Almost lost another friend

[FineFeatheredFriend]

I went through a very trying day yesterday. I recently lost my Meyers to a predator bird in my neighborhood. I had my Quaker parrot on my shoulder while standing in front of my door. I saw my mailman and I unconsciously went outside to talk to him. My sweet Quaker named Breezy will turn 2 years come this March. She can be scared very easily. So as I reached for the mail, she instantly took off in air. She landed in a tree front of my house. My heart just left me. I started to call her back and she would respond but she was too scared to fly down. I knew then that I would have to go up in that tree. I grabbed my ladder and bravely climbed the tree. Once up my Quaker now seeing me got all relaxed. My friends I was up in that tree for an hour trying for her to come down to me. While praying in my heart I did not give up. I called my brother to help me. Once my brother arrived I asked him to give me some pellets. The trick worked. I showed the pellets to my Breezy. I started making yummy sounds. My hungry bird could not resist. With in 15 minutes she climbed down from branch to branch to me. At this I was very elated but also very tired. I felt I would surly fall down. I was very high up and my body was failing me. But I came down safely. Once inside I cuddled and kissed my bird. Goes to show you, you must never give up. Where there is a will there is a way.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

I can tell you I have almost done the same thing--you get so used to having the bird on you that you almost forget and go out the door!! I am so happy you were able to get your friend back. I am lucky that this never happened to me personally but has happened to some of my friends (even with a bird that had clipped wings--he got spooked and up he went).

 

[MonicaMc]

So glad you were able to get Breezy down safely!!!

Please, for future use though teach your birds recall! Get them willing to come back to you when called/asked, and get them used to a variety of environments. This will help them feel more comfortable in an unfamiliar environment and less likely to "freeze up" and get "stuck" somewhere. If they know to come on command, it's just one extra safety net from losing them!

 

[kc_y0]

How stressful for you ! I am glad you could her her back!

 

[Birdlover11]

That was a a close one ! I reccomend clipping her feathers or getting a flight suit.

 

[FineFeatheredFriend]

I have on purpose been avoiding clipping her flight feathers. The reason behind that is she now flies in the house looking for me. Once she hears my voice she will fly to that room. I find this very endearing since my other 2 birds do display this type of behavior. The only person that is not fan of this is the wifey. She hates using the harness. Since winter will be here soon I will wait til Spring to clip her wings. She just seems so happy flying free in the house. She also flies to get out of harms way when Snoopy my Sengal gets jealous and tries to attack her. I am so relieved that I can put this whole traumatic event behind. And yes I will more careful in the future. Thanks to everyone for showing your support and concerns.

 

[MonicaMc]

Clipping is no guarantee that a bird wont take off and get lost... it just makes them more vulnerable if they do manage to get a long distance away and you can't find them... because you've just taken away their biggest defense mechanism!


Please, recall train your baby! Whether clipped or lighted, it might be a life saver!

 

[FineFeatheredFriend]

I agree I should stop being lazy and try out this very useful training method. Thank you!

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Start with touch training and from there you can go on to recall. Birds don't understand that we can't always climb up a tall tree to get them back and will expect it from us.