Pet Birds That Have Fleeced the House
The notion of their beloved bird flying away is the worst dread of most pet bird owners. It's a perilous situation if a bird gets loose because a tamed bird is unlikely to be able to care for itself in the wild.
The easiest approach to keep your pet from escaping is to practice "double door boundary" habits (closing external doors before opening inside doors) and wing trimming, but if your bird does escape, there are some immediate and long-term steps you can take to ensure a safe return.
Immediate Action
When dealing with a fly-away, timing is crucial. To have the best chance of recovering your bird, you must act quickly after discovering it has gone missing. Use everyone who is present, including anyone who can be called in quickly. Delegate responsibilities such that all of the immediate steps are completed at the same time.
Assign a few individuals to inspect all adjacent trees, poles, and other obvious perches on your land and neighboring properties right away. Even brightly colorful birds will be obscured by branches, so have your volunteers inspect each tree from all angles.
Delegate the task of gathering all available fishing nets, bird netting, and a few light bathroom towels for distribution. If you can find the bird and get it to notice you, it may want to fly back toward you; if you can, toss the towel over the top of it.
Imagining the Bird's View
In the best-case scenario, the bird will be stunned and unable to move. Keep a close eye on the bird as you work out a plan to get the bird's cage as close as possible to where the bird is.
Birds will normally prefer familiar food and shelter if they can find it, as long as the bird knows how to fly down and land on its feet. Despite this, many pet birds kept indoors rather than in lofty trees have never had to master this skill. Before a bird can find the bravery to flap down, it may take several hours of calming and thought. Escaped birds, on the other hand, frequently take off right away.
Birds are frantically fleeing, and they aren't paying attention to their surroundings. Consider the scene from a bird's eye perspective. Recognize that your bird has never seen its home from the air and has no way of determining where it calls home. It's critical that your bird keep constant visual contact with you. Wear brightly colored clothing and act as a slow-moving familiar beacon to encourage the bird to approach you and the cage, which should be brought as close to the bird as feasible in the first few hours.
When the bird is spotted, assemble a crew to track the bird's whereabouts, preferably around the clock, so that eyes are always on the bird. Don't be put off by the rain. When a bird loses sight of anything familiar, it will search in ever-widening circles, exacerbating the problem.
Getting the Cage Closer to the Bird
Bring the cage to the bird whenever possible. Place the cage near the fly-away site if you're looking for a lost bird. Place the cage on your porch or doorstep if your bird flies out via your front door. Hang the cage outside whenever feasible to make it appear as if it were inside.
To entice your bird back home, place huge amounts of his or her favorite foods and delectable goodies in or near the cage. Someone should constantly be ready to pounce with a towel or net near the cage. Leave the cage door open, maybe equipped with a quick-release trap door latch to swiftly lock as soon as the bird enters, and use large portions of food that are plainly visible.
Using Recognizable Sounds
If a cage and food aren't working to bring lost bird home, try "calling" it by name and just remaining in the area, repeating familiar words, noises, and phrases. This may tempt your pet to fly down to you in some cases.
If you listen to the music of a given genre on a frequent basis, take some outside and listen to it silently. Make it simple for the bird to figure out where the sound is coming from by using a familiar sound.
Using community assistance to cast a wider net
Even the finest immediate attempts might fail; if you lose visual contact with your bird for the majority of the day, it's time to go to Plan B.
Notify your neighbors via social media and place signs, including your bird's name, description, and images. Request that spotters report any sightings as soon as possible, including their specific position, and that they keep an eye on the bird until assistance arrives.
Kids in the neighborhood may enjoy looking for birds, especially if a prize is offered. Notify all local bird clubs, veterinarians, and lost and found centers, as well as 911 rescue bird sites in your area.
Exhausted Birds Are Awaiting
Any bird's first day of independence is joyful and full of activity. The second day will be more peaceful. Because there is no food available for exotic birds in the wild, your bird will be hungry, dehydrated, and fatigued by Day 3 due to a lack of sleep and excessive exercise. Birds in this state will frequently fly to strangers, seeking assistance from even strangers. They are easily caught at this point.
Birds are retrieved this way even after weeks in the wild, so make sure all obvious reporting agencies have your contact information. When you get home, your exhausted bird will be overjoyed to be safe and sound with you.
Keeping Any Escape from Happening
Because an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, training birds "freedom skills" will help any emergency retrieval go more smoothly. Teach your bird to respond to your "call cue" by flying to a brilliantly colored "station target" and receiving a favorite reward. Remember to teach the bird to fly down to you from higher and higher perches, door tops, stairwells, and, if available, second-floor balconies.
Post a DO NOT ENTER sign on all doors to alert people when your bird is outside the cage to help prevent it from becoming lost. Regularly inspect all flying feathers to ensure they don't need to be re-clipped, and you'll (hopefully) never lose your bird to a fly-away.
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