have saved more than a few pets, due to the kindness of my neighbors with this flyer.

You can also have the flyer to send to you newspaper so they can put a picture in the lost in found pet dept.

Where to put flyers- blanket you neighbor, supermarkets, pet stores, vets, post office, local stores, and telephone poles. Any place they will let you put a flyer up or that has a bulletin board, just make sure you ask first.

Do call your vets office personally to let them know, if someone finds a hurt bird you have lost your pet and they will more than likely be the first one called.

Groomers are also a good place; they get calls from animal loving people.

Via – Nancy’s suggestion (I never thought of this one my self) The local schools, see if you can send a flyer home with the kids, or a least post it in the school so the kids will see it. Kids always know where the new pets are.

If you have a spouse, partner, or friend they could be doing this for you while you are out looking.


Most birds will stay in a 3 to 5 mile radius of there home. But remember your bird has only seen your house for the inside out. They have never flown over your house and don’t know landmarks or what your roof looks like.

Most birds will stay in the trees, until hunger gets them down.

If it is night time or close to night fall, the bird will perch for the night. The do legs lock for nighttime perching, so they will most of the time stay right there until morning. UNLESS- something scares them thru the night, their vision is so bad they will not fly.
So, set your clock for before sunrise and get back out there. There is a chance here that a tree climber can climb the tree at night to get the bird down. But you could just end up scaring the bird to fly off. So this is chancy.

What to do-
The best time is in the morning and last evening before sunset.

If you can move the cage outside, if not then a perch they will see as theirs.
If you have another bird take him, (safely in a travel cage with you) you want to start the contact calls to get the bird down. Or at least to help you spot him.

If you don’t have another bird or even if you do, at least start now and record their contact calls. That way you have something on hand to help you locate the bird.

Know the names and phone numbers of local tree climbers; write this in the back of your phone book with your vet’s number. Call them before you need them to make sure they will come out if you were to ever need them. Offer to pay them well for their time.

Besides a flock call, you make sounds every day that you my not realize that your bird recognizes. There were 4 sounds that helped me get my B&G back.
1. Whenever she is bratty and not wanting to come off her cage I would say to her “Fine Pebbles stay there, I don’t care. I’m leaving. BYE!” I started this when she was young and she always coming running to me as not to be left. It was funny that this is what I said to her when she was 100 foot up in a tree, far away from my house and she screamed at me then flew closer to me. We lead her to our yard by saying this then driving closer and closer.
2. The sound of their dry mix hitting the medal bowls in their cages. She responded to this.
3. The sound of me stirring up nuts in the bowl I keep them in for the birds.
4. And the sound that got her to come down – The sound of me stirring up baby formula. Even though she was well over a year old almost 2 she still remembered that sound. On the third day of being out there, I stood on the top of my car so she could see me, and I stirred it up in a glass with a spoon over and over again. I remember I broke the side of the glass I was stirring so hard; as to make a loud enough sound; we had to get a second glass. But she stayed there looking at me. And flew to the ground right beside my husband, she was hungry and at that point the ground wasn’t so scary anymore. So I say know your sounds, you may not think they are listening but they are.



What has worked for you?

[SCARLETBIRDS]

hmm well there was this one time when someone left the aviary door open 2 of my teils got out and all 7 of my lovebirds got out i caught a few put them back in and left the primary outer door open with food in it for the5 that were loose i caught the teils on a nearby tree and a few love birds and waited for the rest to follow suprisingly they all came back after traveling the neighborhood for the day and i chased them back in quikly when they all at the same time landed in flock inside aviary door so they wouldnt get out again ... base note this is usually hard to accomplish buit it worked for me!

[Cait]

running water, my birds jump at that!

[DianaRae]

Also, remember to go to 911 Parrot Alert and report your lost bird.

911 PARROT ALERT is an free international initiative dedicated to helping reunite Lost, Stolen and Found parrots with their families.

911 Parrot Alert is run and maintained by volunteer members. Our primary objective is to gather and exchange information on missing and found parrots. We comb through Internet and newspaper ads, make contacts, and offer guidance and support to members with missing or found fids (feathered kids).

[Faith]

we have lost our male cockatiel he is very missed how do i post a lost bird message we live in Palmdale, CA he answers to pretty boy and has been missing a week now we and his female companion are besides ourselves
please, help!!!!!!

[DianaRae]

Hello,

Please go to 911 Parrot Alert- Lost & Found Parrot & Bird database, Report a Lost Bird or Found Bird

Complete the "Lost Bird" information at the link on the left.

Then, make sure to read the "Helpful Tips" link on the left. Everything listed there is very important to do.

Make sure his cage is out in your yard (one of the tips) with toys & food on top.

[Darth_Prophet]

Well as I have posted in the past I have had 3 birds get out.
I have recovered 2 of the 3. 1 teil and 1 canary lost a green canary.
In both cases it was a matter of persistence.
As for the canary's keep in mind they don't have long flight capabilities because they are cage birds so keeping them air born is how we recovered ours , sooner or latter they land on the ground unable to continue flying .
As for my teil he had never really flown before and didn't know how to land but eventually he stayed aloft long enough that he finally landed on the ground and called to us to come and get him here’s a video on that event.
YouTube - Daisy Duke

[MiloMacaw]

I have been reading like, every thread on this board, and thought I would respond to this one even though its old!

Milo escaped from me twice- never really *flew* off, but got away from me while outside. The first time I had her outside on her gym before it was fenced in when she was only about a year old, and a car backfired and she took off. Well she was fully clipped and didn't know how to fly so we expected her to hit the ground like she normally does. Suprisingly, she didn't she caught a draft and soared over the house and down the hill with us running hell bent after her. She landed on the fence panting and scared and we were able to quickly recover her. I agree- if at all possible to keep your bird flying. When a friend of mine lost his senegal, we could see him and we kept urging him into flight, because sooner or later he was going to tire. Eventually he did and he coasted to the ground to pant and rest and we were able to catch him.

The worst time Milo got away was when she was playing on her gym outside which was in an enclosed fence. Someone who shall remain nameless opened the door to the fence and left it open, and milo happily climbed out, climbed ontop, reached up to the tree above and climbed up... ALL the way up! When I saw her she was a good 50 feet off the ground, and I thought I was going to pass out. I knew there was no way she could fly that well, and I could see her hitting the ground like a stone and breaking every bone in her body.

It was cell phone rings (she would come lower to "answer" it), me yelling "MMMMM is that good?!" (which is what she says when she is hungry) and me playing with my Golden Retriever under the tree (She gets jealous when I do this) that eventually got her to climb back down.

Being outside is a wonderful thing.. but risky if not properly contained!

[Copper]

Contact local bird clubs. Contact radio stations that will announce the lost bird E-mail a copy of the lost bird poster to local tv stations. Local pet stores that sell cages... someone may get your bird back and look for a new cage to keep it in for themselves.
Carry their favorite food with as you are looking at sunrise and sunset. Play the flock calls at odd times in the middle of the night when there is less daily 'interference' from other sounds.

[scarlett6]

Some years ago, we used to breed a number birds. Then, well known in the bird community, we would get many calls from pet owners asking for ideas on how to find/catch their lost bird... We caught many for people with two ideas below.

If you walk in the area where the bird was lost, pay attention to the bird calls going on in the area. Blue-jays are a HUGE help. Listen for their screams. They don't like anything different going on in their area and will scream constantly at birds that are foreign to them. They scream anyway, but not like they do if they see a bird that looks strange to them, or a bird that is considered to be a threat to them (Hawks, for example).

If your bird is spotted, sometimes they will then come down to a treat offered by the owner. Peanuts are adored by most large parrots. Remember, when they are out of their comfort area, high in the air, they are disoriented. Nothing looks the same... You can also incorporate the second idea below.

I caught one bird on the 15th story of a building once. A secretary called me and asked if I knew any way to catch a bird outside of her window, when the window was not the kind that would open, which was kind of a tall order.

I took a cage in an appropriate size that would encourage the bird to enter it, and put some seed and water in the dishes, setting it on the roof within the woman's sight. Then I sprinkled a very small seed trail leading directly to the cage. Don't put much outside of the cage, just enough to entice them towards getting into the cage where more seed awaits. Use seed of the type they love best. I tied a long thin rope to the open cage door and ran it around the corner, where someone could pull it without being seen by the bird. The man she worked for got up there crawling around in his $150 pants, tripped the door and "Voila, we have la bird." His secretary was so thrilled;her boss went out and bought her a $250 cage. I was so tickled to see this work...

Warning though... When people see a parrot loose, many times it becomes "their" bird. A good suggestion to avoid this is microchipping and having a receipt showing you paid for the bird. A picture of a Macaw, for example, doesn't show that it is yours very well; most look like one another. If the bird says specific words or phrases, KEEP IT TO YOURSELF. You may need this to prove it is your bird. Some cases have hindered on proof in this manner...

Good luck,
Cathie
scarlett6@aol.com